Listen to the 24-year-old Lanza in one of his earliest recordings in English. This is a live radio performance of the demanding "Ah, Moon of My Delight" from Lehmann's 1896 song cycle In a Persian Garden on CBS's "Great Moments in Music," 26 December 1945. The conductor is Georges Sebastian.
Lanza's recorded legacy consists of multiple versions in many instances. Where these occur, I have highlighted what I consider the best rendition(s) in bold. In most instances (irrespective of whether Lanza recorded the song once or multiple times), the best CD reproduction of the rendition can be located by "rolling over" the text.
Note: If you are new to Lanza, or simply want to hear him at his consistent best in the English-language repertoire, I would recommend the 2016/2017 Sepia Records CDsNever Till Now and One Alone. Full details about these releases can be found here and here. There are also superb Digitally Extracted Stereo (DES) versions of many of Lanza's finest recordings in English on the 2025 2-CD set Night and Day.
Please note: I intend to provide a more detailed discography (featuring exact recording dates, conductors' names, etc) here when time permits.
1950 two versions: one RCA take and a much superior soundtrack recording for The Great Caruso [available on the Sepia Records CDs Mario Lanza: Never Till Now, Mario Lanza: Classics, and (in stereo) on Mario Lanza: Night and Day (Sepia Records, 2025)]
1951 two versions: one RCA and one Coca-Cola Radio Show
Because You're Mine
(Brodszky-Cahn)
1951 three versions for Because You're Mine soundtrack--two of them as duets with Doretta Morrow, soprano
1952 two renditions for Coca-Cola Radio Show: the lesser version was commercially released and can be heard on You'll Never Walk Alone (BMG, 1995); the superior rendition is only available on the 2023 Sepia Records CD Mario Lanza: The Quintessential Tenor
