THANOS FERENTINOS (CARDIFF, WALES, UNITED
KINGDOM 27. 11. 1919 - ATHENS, GREECE 2. 07. 1993)
Athanasios Frederick Ferendinos was born in Cardiff on the 27th of November 1919 to his Greek father,Efthimios Ferendinos (Master Mariner in the Merchant Navy) and his Canton-born mother, Florence E. Lewis. Tano’s initial stay in Cardiff was brief because when he was four years old he moved with his parents and older sister Marjory (born in Cardiff on 23 February 1913) to the Greek Island of Ithaca, where he spent his formative years. Early in 1947 he returned to Wales where he was introduced via his agent to EMI records. Gigli, having listened, to him in a recording session acknowledged him as a future star. George Polyzoides refers to the fact that Tano held, as a prized possession, a signed photograph of Gigli with the dedication “to my successor”. EMI’s record sales department, realizing that they had a tenor with a “voice of beautiful quality”, signed him up on 27 November 1947.During this period he appeared at Alexandra Palace in concert with Geraldo and his dance band, sang at the Albert Hall and made his first record on the Columbia label. The Columbia contract was replaced by an HMV contract in 1950 but by this time Tano was studying in Italy and planning to travel to Argentina so the contract lapsed. Between 1947-1955, he made over twenty recordings. His multi-layer career began to blossom. He was a regular performer on radio, appearing, for example with Albert Sandler and the Palm Court Orchestra on a BBC Light Programme concert broadcast. In the 1950’s he appeared with the Jimmy Campbell Orchestra and sang with Fred Alexander and his players on the Light Programme on 28th of October 1950. He toured the UK with a production of Lilac Time: for instance, at the Leeds Empire, the Bristol Hippodrome, the Grand Theatre and the WolverHampton. When he picked up his career in Athens and started performing it was a difficult time for Tano due to the lack of success and the behavior of his compatriots contributed to the end of his career and left a residue of bitterness that remains to this day. To provide to for his family he worked from home as an English tutor and in leisure time he honed his artistic talents as a painter and sculptor .Ultimately, health problems, including diabetes, took their toll and he died in Athens, on 2nd July 1993 age 73.
TRACKLIST
1. L'Arlesiana
(Cilea): È la solita storia del pastore
2. L'elisir d’amore (Donizetti):
Una Furtiva Lagrima
3. Les Pêcheurs de
Perles (Bizet): Je crois entendre encore (BBC Symphony Orchestra)
4. Martha (Flotow):
Ach, So Fromm
5. Tou Kitsou I Mana
(Papasideris)
6. Marie (Rogers)
7. L'Arlesiana
(Cilea): È la solita storia del pastore (New London Opera Orchestra)
8. La Favorite
(Donizetti): Ange si pur
9. Les Pêcheurs de
Perles (Bizet): Je crois entendre encore (Royal Opera House Covent Garden
Orchestra)
10. Manon (Massenet):
En fermant les yeux
11. Werther (Massenet):
Pourquoi me reveiller
12. Manon (Massenet):
Ah! fuyez, douce Image
13. La Favorite
(Donizetti): Ange si pur (BBC Symphony Orchestra)
14. Ta Matia Tou
Dimou (Stefos)
15. Ay, Ay, Ay (Pérez
Freire)
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