After spending the last 20 years of his career working loads in Europe and Italy, the Kid from Queens (whose Italian language skills could trick you into believing he's a native speaker and he just gets the dead-Italian-composers-thing so dang well) has recieved a Lifetime Achievement Award from The Los Angeles Istituto Italiano di Cultura for his career-spanning dedication to classical music, spreading the gospel of Verdi, Rossini, Donizetti & Puccini to the unwashed masses. Music Director of the Los Angeles Opera, Maestro James Conlon, joins previous award-winners who have excelled in the arts like Renato Bruson, Ennio Morricone, Francis Ford Coppola, Frank Stella, and Renzo Piano.