New CD from Sepia Records: "The Undiscovered Mario Lanza: Rare Recordings and Hidden Gems"

A suitably rare and striking cover photo (from 1949) for Sepia's most remarkable CD to date

I'm very excited to announce our tenth CD collaboration with Sepia Records: The Undiscovered Mario Lanza: Rare Recordings and Hidden Gems. This CD is, in many ways, our most interesting yet, as it includes not only  significant material that has never before been released, but also superior reproductions of several commercial recordings, including "Love Me Tonight" and "Nocturne."

​​Bill Ronayne, President of the Mario Lanza Institute, and Lanza aficionado Clyde Smith deserve special thanks for the realization of this project. It was Clyde who back in the 1980s first encountered many of the "raw" acetates featured on this CD, swiftly transferring them to tape for safe keeping, and then Bill who last year painstakingly made the digital transfers from those tapes.   ​

I first heard about the existence of these acetates from Bill in May 2021, and I and my fellow compilers---Armando Cesari, Vince Di Placido, and Carmel Parisi---were simply over the moon when we started receiving file after digital file from Bill shortly after that. For the first time, we were able to hear, among other things, Lanza's magnificent  first recording of "My Destiny," the original (pre-edit) first take of "Beloved" from Lanza's May 1953 remake session of the song, the Finale from Marta featured in The Great Caruso in its original form---without all the coughing!---the full version of "Una furtiva lagrima" from That Midnight Kiss, "Celeste Aida" from the same film but this time with its previously discarded recitative, a longer extract of the Rigoletto Quartet recorded for The Great Caruso, a complete version of the Addio alla Madre from Because You're Mine that is superior to the take featured on the 1998 Rhino CD Mario Lanza at MGM, and many other treasures.

Major sound restoration was necessary, as many of the recordings were severely scratched, and/or suffered from extensive surface noise. Sepia Records' sound engineer, Robin Cherry, has performed miracles on many of them, but allowances still need to be made for some of the recordings. I doubt that anyone who loves Lanza will complain, though, as where else can one find a restored version of, say, the 1945 live radio broadcast of "The House on the Hill," or the 1959 "Nocturne"---with the tenor's voice now front and centre (exactly as recorded in the studio and not blighted by incompetent posthumous mixing)?

Here is the full track listing:

