Lisa Connolly and James Kouzoukian and a company of 20 singers performed at the library on October 16 Good things came in threes for Village residents as The Friends of the Library presented a trio of entertaining programs.

Leading this terrific threesome was the Opera Pro Voce Company , which presented (in Italian) a fully staged version of Giuseppe Verdi’s “II Trovatore.” A capacity crowd sat enthralled for two and a half hours as a cast of 20 costumed performers transported the audience to Spain in the 1400s. Leading roles were performed by soprano Joy Tepedino, tenor Alfonso Tepedino, mezzosoprano Lisa Connolly and bass baritone James Kouzoukian.

Joy Tepedino and Alfonso Tepedino were two of the four principals in Verdi’s “II Trovatore.” Then, on Monday evening, October 17 th, Village Historian John Ellis Kordes presented a lecture entitled “Garden City - Past and Present.” His talk was highlighted by four excerpts from his 1994 documentary film. At the conclusion of the program, Mr. Kordes autographed copies of the DVD and his newly published coffee table book “Visions of Garden City.”

Nöel Marie and Pace Tarrant Milton, nine-year-old twins who are fourth graders at St. Joseph’s School, were thrilled to receive an autographed copy of John Ellis Kordes’ new coffee table book on Garden City Finally, on Thursday, October 20 th, author-photographer Monica Randall presented a slide lecture entitled “Abandoned Trunks.” Ms. Randall, author of “Long Island’s Gold Coast Mansions,” enthralled the audience as she related how she and her sister used to explore abandoned mansions before they were razed in the 1950s. They managed to salvage many costumes originally worn (usually one time only) by the ladies of society who entertained on a grand scale amid their glittering ballrooms and sweeping staircases. She also provided costumes for many films including the Robert Redford - Mia Farrow version of “The Great Gatsby.” Sadly, the mansion shown in that film was located in Newport, Rhode Island because by the time it was filmed all of the Long Island mansions described by F. Scott Fitzagerald were gone.

Barbara Minerd (left) public relations coordinator for The Friends of the Library, introduced Monica Randall. Funding for all of these programs was provided by The Friends of the Library.