Summary
- “Maestro” is a Bradley Cooper-directed biopic about Leonard Bernstein’s life, focusing on his enduring marriage with Felicia Montealegre.
- The film covers 30 years of Bernstein’s life and explores his evolution as a musician, intertwining it with his relationship with Montealegre.
- Despite knowing about Bernstein’s extramarital affairs, Montealegre stayed in their marriage, based on tenderness and mutual respect.
Since a Leonard Bernstein biopic, Maestro, is scheduled to premiere on Netflix, audiences may be curious about his true story and relationship with his wife, Felicia. As reports suggest, Martin Scorses was initially going to direct Maestro. However, after he stepped away from the project to take over as The Irishman‘s director, Steven Spielberg offered Bradley Cooper the part after watching A Star is Born. The rest is history. Not only has Bradley Cooper starred in the film as the titular Maestro, but also helmed it, making it his first directorial endeavor after his debut with A Star is Born.
Barring the criticism surrounding his controversial nose makeup for Maestro, Bradley Cooper has received positive reactions from both viewers and critics since the release of the movie’s trailer. Since Maestro‘s trailer hints at how the film will walk through the deep affection that helped Bernstein and his wife Felicia stay together despite all the challenges they faced, it is hard not to be curious about the real-life details surrounding the couple’s marriage. Hence, here is a rundown of all the primary events in Leonard Bernstein and Felicia Montealegre’s timelines, highlighting their individual journeys and shared path as a couple.
Maestro’s True Story Covers 30 Years Of Leonard Bernstein’s Life
Chronicling 30 years of Leonard Bernstein’s life, the Bradley Cooper movie will present an undaunted love story focusing on Leonard Bernstein’s relationship with his wife, Felicia Montealegre Cohn Bernstein. The film will serve as a heartfelt tribute not only to Bernstein’s artistic forte as a music conductor but also to the emotional bond he shared with his family. While 30 years may be a long time frame for a 129-minute movie to cover, Maestro, as its trailer suggests, will focus primarily on Leonard Bernstein and Felicia Montealegre’s enduring marriage. Weaving their relationship’s dynamic with Bernstein’s music, the movie will also delve into the American conductor’s evolution as a musician during that time.
Felicia Montealgre Broke Off The First Engagement With Leonard Bernstein
While Felicia Montealegre was a successful actress, playing roles in everything from Broadway theater to renowned television shows, Leonard Bernstein ranked among some of the most brilliant figures in the music space, especially after he made his debut at the New York Philharmonic. Their worlds collided when they met each other at a party. Chilean pianist Claudio Arrau, Felicia Montealegre’s former piano teacher, introduced her to Leonard Bernstein at a party he had hosted in 1947. A few months after this encounter, Leonard Bernstein and Felicia Montealegre got engaged, but Montealegre broke it off in less than a year.
In the years that followed, Felicia Montealegre became romantically involved with actor Richard Hart after performing with him in various plays. Unfortunately, Hart passed away on January 2, 1951. Although Montealegre was well aware of Bernstein’s previous affairs, she gave her relationship with him a second chance after Hart’s demise. On August 12, 1951, their second engagement was announced, and less than a month later, they got married at Temple Mishkan Tefilah in Boston.
How Long Leonard Bernstein Was Married To Felicia Montealgre
While Felicia Montealegre was a successful actress, playing roles in everything from Broadway theater to renowned television shows, Leonard Bernstein ranked among some of the most brilliant figures in the music scene, especially after his debut at the New York Philharmonic. Their worlds collided when they met each other at a party. Chilean pianist Claudio Arrau, Felicia Montealegre’s former piano teacher, introduced her to Leonard Bernstein at a party he had hosted in 1947. A few months after this encounter, Leonard Bernstein and Felicia Montealegre got engaged, but Montealegre broke it off in less than a year.
In the years that followed, Felicia Montealegre became romantically involved with actor Richard Hart after performing with him in various plays. Unfortunately, Hart passed away on January 2, 1951. Although Montealegre was well aware of Bernstein’s previous affairs, she gave her relationship with him a second chance after Hart’s demise. On August 12, 1951, their second engagement was announced, and less than a month later, they married at Temple Mishkan Tefilah in Boston.
Leonard Bernstein Had Affairs With Men & Women While Married
Although Leonard Bernstein appeared to be a devoted father and husband in the public eye, he had multiple affairs with men and women while he was married. Felicia Montealegre knew about her husband’s extramarital relationships and acknowledged his sexual orientation in a private letter. “You are a homosexual and may never change—you don’t admit to the possibility of a double life, but if your peace of mind, your health, your whole nervous system depends on a certain sexual pattern what can you do?,” she wrote (via The Daily Beast). In the same letter, she also added that their marriage was “not based on passion but on tenderness and mutual respect.”
In the summer of 1971, Leonard Bernstein met Tom Cothran (played by Gideon Glick in Maestro), the music director for a classical radio station in San Francisco at the time. After bonding over their shared interest in music, Cothran and Bernstein reportedly had an affair and often took off on vacations. Five years after their first meeting, Bernstein left his wife Felicia to live with Cothran in Northern California. According to reports, Bernstein’s decision infuriated Felicia, and she told him that he was “going to die a bitter and lonely old man.”
When Felicia Montealegre Died & How Old She Was
Shortly after Bernstein left for Northern California, Felicia Montealegre was diagnosed with lung cancer. After learning about her diagnosis, Bernstein came back to her and looked after her till she passed away on June 16, 1978. She was 56 when she died and was buried at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York. Following her death, Leonard Bernstein remained friends with Tom Cothran until the music director died from AIDS in 1987.
When Leonard Bernstein Died & How Old He Was
After his wife’s demise, Leonard Bernstein continued his career as a musician and received the Kennedy Center Honor for Lifetime Contributions to American Culture through the Performing Arts, Washington, D.C., in 1980. Other great achievements in his timeline included him getting named an Honorary Member of the New York Philharmonic in 1984 and starting the Orchestra Academy of the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival at Salzau, Germany. In October 1990, Leonard Bernstein officially announced his retirement from conduction.
Only a few days after his retirement, he passed away on October 14, 1990, at 72, in his New York apartment. As per reports, his cause of death was a heart attack caused by a type of cancer called mesothelioma. He was buried next to his wife at Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery, and to pay their respect, construction workers in Manhattan’s streets waved their hands chiming “Goodbye, Lenny” during his funeral procession. To honor his legacy and highlight the intricacies of his relationship with his wife, Netflix’s Maestro will walk audiences through his life’s ups and downs, highs and lows.
Sources: The Daily Beast
