Renato Cellini (; April 24, 1912 – March 25, 1967) was an Italian opera conductor. His father was Ezio Cellini, who was a stage director who worked with Arturo Toscanini.

Metropolitan Opera

Cellini went to the United States in 1947, when he joined the staff of 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 ...

, and where he debuted conducting ''Don Carlos'', on April 9, 1952, with

Jussi Björling Johan Jonatan "Jussi" Björling ( , ; 5 February 19119 September 1960) was a Swedish tenor. One of the leading operatic singers of the 20th century, Björling appeared for many years at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City and less frequentl ...

Eleanor Steber Eleanor Steber (July 17, 1914October 3, 1990) was an American operatic soprano. Steber is noted as one of the first major opera stars to have achieved the highest success with training and a career based in the United States. Biography Eleanor ...

and Regina Resnik 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 ...

and

Jean Madeira Jean Madeira, née Jean Browning (born November 14, 1918, in Centralia, Illinois; died on July 10, 1972, in Providence, Rhode Island) was an American contralto, particularly known for her work in late-romantic German repertoire such as the operas ...

) and ''La forza del destino'' (with

Zinka Milanov Zinka Milanov (; May 17, 1906 – May 30, 1989) was a Croatian operatic dramatic soprano who had a major career centered on the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. After finishing her education in Zagreb, Milanov made her debut in 1927 in Ljublj ...

and Mario del Monaco). In 1954, he conducted ''La forza'' again (now with Nelli and

Leonard Warren Leonard Warren (April 21, 1911 – March 4, 1960) was an American opera singer. A baritone, he was a leading artist for many years with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. Especially noted for his portrayals of the leading baritone roles in ...

), and a double-bill of ''Cavalleria rusticana'' and ''Pagliacci''. His 1950 recording of ''Rigoletto'', with Jan Peerce, Warren, Italo Tajo,

Erna Berger Erna Berger (19 October 1900 – 14 June 1990) was a German lyric coloratura soprano. She was best known for her Queen of the Night and her Konstanze. Career Born in Dresden, Germany, Berger spent some years as a child in India and South Amer ...

, and Nan Merriman, was the "first American recording of a complete opera by RCA Victor."

New Orleans Opera

In 1954, Cellini was appointed General Director and Conductor of the

New Orleans Opera Opera has long been part of the musical culture of New Orleans, Louisiana. Operas have regularly been performed in the city since the 1790s, and since the early 19th century, New Orleans has had a resident company regularly performing opera in ad ...

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 Harry Theyard (né Harry L. Theard, Jr, on 28 September 1929, in New Orleans) is an American operatic tenor. Theyard is a 1957 graduate of Loyola University of the South, where he studied under Dorothy Hulse, who was also the teacher of Audrey Sc ...

Mignon Dunn Mignon Dunn (born June 17, 1928, in Memphis, Tennessee) is an American dramatic mezzo-soprano and voice teacher. Life and career Born in Memphis, Dunn grew up in Tyronza, Arkansas and Memphis, Tennessee. She studied voice with Karin Branzell an ...

Norman Treigle Norman Treigle (né Adanelle Wilfred Treigle (March 6, 1927February 16, 1975) was an American operatic bass-baritone, who was acclaimed for his great abilities as a singing-actor, and specialized in roles that evoked villainy and terror. Biograp ...

John Reardon John Henry Reardon (born July 30, 1975) is a Canadian actor and former university football player. Prior to 2015, Reardon starred as Blake Laviolette on the CBC Television series ''Arctic Air'' and had a recurring role as Greg Cameron on the S ...

Audrey Schuh Audrey Schuh (born June 11, 1931) is an American operatic soprano. She studied at Loyola University of the South. Schuh was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Her first leading role with the New Orleans Opera Association (at the age of eighteen) was ...

, André Turp,

Chester Ludgin Chester Ludgin (May 20, 1925 – August 9, 2003) was an American operatic baritone. Biography Chester Ludgin was a native of Brooklyn, New York. He made his professional debut in 1956 with The Experimental Opera Theatre of America (affiliated wi ...

, John Macurdy, Stanley Kolk, Ara Berberian,

Enrico di Giuseppe Enrico Di Giuseppe (October 14, 1932 – December 31, 2005) was a celebrated American operatic tenor who had an active performance career from the late 1950s through the 1990s. He spent most of his career performing in New York City, juggling ...

, Ticho Parly and Benjamin Rayson. While in New Orleans Cellini conducted performances of many operas, including ''Otello'' (with

Ramón Vinay Ramón Vinay (August 31, 1911 – January 4, 1996) was a famous Chilean operatic tenor with a powerful, dramatic voice. He is probably best remembered for his appearances in the title role of Giuseppe Verdi's tragic opera '' Otello''. Biography ...

and Nelli), ''Tosca'' (with Inge Borkh and

Robert Weede Robert Weede (February 22, 1903 – July 9, 1972) was an American operatic baritone. Life and career Born Robert Wiedefeld in Baltimore, Maryland, Weede studied voice at the Eastman School of Music and in Milan. He made his Metropolitan Op ...

), ''Lakmé'', ''Amelia al ballo'' (with Schuh), ''Elektra'', ''L'amore dei tre re'', ''Falstaff'' (with Warren), ''Werther'', ''La cenerentola'', ''Boris Godunov'' (with Boris Christoff), ''Il trovatore'', ''Turandot'', ''Norma'', ''Don Giovanni'' (with Treigle), ''Tannhäuser'', ''La Gioconda'', ''Manon'' (with

Phyllis Curtin Phyllis Curtin (née Smith; December 3, 1921 – June 5, 2016) was an American soprano and academic teacher who had an active career in operas and concerts from the early 1950s through the 1980s. She is known for her creation of roles in ope ...

and

Nicolai Gedda Harry Gustaf Nikolai Gädda, known professionally as Nicolai Gedda (11 July 1925 – 8 January 2017), was a Swedish operatic tenor. Debuting in 1951, Gedda had a long and successful career in opera until the age of 77 in June 2003, when he made h ...

), ''Un ballo in maschera'', ''Orfeo ed Euridice'', ''Der Rosenkavalier'', ''Rigoletto'' (with Cornell MacNeil) and ''La forza del destino'' (with

Eileen Farrell Eileen Farrell (February 13, 1920 – March 23, 2002) was an American soprano who had a nearly 60-year-long career performing both classical and popular music in concerts, theatres, on radio and television, and on disc. NPR noted, "She possessed ...

and

Richard Cassilly Richard Cassilly (December 14, 1927 – January 30, 1998) was an American operatic tenor who had a major international opera career between 1954–90. Cassilly "was a mainstay in the heldentenor repertory in opera houses around the world for 30 y ...

). In 1964, in failing health, Cellini conducted for the last time (''Aïda''). He died on March 25, 1967 (

Holy Saturday Holy Saturday ( la, Sabbatum Sanctum), also known as Great and Holy Saturday (also Holy and Great Saturday), the Great Sabbath, Hallelujah Saturday (in Portugal and Brazil), Saturday of the Glory, Sabado de Gloria, and Black Saturday or Easter ...

), in New Orleans at the age of 54, and is buried in

Metairie Cemetery Metairie Cemetery is a cemetery in southeastern Louisiana. The name has caused some people to mistakenly presume that the cemetery is located in Metairie, Louisiana, but it is located within the New Orleans city limits, on Metairie Road (and fo ...

. 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) RCA Victor 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 Licia Albanese (July 22, 1909 – August 15, 2014) was an Italian-born American operatic soprano. Noted especially for her portrayals of the lyric heroines of Verdi and Puccini, Albanese was a leading artist with the Metropolitan Opera from 1940 ...

Giuseppe di Stefano Giuseppe Di Stefano (24 July 19213 March 2008) was an Italian operatic tenor who sang professionally from the mid-1940s until the early 1990s. Called Pippo by both fans and friends, he was known as the "Golden voice" or "The most beautiful voic ...

Patrice Munsel Patrice Munsel (born Patrice Beverly Munsil; May 14, 1925 – August 4, 2016) was an American coloratura soprano. Nicknamed "Princess Pat", she was the youngest singer ever to star at the Metropolitan Opera. Early years An only child, Patrice ...

, and

, 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