Franz Allers (August 6, 1905 - January 26, 1995) was an Austrian and American conductor of ballet, opera,Broadway musicals, film scores, and symphony orchestras.
Franz Allers was born inCarlsbad,Austria-Hungary (nowCzech Republic) in 1905. He started playing the violin at the age of 7. In 1920, he moved toBerlin, where he became a violinist in theBerlin Philharmonic. He had a distinguished career in Europe as an opera and symphonic conductor.[1]
In 1947, Allers conducted the original Broadway production ofBrigadoon. He conducted the original 1951 Broadway production ofPaint Your Wagon.[2] He was the music director forMy Darlin' Aida the following year, and in 1954 he conducted the score for the animated filmHansel & Gretel.[3] Allers conducted the score to the original Broadway production ofMy Fair Lady in 1957, and would go on to win theTony Award for Best Conductor and Musical Director.
Allers received a nomination at the1960 Grammy Awards in the category ofBest Recording for Children for the film soundtrack ofHansel & Gretel.[4] However, Allers lost out toPeter Ustinov'sPeter & the Wolf (withHerbert von Karajan conducting thePhilharmonia Orchestra).
In 1961, Allers conducted the original Broadway production ofCamelot, which won him a second Tony Award for Best Conductor and Musical Director. On October 1, 1961, a German translation ofMy Fair Lady opened at theTheater des Westens in Berlin, conducted by Allers.[5][6]
Allers moved to the United States in 1938. He met his first wife, singer Carolyn Shaffer, inChicago in 1939. While working on Broadway, Allers, his wife and their daughter, Carol, lived inRiverdale, New York. In later life, he moved back to Germany and lived inMunich with his second wife, German actress/playwrightJanne Furch-Allers (née Ertel).[7] She died in 1992 at the age of 76.[8]
In 1995, Allers died from complications from pneumonia at the Desert Springs Hospital inLas Vegas, Nevada while traveling to California. He was 89.[9]
According to hisNew York Times obituary, "Allers, along with the conductorMaurice Abravanel, 'completely revised the standards of Broadway pit work,' demanding the highest quality from both the orchestra players and the singers."[9]
