Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/264109
to join the many cities in Italy and around the world that can claim a close connection with Verdi." The exhibition originated as a joint effort between the Rome Opera House and the Italian Foreign Ministry to promote Italian music and opera around the world, the release explains. Since its debut in 2011, it has trav- eled around the world. The exhibition will be housed in the Jonas Kamlet Library in the pavilion of the Sarasota Opera House, the release explains. It will be free and open to the public Tuesday through Sunday from noon to 4 p.m., and it will be open until 8 p.m. on performance evenings. No ticket for a performance is required for admission. A Legacy of Verdi panel discussion will mark the opening of the exhibition on Saturday, March 8, the release continues. It will be con- ducted in the Opera House at 11 a.m., focusing on the legacy of Verdi as illustrated through the exhibit and the Sarasota Opera Verdi Cycle. The panel will include Victor DeRenzi, artistic director of Sarasota Opera; Francesco Izzo, director of the American Institute for Verdi Studies; Martha Collins, stage director of Verdi's Jérusalem; and Francesco Reggiani, director of historical archives at the Rome Opera House. Sarasota Opera Executive Director Richard Russell will moderate. In attendance to help open the exhibit will be Adolfo Barattolo, Italian Consul General in Miami. That event also will be free and open to the public, but a reservation is required. To reserve a complimentary ticket, call the Sarasota Opera box office at 328-1300. Meet the 2013 Pulitzer Prize-winning author Gilbert King! In two separate events in Sarasota, authors will focus on works relevant to Black History Month. On Monday, Feb. 24, at 5:45 p.m. at Selby Library, 2013 Pulitzer Prize-winning author Gilbert King will discuss his book, Devil in the Grove, which chronicles the infamous 1939 "Groveland Boys" case, a news release says. A book signing will follow his remarks. The library is located at 1331 First St. in down- town Sarasota. This program is sponsored by the Sarasota Authors Connection and co-hosted by the Friends of the Selby Public Library and the Historical Society of Sarasota County. Then on Friday, Feb. 28, at 6:30 p.m., award-winning local author Liz Coursen will present a 70-minute program on her fifth book, Shade in the Sunshine State: Reflections on Segregation in Florida. That event will be held in the Community Room at the Herald-Tribune Building, located at 1741 Main St. in downtown Sarasota. "Learn about Rosenwald Schools and the 'Green Books'; hear the words of Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. du Bois and Vice President Lyndon Johnson; see how contemporaneous photographs and postcards reinforced racial stereotypes," the release adds. A book signing will follow that program as well. Both events are free and open to the public. Plenty of free parking is available at each location, the release notes. % BLACK HISTORY MONTH AUTHOR EVENTS SCHEDULED Sarasota News Leader February 21, 2014 Page 124