Faccio, Franco (Francesco Antonio)

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Faccio, Franco (Francesco Antonio)

Faccio, Franco (Francesco Antonio), Italian composer and conductor; b. Verona, March 8, 1840; d. near Monza, July 21, 1891. His first teacher was G. Bernasconi. From 1855 to 1864 he studied at the Milan Cons. Arrigo Boito was his fellow pupil and friend, and together they wrote a vocal misterio, Le Sorelle d’’Italia, which was produced by the students. The two served together under Garibaldi in 1866. Faccio’s first opera was I profughi fiamminghi (La Scala, Milan, Nov. 11, 1863). This was followed by the Shakespearean opera Amleto, for which Boito wrote the libretto (Genoa, May 30, 1865). From 1866 to 1868 Faccio made a tour in Scandinavia as a sym. conductor. In 1868 he became a prof, at the Milan Cons., and in 1871 succeeded Terziani as conductor at La Scala. On April 25, 1886, he conducted for the 1,000th time there. His performances of Verdi’s operas were regarded as most authentic; he gave the world premiere of Otello at La Scala (1887).

Bibliography

R. de Rensis, F. F. e Verdi (Milan, 1934).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire