Submitted by Marleen Nienhuis

Gil Rose, the founder of Odyssey Opera, will be at the South End library on Wednesday, October 25, at 6:30 PM, to talk about the company's current opera season, Trial by Fire, which has based its entire performance program on the tale of Joan of Arc and the Hundred Years' War as interpreted by five stellar composers, including Tchaikovsky, Donizetti, Dello Joio, Honegger and Verdi. He will be joined by South End resident and impresario Randall Fuller, an opera devotee himself. They knew each other from the days of Boston Opera. After its demise in 2012, Odyssey Opera was born. Created in 2013, artistic director Rose's quest for Odyssey Opera has been to affirm opera as a "powerful expression of the human experience," one that audiences can relate to our contemporary political and cultural lives. The first sold-out performance of this season at Jordan Hall was The Maid of Orleans by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikowsky; it was described as a "radiant performance" by The Boston Globe. The next four performances will be Gaetano Donizetti's L'Assedio Di Calais on October 26 and 28; Norman Dello Jodio's The Trial at Rouen, December 1; Arthur Honegger's Jeanne D'Arc Au Buecher, on February 17; and Guiseppi Verdi's Giovanna D'Arco on April 5 and April 7. The events will take place at The Huntington Avenue Theatre, Jordan Hall and the Sanders Theatre, respectively.

The Third Annual South End Book Festival will be held on Saturday, November 18 at Tent City.

The South End has a long and distinguished history of the literary arts, one of the reasons why the Friends' of the South End Library's South End Writesauthor series never seems to run out of candidates. The authors and poets live here now, or once lived here or will return here as soon as their other assignments elsewhere end. No surprise the South End Book Festival is now in its third year. The event will take place on Saturday, November 18 between 2:00 and 5:00 PM at the Harry Dow Community Room in Tent City,located at 130 Dartmouth Street. Authors will be selling and signing their books. Refreshments will be served. The event is free and open to all.

The South End branch of the Boston Public Library is fully handicapped accessible. The event is free and sponsored by the Friends of the South End Library. We serve refreshments. Seating is limited. The South End Branch of the Boston Public Library is located at 685 Tremont Street. More informaton at www.friendsofsouthendlibrary.org