Molinari-Pradelli, Francesco

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Molinari-Pradelli, Francesco

Molinari-Pradelli, Francesco, Italian conductor; b. Bologna, July 4, 1911; d. Marano di Castenaso, Aug. 7, 1996. He studied with d’lvaldi and Nordio in Bologna, and with Molinari at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome. In 1938 he launched his career as a conductor; in 1939 he appeared for the first time as an opera conductor, leading L’elisir d’amore in Bologna. He conducted at Milan’s La Scala from 1946; made his first appearance at London’s Covent Garden in 1955, at the San Francisco Opera in 1957, and at the Vienna State Opera in 1959. On Feb. 7, 1966, he made his Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. conducting Un ballo in maschera, and remained on the company’s roster until 1973. He was also active as a pianist. He was best known as an interpreter of the Italian operatic repertoire.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis Mclntire

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