Craig Smith. Courtesy/MPL

LIBRARY News:

The life of John O’Hea Crosby, founder and animating spirit of the Santa Fe Opera, is a fascinating one.

In the book “A Vision of Voices,” author and music critic Craig Smith has written an in-depth portrait of that visionary man. Mesa Public Library’s Authors Speak Series at 7 p.m., June 25, in the Upstairs Rotunda at Mesa will feature Smith talking about his work.

The timing for Smith’s talk could not be better. The 2015 Santa Fe Opera season runs July 3 through Aug. 29, and features the operas Daughter of the Regiment, Salome, La Finta Giardiniere, Rigoletto and Cold Mountain (a world premiere.)

Smith is a free-lance writer who spent more than 20 years as an arts critic for The Santa Fe New Mexican. Smith’s knowledge of both music and the music scene in Santa Fe brings a unique richness to his writing. The book is generously illustrated with photographs showing Crosby rubbing elbows with the rich, the famous, and the soon-to-be famous. Smith writes knowingly about the artists, Crosby’s idea of creating the opera apprentice program, and the operas Crosby loved.

The Authors Speak Series is a monthly event featuring local and regional authors speaking about their writing on a variety of subjects such as local and state history, travel, outdoor activities, fiction, Native American history and culture, poetry and more. The series is funded by the Friends of the Los Alamos County Library System. The talks are free and begin at 7 p.m., on the fourth Thursday of each month, followed by the opportunity to meet the authors and enjoy refreshments.

The author for July is Larry Littlefield, who will talk about his recent book which he co-authored with Pearl Burns, “Wildflowers of the Northern and Central Mountains of New Mexico.”