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Frank Corsaro Biography (1924-)

Full name, Francesco Andrea Corsaro; born December 22, 1924, in New York, NY;son of Joseph (a tailor) and Marie (Quarino) Corsaro; married Mary Cross Lueders (an actress), May 30, 1971; children: Andrew. Addresses: HOME--33Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10023. OFFICES--Actors Studio, 432 W. 44th Street, New York, NY 10036; New York City Opera, Lincoln Center Plaza, New York,NY 10023.

Nationality

American

Gender

Male

Birth Details

December 22, 1924

New York, New York, United States

Famous Works

• Credits; PRINCIPAL STAGE APPEARANCES
• Professor of philosophy, The Would-Be Gentleman, Cherry Lane Theatre, NewYork City, 1949.
• Tapster and Petruchio's servant, The Taming of the Shrew, City Center Theatre, New York City, 1951.
• Dirty Joe, Mrs. McThing, American National Theatre and Academy Theatre, New York City, 1952.
• Launcelot Gobbo, The Merchant of Venice, City Center Theatre, 1953.
• FIRST STAGE WORK--Director, No Exit, Cherry Lane Theatre, New York City,1947.
• Credits; PRINCIPAL STAGE WORK; DIRECTOR
• Family Reunion, Cherry Lane Theatre, 1947.
• Creditors, Cherry Lane Theatre, 1949.
• Heartbreak House, Bleecker Street Playhouse, New York City, 1950.
• Naked, Provincetown Playhouse, New York City, 1950.
• The Curtain Rises, Olney Theatre, Olney, MD, 1951.
• Rain, Pocono Playhouse, Mountainhome, PA, 1951.
• The Voice of the Turtle, For Love or Money, Legend of Sarah, and Holiday,all Rooftop Theatre, Atlanta, GA, 1951.
• The Scarecrow, Theatre De Lys, New York City, 1953.
• The Honeys, Longacre Theatre, New York City, 1955.
• A Hatful of Rain, Lyceum Theatre, New York City, 1955.
• The Making of Moo, Rita Allen Theatre, New York City, 1958.
• The Night Circus, John Golden Theatre, New York City, 1958.
• The Night of the Iguana and The Tiny Closet, both Spoleto Festival of TwoWorlds, Teatro Caio Melisso, Spoleto, Italy, 1959.
• A Piece of Blue Sky, Fort Lee Playhouse, Fort Lee, NJ, 1958, then Westport Country Playhouse, Westport, CT, 1959.
• The Night of the Iguana, Coconut Grove Playhouse, Coconut Grove, FL, 1960, then Royale Theatre, New York City, 1961.
• Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mama's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad, Lyric Hammersmith Theatre, London, 1961.
• Baby Want a Kiss, Little Theatre, New York City, 1964.
• The Sweet Enemy, Actors Playhouse, New York City, 1965.
• Cold Storage, Lyceum Theatre, 1977.
• Knockout, Helen Hayes Theatre, New York City, 1979.
• Whoopee!, American National Theatre and Academy Theatre, New York City, 1979.
• It's So Nice to Be Civilized, Martin Beck Theatre, New York City, 1980.
• Master Class, Roundabout Theatre, New York City, 1986.
• Also directed Fitz and Biscuit, 1966.
• Credits; DIRECTOR OF THE FOLLOWING OPERAS
• Susannah, City Center Theatre, New York City, 1956, then Brussels World'sFair, Brussels, Belgium, 1958.
• Angel of Fire, Spoleto Festival of Two Worlds, Teatro Caio Melisso, 1959.
• La Traviata, New York City Opera Company, State Theatre, New York City, 1966.
• Madama Butterfly, New York City Opera Company, State Theatre, 1967.
• Cavalleria rusticana, I Pagliacci, The Crucible, Carry Nation, and Faust,all New York City Opera Company, State Theatre, 1968.
