Interview with Franco Zeffirelli

Opera, film and theatre: legendry Italian director Franco Zeffirelli’s productions include Tosca, which premiered at Covent Garden with Maria Callas in 1964, and the 1968 film version of Romeo and Juliet. On the publication of a biography by Thames and Hudson, the director talks to Rachel Spence about his career. He discusses working with Maria Callas and joining Silvio Berlusconi’s Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party, directing a 15-year old Juliet and the success of his autobiographical film Tea With Mussolini, as well as the influence of the maestri Luchino Visconti and Tullio Serafin. For more video content from the FT, visit the Financial Times video section at: