Franc D'Ambrosio

Franc D'Ambrosio
Franc D'Ambrosio (2010)
Born	(1962-08-11) August 11, 1962 (age 54) Bronx, New York, United States
Occupation	Actor, singer
Years active	1990-present

Franc D'Ambrosio (born August 11, 1962 in Bronx, New York), is an American singer and actor, best known for his role in the stage version of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera. He also played the adult Anthony Vito Corleone in The Godfather Part III.

Franc D'Ambrosio grew up in the Bronx, New York, in a family of bakers. After high school, he attended the Hartt School of Music in Hartford, Connecticut. He then had the opportunity to study at the famed Vocal Academy of Lucca in Italy. While there, he was personally invited to study with tenor Luciano Pavarotti at his home in Pesaro.

D'Ambrosio made his Broadway debut in the first revival of Sweeney Todd. It was while he was in this production that Francis Ford Coppola discovered D'Ambrosio. Paramount Pictures had been conducting an international talent search (for well over a year) to fill the part of Anthony Corleone - the opera-singing son of Al Pacino & Diane Keaton in The Godfather III. Their search was finally over - D'Ambrosio was cast and he had the honor of singing the Academy Award winning theme song, "Speak Softly Love" ("Brucia la Terra") on the Original Motion Picture soundtrack.

It was immediately following The Godfather III that D'Ambrosio was cast in the title role of The Phantom of the Opera. He had actually been auditioning for Miss Saigon but the producers were so impressed with his performance that they immediately offered him the role in Phantom. During his time in San Francisco, Franc and various cast members recorded an album of Christmas music. Franc's performance of "Panis Angelicus" on this CD earned him a Grammy consideration for Best Male Vocalist 1999.

As a result of his Phantom status, D'Ambrosio served as the red carpet correspondent for Access Hollywood's coverage of the 2004 American premiere of Joel Schumacher's musical film production of The Phantom of the Opera.

D'Ambrosio worked with a group to develop an off-Broadway production of Valentino. It was during this process that D'Ambrosio caught the eye of Barry Manilow, who personally selected him to create and star as the male lead Tony in the pre-Broadway, national tour of Copacabana. The show enjoyed a successful year-long tour. D'Ambrosio's performance that earned him a nomination for the National Theatre Award for Best Male Performer in a Musical.