• Rigoletto and Prince Igor, both New York City Opera Company, State Theatre, 1969.
• Pelleas et Melisande and The Makropoulos Case, both New York City Opera Company, State Theatre, 1970.
• Of Mice and Men, Seattle Opera Company, Seattle, WA, 1970.
• Hugh the Drover, Houston Grand Opera, Houston, TX, 1970.
• Koanga, Opera Society of Washington, Lisner Auditorium, Washington, DC, 1970.
• Summer and Smoke, St. Paul Opera Company, St. Paul, MN, 1971.
• A Village Romeo and Juliet, Opera Society of Washington, Opera House, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, DC, 1972.
• Summer and Smoke and Don Giovanni, both New York City Opera Company, State Theatre, 1972.
• L'Histoire du soldat and Lulu, both Houston Grand Opera, 1973.
• Cervantes, American Opera Company, Washington, DC, 1973.
• L'Incoronazione di Poppea (also known as The Coronation of Poppea), OperaSociety of Washington, Opera House, 1973.
• La Boheme, Municipal Opera, Atlanta, GA, 1973.
• Impresario and Prima la musica, both Caramoor Music Festival, Katonah, NY, 1974.
• The Sea Gull, Houston Grand Opera, 1974.
• Medea and Manon Lescaut, both New York City Opera Company, State Theatre,1974.
• Die Tote Stadt, New York City Opera Company, State Theatre, 1975.
• Rinaldo, Houston Grand Opera, 1975.
• L'Ormindo, Caramoor Music Festival, 1975.
• Treemonisha, Uris Theatre, New York City, 1975.
• La Fanciulla del West, Deutches Oper, Berlin, Germany, 1983.
• Rinaldo, Metropolitan Opera Company, Metropolitan Opera House, New York City, 1983.
• Fennimore and Gerda, Edinburgh Festival, Edinburgh, Scotland, 1983.
• Love for Three Oranges, Glyndebourne Festival, Glyndebourne, U.K., 1985.
• Also Katerina Ismailova, 1965; The Flaming Angel, 1965; The Flower and Hawk, both Jacksonville, FL, 1972; at Glyndebourne Festival, U.K., 1982-85; Chicago Lyric Opera, Chicago, IL, 1984; Covent Garden, London, 1984; Metropolitan Opera House, 1984; Spitalfields Festival, London, 1985; Den Norske Opera, Oslo, Norway, 1985; and the Australian Opera, 1986.
• Credits; MAJOR TOURS; DIRECTOR
• Peter Pan, U.S. cities, 1951.
• A Short Happy Life, U.S. cities, 1961.
• FILM DEBUT--Marquess, Emperor Waltz, Paramount, 1948.
• Credits; PRINCIPAL FILM APPEARANCES
• Hector Jonas, Rachel, Rachel, Warner Brothers, 1968.
• FIRST TELEVISION WORK--Stage director, "A Piece of Blue Sky," Play of theWeek, WNEW, 1960.
• Credits; PRINCIPAL TELEVISION WORK; ALL AS STAGE DIRECTOR EPISODIC
• "On the Outskirts of Town," Bob Hope Chrysler Theatre, NBC, 1964.
• Credits; SPECIALS
• Treemonisha, PBS, 1986.
• Also stage director for a broadcast of the opera Prince Igor from the Cincinnati Academy of Music, Cincinnati, OH, 1966.
• Writings;STAGE
• (Adaptor) Naked, Provincetown Playhouse, New York City, 1950.
• A Piece of Blue Sky, Fort Lee Playhouse, Fort Lee, NJ, 1958.
• (adaptor) L'Histoire du soldat (opera), Houston Grand Opera, Houston, TX,1973, published by Belwin-Mills, 1975.
• (adaptor) Love for Three Oranges (opera), Glyndebourne Festival, Glyndebourne, U.K., 1985.
• (adaptor) Where the Wild Things Are, Higgeldy Piggelby Pop (opera), Los Angeles Opera, Los Angeles, CA, then Netherlanders Opera, Amsterdam, Netherlands, later Montreal Opera, Montreal, PQ, Canada, all 1986.
• Also libretto, Before Breakfast, published by Belwin-Mills.
• Writings;OTHER
• Maverick: A Director's Personal Experience in Opera and Theatre, Vanguard, 1978.