Opera — Then and Now

The Gunn Memorial Library is pleased to announce that its very popular series of Sunday afternoon discussions about opera called "Opera: Then and Now" is continuing this winter. The series consists of discussions, recollections, illustrations and illuminations on the search for the elusive golden age of opera.

The series resumed on October 28 with the Operas of Giacomo Puccini, and continues on Sunday, January 27 from 2-4 p.m. with Soprano and Mezzo Soprano Rivals. Panelists include soprano Lynne Strow and mezzo soprano Leslie Middlebrook along with media and arts writer Michael Clive, opera enthusiast Ken Cornet, and actor and writer Lee Moore.

An operatic soprano of international renown, Waterbury native Lynne Strow has sung in the major opera theatres around the world. She has sung at La Scala, with a Zeffirelli production of Turandot, at Convent Garden with a standing ovation for her Norma. In Italy, where Ms. Strow lived for many years, she sang in opera houses and concerts from Sicily to Turin and from Lecce to Venice. In Connecticut she has sung with the Connecticut Opera in Il Trovatore and Otello and with the Waterbury Symphony. Ms. Strow currently resides in Southbury, where she alternates her concert and opera engagements with opera coaching and the teaching of vocal technique.

Mezzo soprano Leslie Middlebrook has been winning recognition and acclaim throughout the U.S. and Europe from critics and audiences alike. She made a successful European opera debut in Bremen, Germany on a Menotti double bill singing roles of Baba in The Medium, and Miss Todd in the Old Maid and the Thief. In the U.S. she has sung with the San Francisco, Des Moines Metro, Berkshire, Harrisburg, and West Coast operas in roles from Dorabella in Cosi Fan Tutte and Orlofsky in Die Fiedermaus to Charlotte in Werther and Amneris in Aida. Ms. Middlebrook is co-founder of Professional Women Singers Association, which has helped hundreds of women to further their careers. She lives in New York and Cornwall.

The Gunn Memorial Library & Museum is located at 5 Wykeham Rd. (at Route 47) in Washington. The series is free and open to the public; refreshments will be served. For more info call 860-868-7586.