The Vermont Italian Cultural Association and The Opera Company of Middlebury (OCM) will co-host a discussion with American composer Tom Cipullo, known mostly for vocal music including the opera Glory Denied which will be performed this fall by the Opera Company of Middlebury. Tom will be joined by OCM's Music Director, Filippo Ciabatti and Glory Denied Stage Director, Alexandra Dietrich. OCM Artistic Director Douglas Anderson will facilitate the discussion.

The 19th-century opera was often broken down into two models: German and Italian. Are there still vestiges of those two styles in the world of contemporary opera? If so, does being Italian or Italian-American influence how composers write and how singers and instrumentalists perform current works, even if the themes and subjects of current works may not be Italian? What are the traditions that endure over time and across great distances that sustain an "Italian sound and sensibility?

Register on the Vermont Italian Cultural Association website to receive the zoom link.