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 fille du régiment beautiful and worthy for the cordial hospitality which France offers him in all her theatres, subsidized or not." Despite its bumpy start, the opera soon became hugely popular at the Opéra-Comique. During its first 80 years, it reached its 500th performance at the theatre in 1871 and its 1,000th in 1908. The opera was first performed in Italy at La Scala, Milan, on 3 October 1840, in Italian with recitatives by Donizetti replacing the spoken dialogue. It was thought "worthless" and received only six performances. It was not until 1928 when Toti Dal Monte sang Marie that the opera began