Thomas Fulton (September 18, 1949 - August 4, 1994), was an American

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

. Noted primarily for his work in opera, among other schools, Fulton studied conducting under Max Rudolf at

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

and served as an assistant to him and to his successor, David Effron, coaching for the Opera Department, preparing productions and sometimes playing for the studio productions. He debuted at the

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

in New York City in 1979 and remained with the company until his death. He conducted 192 performances at the Met of over 20 operas in the Italian, French and German repertoires. A 1982 performance he conducted of Humperdinck's ''

Hansel and Gretel "Hansel and Gretel" (; ) is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 as part of ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' (KHM 15). Hansel and Gretel are siblings who are abandoned in a forest and fall into the hands of a witch ...

'' was telecast on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

and remains available on video as a DVD. Fulton was also associated with

Orchestre National de France The Orchestre National de France (; ; abbr. ONF) is a French symphony orchestra based in Paris, founded in 1934. Placed under the administration of the French national radio (named Radio France since 1975), the ONF performs mainly in the Grand ...

, and the

Paris Opera The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...

among other companies in France and Germany. He was on staff as a conductor with the

Ravinia Festival Ravinia Festival is a primarily outdoor music venue in Highland Park, Illinois. It hosts a series of outdoor concerts and performances every summer from June to September in a wide variety of musical genres from classical to pop. The first orche ...

, the

Opera Company of Boston The Opera Company of Boston was an American opera company located in Boston, Massachusetts, that was active from the late 1950s through the 1980s. The company was founded by American conducting, conductor Sarah Caldwell in 1958 under the name Bo ...

, and the

San Francisco Opera The San Francisco Opera (SFO) is an American opera company founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola (1881–1953) based in San Francisco, California. History Gaetano Merola (1923–1953) Merola's road to prominence in the Bay Area began in 1906 wh ...

. According to his obituary, Fulton died from kidney failure while vacationing in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

. He was 44 years old.

Videography

* ''

The Metropolitan Opera Centennial Gala ''The Metropolitan Opera Centennial Gala'' was a televised concert, lasting more than eight hours, that New York City's Metropolitan Opera staged on 22 October 1983 to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of its first performance. A 230-minute se ...

'' (1983), Deutsche Grammophon DVD, 00440-073-4538

References

"Thomas Fulton, Opera Conductor, 44"
obituary, ''New York Times'', August 10, 1994.

''New York Times'', October 19, 1994. {{DEFAULTSORT:Fulton, Thomas 1949 births 1994 deaths American male conductors (music) 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century American male musicians