1. Antonio Francesco Coppola was an American opera conductor and composer.
15 Facts About Anton Coppola
1. 2.
Anton Coppola was the son of Maria and Agostino Coppola, who came to the United States from Bernalda, Basilicata.
3.
Anton Coppola started his career at the age of eight with the Metropolitan Opera Children's Chorus.
4.
Anton Coppola served as an army bandmaster during World War II, conductor at Radio City Music Hall and director of both the Symphony and Opera Departments at the Manhattan School of Music.
5.
Anton Coppola earned a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in composition from Manhattan School of Music and received honorary Doctorates from the University of Tampa and Quinnipiac University in Connecticut.
6.
Anton Coppola became a great-great-grand-uncle in 2014 with the birth of his grand-nephew Nicolas Cage's grandson Lucian Augustus Coppola Cage, and he turned 100 in March 2017.
7.
Anton Coppola conducted two film scores, The Godfather Part III and Bram Stoker's Dracula.
8.
Anton Coppola appeared in the former, shown conducting Cavalleria rusticana in the Teatro Massimo in Palermo.
9.
Anton Coppola debuted with the New York City Opera in 1965, conducting the world premiere of Jack Beeson's Lizzie Borden, and led performances of Carmen, La traviata, Il barbiere di Siviglia, and Madama Butterfly during the same year.
10.
At the Seattle Opera in 1970, Anton Coppola led the world premiere of Carlisle Floyd's Of Mice and Men.
11.
Anton Coppola helped found Opera Tampa in 1996 and served as its Founding Artistic Director.
12.
Anton Coppola was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Puccini Foundation and recognized by the Italian government as Cavaliere, Gran Ufficiale.
13.
Anton Coppola collaborated with the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi, known as Orchestra Verdi, and operatic soprano Angela Gheorghiu on a recording of Puccini works for EMI.
14.
Anton Coppola himself was the recipient of the award in 2012, the year of his retirement.
15.
Anton Coppola died on March 9,2020, just 12 days shy of his 103rd birthday, in Manhattan.