Salvatore Dell'Isola (January 4, 1901 – March 13, 1989) was a conductor who acted as music director for several of the

Rodgers and Hammerstein Rodgers and Hammerstein was a theater-writing team of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together created a series of innovative and influential American musicals. Their popular ...

musicals on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

, among others. He won a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

as music director of ''

Flower Drum Song ''Flower Drum Song'' was the eighth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on the 1957 novel, '' The Flower Drum Song'', by Chinese-American author C. Y. Lee. It premiered on Broadway in 1958 and was then performed in the ...

''.

Life and career

Dell'Isola was born in

Province of Salerno The Province of Salerno ( it, Provincia di Salerno) is a province in the Campania region of Italy. __TOC__ Geography The largest towns in the province are: Salerno, the capital, which has a population of 131,950; Cava de' Tirreni, Battipagli ...

, Italy, and moved to New York with his family in 1907 but returned to Salerno to study the violin at the conservatory there, playing in opera orchestras all over the country by age 12. He continued to play the violin in the U.S. in opera,

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

, movies and other entertainments. He also scored foreign films and radio programs for

RKO RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheu ...

.LaGumina, Salvatore John. ''The Italian American Experience: An Encyclopedia'', Taylor & Francis (2000), p. 175 accessed January 29, 2013 He began his professional conducting career on the radio and in vaudeville shows. In the 1920s, he was engaged as the conductor of the RKO orchestra and played the violin in 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 oper ...

Orchestra for ten years."Salvatore Dell'Isola, Musical Director, 88"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', March 16, 1989, accessed January 29, 2013 He was hired by

to conduct a touring production of ''

Oklahoma! ''Oklahoma!'' is the first musical written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, ''Green Grow the Lilacs''. Set in farm country outside the town of Claremore, Indian Territory, in 1906, it tell ...

'' in the mid-1940s. Dell'Isola first music directed on

for

's '' Allegro'' in 1947. His other Broadway musicals were '' South Pacific'' (1949); ''

Me and Juliet ''Me and Juliet'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, and lyrics and book by Oscar Hammerstein II. The sixth stage collaboration by Rodgers & Hammerstein, it tells a story of romance backstage at a long-running musical: assistant stage ...

'' (1953); ''

On Your Toes ''On Your Toes'' (1936) is a musical with a book by Richard Rodgers, George Abbott, and Lorenz Hart, music by Rodgers, and lyrics by Hart. It was adapted into a film in 1939. While teaching music at Knickerbocker University, Phil "Junior" Dolan ...

'' (1954 revival); ''

Ankles Aweigh ''Ankles Aweigh'' is a musical with a book by Guy Bolton and Eddie Davis, lyrics by Dan Shapiro, and music by Sammy Fain. The plot involves Hollywood starlet Wynne, who secretly marries a Navy pilot while filming a movie in Sicily. She disguises ...

'' (1955); ''

Pipe Dream Pipe dream may refer to: Music * ''Pipe Dream'' (John Williamson album), 1997, or the titular song * ''Pipedream'' (Alan Hull album), 1973 * ''Pipe Dreams'' (Murray Head album), 1995 * "Pipe Dreams" (Nelly Furtado song), 2016 * ''Pipe Dream ...

'' (1955), for which he was nominated for a

Tony Award for Best Conductor and Musical Director The Tony Award for Best Conductor and Musical Director was awarded to acknowledge the contributions of conductors and musical directors in both musicals and operas. The award was first presented in 1948, and later discontinued after 1964. Winners ...

; and ''

'', (1958), for which he won the Tony Award for Best Conductor and Musical Director. He also conducted for national tours of some of these shows and a European tour of ''Oklahoma!''. He also served as musical director for many productions at the

Westbury Music Fair The NYCB Theatre at Westbury (originally known as the Westbury Music Fair) is an entertainment venue located in the hamlet of Jericho, outside of Westbury, New York. Constructed as a theatre in the round style with seating for 2,870 that was ori ...

. In 1987, he won a belated

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

for the ''South Pacific'' cast album. He had a son, Alfonso. Dell'Isola conducted the annual large-scale

New York Philharmonic Orchestra 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 ...

Rodgers and Hammerstein concerts for 16 years. He also conducted on the 1950s TV program '' Opera Cameos'' and, over the course of his career, conducted opera performances, musicals, symphonies and chamber ensembles in the New York area. His work can be heard on numerous recordings.Salvatore Dell'Isola
at Allmusic, accessed January 29, 2013 Dell'Isola continued to conduct through the 1980s and died of heart failure in

West Islip West Islip is a hamlet and CDP founded roughly in 1683, located in the Town of Islip in Suffolk County, New York, United States. Situated on the South Shore of Long Island, the population of the CDP was 27,048 at the time of the 2020 census. ...

, New York, at the age of 88.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:DellIsola, Salvatore 1901 births 1989 deaths People from Long Island American male violinists American male conductors (music) 20th-century American conductors (music) American film score composers American male film score composers Italian emigrants to the United States 20th-century American violinists 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians