Family trips to Tri-City area sparked a singing career

Driving from New Orleans to the Tri-City area with her family as a little girl, Ninfa Gianfala would sing with her family. That early start eventually turned into an education at the Julliard School of Music and numerous accolades over the span of a lifelong singing career.
“Every Friday, from New Orleans, without fail, we would take the trip to Patterson and return on Sunday,” visiting relatives from Morgan City to Patterson, Gianfala said.
It was on those drives her parents — Angela Aloisio Gianfala and Leonard Gianfala — and sister, Mary Ann Gianfala, would sing with her.
“We were all a musical family. … Mama and I sang the melody and my sister and my dad sang the harmony,” Gianfala said.
At age 7, Gianfala sang “Ave Maria” at a midnight Mass at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Patterson and continued singing at church events, funerals and weddings throughout the years.
It was a fateful call her mother made to the New Orleans Opera Guild when she was 12 that put Gianfala on the track to attending Julliard.
Seeking direction for honing her talented daughter’s gifts, Angela Gianfala called the group that typically only deals with adult singers.
“Out of courtesy or curiosity, they said bring your 12-year-old, and we’ll listen,” Ninfa Gianfala said.
She accompanied herself on the piano while singing “Un Bel Di” from “Madame Butterfly,” “which was quite difficult for a 12-year-old to sing,” she said, adding that she didn’t know what all the fanfare was about when she was done.
The New Orleans Opera Guild sponsored Gianfala from the ages of 12 to 16, giving her voice and piano lessons until she was old enough to attend Julliard.
After school, she returned briefly to New Orleans where she received her Master of Music degree from Louisiana State University, singing lead operatic roles there and performing as a soloist with the Baton Rouge Symphony and the New Orleans Summer Pops orchestra.
Upon her return to New York, she won the Metropolitan Opera Auditions, placing her on the Met’s Young Artist Roster.
She has presented twice on the Morgan City Community Concert Series. Her husband, Daniel Caruso, sang duets with her during her concerts here, she said.
Among her numerous accolades, Gianfala has a number of compositions to her credit including a musical titled “Malachi” and country, pop, gospel and orchestral.
She was commissioned by the governor’s office to write the song celebrating the 175th year of Louisiana statehood in 1987. She sang the song she wrote, called “Louisiana!” at the state capitol for the celebration. It remains logged in the state archives.
Additionally, she received a commendation from former President Ronald Reagan for her original composition “Miss Liberty Miss Liberty” which was written for the Statue of Liberty celebration in New York City.
Gianfala’s two-disc CD — featuring classical, Broadway and standards — is dedicated to her parents who were Patterson natives.
“Ninfa Gianfala the Little Girl from Magazine Street” can be purchased at Christopher’s Hair Creations in Morgan City for $16.95. It is available online at CDbaby, iTunes and Amazon. It also is available directly from the artist by sending a check or money order for $19.95 to include shipping and handling to: 9545 Cammy Ave., Baton Rouge, LA 70815.