Which diva, who is known for being always free to speak her mind, insists that the “illness” blamed for her absence from a recent performance was nothing more than a convenient fiction? She continues to harbor a suspicion that those in charge simply didn’t want her to perform.

So, when is a diva’s expected surprise guest appearance really a surprise? When she doesn’t appear, of course—though, to be sure, with her track record, a last-minute cancellation is no surprise at all. What is perhaps surprising is the repertoire kerfuffle that escalated into the no-show: apparently not everybody can live for art.

Which maestro, a former music director of an American opera company, is now in the running for that title at the Met—assuming the company indeed has done a radical about-face in its plans?

Which veteran artist has finally made up his mind which opera to perform in concert next spring? Here’s a hint: after five decades of career, he’s sung this role  many times before, yet this time it will be something original.

Which Met production in the coming season has just had an entire scene axed? Was the aria in question too long, too vivid, too difficult to execute?

Those of you who feel like an idiot for missing the previous blind item (about how the Met has managed to wriggle out of a contract and say “good day!” to a disastrous co-production) should now spring to attention and clear your minds for a clue about the identity of the director scheduled for his…

That hunch you had was right: that very badly reviewed co-production is no longer on the Met’s future schedule. An American director is taking on what may be a fool’s errand of bringing this classic to the stage.

You won’t need three guesses for this one: Which impresario has declared himself needful of a “ghost director” to repair an otherwise hopelessly shattered project?

Which gay operatic power couple’s once blossoming romance has struck out after an alliance lasting over two decades?

Very soon, the Met will once again admit that the casting for their Japan tour was only the, “uh, stuff that dreams are made of.”

Which diva hopes for a high six-figure advance for a memoir revealing new details of her “so shameful” addiction? And which divo may already feel remorse over his decision to drop out of the Met’s tour to Japan?

Which opera company had its mettle tested by a coup d’état last week, only to see the upsurper barred because he already puts the lion’s share of his attention elsewhere?

Which regisseur might as well have chosen to put his stagehands in traditional Noh costumes, since (what with the mammoth technical problems associated with this production) it has become obvious that, come opening night, the scene-shifters are going to be almost as visible as the singers?

Which opera house’s management is rightly climbing the walls with anger?  Give them a break, because only five days before a major opening night the conductor—whose name is very well known—has not yet yet arrived in town, let alone attended a rehearsal!

Which divo, as is his habit, refused to wear the costume assigned him for the climactic scene of a recent production, favoring instead “more sexy” garb?

Which recently disgraced genius is tingling with excitement at an offer to help a fellow artist achieve redemption?