Armando Agnini
Armando Agnini (July 11, 1884 – March 27, 1960) was a successful Italian opera stage director. He was born in Naples and moved to the United States in 1902 at age 18, traveling as a steerage passenger on the S/S Auguste Victoria. He worked with companies in Boston and Montreal and made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1919 directing I puritani with Maria Barrientos.
Agnini’s work at the Met continued until 1934, directing many famous operas with renowned singers of the time. He also served on the staff of the San Francisco Opera and guest-directed productions in cities around the world, including Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, London, Paris, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Chicago.
He was the Technical Advisor for the 1935 film Metropolitan. Uncredited, he also advised on Going My Way (1944) and The Lost Weekend (1945).
In 1947 Agnini began directing for the New Orleans Opera Association, opening with Il trovatore. He then staged Carmen, Faust (with Ezio Pinza), Madama Butterfly (notably with Mario Lanza in 1948), and Samson et Dalila. By 1954 he had joined the Association’s staff and directed many productions there, including La bohème, Otello, Tosca, Lakmé, Rigoletto, Andrea Chénier, Martha, Die Fledermaus, Madama Butterfly, Carmen, Gianni Schicchi, Aida, Manon, Elektra, L’amore dei tre re, La traviata, Le nozze di Figaro, Falstaff, Cavalleria rusticana, Pagliacci, Werther, Faust, and more.
A 1959 production of La bohème in New Orleans (Act IV, or part of it) was televised, but the kinescope has never been found. Agnini died on March 27, 1960, of a heart condition, during rehearsals for Samson et Dalila in New Orleans. He was survived by his wife, Madeleine Leweck Agnini, and two daughters, Luisa and Cristina.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 05:27 (CET).