Federico Del Cupolo Federico Del Cupolo Federico Del Cupolo (Naples, 1884-Milan, 1974) was an Italian orchestra conductor whose activity mainly focussed on Italian opera. His career developed in Italy and abroad spanning 60 years and including some recordings from the early 1950s which have been recently resumed for their historical and artistic significance. In 1929 in Philadelphia he recorded the ouverture of "La gazza ladra" by Rossini; in 1951 he recorded with the Orchestra of La Scala the operas "L'arlesiana" and "Adriana Lecouvreur" by Francesco Cilea, the latter interpreted by Mafalda Favero, Elena Nicolai and Nicola Filacuridi. In 1953, he recorded two operas
La Scala to follow opera libretti in English and Italian in addition to the original language. The opera house re-opened on 7 December 2004 with a production, conducted by Riccardo Muti, of Salieri's "Europa riconosciuta", the opera performed at La Scala's inauguration in 1778. Tickets for the re-opening fetched up to €2,000. The renovations cost a reported €61 million, and left a budget shortfall that the opera house overcame in 2006. Carlo Fontana, the general manager of La Scala since 1990, was dismissed in February 2005 by the board of governors over differences with the music director, Riccardo Muti. The resulting staff