She has been bringing her distinctive soprano voice to operatic roles on stages in the U.K., Spain, Germany and Switzerland. Closer to home, she'll soon return to a role in Mozart's “The Marriage of Figaro” at The Metropolitan Opera in New York. Soprano Amanda Majeski talks about her ascending opera career.

A federal judge yet again denied the city's request to begin early construction on the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, the 300,000-square-foot museum proposed by film mogul George Lucas which would occupy some 17 acres of lakefront property.

In the 1940s, a theater in the Loop was providing nightly news updates, and a professional cyclist was cleaning up with his Chicago chain of dry cleaning stores. Geoffrey Baer raises the curtain on these local history stories.

Preservation Chicago has released its annual list of the most endangered buildings in Chicago, a list they usually call “the Chicago Seven” – but for the first time in 14 years, the organization has included an eighth structure.

It’s that time of year again, when brazen Chicagoans, some donning outrageous costumes, brave the icy waters of Lake Michigan for a good cause. The 16th annual Polar Plunge benefiting Special Olympics Chicago takes place on Sunday at North Avenue Beach.

Warriors don't just unpack themselves. At the Field Museum, it takes almost three hours to unpack just one of the terra-cotta "warriors" – the Chinese statues on display in a new exhibition opening Friday. 

Theater critic Hedy Weiss has high praise for a new spin on "Othello" at Chicago Shakespeare and a "hypnotic" world premiere stage adaptation at Goodman. Get her take on these plays and others on currently on stage in Chicago.

Toronzo Cannon is just your typical CTA bus driver who moonlights as a sought-after Chicago blues musician. As a guitarist, singer and songwriter, he drives the sound of Chicago blues from the city to blues clubs and festivals around the world.

Best known for his 1993 novel "Trainspotting," which chronicled a group of unemployed drug addicts in Scotland, author Irvine Welsh has been called the best storyteller in Britain. But for about 10 years now, he's lived in Chicago. We'll hear about his new book, “A Decent Ride.”

Dionne Warwick stops by to reminisce about a WTTW "Soundstage" recording from 1980 – and what it's like to see an actress portray her on stage.

February 29, better known as leap day, only comes around every four years. The observation of this extra day of our calendar year has some interesting history.

The doo-wop and soul will be going strong as the theater celebrates its 40th anniversary with some of its hit original shows featuring music from The Spaniels, The Chantels, The Supremes and Otis Redding.

An estimated 3,000 birds die or get injured from colliding with Chicago buildings each year. A new photography exhibition at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum aims to bring awareness to the issue.  

See Yo-Yo Ma perform with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, rub elbows with chickens at the Urban Livestock Expo and keep warm with homemade soup in Lakeview.

Earlier this month, a judge denied the city of Chicago's motion to let Lucas Museum construction begin on its proposed lakefront site. We speak with the head of Friends of the Parks, the nonprofit which filed the lawsuit.

Not typically known for their brewing prowess, the Field Museum plans to launch a limited-edition beer made with the same ingredients used by the Wari, an empire which flourished in Southern Peru from 600 to 1000 A.D.