Court of Appeals Hall, Albany, New York 
June 26, 2006 at 6:00 pm
Dreiser’s “An American Tragedy”:  The Law and the Arts 

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