Renowned musicologist Philip Gossett will present a lecture, “Mozart and the Italians: The influence of Austrian Composers on Italian Lyrical Opera,” at the Newberry Library of Chicago. Although it took some time for Mozart’s operas to become part of the repertory within Italian theaters, the great Italian composers understood the importance and impact that Mozart would have on future generations. Among these was Gioachino Rossini, who said that Mozart was “the ideal of my youth, the nemesis of my maturity, the consolation of my old age.” Rossini’s sentiment may be considered a starting point for Gossett’s pre- sentation, which will examine the significance and influence of Mozart’s theatrical operas on Italian nineteenth-century opera. Philip Gossett is an internationally known music historian specialized in nineteenth century opera, with particular emphasis on the operas of Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti and Verdi.