Former Loyola University New Orleans Board of Trustees member and Loyola College of Music alumnus Anthony Laciura '74, will continue his role as Eddy Kessler in the Martin Scorsese series 'Boardwalk Empire' now airing on HBO.
Created by the Emmy-award winning writer of "The Sopranos," Terence Winter, and produced and directed by the legendary Scorsese, “Boardwalk Empire” is a drama that takes place during the roaring 20s at the dawn of Prohibition. The plot follows a corrupt politician and his network of liquor smugglers, as they rise to undisputed leadership of the famed Atlantic City Boardwalk.
The series premiere of “Boardwalk Empire” was watched by a combined 7.1 million viewers to score HBO’s largest premiere of any program in over six years.
Born and educated in New Orleans, Laciura began his stage career at 12, singing the cameo role of the newsboy in Charpentier’s opera, “Louise,” co-starring Dorothy Kirsten and Norman Treigle. Following his academic studies at Loyola, Laciura impressed former New Orleans Opera director, Arthur Cosenza, who assigned him several featured roles with the company.
“Loyola nurtured me long before I entered the university,” said Laciura. “Charles Paddock, who taught on the faculty at Loyola and was my voice teacher, had a major influence on my decision to go to Loyola. I could have gone to Juilliard or any number of schools for musicians, but I chose Loyola because it nurtured me, as well as all of New Orleans with is fine performing arts program.”
Laciura’s talent ultimately led him to the famed New York’s Metropolitan Opera where he performed for 25 consecutive seasons. Since his retirement from the Met in 2007, Laciura has served as director of opera workshop at New Jersey City University. “After performing for such a long time and having a great career singing at what most would consider the best opera house in the world, I felt it was time to step aside and let the younger generation have a chance,” said Laciura. “There is no better way to give young singers a chance than to work with them and help them have the same opportunities that I had.”