- Anton Coppola
Maestro Anton Coppola (born
March 21 ,1917 ) is a renowned American opera conductor and composer. He is the uncle of film directorFrancis Ford Coppola and actressTalia Shire .Life
Coppola started his career at the age of eight with the Metropolitan Opera Children’s Chorus. Coppola served as an army
bandmaster duringWorld War II , conductor atRadio City Music Hall and director of both the Symphony and Opera Departments at theManhattan School of Music . He holds a Master’s degree in composition and honorary Doctorates from theUniversity of Tampa andQuinnipiac University inConnecticut .Works
Among his works are a violin concerto, an opera, "Sacco and Vanzetti"; a symphony, and numerous film scores, including "
The Godfather Part III " and "Dracula". In the 1950s and 1960s, Coppola was the musical director of six Broadway musicals including "Silk Stockings " and "Bravo Giovanni ". Coppola collaborated with theRoyal Opera Orchestra and opera sopranoAngela Gheorghiu to release a recording ofPuccini works. He was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Puccini Foundation and recognized by the Italian government as "Cavaliere, Gran Ufficiale". Anton Coppola currently serves as Maestro ofOpera Tampa .He debuted with the
New York City Opera in 1965, conducting the world premiere ofJack Beeson 's "Lizzie Borden", and led performances of "Carmen" (with Beverly Wolff,Richard Cassilly andNorman Treigle ), "La traviata", "Il barbiere di Siviglia", and "Madama Butterfly" during the same year. For Desto, he then conducted the first recording of "Lizzie Borden". In 1970, at the Seattle Opera, Coppola led the world premiere ofCarlisle Floyd 's "Of Mice and Men".See also
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Coppola family tree External links
* [http://www.sptimes.com/2004/04/16/Floridian/A_well_conducted_life.shtml "Floridian:" “A well-conducted life”]
* [http://www.operatampa.org/about/coppola.htm Opera Tampa: biography]
*imdb name|name=Anton Coppola|id=0178872
*ibdb name|name=Anton Coppola|id=93452
* [http://raforum.info/article.php3?id_article=510 R.A. Forum: Anton Coppola, "Sacco and Vanzetti", opera]
* [http://willowpondfilms.com/sacco_and_vanzetti.html Sacco and Vanzetti] documentary featuring an interview with Anton Coppola
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
