Antonio Spadavecchia was a Soviet composer of Italian origin. He was born in Odessa on May 21 (June 3), 1907, and died in Moscow on February 7, 1988. He studied composition at the Moscow Conservatory with V. Ya. Shebalin and graduated in 1937; he later studied with Sergei Prokofiev. He was named Honored Artist of the RSFSR in 1963 and People's Artist of the RSFSR in 1977.
Spadavecchia wrote operas, ballets, concertos, and music for films. His operas include Akbuzat (The Magic Horse), written jointly with Kh. Zaimov and first staged in 1942; The Mistress of the Inn, based on Carlo Goldoni's play and first staged in 1947; The Road to Calvary, based on the novel by Alexei Tolstoy and first staged in 1953; Letter from a Stranger, a monoopera based on a novella by Stefan Zweig; and The Gadfly, based on Ethel Voynich's novel and first staged in 1958. His operetta Unexpected Wedding, also based on a novel by Alexei Tolstoy, was first staged in 1944. His ballets include Enemies (1938) and Shore of Happiness (1948), both first staged in Moscow.
His film scores include Cinderella and For Those at Sea (1947); Brave People and the animated film The Little Flute and the Jug (1950); Outpost in the Mountains and the short film Lawlessness (1953); The Fountain and Boots (short films, 1955 and 1957); The Rubber Boy (1957); The Incorrigibles (1959); Probation Period and A Noisy Day (1960); The Black Gull (1962); Cain XVIII (1963); Wizard Island (1964); The Show Begins (1973); and House on Forest Street (1980). In 1977, he also wrote the children's musical fairy-tale game Cinderella, with a libretto by I. Petrova and I. Berlyand. He was buried at Kuntsevo Cemetery.