Long-estranged Guns N' Roses [ tickets ] members Axl Rose, Slash and Duff McKagen have joined forces to file a lawsuit against Geffen Records, seeking to block the label's planned release of GN'R's "Greatest Hits."

According to a statement issued on Monday (3/15) by Sanctuary Artist Management, Guns N' Roses "has not been given the opportunity to approve the choice of songs, the artwork, the release date or the re-mastering done on the tracks included on this compilation."

The statement adds that Rose "is concerned that not only will their audience be misled into believing that the planned compilation is an authorized release, but that it will hinder the release of the band's long awaited new studio album 'Chinese Democracy,'" and claims that the band's fans "have flooded the offices of Geffen Records' senior executives with thousands of emails over the last few weeks expressing their dissent."

The lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction preventing Geffen from issuing "Greatest Hits," which the label plans to release on March 23.

Editor's Note: This item was edited on March 16 to reflect the correct album-release date.

Famed tenor Luciano Pavarotti [ tickets ] on Saturday (3/13) made what he said would be his final staged opera performance. He reportedly received an 11-minute ovation at the end of his "Tosca" performance at New York City's Metropolitan Opera.

Though his opera career is now over, Pavarotti plans to sing at concerts scheduled through Oct. 12, 2005--his 70th birthday.

Alanis Morissette [ tickets ]--a longtime supporter of the Tibetan freedom movement--will give a brief acoustic performance and introduce the Dalai Lama on April 24. The speech, dubbed "Living Peace: A Talk by the Dalai Lama," takes place at Ontario's Ottawa Civic Centre.