The death of Grace Brown one hundred years ago resulted in a murder conviction and an appeal argued in 1908 before the New York Court of Appeals (People v Chester Gillette.) This case was the basis for Theodore Dreiser's novel, An American Tragedy, the movies An American Tragedy and A Place in the Sun and the opera, An American Tragedy. The June 26th lecture, the second in the Court of Appeals Lecture Series, will examine the connections between cases-at-law and artistic works derived from them.

Speakers: Susan N. Herman, Centennial Professor of Law, Brooklyn Law School
Francesca Zambello, Internationally Recognized Director of Opera and Theater

Susan Herman is the Centennial Professor of Law, Brooklyn Law School and a nationally known scholar of the Supreme Court, particularly in the field of Criminal Procedure. Professor Herman also conducts a Law and Literature seminar in which she examines the representation of law, lawyers, and the legal process in fictional works by such writers as Melville, Twain, Faulkner, Camus, Toni Morrison, and David Mamet. In the seminar, Professor Herman addresses the extent to which the interpretation of law and interpretation of literature share common problems and methods.

Francesca Zambello is an internationally recognized director of opera and theater and was the director of the world premier of Tobias Picker's opera An American Tragedy at the Metropolitan Opera (2005). Her American debut took place at the Houston Grand Opera with a production of Fidelio in 1984. She debuted in Europe at Teatro la Fenice in Venice with Beatrice di Tenda in 1987 and has since staged new productions at major theaters and opera houses in Europe and the USA. Collaborating with outstanding artists and designers and promoting emerging talent, she takes a special interest in new music theater works, innovative productions, and in producing theater and opera for wider audiences.

The lecture is open to the public and is free of charge. However, space is limited and an RSVP (518- 455-7795) is essential.