Portsmouth Community Concerts presents Franc D’Ambrosio Live
Location
I.C. Norcom High School Auditorium
Cost
Description
Friday, September 26, 2025 ~ 7:30 p.m.
Best known for his portrayal of the lead role in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Tony Award-winning musical, The Phantom of the Opera, Franc D’Ambrosio performed as the famed masked man thousands of times. Affectionately known as the “Iron Man of the Mask,” Franc held the title of “The World’s LongestRunning Phantom” for more than a decade, bringing
over five million theatre-goers to their feet in a 6 ½-year run.
But that distinction only scratches the surface of an illustrious career spanning decades, including Franc’s emotional portrayal of the opera-singing Anthony Corleone, son of Al Pacino and Diane Keaton’s characters in the seven-time Academy Award-nominated film
Godfather III. Paramount Pictures sent five talent scouts on an international search for the young Corleone, auditioning more than 2,000 artists over
a one-year period before casting him in the role, when a revised version of Godfather III debuted in theaters with a new ending and title: Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone.
Franc’s performance in the film so impressed the late Luciano Pavarotti that it led to an invitation from the legendary tenor for Franc to live and study at Pavarotti’s private home in Italy in the summer of 1991. Having previously trained at the famed Vocal Academy of Lucca in Italy, Franc quickly cultivated a passion for his Italian roots and culture, becoming fluent in the language and eventually founding the Lorenzo Malfatti Academia Vocale di Lucca, where he teaches his craft to young opera students each summer. Franc also lectures at music schools throughout the United States and Europe, including conservatories in Spoleto and Florence, Italy, and the Julliard School in New York City.
Since 2005, Franc has toured extensively throughout the United States, Europe and South America with his critically-acclaimed one man shows, including Franc D’Ambrosio’s BROADWAY; Franc D’Ambrosio’s HOLLYWOOD; Angel of Music: A Tribute to Andrew Lloyd Webber; Christmas in New York, and I’ll Be Seeing Youz, a musical perspective of popular war songs from World War II. In February 2020 he introduced Franc D’Ambrosio’s BACK TO BROADWAY, a new tribute show featuring his iconic Hamilton medley.
In July and August 2022, Franc performed in two private concerts with the legendary Andrea Bocelli at his estate in Forte dei Marmi, Italy, along with Matteo Bocelli, Michael Bolton and Paul Anka. He was accompanied on piano by Mr. Bocelli’s longtime composer, conductor and vocal coach, Maestro Carlo Bernini. Until they met in Italy that summer, Franc was unaware that his performance in The Godfather, Part III inspired Mr. Bocelli to record his own version of the Academy Awardwinning theme song “Speak Softly Love,” which Franc sang in both the film and motion picture soundtrack.
TICKET INFORMATION:
This is Show #1 of 5 in this Season’s Series. Click here to purchase an Adult Membership (Subscription) to ALL 5 shows for just $85 (you save $40) (Students are FREE when accompanied by an adult):