Alan Mann, artistic director of Opera Theater of Connecticut, will provide a talk on Giuseppe Verdi (October 9/10, 1813 – January 27, 1901). Verdi was a leading Italian composer of opera in the 19^th century, noted for operas such as Rigoletto (1851), Il trovatore (1853), La traviata (1853), Don Carlos (1867), Aida (1871), Otello (1887), and Falstaff (1893) and for his Requiem Mass (1874). Mann will illuminate the artistic and musical imagination of this profound man whose vision not only changed opera forever but also brought the Italian people together and helped fuel the Risorgimento, the unification and independence of Italy.

About Alan Mann:

Alan Mann, artistic director of Opera Theater of Connecticut, is a renowned guest speaker, known for his Opera Talks—a series of informal, informative talks on operas and composers. He has also served as Master of Ceremonies for numerous concerts, punctuating them with interesting anecdotes and sharing his witty insights and knowledge of the “human” side of opera with the audience. He has also often been engaged as a “Special Interest Speaker” by cruise lines. He is a regular speaker for the Shiller Shoreline Institute for Lifelong Learning and presented pre-show talks for the Metropolitan Opera’s broadcasts.

His work in professional theater and opera has taken him from New York’s Lincoln Center to London’s West End to the Edinburgh Festival to the Stratford (Ontario) Shakespeare Festival to The Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy to New York’s Broadway. His directing assignments span traditional opera, contemporary opera, comic opera, musical theater, and classic and modern theater.