Among the wave of Italian tenors in the last half century who specialised in singing the meatier roles, Pier Miranda Ferraro failed to achieve the international recognition of, say, Franco Corelli or Mario Del Monaco. However, his repertoire was considerably more varied. During a career that lasted three decades, Ferraro was a regular performer in many of the world’s most prestigious opera houses. Later he became a notable singing teacher.
Ferraro studied in Venice and at Milan’s Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory, where one of his teachers was Aureliano Petile, the celebrated dramatic tenor of the previous generation. He then earned a scholarship to study at the school of La Scala, and made his professional debut in 1951, singing Rodolfo in La bohème at Milan’s Teatro Nuovo. That year he also sang for the first time at La Scala, where he performed until 1972.
As well as becoming a regular fixture in Italy’s most prestigious opera houses, he was well known on the international circuit.In addition to Covent Garden and the State Operas of Vienna and Hamburg, he sang with the major companies of Brussels, Paris, Marseille, Stuttgart, Lisbon, Barceona, Geneva, Z?rich, and Buenos Aires. In America he was heard at the New York City Opera and the San Francisco, Cincinnati, and Philadelphia opera companies. In 1958, at New York’s Carnegie Hall, he starred in the American Opera Society’s concert performance of Bellini’s Il pirata opposite Maria Callas (that performance, long prized by collectors, was “officially” released by EMI in 1997). The year after Pirata, Ferraro recorded Enzo in La Gioconda with Callas.
Ferraro believed strongly that the Verdi repertoire could truly nourish the voice. Of the 45 roles he performed, he was best-known for his portrayal was Verdi’s Otello, which he sang more than 300 times, beginning at San Remo in 1964. Particularly auspicious was his Italian radio broadcast of the role from Venice’s Ducal Palace in August 1970. His artistry has been preserved for posterity in privately released performances of several operas, including Mascagni’s immensely challenging works Guglielmo Ratcliff and Isabeau.
Ferraro’s final performance as Otello was in 1981. Shortly afterwards, injuries sustained after a biking accident forced him to abandon his performing career in favour of teaching, and for 15 years he was head of the vocal department at the Conservatory in Milan. Later he taught at the Accademia Viotti in Vercelli and the Accademia Internazionale Katia Ricciarelli in Mantua, where he directed several productions. For five years he held masterclasses at the Grand Festival in Lanciano, where in 1999 he directed Madame Butterfly. Ferraro gave classes as far afield as Beijing and Tokyo. He served as an adjudicator for international competitions, and recently fulfilled a long-held dream by founding the Accademia Lirica Italiana. He was decorated Commendatore and Grand’Ufficiale by the Italian government.
Advertisement
1985, he founded the artist-management agency aliopera which now co-run by his daughter Beatrice. He was also Italy’s ambassador to Iran at the time of the last Shah.
He is survived by his wife and four children.
Pier Miranda Ferraro was born on October 30, 1924. He died of cardiac arrest on January 18, 2008, aged 83