Programs for 2007-2008

All events are offered free of charge by the Dorothea van Dyke McLane Association to anyone in the community with an interest in Italian culture. Programs are followed by informal get-togethers where one can chat with old and new friends, and taste dishes and offerings brought by participants.

In case of cancellation of a program due to inclement weather or unexpected reasons, please check this Web site or call Dorothea's House for information.

click here for a pdf version, which includes an Italian translation.

Sunday, October 7, 2007 at 5:00 pm
Priest, Parish, and People: Richard N. Juliani will discuss his most recent publication, an ethnographic story about a most unusual priest and the growth of parishes to meet the needs of a rapidly growing immigration population. The lecture will provide insights about Americanization and the formation of ethnic identity. Dr. Juliani is a Professor of Sociology at Villanova University. His research and writing have focused upon the Italian experience in the United States. Copies of his book will be available.

Sunday November 4, 2007 at 5:00 pm
Contemporary Trends in Italian Theater: A journey through the different types of performances offered on the Italian stage today: entertainment, new Italian plays, experimental theatre, works in dialect, musicals, and operettas. A presentation with images and short readings of recent theatrical works, pictures of theatre halls, actors, playwrights, will be presented by Alberto Bentoglio, professor of Contemporary Theatre at Milan Università degli Studi, curator of iconographic exhibitions at Museo del Teatro at La Scala Theatre in Milan, and author of many essays.

Sunday December 2, 2007 at 5:00 pm
Italy Unveils Cosmic Masterpieces: Experience the beautiful and amazing discoveries in our New Solar System by Italian space scientists at the cutting edge of research as they construct and work on the International Space Station (ISS) and search for life-giving water on the red planet Mars. See the fruits of Italian technology transmitting breathtaking vistas from the Cassini spacecraft at Saturn and chasing a comet aboard the Rosetta. Dr. Ken Kremer, research scientist and NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador, is the author of articles and Mars images in numerous magazines and other media. 3-D glasses will be provided for this presentation.

Sunday January 13, 2008 at 5:00 pm
Polenta Festival! If you have a polenta recipe that you want us to taste, please bring it in and party with us. Music will be provided by Cajan Spice: Folk Music from Louisiana with Tom Tonon, Jessi Sanner and Friends

Sunday February 10, 2008 at 5:00 pm
Opera and Carnival in Venice: In a climate of festivities and vivacious cosmopolitism, the Venetian Carnival in the past as in the present has always been identified with theatrical representations, masks, dance, and music. Wendy Heller is Associate Professor of Music at Princeton University whose research interests encompass late Renaissance and Baroque Music, opera studies, women and music, and Jewish music.

Sunday March 2, 2008 at 5:00 pm
Melancholy or Misreading? Dr. Elizabeth Pilliod, professor of art history at Rutgers-Camden, discusses the life of Jacopo da Pontormo, a leading painter in 16th century Florence and how the discovery of his diary led to the notion that he was at the very least eccentric and quite possibly disturbed! Come unravel the mystery of the artist, his work, and his psyche

Sunday April 6, 2008 at 6:00 pm
Mario Lanza—The Man Who Chose Hollywood over Opera: When 26 year-old opera singer Mario Lanza appeared at the Hollywood Bowl, Louis B. Mayer was in the audience. As a result, Mayer, the head of MGM, invited Lanza to take a screen test. The rest, as they say, is history. Join us as Sandy Steiglitz, who hosts operatic radio programs on Princeton University’s radio station, WPRB, guides us through selections from Lanza’s motion pictures and some operatic arias as well.

Sunday May 4, 2008 at 6:00 pm
The Slow Food Movement: Founded in Italy in 1986, it stands for taste, tradition, and the honest pleasures of food. Founder Carlo Petrini wanted to reach out to consumers and demonstrate to them that they have choices over fast food and supermarket homogenization. Join food writers Pat Tanner and Faith Bahadurian, from the Slow Food Central New Jersey chapter, as they discuss Slow Food and how you can bring a little “Slow” into your life. Pat Tanner, a founder and co-leader of Slow Food Central NJ, is the restaurant critic for New Jersey Life magazine. Faith Bahadurian reviews restaurants for TIMEOFF, the magazine of Packet Publications. Faith and Pat alternate weeks writing the In The Kitchen column for the Princeton Packet

Let's Go to The Movies

Do you love Italian Films?

We will show the following films in Italian with English subtitles. Come and enjoy!

January 20, 2008 at 3 pm: Tickets (2006) directed by Ermanno Olmi, Abbas Kiarostami, e Ken Loach

February 17, 2008 at 3 pm: The Legend of 1900 (La leggenda del pianista sull’oceano), (1998) directed by Giuseppe Tornatore.

