Internationally acclaimed tenor Jeffrey Springer will offer a free recital of the music of Anton Coppola on Friday, September 20 at 8pm in Christ and St. Stephens’s Church on 69th Street (between Columbus and Broadway). Accompanying him will be Grammy-nominated pianist Valerie M. Trujillo. The two have created a program of some of the composer’s most beautiful and moving works.
For over 80 years, famed opera conductor Anton Coppola, now 102 years old, has been in front of orchestras, as well as composing and teaching. The number of singers, instrumentalists and conductors he has mentored, employed or otherwise influenced is astounding and reaches everywhere classical music is performed. In addition to opera, as a member of the Hollywood Coppola family, he has been active in film and television. On Broadway, as a music director, composer and arranger, he introduced American audiences to musical artists such as Julie Andrews (The Boyfriend in 1954) and Maggie Smith (New Faces of 1956), making him a true force in the American music world. Yet, there have been very few opportunities for audiences in his native New York to hear his music. Coppola is a first generation Italian American and has been honored in Italy with both the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Puccini Foundation and recognized by the Italian government as Cavaliere, Gran Ufficiale. The composer and members of his family will be present for the performance.
Tenor Jeffrey Springer has performed across Europe, Asia and North America and has had a long association with Anton Coppola, both under his baton as an opera conductor, as well as creating the role of Sacco in Coppola’s opera, Sacco and Vanzetti.
Pianist Valerie M. Trujillo’s experiences in song, literature and opera make her a much sought after accompanist, coach and teacher of masterclasses. Formerly co-director of the Young American Artists Program at Glimmerglass Opera, she has been associated with many opera companies.
