Frederic Franklin and Franz Allers, Ghost Town, cropped

Franz Allers (August 6, 1905 - January 26, 1995) was a European-American conductor of

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form ...

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

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 Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

, film scores, and

symphony orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

Early life

Franz Allers was born in Carlsbad,

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

(now

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

) in 1905. He started playing the violin at the age of 7. In 1920, he moved to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

, where he became a violinist in the

Berlin Philharmonic The Berlin Philharmonic (german: Berliner Philharmoniker, links=no, italic=no) is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. History The Berlin Philharmonic was fo ...

. He had a distinguished career in Europe as an opera and symphonic conductor.

Career

In 1947, Allers conducted the original Broadway production of ''

Brigadoon ''Brigadoon'' is a musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, and music by Frederick Loewe. The song "Almost Like Being in Love", from the musical, has become a standard. It features two American tourists who stumble upon Brigadoon, a m ...

''. He conducted the original 1951 Broadway production of '' Paint Your Wagon''. He was the music director for ''

My Darlin' Aida '' My Darlin’ Aida '' is a 1952 Broadway musical play with music by Giuseppe Verdi, lyrics by Charles Friedman, based on Verdi's opera, Aida. It was produced by Robert L. Joseph. Production ''My Darlin’ Aida'' premiered on Broadway at the Wi ...

'' the following year, and in 1954 he conducted the score for the animated film ''Hansel & Gretel''. Allers conducted the score to the original Broadway production of ''

My Fair Lady ''My Fair Lady'' is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play '' Pygmalion'', with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons ...

'' in 1957, and would go on to win the

Tony Award for Best Conductor and Musical Director The Tony Award for Best Conductor and Musical Director was awarded to acknowledge the contributions of conductors and musical directors in both musicals and operas. The award was first presented in 1948, and later discontinued after 1964. Winners ...

. Allers received a nomination at the

1960 Grammy Awards The 2nd Annual Grammy Awards were held on November 29, 1959, at Los Angeles and New York. Hosted by Meredith Willson, this marked the first televised Grammy Award ceremony, and it was aired in episodes as special '' Sunday Showcase''. It was held ...

in the category of Best Recording for Children for the film soundtrack of ''Hansel & Gretel''. However, Allers lost out to

Peter Ustinov Sir Peter Alexander Ustinov (born Peter Alexander Freiherr von Ustinov ; 16 April 192128 March 2004) was a British actor, filmmaker and writer. An internationally known raconteur, he was a fixture on television talk shows and lecture circuits ...

's ''

Peter & the Wolf ''Peter and the Wolf'' ( rus, Петя и Bолк, r="Pétya i volk", p=ˈpʲetʲə i volk, links=no) Op. 67, a "symphonic fairy tale for children", is a musical composition written by Sergei Prokofiev in 1936. The narrator tells a children's s ...

'' (with

Herbert von Karajan Herbert von Karajan (; born Heribert Ritter von Karajan; 5 April 1908 – 16 July 1989) was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, wit ...

conducting the

Philharmonia Orchestra The Philharmonia Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It was founded in 1945 by Walter Legge, a classical music record producer for EMI. Among the conductors who worked with the orchestra in its early years were Richard Strauss, ...

). In 1961, Allers conducted the original Broadway production of ''

Camelot Camelot is a castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described as th ...

'', which won him a second Tony Award for Best Conductor and Musical Director. On October 1, 1961, a German translation of ''

'' opened at the

Theater des Westens The Theater des Westens (Theatre of the West) is one of the most famous theatres for musicals and operettas in Berlin, Germany, located at 10–12 in Charlottenburg. It was founded in 1895 for plays. The present house was opened in 1896 and d ...

in Berlin, conducted by Allers.

Personal life

Allers moved to the United States in 1938. He met his first wife, singer Carolyn Shaffer, in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

in 1939. While working on Broadway, Allers, his wife and their daughter, Carol, lived in Riverdale, New York. In later life, he moved back to Germany and lived in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...

with his second wife, German actress/playwright Janne Furch-Allers (née Ertel). She died in 1992 at the age of 76. In 1995, Allers died from complications from pneumonia at the Desert Springs Hospital in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

while traveling to California. He was 89. According to his ''New York Times'' obituary, "Allers, along with the conductor

Maurice Abravanel Maurice Abravanel (January 6, 1903 – September 22, 1993) was an American classical music conductor. He is remembered as the conductor of the Utah Symphony Orchestra for over 30 years. Life Abravanel was born in Salonika, Rumelia Eyalet, Otto ...

, 'completely revised the standards of Broadway pit work,' demanding the highest quality from both the orchestra players and the singers."

Awards and nominations

* 1957

– ''

'' * 1960

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

nomination for Best Recording for Children – ''Hansel & Gretel'' * 1961

– ''Camelot''

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Allers, Franz American male conductors (music) Tony Award winners 1905 births 1995 deaths 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century American male musicians Czechoslovak emigrants to the United States