On Thursday, February 18 the Livingston Public Library will present
"Verdi and Puccini: Masters of Music and Passion" at 7:30 p.m. in the Program Room.

Conductor and Lecturer Robert W. Butts will speak about the operas of Guiseppe Verdi and Giacomo Puccini, and play several recorded selections.

In the 19th century, Guiseppe Verdi became a world figure through his creation of operatic standards and his fight for Italian unification. The characters and passions of Verdi’s operatic masterpieces continue to excite audiences 150 years later and the music has become part of popular musical heritage from “La Donna e Mobile” through the “Anvil Chorus.”

Few works are as loved as are the operas of Giacomo Puccini. Puccini’s ability to touch the deepest of romantic emotions and let them sing has moved audiences around the world from the youthful exuberance and tragic loves of La Boheme through the poignant heartbreak of Madama Butterfly and the triumphant challenges of Turandot. Puccini’s romantic style has been a major influence on film and Broadway composers, and his stories have remained inspirations for poets, playwrights and composers.

This program is free and open to all. The program is sponsored by the NJ Council for the Humanities.