March 16, 2008 at 3 pm: The Golden Door (Nuovomondo), (2006) directed by Emanuele Crialese

You can see these events in a Google calendar and download them to yours: Click the link below:

Dorothea's House Google Calendar

Past Programs at Dorothea's House 2004 Feb. - Dreyden Ensemble performs Italian baroque music on period instruments April - Anne Leader talks about the Orange Cloister at the Badia Fiorentina May - A Pirandellian evening with students from Princeton University	Lidia Bastianich
2003 Feb. - Fundraiser with restaurateur and cookbook author Lidia Bastianich Click here for Princeton Packet article April - Evening of poetry from Loretta Casalaina and Maria Fama May - Wine tasting from Tony Prospero of Prospero Winery in Pleasantville, N.Y. 2002 Feb. - Chemist Felix Buccellato lectures on Italian citrus oils used in perfume May - Metropolitan Opera conductor Gildo DiNunzio on backstage musical effects Oct. - Bloomfield mandolin orchestra presents Italian music and sing-along Philadelphia folk dance group "Ballerini e Voci d'Italia"	Tony Prospero of Prospero Winery 2001 April - Metropolitan Opera prompter Jane Klaviter on secrets below the stage May - Local artists display paintings, sculpture Dec. - Folkdance group from Philadelphia "Ballerini e Voci d'Italia" 2000 March - Concert by flutist Claire Durand Racamato and pianist Marianne Lauffer May - Photographer Holly Smith Pedlosky captures intimacies in Venice Nov. - Lecture on paper making in Fabriano by Raffaele Roncalli
1999 April - Italian author Gina Lagorio recounts her experiences as a writer Nov. - 15th Century Florence lecture by art historian Elena Welm Dec. - A portrait of Verdi's Violetta by Metropolitan Opera conductor Joseph Colaneri	1998 April - Mozzarella making demonstration Nov. - Maria LoBiondo upholds tradition of Italian story-telling Dec. - Lecture on Leonardo Sciascia by Strathclyde University's Professor Joseph Farrell
1997 Jan. - Sister Margherita Marchione introduces her book "Yours is a Precious Witness" April - Facts and fiction about olives and olive oil by Clo Treves and Milena Troiano Nov. - Lecture on Trevi Fountain history by Professor John Pinto	1996 Feb. - A Dante evening with Professor Robert Hollander April - Robert Browning in Italy - lecture by Lillian Mariano Chance Oct. - Inspired by Italy watercolors by Marge Chavooshian
Chris Tamasi giving a cooking demonstration in 1994 1993 March - Italian general consul and lawyer from Stark & Stark on legal issues Oct. - Lecture on Italians in New Jersey by Professor Remigio Pane Nov. - Lecture on Italians in Princeton by Robert Immordino and Ciro Poppiti	1995 Feb. - Venice during Carnevale lecture and slides by Carla Olsen March - Giuseppe Verdi comes to Dorothea's House by way of Eduardo Mangella Nov. - Gardens of Villa Lante slide show and lecture by architect Kevin Wilkes 1994 Jan. - Lecture by Professor Pietro Frassica on letters to Pirandello by Marta Abba Feb. - Boheme Opera Company's Sandra Pucciatti on insider's guide to opera Nov. - Italian baroque music by Westminster choir group and Nancy Perella
1992 Jan. - Architect Michael Mostoller lectures on Palladio April - Traditional pig roast May - Professor Lucy Nardella talks about Siena's Palio	1991 Feb. - Operatic performance by singers of the Boheme Opera Company March - An armchair tour of the Dolomite region Oct. - DeFranco family and Calabrian folk music and dancing
1990 Jan. - Lecture on the Etruscans by Professor Maria Teresa Moevs April - Slide show and talk on Molise and Pettoranello by Antonio Pirone May - Italian folkdancing with the Montclair Folk Group	1989 Oct. - Dorothea's House 75th Anniversary Celebration March - Renaissance Rome lecture by Professor Laurie Nussdorfer Nov. - Lecture on operas of Mascagni by Alan Mallach
1988 Jan. - Lecture on Sicily by Professor Pietro Frassica and Dr. Frank Campo Feb. - Carnevale celebration Oct. - Italian Fashion show and historical lecture by Rene Battaglia	1987 Jan. - Architect Fred Travisano gives lecture on Italian hill town architecture May - Concert by cellist Gino Treves and string quartet Oct. - Villa Banfi wine-tasting; Bob Freda demonstrates home wine-making
1986 Oct. - Wine tasting program Nov. - Italian movie "Tre Fratelli" Dec. - Prosciutto making demonstration by Dominic Tamasi