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 a memorable concert conducted by Arturo Toscanini—twice La Scala's principal conductor and an associate of the composers Giuseppe Verdi and Giacomo Puccini—with a soprano solo by Renata Tebaldi, which created a sensation. La Scala hosted the first productions of many famous operas, and had a special relationship with Verdi. For several years, however, Verdi did not allow his work to be played here, as some of his music had been modified (he said "corrupted") by the orchestra. This dispute originated in a disagreement over the production of his "Giovanna d'Arco" in 1845; however the composer later conducted his "Requiem" there