Franc D'Ambrosio

Best-known for his impressive 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 more than 2,000 times. Affectionately known as the “Iron Man of the Mask,” Franc held the title of “The World’s Longest-Running Phantom” for more than a decade after bringing over five million theatre-goers to their feet in a 6-1/2-year run.

But that distinction only scratches the surface of an illustrious career spanning decades, including his 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. Franc also sang the Academy Award-winning theme song "Speak Softly Love" for both the film and Original Motion Picture soundtrack, garnering over one million hits on YouTube. 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 Franc in the role. He is the first and only person ever to sing Carmine Coppola’s haunting Godfather theme in the film trilogy.

Franc’s performance of the song so impressed the late Luciano Pavarotti that it led to an invitation from the legendary tenor for Franc to study at Pavarotti’s private home in Italy in the summer of 1991. Having previously studied 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 Accademia 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 famed Juilliard School in New York City.

In early 2000, Franc caught the attention of Barry Manilow, who personally selected him for the lead role of “Tony” in the pre-Broadway tour of Copacabana based on Manilow’s hit song. Franc worked side-by-side with Manilow for five weeks perfecting the musical production, which culminated in a successful year-long tour and earned Franc a National Theatre Award nomination for Best Male Performer in a Musical.

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: Songs from the Great White Way, and Franc D’Ambrosio’s HOLLYWOOD: Songs of the Silver Screen, along with tributes to the music of Andrew Lloyd Webber, and a musical perspective of popular war songs from World War II. He is a frequent guest artist with many major American, European, and Asian orchestras and symphonies, and has performed in several network television specials featuring Olympic figure skaters such as Brian Boitano and Kristi Yamaguchi, including NBC’s “Brian Boitano’s Skating Spectacular” and “The 2005 Tribute to Music on Ice” with fellow musical guest Michael Bolton. Franc’s performance of “Music of the Night,” as interpreted by Boitano, brought the audience of more than 6,000 to their feet for the evening’s only standing ovation. In 2008, he toured with co-star Dorothy Hamill in Broadway On Ice.

In February 2020, Franc was knighted by the President of the Republic of Italy and awarded the title “Cavaliere dell’ Ordine della Stella D’Italia”. In 2018 he was honored to receive a prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award at the third annual Cannes Global Short Film Awards Gala during the 71st Annual Cannes Film Festival. He has released three successful solo CDs, one of which has the unique distinction as the soundtrack for Barry Manilow’s daily workout. In addition to his one-man shows, Franc is also currently touring the world with The Four Phantoms In Concert.