Lazzaro Angelo Ferrari

His amazing life reads like a novel. He was born to a farming family in the small town of Gavardo, Brescia in Italy. At the age of 13 due to the fact that most adult men were away at war, he had to work in a nearby steel mill. Already a fan of the great singers of the time, he entered a singing contest at the mill. His friends helped him win. The prize was voice lessons. It is here that his journey toward his destiny began. As the war ended, the town priest helped get him to Milan where he was accepted in the inaugural year of the Academia Della Scala. He studied and worked, worked and studied. As many post war Italians did, he emigrated to Paris in 1946. This would be his base for the next 20 years. He received several degrees from the Sorbonne in Paris. A very learned and cultured man, he spoke five languages fluently and was an avid student of history and politics. His operatic career took him to the greatest stages of the world and in his time, he was one of the most sought after tenors in the business. His list of colleagues and contemporaries reads like a who’s who of an operatic archive of the greatest stars. He was often compared to the great Enrico Caruso. He recorded more than 90 long play albums, several of them are now part of the treasured and prestigious Bibliotheque Nationale de France collection for posterity. His voice was heard on movie soundtracks, television, and radio internationally.

In the mid-1960’s, during a concert tour of South America, he met the love of his life, Gladys Fonseca.

After a short stint in Quito, Ecuador, they settled in El Paso, TX. After moving to El Paso, he became a very successful voice teacher. A true proponent of the Bel Canto technique Italy is famous for. He continued to sing opera not only locally but throughout Texas, the Southwest, Mexico, and even Japan. It is in El Paso, and the borderland that he touched so many lives in different ways. Teaching not only allowed him to pass on his love of music, but also his culture, languages, and confidence. He truly believed in every one of his students and was fiercely proud of their progress, big or small. His students took this confidence with them and used it to become successful in their own careers. He was still teaching and active past the age of 100.

Lazzaro will be surely missed as he had friends from all walks of life. He counted amongst his friends members of royalty, presidents, entertainment icons, and leaders of all types, yet still treated everyone with the same respect and humility. He never forgot where he came from and for the remainder of his life he dedicated all of his energy to his students and his devotion to family. He was the consummate family man. He embodied it in every way.

Lazzaro was a loving husband, father, and grandfather. He is survived by his beautiful and loving wife, Gladys,,,,,his daughter Gladys Lucia, son Angelo and his wife Liza, his grandchildren, Alessandro Marcello, Luciano Aurelius, and Gia Francesca.

A special thank you to his wife, daughter, and grandson, Alessandro, who took care of him and kept him active and healthy with love, grace and humor. Also, a special thank you to all of his students and friends in his life that always checked in on him in his later years.