Franco Zeffirelli


Zeffirelli, Franco

(fräng`kō zāf-fērĕl`lē), 1923–, Italian opera, stage, and film director and designer, b. Florence as Gianfranco Zeffirelli. Zeffirelli had his first successes as assistant to the director Luchino ViscontiVisconti, Luchino
, 1906–76, Italian film director and writer, b. Milan as Luchino Visconti de Modrone. One of Italy's most acclaimed directors, Visconti has been called the father of neorealism for his early films Ossessione (1942) and La terra trema (1948).
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 in the films Troilus and Cressida and The Three Sisters. His first opera production was La Cenerentola for Milan's La Scala, after which he became known chiefly for his opulent opera productions. He has mounted productions of Falstaff (1964, revival 2002) and Antony and Cleopatra (1966), among others, for the Metropolitan Opera Company. Zeffirelli's films include The Taming of the Shrew (1966), Romeo and Juliet (1968), Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1973), The Champ (1979), Endless Love (1981), La Traviata (1983), Hamlet (1990), Jane Eyre (1996), and Tea with Mussolini (1999).

Bibliography

See his autobiography (1986).