Federico Del Cupolo by Puccini: "La rondine" with the Antonio Guarnieri Orchestra and Chorus of Milan, and "Manon Lescaut", with the Turin RAI Orchestra. 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
La forza del destino (1867). Following these productions, Verdi made further, more extensive revisions to the opera with additions to the libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. This version, which premiered at La Scala, Milan, on 27 February 1869, has become the standard performance version. The most important changes were a new overture (replacing a brief prelude); the addition of a final scene to Act 3, following the duel between Carlo and Alvaro; and a new ending, in which Alvaro remains alive, instead of throwing himself off a cliff to his death. The opera in this version is frequently performed in the world's opera houses today.