The young tenor appearing as Radames in Verdi's A'ida had sung "magnificently," said the Manchester Guardian; his voice had "sweetness, heroic size and natural musicality." That review, and others like it, gave the tenor pause: "I decided I had better go somewhere and learn to sing."
Last week, just a year after making his debut in London with only a minimum of operatic training, the tenor was shuttling between London's Covent Garden, where he sang Canio in Pagliacci, and Amsterdam's Nederlandsche Opera, where he sang the notoriously difficult lead in Otello. The months of additional study at La Scala had not spoiled Philadelphia-born Leonard del Ferro, 31. European critics call him one of the most exciting male singers to come their way in years.
When Del Ferro starred in Otello last week, few in the audience could have guessed that he had appeared only 15 times before on any opera stage. He displayed a richly colored voice of such volume and stamina that he sounded as fresh at the final curtain as he did in the opening scenes. A stocky (5 ft. 8 in., 180 Ibs.), barrel-chested man, he gave the role a sense of dramatic dignity that made the tortured delusions of the final scenes all the more moving. Critics and audience agreed that he promised to be one of the great Otellos of his time.
Back home in Philadelphia, Tenor del Ferro. son of an Italian father and a Russian mother, used to work out in amateur theatricals, sang pop songs for a while with Fred Waring and His Pennsylvanians, packaged and produced TV shows, even played a season of semi-pro football. But all the time he yearned to "go legit" as a singer, briefly studied voice in New York. An agent advised him to get live dramatic experience, and he took off for England, where Covent Garden promptly offered the role of Radames in A'ida after a single audition. Since then, in London and Amsterdam, he has never sung anything but lead roles, already has offers from Vienna, Hamburg, Tel Aviv. Worries Del Ferro: "A tenor can be ruined vocally and psychologically by going too fast."