the largest opera ever presented by the company. The first grand opera which Verdi wrote for Paris, Jérusalem (a revised version of the 1843 I Lombardi), was given in French in 2014, while his first comedy, Un giorno di regno, appeared in 2013. Don Carlos, in the original, 5-act, Paris version in French was performed in 2015. The 2016 Winter Festival Season brought the completion of the 28-year Verdi Cycle on March 20, 2016 making Sarasota Opera the only company in the world to have performed every work, operatic and non-operatic, available for performance by Giuseppe Verdi and Maestro Victor DeRenzi the only conductor in the world to have conducted every available work by Giuseppe Verdi. The season culminated in a Verdi Festival Week, March 15–20, which included performances of the final two Verdi operas to be performed as part of the cycle, La battaglia di Legnano and Aida, two concerts dedicated to the music of Verdi, a two-day International Verdi Conference in partnership with the American Institute for Verdi Studies, and a 28-year retrospective exhibit on the Verdi Cycle. Distinguished guests included two of Giuseppe Verdi's great-great-grandchildren, Maria Mercedes Carrara Verdi and Angiolo Carrara Verdi, Gloria Marina Bellelli, Consul General of Italy, and Enzo Petrolini, President of the Club dei 27. In June of 2016 and in recognition for his role in bringing the Verdi Cycle to completion, Maestro DeRenzi was knighted by the Italian government, receiving the title of Cavaliere dell’ordine della Stella d’Italia (Knight of the Order of the Star of Italy). Sarasota Firsts Initiative Starting this fall, Sarasota Opera will launch a new venture entitled "Sarasota Firsts" in which the company will present operas never previously produced on the Sarasota Opera House stage. For the 2016/2017 season, Sarasota Opera will present three operas in association with this new series which will be Don Pasquale by Gaetano Donizetti, L'italiana in Algeri by Gioachino Rossini, and Dialogues of the Carmelites by Francis Poulenc. The season will also include Madama Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini and L'amore dei tre re by Italo Montemezzi. The Masterworks Revival Series, The series includes presentations of neglected works of artistic merit. Operas presented in this series have included Alfredo Catalani's La Wally, Carl Nielsen's Maskarade, Engelbert Humperdinck's Königskinder, Stanisław Moniuszko's Halka, and Mascagni's L'amico Fritz. The company also runs an Apprentice Program and a Studio Artists Program. Both programs provide young singers with additional