Antonio Francesco Coppola (March 21, 1917 – March 9, 2020) was an American opera conductor and composer. He was the

uncle An uncle is usually defined as a male relative who is a sibling of a parent or married to a sibling of a parent. Uncles who are related by birth are second-degree relatives. The female counterpart of an uncle is an aunt, and the reciprocal rela ...

of film director Francis Ford Coppola and actress Talia Shire, as well as the great-uncle of

Nicolas Cage Nicolas Kim Coppola (born January 7, 1964), known professionally as Nicolas Cage, is an American actor and film producer. Born into the Coppola family, he is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Gui ...

Christopher Coppola Christopher R. Coppola (born January 25, 1962) is an American film director and producer. Early life Coppola was born in Los Angeles County, California Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as ...

Sofia Coppola Sofia Carmina Coppola (; born May 14, 1971) is an American filmmaker and actress. The youngest child and only daughter of filmmakers Eleanor Coppola, Eleanor and Francis Ford Coppola, she made her film debut as an infant in her father's acclaimed ...

, Gian-Carlo Coppola, Jason Schwartzman and

Robert Schwartzman Robert Coppola Schwartzman (born December 24, 1982) is an American filmmaker, director, screenwriter, actor and musician. Schwartzman is best known for directing ''Dreamland'', ''The Unicorn'', and ''The Argument'', acting in his cousin Sofia ...

, and the younger

brother A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-familia ...

of American composer and musician Carmine Coppola.

Life

Coppola was born in

Ocean Hill, Brooklyn Ocean Hill is a subsection of Bedford-Stuyvesant in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 16 and was founded in 1890. The ZIP code for the neighborhood is 11233. Ocean Hill's boundaries ...

, on March 21, 1917, but grew up mostly in East Harlem. He was the son of Maria ( née Zasa) and Agostino Coppola, who came to the United States from

Bernalda Bernalda ( Metapontino: or ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Matera, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. The frazione of Metaponto is the site of the ancient city of Metapontum. Until the 15th century, it was called Cam ...

, Basilicata. Coppola started his career at the age of eight with the Metropolitan Opera Children's Chorus. At the age of 9 he was in the Met's debut of

Turandot ''Turandot'' (; see below) is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, posthumously completed by Franco Alfano in 1926, and set to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni. ''Turandot'' best-known aria is " Nessun dorma", ...

. He served as an army bandmaster during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, conductor at Radio City Music Hall and director of both the Symphony and Opera Departments at the Manhattan School of Music. He earned a bachelor's degree (1964) and a master's degree (1965) in composition from Manhattan School of Music and received honorary Doctorates from the

University of Tampa The University of Tampa (UT) is a private university in Tampa, Florida. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. UT offers more than 200 programs of study, including 22 master's degrees and a broad variety of majors, ...

and

Quinnipiac University Quinnipiac University () is a private university in Hamden, Connecticut. The university grants undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees through its College of Arts and Sciences, School of Business, School of Engineering, School of C ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

. Coppola's first marriage was to Marion Jane Miller, a ballet dancer, with whom he had one child, Susan Marion Coppola (1943–2008). After their divorce, he wed Almarinda Drago in 1950, also a ballet dancer, with whom he had two children, Lucia and Bruno Coppola. He became a great-great-grand-uncle in 2014 with the birth of his grand-nephew

's grandson Lucian Augustus Coppola Cage and he turned 100 in March 2017.

Works

Among Coppola's compositions are a violin concerto, a symphony, and ''

Sacco and Vanzetti Nicola Sacco (; April 22, 1891 – August 23, 1927) and Bartolomeo Vanzetti (; June 11, 1888 – August 23, 1927) were Italian immigrant anarchists who were controversially accused of murdering Alessandro Berardelli and Frederick Parmenter, a ...

'', an opera in both Italian and English about immigrants

. In the 1950s and 1960s, Coppola was the musical director of six

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

musicals, including '' Silk Stockings'', ''

Bravo Giovanni ''Bravo Giovanni'' is a musical with a book by A. J. Russell, lyrics by Ronny Graham, and music by Milton Schafer. It is based upon Howard Shaw's 1959 novel, ''The Crime of Giovanni Venturi''. The musical was conceived as a vehicle for opera sta ...

'' and '' The Boy Friend''. He conducted two film scores, ''

The Godfather Part III ''The Godfather Part III'' is a 1990 American crime film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola from the screenplay co-written with Mario Puzo. The film stars Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, Andy García, Eli Wallach, Joe Mantegn ...

'' (1990) and '' Bram Stoker's Dracula'' (1992). He appeared in the former, shown conducting ''

Cavalleria rusticana ''Cavalleria rusticana'' (; Italian for "rustic chivalry") is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from an 1880 short story of the same name and subsequent play ...

