He often broke the mold of traditional opera by collaborating with acts like Barry White, Bono and James Brown.

NPR: Three Mo' Tenors Give Nod to Pavarotti

In addition to several cons that will unfurl over the course of the show, they say the series will operate on a broader, more traditional soap opera canvas with dueling lives, wives and fathers as fodder.

FORBES

The event honours all forms of classical music from contemporary to crossover, opera to soundtracks, traditional to theatre.

BBC: Andrea Bocelli to receive Classic Brit honour

The winner of a MacArthur Fellowship, Shen creates dances that incorporate visual and storytelling elements from the theatre, Chinese opera, Eastern philosophy and traditional and contemporary visual art and sculpture.

BBC: Celebrating movement amid sculpture

While the Houston Grand Opera will continue to stage traditional productions, the company has created a new arm, called HGOco, whose goal is to bring musical storytelling into communities that traditionally haven't been exposed to opera.

WSJ: At the Houston Grand Opera, It's Alto, Bass, Tenor, Sombrero

Peking Opera, also known as Jingju, is a form of traditional Chinese theatre which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics.

BBC: Chinese Hamlet in 'Jackie Chan style'

Chief development officer Christen Krogh told the BBC that Opera's business model is similar to that of a traditional search engine, with revenue coming from affiliate deals and advertising rather than from the user.

BBC: Opera iPhone app downloaded a million times in 24 hours