Uriel Nespoli (January 15, 1884 – June 1973) was an Italian conductor born in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. A pupil of Leopoldo Mugnone, Nespoli specialized in Italian

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 librett ...

. He was considered a National Treasure to Italy, and in 1931 he was secretly brought to 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 primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

for safety. He first served as

music director A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the d ...

of the

Houston Symphony The Houston Symphony is an American orchestra based in Houston, Texas. The orchestra is resident at the Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts. History The first concert of what was to become the Houston Symphony took place on June 21, 1 ...

, which was reforming after a 13-year break, having dissolved in 1918 owing to

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and from general lack of funding. After conducting concerts in the spring of 1931 and for the entirety of the 1931–1932 season, Nespoli was dismissed from his post in Houston. He continued his conducting career in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He was the third conductor to conduct

Giacomo Puccini Giacomo Puccini (Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long li ...

's famed opera ''

La boheme LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

'', and reputedly never forgave Puccini for not having given him the premiere, as they had known each other well as colleagues in younger days. However, it is said that he was in Brazil at the time of its first performance. Among his musical colleagues was the operatic soprano

Rosa Ponselle Rosa Melba Ponzillo, known as Rosa Ponselle (January 22, 1897 – May 25, 1981) was an American operatic soprano. She sang mainly at the New York Metropolitan Opera and is generally considered to have been one of the greatest sopranos of the 20t ...

. He directed several future opera singers to her for lessons at her Villa Pace in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

References

*Roussel, Hubert. ''The Houston Symphony Orchestra 1913-1971''. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1972. . *Social Security Death Index (United States). Accessed via RootsWeb.com. 1884 births 1973 deaths American male conductors (music) Italian conductors (music) Italian male conductors (music) Texas classical music Musicians from Naples Italian emigrants to the United States 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century American male musicians {{italy-conductor-stub