Renato Cellini (; April 24, 1912 – March 25, 1967) was an Italian opera

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Music * Conductor (music), a person who leads a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra. * ''Conductor'' (album), an album by indie rock band The Comas * Conduction, a type of structured free improvisation ...

. His father was Ezio Cellini, who was a stage director who worked with

Arturo Toscanini Arturo Toscanini (; ; March 25, 1867January 16, 1957) was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the late 19th and early 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orch ...

Metropolitan Opera

Cellini went to the United States in 1947, when he joined the staff of the Metropolitan Opera, and where he debuted conducting ''Don Carlos'', on April 9, 1952, with Jussi Björling, Eleanor Steber and

Regina Resnik Regina Resnik (born Regina Resnick, August 30, 1922 – August 8, 2013) was an American opera singer who had an active international career that spanned five decades. She began her career as a soprano in 1942 and soon after began a lengthy and ...

in the cast. The following year, he led ''Aïda'' (with

Herva Nelli Herva Nelli (January 9, 1909May 31, 1994) was an Italian-American operatic soprano. Biography Named after the French socialist Gustave Hervé, she was born in Florence, where she attended a convent school. At the age of ten, however, she and her f ...

and Jean Madeira) and ''La forza del destino'' (with Zinka Milanov and Mario del Monaco). In 1954, he conducted ''La forza'' again (now with Nelli and Leonard Warren), and a double-bill of ''Cavalleria rusticana'' and ''Pagliacci''. His 1950 recording of ''Rigoletto'', with

Jan Peerce Jan Peerce (born Yehoshua Pinkhes Perelmuth; June 3, 1904 December 15, 1984) was an American operatic tenor. Peerce was an accomplished performer on the operatic and Broadway theatre, Broadway concert stages, in solo recitals, and as a recordi ...

, Warren,

Italo Tajo Italo Tajo (25 April 191528 March 1993) was an Italian operatic bass, particularly acclaimed for his Mozart and Rossini roles. Tajo was born in Pinerolo, Piedmont, Italy and studied violin and voice at the Music Conservatory of Turin with Nilde ...

, Erna Berger, and Nan Merriman, was the "first American recording of a complete opera by

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...

New Orleans Opera

In 1954, Cellini was appointed General Director and Conductor of the New Orleans Opera Association, where he debuted with ''La bohème'' (staged by Armando Agnini). While there, he founded The Experimental Opera Theatre of America (1954–60) in association with the New Orleans Opera. It was "designed to give young singers an opportunity to be heard in opera." These young singers included Harry Theyard, Mignon Dunn, Norman Treigle, John Reardon, Audrey Schuh,

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, Chester Ludgin,

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, Stanley Kolk,

Ara Berberian Ara Berberian ( hy, Արա Բերբերյան, May 14, 1930 – February 21, 2005) was an American bass and actor who had an active international career in operas, concerts, and musicals from the early 1960s until his retirement from the st ...

, Enrico di Giuseppe,

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and Benjamin Rayson. While in New Orleans Cellini conducted performances of many operas, including ''Otello'' (with Ramón Vinay and Nelli), ''Tosca'' (with Inge Borkh and Robert Weede), ''Lakmé'', ''Amelia al ballo'' (with Schuh), ''Elektra'', ''L'amore dei tre re'', ''Falstaff'' (with Warren), ''Werther'', ''La cenerentola'', ''Boris Godunov'' (with

Boris Christoff Boris Christoff ( bg, Борис Кирилов Христов, Boris Kirilov Hristov, ; 18 May 1914 – 28 June 1993) was a Bulgarian opera singer, widely considered one of the greatest basses of the 20th century. Early life He was born i ...

), ''Il trovatore'', ''Turandot'', ''Norma'', ''Don Giovanni'' (with Treigle), ''Tannhäuser'', ''La Gioconda'', ''Manon'' (with Phyllis Curtin and Nicolai Gedda), ''Un ballo in maschera'', ''Orfeo ed Euridice'', ''Der Rosenkavalier'', ''Rigoletto'' (with Cornell MacNeil) and ''La forza del destino'' (with Eileen Farrell and Richard Cassilly). In 1964, in failing health, Cellini conducted for the last time (''Aïda''). He died on March 25, 1967 ( Holy Saturday), in New Orleans at the age of 54, and is buried in Metairie Cemetery. In 2004 his widow, Giuseppina "Pinuccia," moved from New Orleans to Tennessee; she died in 2015.

Studio discography (complete operas)

* Verdi: ''Rigoletto'' (Berger, Merriman, Peerce, Warren, Tajo)

1950 * Verdi: ''Il trovatore'' (Milanov, Barbieri, Björling, Warren, Moscona) RCA Victor 1952 * Mascagni: ''Cavalleria rusticana'' (Milanov, Roggero, Björling, Merrill) RCA Victor 1953 * Leoncavallo: ''Pagliacci'' (de los Ángeles, Björling, Franke, Warren, Merrill) RCA Victor 1953

Approved "live" discography

* Verdi: ''Falstaff'' (della Chiesa, Schuh, Turp, Warren, Torigi; 1956) VAI * Verdi: ''La traviata'': excerpts (Kirsten, Hayward, MacNeil; 1958) VAI * Puccini: ''La bohème'' (Albanese, Schuh, di Stefano, Valdengo, Treigle; 1959) VAI * Puccini: ''Madama Butterfly'' (Kirsten, Barioni, Torigi; 1960) VAI * Saint-Saëns: ''Samson et Dalila'' (Stevens, Vinay, Berberian; 1960) VAI * Ponchielli: ''La Gioconda'' (Milanov, Kramarich, Gismondo, Bardelli, Wilderman; 1960) VAI * Verdi: ''La forza del destino'': excerpts (Farrell, Cassilly; 1963) VAI * Mascagni: ''Cavalleria rusticana'' (Milanov, Gismondo, Rayson; 1963) VAI

References

* "Obituary," ''Opera'', May 1967.

External links

* (with Licia Albanese, Giuseppe di Stefano, Patrice Munsel, and Leonard Warren, 1951, audio only). {{DEFAULTSORT:Cellini, Renato 1912 births 1967 deaths Italian male conductors (music) Italian emigrants to the United States 20th-century Italian conductors (music) 20th-century Italian male musicians