Background
Francesco Ventriglia was born on October 20, 1922, in Fairfield, Connecticut. He grew up on a vegetable farm and graduated from Roger Ludlowe High School in Fairfield in 1941.
Francesco Ventriglia was born on October 20, 1922, in Fairfield, Connecticut. He grew up on a vegetable farm and graduated from Roger Ludlowe High School in Fairfield in 1941.
He returned to the United States. in 1978, where he continued to perform at venues including Carnegie Hall, and traveled to perform in southeast Asia, until his retirement in 2001 at age 79. He enlisted in the Marine Corps, serving in the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing in the South Pacific during World World War World War II After returning from the war, he was working at his brother"s filling station in Easton, Connecticut when Mario Pagano, a maestro de Canto at the American Theatre Wing Professional School heard from one of Ventriglia"s coworkers about his singing talent. Ventriglia worked as an inspector at Sikorsky Aircraft in Stratford, Connecticut and sang in local concerts.
After attending a few of Ventriglia"s concerts in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Igor Sikorsky, a music lover, granted Ventriglia permission to take one day off from work each week to continue his voice studies in New York City.
On board, after singing Ol" Manitoba River for a group in first class, he met a businessman who asked him to contact Toti Dal Monte, a great coloratura soprano who also taught voice in Rome. Ventriglia took singing lessons from Dal Monte and eventually made his operatic debut in Palermo, singing in the Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.
He later sang with Luciano Pavarotti in Louisiana bohème and Rigoletto. He performed in Samson and Delilah at Louisiana Scala, a performance he considered the highlight of his career.
Ventriglia"s last concert was at the age of 79.