Polacco, Giorgio

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Polacco, Giorgio

Polacco, Giorgio , Italian conductor; b. Venice, April 12, 1873; d. N.Y., April 30, 1960. He studied in St. Petersburg, at Venice’s Liceo Benedetto Marcello, and at the Milan Cons. He became asst. conductor at London’s Covent Garden (1890), then conducted in Europe and South America. He appeared in the U.S. for the first time for Tetrazzini’s debut in San Francisco (1905), and also toured the U.S. with the Savage Opera Co. (1911). He made his Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. with Manon Lescaut (Nov. 11, 1912), remaining on its roster until 1917. He conducted the Chicago Grand Opera (1918–19; 1921) and in Boston (1927), and was principal conductor of the Chicago Civic Opera (1922–30). He was married twice to the soprano Edith (Barnes) Mason .

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire

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