Page 23 - Italian-American Herald - October 2023

By Lou Thomas
Did you know that the first female conductor of La Scala was an Italian?
Speranza Scappucci was born on April 9, 1973.
The Italian conductor and pianist was the first woman to conduct an opera at La Scala in 2019. The artist fell in love with music when she was 4. Her parents were both in the communications field. Her father was a Vatican journalist and her mother was a high school English teacher. They brought her to many concerts as a child and fostered her musical passion which led to her first piano lesson. She graduated from the esteemed Santa Cecilia Conservatoria a Roma. Santa Cecilia is the patron saint of all musicians and the namesake of this institute. This is the only academy of its kind to have its origin in the Renaissance. Todayithasbeentransformed into a modern organization that impacts Italian society today as some of the alumni canattest. EnnioMorriconewasagraduate
and the Institute has memorialized his legacy with the Auditorium Parco della Musica Ennio Morricone.
After her graduation at Santa Cecilia
she decided to pursue her studies abroad. Scappucci waschosenasoneof12out
of 500 pianists that were accepted at the Juilliard School of Music in New York City. She helped many students with their Italian pronunciation and led to opera coaching and her degree in M.M. (Master of Music in Performance) in 1997.
She decided to become a rehearsal pianist at the Metropolitan in New York. She not only surpassed that goal at the Met but also acted in the same role at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Santa Fe Opera House and later she became an assistant to her eventual mentor, Riccardo Muti. He was the Music Director
of the Philadelphia Orchestra from 1980- 1992. She assisted him for eight years at the Salzburg festival and credits him to helping her find her classical voice.
AndfromNov.10toDec.29ofthisyear, she will star in 14 performances of “Rigoletto” at the Metropolitan in New York.
Scappuccihasachievedmanyfirstsinher
unrivaled career: the first female conductor for the students’ orchestra at Yale conducting Cosi Fan Tutti in 2012. First female conductor at the Scottish Opera in 2014 and the first female conductor at the Santa Fe Operain2015.
She reached her ultimate goal in 2019 when she debuted at La Scala with Bellin’s I Capuleti e I Montecchi. She always repeated to herself,
YOUTUBE PHOTO
“You will arrive when you will be right.”
Adesso lo sa. IAH
Lou Thomas was born and raised in Philadel- phia, in a family with origins in Abruzzo. He is a Temple graduate who has been teaching Italian for 20 years at all levels. He attained a master’s degree in teaching Italian from Rutgers University. The sounds of Vivaldi and Jovanotti fill his classroom. His favorite quote is “Il vino e’ la poesia della terra.”
ITALIAN-AMERICAN HERALD
OCTOBER2023 | ITALIANAMERICANHERALD.COM 23
LO SAPEVI CHE? (DID YOU KNOW?)
This Italian musical prodigy made history time after time
JUDICIAL RETENTION
On November 7, 2023, the electorate of Delaware County will be asked to retain three of our present Judges for an additional 10-year term. The Judges on the ballot are Judge Richard P. Cappelli, Judge Barry C. Dozor and Judge William C. Mackrides. Two Superior Court Judges will also be on the November ballot for retention; Judge Jack A. Panella and Judge Victor P. Stabile.
The concept of Judicial Retention is intended to be a non-political method of retaining judges and intending to focus on merit and experience. Judges may serve an unlimited number of terms until they reach the mandatory retirement age of 75 and are retained by the voters with a simple “Yes” or “No” on whether to retain a present Judge for a ten-year term.
Judge Richard M. Cappelli was elected to the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas in November 2013 and sworn in on January 6, 2014. He serves in the Criminal Trial Division. He also currently serves as Liaison Judge to the District Courts for the Court of Common Pleas.
Judge Barry C. Dozor was appointed to the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas in 2001 then elected for
a full judicial term beginning in 2004 and retained in 2013. Presently, Judge Dozor serves as Liaison Judge for the Civil Division, having also served in the Family and Criminal Divisions. Presently, also the assigned Judge
for the Statewide Coordinated Opioid Litigation.
Judge William C. Mackrides was elected in November 2013 and sworn in January 6, 2014 to the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas where he serves in
the Family Division. He is a member of the PA state Conference of Trial Judges serving as one of ten members of the Education Committee in the Commonwealth.