Toscanini's assistant at Salzburg in 1936 and had arrived in the United States in 1938. Merola also continued to attract important new singers - often before they'd performed in other major American opera houses. Notable singers he introduced after the Second World War included Tito Gobbi, Ferruccio Tagliavini, Elena Nikolaidi, Renata Tebaldi and Mario del Monaco. As his health and energy declined over the next decade, Merola turned over more and more of his duties to Adler, though he remained at the helm of the company until his death in 1953 - an impressive stewardship of 30 years. He died while conducting an excerpt from Puccini's Madama Butterfly during a concert at Sigmund Stern Grove, an outdoor amphitheatre in western San Francisco where free summer concerts have been given since 1938. Merola Opera Program Upon succeeding Merola as general director, Kurt Herbert Adler established the San Francisco Opera's training program for gifted singers and directors during the 1954-55 season. In 1957, the program was officially named the Merola Opera Program in honor of the company's founder and longtime general director, Gaetano Merola. The Merola Opera Program provides intensive training, coaching and master classes for eleven weeks every summer with established professionals in the various operatic fields, and its many graduates have gone on to important careers in opera. References External links SF Opera History Merola Opera Program Alumni 1881 births 1953 deaths Italian male conductors (music) Opera managers Musicians from the San Francisco Bay Area 20th-century Italian conductors (music) 20th-century Italian male musicians Musicians from Naples