Antioch: The “Phantom” Returns: 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 2,100 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, 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 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. Franc also sang the theme song “Speak Softly Love” (Brucia la Terra) for both the film and Original Motion Picture soundtrack, garnering over one million hits on YouTube. Franc remains the only person ever to perform a vocal version of the song in the film’s trilogy. A revised version of Godfather III debuted in theaters in December 2020 with a new ending and title: Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone.

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