Fausto Cleva was an Italian-born conductor and composer from Trieste who trained in Europe and began his professional career in the early 20th century before emigrating to the United States, where he worked primarily in operatic and symphonic repertoire. He specialised in Italian opera, serving for decades with American opera houses and on radio and recording projects, and his conducting emphasised clear vocal line and attention to Italianate phrasing, contributing to the transmission of Italian operatic repertoire in North America.
