Mario Lanza: A Discography
Operatic Recordings
by Derek McGovern

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"Vogliatemi Bene" from Madama Butterfly, with Frances Yeend, soprano. Hollywood Bowl concert, 28 August 1947. Eugene Ormandy, conducting.  (Above) This audio recording is accompanied by images of Lanza and Yeend with fellow Bel Canto Trio member George London in 1947, photos of Lanza with Tomiko Kanazawa (his Butterfly at the New Orleans Opera in 1948), assorted pics of Lanza at the Hollywood Bowl in 1947 and 1948, and a few frames from the Madama Butterfly scene with Kathryn Grayson in The Toast of New Orleans (1950).   (7:26)  --Courtesy of Vincent Di Placido.
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Operatic Recordings
Where more than one version of a particular aria or duet exists, I've identified what I consider the best rendition(s) in bold. Roll over this bold text to locate the CD with the best reproduction of that recording. Where only one rendition exists, I've also identified the optimum CD source. (Again, simply scroll over the text with your mouse to locate these details.) Bear in mind, however, that not all of Lanza's operatic recordings are available on CD. Some are soundtrack recordings, for example, that are unlikely to be released commercially.

While SonyBMG has yet to release a CD comprising the best of Lanza's commercial operatic recordings, as a starting point the hard-to-find 2-CD set Mario Lanza: Encore! (BMG/Harvest Music, 1999) is highly recommended (even secondhand, which is probably the only viable option these days) for its excellent sound and generally well-chosen selection of arias (together with some fine recordings of Italian and Neapolitan songs).

The easier-to-find but uneven Mario Lanza: Opera Arias and Duets (BMG, 1999) also features some excellent material. (Click on these titles for my Amazon reviews.) There is relatively little overlapping between these two collections, with different versions of most of the arias that appear on both compilations. For Lanza's live operatic performances, the CD accompanying the second (2008) edition of Armando Cesari's biography Mario Lanza: An American Tragedy is by far the best compilation, and includes three Hollywood Bowl appearances (1947-49), operatic selections from a 1948 concert in Toronto, and some fascinating private recordings.  

L'Africana (Meyerbeer)

O Paradiso

Aida (Verdi)

Celeste Aida

Gloria all'Egitto (Grand March)

O Terra Addio
  • 1950 with Dorothy Kirsten, soprano and Blanche Thebom, mezzo-soprano, soundtrack, The Great Caruso

Andrea Chénier (Giordano)

Un Dì All'Azzurro Spazio (Improvviso)

Come un Bel Dì di Maggio

L'Arianna (Monteverdi)

Lasciatemi Morire

L'Arlesiana (Cilea)

È la Solita Storia (Lamento di Federico)

La Bohème (Leoncavallo)

Testa Adorata

La Bohème (Puccini)

Che Gelida Manina

O Soave Fanciulla

Marcello Finalmente
  • 1942 primitive private recording with Robert Weede

Ci Lasceremo alla Stagion dei Fiori
  • 1955 unreleased recording for Serenade soundtrack

Act IV (Extract only, in English)

Carmen (Bizet)

La Fleur que Tu M'avais Jetée (Flower Song)

Cavalleria Rusticana (Mascagni)

Brindisi
  • 1950 (partial version, The Great Caruso soundtrack

Bada, Santuzza, Schiavo Non Son!
  • 1950 with Marina Koshetz, soprano, soundtrack to The Great Caruso

Mamma, Quel Vino è Generoso (Addio alla Madre)

Così Fan Tutte (Mozart)

E Voi Ridete
  • 1958 soundtrack to For the First Time, with the Rome Opera House Orchestra and unidentified soloists

L'Elisir d'Amore (Donizetti)

Una Furtiva Lagrima

Fedora (Giordano)

Amor Ti Vieta

La Fanciulla del West (Puccini)

Ch'Ella Mi Creda
  • 1940 primitive private recording

La Forza del Destino (Verdi)

O Tu Che in Seno agli'Angeli

La Gioconda (Ponchielli)

Cielo e Mar

Lucia di Lammermoor (Donizetti)

Verranno a Te sull'Aure
  • 1949 with Kathryn Grayson, soprano (Radio Show)

Chi Mi Frena in Tal Momento? (Sextet)
  • 1950 with Gilbert Russell, Blanche Thebom, Nicola Moscona, Giuseppe Valdengo, Dorothy Kirsten, The Great Caruso soundtrack

Madama Butterfly (Puccini)

Vogliatemi Bene

Stolta Paura . . . Vogliatemi Bene
  • 1950 RCA two takes with Elaine Malbin, soprano (one take only released commercially)

Madame Sans-Gêne (Giordano)

Questa Tua Bocca Profumata e Pura
  • 1952 incomplete home recording

Martha (Von Flotow)

M'apparì

Act IV Finale
  • 1950 with Dorothy Kirsten, soprano, Giuseppe Valdengo, baritone, and Blanche Thebom, soprano for soundtrack of The Great Caruso

    L'Onestà negli Amori (Scarlatti)

    Già il Sole del Gange
  • 1958 Royal Albert Hall recital

Otello (Verdi)

Brindisi (as Cassio)
  • 1945 live radio broadcast: Great Moments in Music

Già nella Notte Densa

Dio Ti Giocondi

Dio! Mi Potevi Scagliar (Monologue)

Niun Mi Tema (Death Scene)

Pagliacci (Leoncavallo)

Un Tal Gioco

Vesti la Giubba

Rigoletto (Verdi)

Questa o Quella

È il Sol dell'Anima . . . Addio, Addio

Parmi Veder le Lagrime

Bella Figlia dell’Amore (partial)
  • 1950 The Great Caruso soundtrack
  • 1958 brief snippet For the First Time soundtrack

La Donna è Mobile

Der Rosenkavalier (Strauss)

Di Rigori Armato il Seno

Tosca (Puccini)

Recondita Armonia

Qual Occhio al Mondo
  • 1955 outtake for soundtack of Serenade

Act I Love Duet excluding “Qual Occhio”
  • 1945 live Celanese Radio broadcast with Jean Tennyson, soprano

E Lucevan le Stelle
  • 1940 private recording
  • 1944 private recording for friend Maria Margelli
  • 1945 RCA test recording; live radio performance on Great Moments in Music
  • 1947 Hollywood Bowl concert
  • 1948 live radio performance on Elgin Watch Thanksgiving Special
  • 1950 RCA Encore! (Harvest/BMG, 1999)
  • 1951Coca-Cola Radio Show
  • 1954 Shower of Stars live version
  • 1957 two: London Palladium
  • 1958 Royal Albert Hall

    • La Traviata (Verdi)

    Libiamo Libiamo, Libiamo Nei Lieti Calici
    • 1949 with Kathryn Grayson, soprano, Toast of New Orleans soundtrack (not on CD)
    • 1950 RCA with Elaine Malbin

    Dei Miei Bollenti Spiriti
    • 1940 primitive private recording

    Parigi, O Cara

    Il Trovatore (Verdi)

    Sconto col Sangue Mio
    • 1950 with Lucina Amara, sop., soundtrack to The Great Caruso

    Di Quella Pira

    Turandot (Puccini)

    Nessun Dorma