Summary
- Maestro on Netflix tells the true story of Leonard Bernstein and explores his relationships, including his affair with David Oppenheim.
- David Oppenheim was an American clarinetist and classical music and television producer who was a close friend and sometimes lover of Bernstein.
- Oppenheim had multiple marriages, had children with different wives, worked in the music industry, and became the director of Columbia Records’ Masterworks division. He later became the second dean of the New York University Tisch School of the Arts before his death in 2007.
Maestro tells the true story of American composer Leonard Bernstein and primarily focuses on his relationship with his wife, Felicia Montealegre. But the movie also explores some of the conductor’s other bonds, like the one with David Oppenheim. Although his time in the 2023 Netflix biographical drama film is short, Matt Bomer stars as Oppenheim, and his character, like many others in the movie, is based on a real person. Oppenheim was an American clarinetist and classical music and television producer who was a close friend (and sometimes lover) of Bernstein’s.
Aside from Bomer, the star-studded cast of Maestro on Netflix includes Bradley Cooper as Leonard Bernstein, Carey Mulligan as Felicia Montealegre, Vincenzo Amato as Bruno Zirato, Michael Urie as Jerry Robbins, Brian Klugman as Aaron Copland, Nick Blaemire as Adolph Green, Mallory Portnoy as Betty Comden, Sarah Silverman as Shirley Bernstein, and Maya Hawke as Jamie Bernstein. The film takes the audience on a journey through Bernstein’s life, which includes his love affair with Oppenheim before meeting his future wife, Felicia. However, Oppenheim’s story didn’t end once his relationship with Bernstein did.
David Oppenheim Married Actress Judy Holliday & Had A Son With Her
Following his romance with Leonard Bernstein, David Oppenheim met and married an actress named Judy Holliday in 1948. Of course, the clarinetist did not stop being friends with Bernstein, and the two often exchanged letters, which have been made public in the years following the two men’s deaths. According to Business Insider, Oppenheim and Holliday had one child together — a son named Jonathan, who went on to become a film and television editor and producer. However, their marriage was not built to last, and they divorced in 1957.
Oppenheim remarried two times following the end of his relationship with Holliday. First, he married Ellen Adler (the daughter of Broadway actress Stella Adler), who is featured in Maestro on Netflix, in 1957. Oppenheim and Adler had two children — a girl named Sara (as seen in the 2023 biographical drama) and a boy named Thomas. They were married for 19 years before splitting up in 1976. After his second divorce, Oppenheim married his third wife, Patricia Jaffe, in 1987, and they stayed together until he died in 2007. Jaffe was a producer and editor, so all of Oppenheim’s marriages were to women in the entertainment industry. The couple did not have any children together.
Clarinetist David Oppenheim Became The Director Of Columbia Records’ Masterworks Division
Aside from his relationships, David Oppenheim was an accomplished clarinetist and producer. He first bonded with Leonard Bernstein over music, and he would continue to work in the musical world for the rest of his life. Oppenheim began as the first clarinetist for the New York Symphony Orchestra in the years following World War II (in which he served as an anti-tank gunner in the United States Army). Then, in the 1950s, Oppenheim became the director of the Masterworks division at Columbia Records while still working as a clarinetist for many composers, like Bernstein and Igor Stravinsky.
After leaving his job at Columbia Records in 1959, Oppenheim started working in the television industry. He directed, wrote, and produced numerous music-influenced television shows throughout the 1960s, including Omnibus, Casals at 88, and Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic. Then, in 1969, Oppenheim accepted a job as the second dean of the New York University Tisch School of the Arts, a position he held until 1991.
Before the accomplished clarinetist and producer signed on as the school’s second dean, it was known as New York University’s School of the Arts. During his time there, Oppenheim secured a multi-million dollar grant from Laurence and Preston Tisch during his tenure, and the program was renamed the Tisch School of the Arts. He was one of the main driving forces in building the school into the impressive establishment it is today.
Who Bradley Cooper’s Daughter Plays In Netflix’s Maestro (& When She Appears)
Actor Bradley Cooper starred in and directed Netflix’s Maestro, but along with that, he included his 6-year-old daughter, Lea, in the cast.
David Oppenheim Died In 2007 At Age 85
Sadly, David Oppenheim died on November 14, 2007, at the age of 85 in New York City. The cause of his death is unknown, seeing as it cannot be definitively found anywhere on the internet. However, what is known is that Oppenheim was still married to his third wife, Patricia Jaffe, at the time of his death. Regardless, Maestro didn’t fully explore Oppenheim’s life and impact on the music industry, but the Netflix film still honored him and his influence on Leonard Bernstein.
Maestro, starring Matt Bomer as David Oppenheim, is available to stream on Netflix.