Beyond the Handsomeness

Book excerpt: A lightning rod for powerful emotions, Thomas Schippers began his escalation to fame at nineteen continuing with performances in many renowned venues in the world. Here his career is traced through the accounts of those who knew or performed with him, redressing the astonishing lack of information about him which could be of interest to music historians and performers of today. "The brilliant young conductor, Thomas Schippers, is tall, with the face and body of a Greek god at a time when Greek gods are hard to find." (Life magazine, December 6, 1963). Admired by many for his classic handsomeness, he was highly praised for his musicianship and for the ease with which he conducted complex scores, often by memory. But following his untimely death at the age of forty-seven, he was rapidly forgotten. He was Leonard Bernstein's assistant touring Iron Curtain Russia with the New York Philharmonic. He made a large contribution to American cultural life by championing the composers Barber, Rorem, Copland, and Proto and premiered a number of their works in addition to those of Menotti. Schippers was a brilliant conductor of the symphonic repertoire but he had a special gift for opera, with his extraordinary ear for the human voice. Justino Diaz, Jane Marsh, Roberta Peters, Leonard Warren, Martina Arroyo, Leontyne Price, Tito Del Bianco, and numerous other celebrated singers of his time all sang under his baton. He conducted Maria Callas in Cherubini's Medea which was her last performance at La Scala. The opening of the new Metropolitan Opera House in 1966 was under his direction.