Thomas Schippers (9 March 1930 – 16 December 1977) was an American conductor. He was highly regarded for his work in

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 ...

Biography

Of Dutch ancestry and son of the owner of a large appliance store, Schippers was born in Portage, Michigan. He began playing

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

at age four. After graduating from high school at age 13, he attended the

Curtis Institute The Curtis Institute of Music is a private conservatory in Philadelphia. It offers a performance diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in opera, and a Professional Studies Certificate in opera. All students attend on full scholarship. Hi ...

and the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely ...

. Schippers made his debut at 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 ...

at age twenty-one, and the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is opera ...

at twenty-five. He conducted world premieres of now well-known music by

Gian Carlo Menotti Gian Carlo Menotti (, ; July 7, 1911 – February 1, 2007) was an Italian composer, librettist, director, and playwright who is primarily known for his output of 25 operas. Although he often referred to himself as an American composer, he kept ...

and

Samuel Barber Samuel Osmond Barber II (March 9, 1910 – January 23, 1981) was an American composer, pianist, conductor, baritone, and music educator, and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century. The music critic Donal Henahan said, "Probab ...

. He conducted child actor Chet Allen in a theatrical version of Menotti's ''

Amahl and the Night Visitors ''Amahl and the Night Visitors'' is an opera in one act by Gian Carlo Menotti with an original English libretto by the composer.Menotti, Gian-Carlo: ''Amahl and the Night Visitors (piano-vocal score)'', G. Schirmer, Inc., 1997. It was commissi ...

''. Schippers conducted in all the major opera houses of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, most notably the

and

La Scala La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...

, and founded

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Spoleto Spoleto (, also , , ; la, Spoletum) is an ancient city in the Italian province of Perugia in east-central Umbria on a foothill of the Apennines. It is S. of Trevi, N. of Terni, SE of Perugia; SE of Florence; and N of Rome. History Sp ...

festival with Menotti and once described his perfect orchestra as being composed of "one-third Italian musicians for their line, one-third Jewish for their sound, a sprinkling of Germans for solidity". Schippers was a regular conductor with the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

and the

Chicago Symphony Orchestra The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) was founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891. The ensemble makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival. The music director is Riccardo Muti, who began his tenu ...

, and made recordings with them as well, but in 1970 he finally took a full-time orchestral position with the

Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Its primary concert venue is Music Hall. In addition to its symphony concerts, the orchestra gives pops concerts as the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. The Cinc ...

, succeeding his predecessor at the Metropolitan Opera, Max Rudolf. After making several recordings with them and building the orchestra's international reputation, his career was cut short by his death from

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, mali ...

at 47 in 1977 in New York City, New York. During the 1970s, he was appointed principal conductor of l' Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia but conducted only one concert with the orchestra (in May 1976, including Ravel's ''Ma Mère l'Oye'' suite). He made many opera recordings in his time, and live recordings of his performances are gradually being made available on CD. His 1971 studio recording of ''

Lucia di Lammermoor ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' () is a (tragic opera) in three acts by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian-language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's 1819 historical novel '' The Bride of Lammermoo ...

'' by

Gaetano Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the '' bel canto'' opera style ...

with

Beverly Sills Beverly Sills (May 25, 1929July 2, 2007) was an American operatic soprano whose peak career was between the 1950s and 1970s. Although she sang a repertoire from Handel and Mozart to Puccini, Massenet and Verdi, she was especially renowned f ...

and Carlo Bergonzi was the first recording in which the glass harmonica was used in the mad scene. In 1974, he recorded, for EMI, ''The Siege of Corinth'', with Sills, Shirley Verrett, Justino Díaz, and Harry Theyard. His 1964 recording (Decca) of Verdi's ''Macbeth'' with the Santa Cecilia Orchestra was noted for his dramatic approach. He was a National Patron of

Delta Omicron Delta Omicron () is a co-ed international professional music honors fraternity whose mission is to promote and support excellence in music and musicianship. History Delta Omicron International Music Fraternity was founded on September 6, 1909 at ...

, an international professional music fraternity.

Personal life

Though reputed to be

homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to pe ...

, Schippers married Elaine Lane "Nonie" Phipps (1939–1973) in 1965. An heiress to the Grace shipping fortune and a daughter of the noted American polo player

Michael Grace Phipps Michael Grace Phipps (January 10, 1910 – March 13, 1973) was an American businessman, champion polo player, owner/breeder of racehorses, and a philanthropist. Biography Michael Phipps was the son of John Shaffer Phipps and Margarita Celia ...

, she died of ovarian cancer in 1973. Schippers died of pulmonary carcinoma four years later. According to professor, writer and opera scholar John Louis DiGaetani, Schippers had a long-term romantic relationship with Menotti and a shorter one with mathematician Sean Clarke. One of

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...

's biographers claims that Schippers and Bernstein were also intimately involved.

References

External links

* *
Discography of Schippers' opera recordings
*http://www.thomasschippers.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Schippers, Thomas 1930 births 1977 deaths American male conductors (music) American organists American male organists American LGBT musicians Deaths from lung cancer in New York (state) People from Kalamazoo, Michigan Curtis Institute of Music alumni Juilliard School alumni American people of Dutch descent LGBT people from Michigan 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century organists Classical musicians from Michigan 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century LGBT people