'' in the

Teatro Massimo The Teatro Massimo Vittorio Emanuele is an opera house and opera company located on the Piazza Verdi in Palermo, Sicily. It was dedicated to King Victor Emanuel II. It is the biggest in Italy, and one of the largest of Europe (at the time of its i ...

in Palermo. He debuted with the

New York City Opera The New York City Opera (NYCO) is an American opera company located in Manhattan in New York City. The company has been active from 1943 through 2013 (when it filed for bankruptcy), and again since 2016 when it was revived. The opera company, du ...

in 1965, conducting the world premiere of Jack Beeson's ''

Lizzie Borden Lizzie Andrew Borden (July 19, 1860 – June 1, 1927) was an American woman tried and acquitted of the August 4, 1892 axe murders of her father and stepmother in Fall River, Massachusetts. No one else was charged in the murders, and despite ost ...

'', and led performances of '' Carmen'' (with Beverly Wolff,

Richard Cassilly Richard Cassilly (December 14, 1927 – January 30, 1998) was an American operatic tenor who had a major international opera career between 1954–90. Cassilly "was a mainstay in the heldentenor repertory in opera houses around the world for 30 y ...

and

Norman Treigle Norman Treigle (né Adanelle Wilfred Treigle (March 6, 1927February 16, 1975) was an American operatic bass-baritone, who was acclaimed for his great abilities as a singing-actor, and specialized in roles that evoked villainy and terror. Biograp ...

), '' La traviata'', ''

Il barbiere di Siviglia ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an ''opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based ...

'', and '' Madama Butterfly'' during the same year. At the

Seattle Opera Seattle Opera is an opera company based in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1963 by Glynn Ross, who served as its first general director until 1983. The company's season runs from August through late May, comprising five or six operas of ...

in 1970, Coppola led the world premiere of

Carlisle Floyd Carlisle Sessions Floyd (June 11, 1926September 30, 2021) was an American composer primarily known for his operas. These stage works, for which he wrote the librettos, typically engage with themes from the American South, particularly the Post ...

's ''

Of Mice and Men ''Of Mice and Men'' is a novella written by John Steinbeck. Published in 1937, it narrates the experiences of George Milton and Lennie Small, two displaced migrant ranch workers, who move from place to place in California in search of new job o ...

''. Coppola helped found

Opera Tampa Opera Tampa is an American opera company located in Tampa, Florida, where it is resident company at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts. History Opera Tampa debuted in 1996 with its first production, ''Madama Butterfly''. Since then, the co ...

in 1996 and served as its Founding Artistic Director. Among his numerous productions with the company was the world premiere of ''Sacco and Vanzetti'' on March 17, 2001. He retired from the position in 2012. Coppola was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Puccini Foundation and recognized by the Italian government as ''Cavaliere, Gran Ufficiale''. Coppola collaborated with the

Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi The Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi (Symphony Orchestra of Milan Giuseppe Verdi) is an Italian orchestra based in Milan. The orchestra refers to itself as ''La Verdi'' colloquially. The orchestra's primary residence is the ''Auditor ...

, also known as Orchestra Verdi, and operatic soprano

Angela Gheorghiu Angela Gheorghiu (; ; born 7 September 1965) is a Romanian soprano, especially known for her performances in the operas of Puccini and Verdi, widely recognised by critics and opera lovers as one of the greatest sopranos of all time. Embarking ...

on a recording of Puccini works for EMI. This recording was later re-released with additional tracks recorded by Pappano and the Royal Opera House Orchestra, Covent Garden.

Award

In 2008, Opera Tampa announced that an award was to be established in his name. The Anton Coppola Excellence in the Arts Award is presented annually to recognize an artist for significant contributions to Opera Tampa and the music world at large, and specifically for extraordinary work in the cultivation and care of the operatic art form. Coppola himself was the recipient of the award in 2012, the year of his retirement.

Death

Coppola died on March 9, 2020, at the age of 102, in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

Filmography

*''

'' (1990) - Conductor of 'Cavalleria Rusticana' (uncredited) *''

Mozart in the Jungle ''Mozart in the Jungle'' is an American comedy-drama streaming television series developed by Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman, Alex Timbers, and Paul Weitz for the video-on-demand service Amazon Prime Video. It received a production order in ...

'' (2015) - Anton Gallo

References

''St. Petersburg Times'': “A well-conducted life”

''Herald-Tribune'': "Daniel Lipton succeeds Anton Coppola at Opera Tampa"

R.A. Forum: Anton Coppola, "Sacco and Vanzetti", opera

“A Night of Stars”
''Studio10.tv''. Retrieved February 28, 2013 * Oussama Zahr. (May 2012

''Opera News'', Vol 76, No. 11. Retrieved February 28, 2013

External links

* * *

documentary featuring an interview with Anton Coppola {{DEFAULTSORT:Coppola, Anton 1917 births 2020 deaths Musicians from Brooklyn American people of Italian descent People of Campanian descent American centenarians American classical composers American male conductors (music) American male classical composers American opera composers Male opera composers American opera directors

Anton Anton may refer to: People *Anton (given name), including a list of people with the given name *Anton (surname) Places *Anton Municipality, Bulgaria **Anton, Sofia Province, a village *Antón District, Panama **Antón, a town and capital of th ...

Manhattan School of Music faculty 21st-century American conductors (music) United States Army personnel of World War II United States military musicians Men centenarians