1 The House on the Hill  (Charles)
Live CBS radio broadcast from Liederkranz Hall, New York City, 7 November 1945.                  
2 I Know, I Know, I Know (Kaper-Russell)  [original film acetate---and it sounds glorious]
MGM Studios, Los Angeles, 1 December 1948.         
3 O Holy Night (Adam) [original acetate]
Republic Studios, Los Angeles, 29 May 1950.                                                                    
4 The Lord’s Prayer (Malotte) [with organ only] [original film acetate]
MGM Studios, 2 August 1951.                                                   
5 Deep in My Heart, Dear (from The Student Prince) (Romberg-Donnelly) [outtake]
MGM Studios, 12 August 1952. With Ann Blyth, soprano. 
6 My Destiny  (Brodszky-Cahn) [outtake--superior to the version featured in the film]
Warner Bros. Studios, Los Angeles, 7 July 1955. Jakob Gimpel, pianist.                         
7 Serenade (from the film Serenade) (Brodszky-Cahn)  [original film acetate, with previously unheard orchestral intro]    Note: This is the soft "Mexico" version of the song.
Warner Bros. Studios, 26 August 1955.       
8 Ave Maria (Bach-Gounod) [original film acetate]
MGM Studios, 11 August 1950. With Jacqueline Allen, soprano.
9 L’elisir d’amore: Una furtiva lagrima (Donizetti-Romani) [full version] 
MGM Studios, 9 December 1948. José Iturbi, pianist.                
10 Carmen: Flower Song (“La fleur que tu m’avais jetée”) (Bizet-Meilhac-Halévy) [full version; sounds better than in Toast of New Orleans]
MGM Studios, 6 December 1949. Jakob Gimpel, pianist.                                   
11 Aida: Celeste Aida (Verdi-Ghislanzoni) [full version]
MGM Studios, 9 December 1948. José Iturbi, conductor; MGM Studio Orchestra.          
12 Aida: O terra addio (Verdi-Ghislanzoni) [original film acetate; glorious!]
MGM Studios, 18 August 1950. With Dorothy Kirsten, soprano, and Blanche Thebom, mezzo-soprano. 
13 Rigoletto: È  il sol dell’anima (Verdi-Piave) [rehearsal]
MGM Studios, 28 August 1950. With Jarmila Novotná, soprano. 
14 Rigoletto: È  il sol dell’anima (Verdi-Piave) [outtake]
See #13 for recording details.  
15 Rigoletto: Addio! Addio! (Verdi-Piave)  [original film acetate]                    
MGM Studios, 24 November 1951. With Peggy Bonini, soprano.  
16 Rigoletto: La donna è mobile (Verdi-Piave) [live performance]
Performed at Massey Hall, Toronto, 5 March 1948.                         
17 Rigoletto: Quartet (“Bella figlia dell’amore”) (Verdi-Piave) [New extended version]
MGM Studios, 22 August 1950. With Giuseppe Valdengo, baritone; B. Thebom; Olive May Beach, soprano.       
18 Lucia di Lammermoor: Sextet (“Chi mi frena in tal momento?”) (Donizetti-Cammarano) [film acetate with a somewhat different mix from what we hear in the movie; Mario's voice is more forward]
MGM Studios, 23 August 1950. With D. Kirsten; G. Valdengo; B. Thebom; Nicola Moscona, bass; Gilbert Russell, tenor. 
19 Marta: Finale (von Flotow-Riese) [original film acetate]
MGM Studios, 22 August 1950. With D. Kirsten, N. Moscona, and B. Thebom. 
20 La bohème: Che gelida manina   (Puccini-Giacosa-Illica) [original film acetate]
MGM Studios, 29 August 1950. P.H. Adler, conductor; MGM Studio Orchestra.      
21 Cavalleria rusticana: Addio alla Madre (Mascagni, Targioni-Tozzetti, Menasci) [New extended version]
MGM Studios, 10 November 1951. With Katherine Hilgenberg, contralto; and P. Bonini. John Green, conductor; MGM Studio Orchestra.
22 Il trovatore: Di quella pira  (Verdi-Cammarano) [original film acetate]
Warner Bros. Studios, 13 July 1955.  Ray Heindorf, conductor; Warner Bros. Studio Orchestra.              
BONUS TRACKS                                       
23 Ave Maria (Schubert) [original film acetate; superior sound to previous reproductions]
Warner Bros. Studios, 18 August 1955. Jakob Gimpel, pianist.
24 Pour un Baiser  (Tosti-Doncieux) 
Cinecittà Studios, Rome, June 1959.                                                                             
25 Love Me Tonight  (from The Vagabond King) (Friml-Hooker-Post) [original "raw" acetate]
Cinecittà Studios, July 1959.  C. Callinicos, conductor; RCA Italiana Orchestra.   
26 Nocturne (from The Vagabond King) (Friml-Hooker-Post) [original "raw" acetate]
Cinecittà Studios, July 1959. C. Callinicos, conductor; RCA Italiana Orchestra.    
27 Beloved  [the unedited first take from the May 1953 remake session]
MGM Studios, 20 May 1953. C. Callinicos, conductor; MGM Studio Orchestra.
28 La Danza (Rossini)   [original film acetate]       
MGM Studios, 7 August 1950. Irving Aaronson, pianist.               

I should add that the CD booklet is stunningly presented, and includes comprehensive notes and rare photos.

UPDATE (23 March): This CD is now in stock at Sepia Records in London and can be ordered here. The price, including postage, is £7.99 for the UK; £9.99 for those elsewhere in Europe; and £10.99 (= US$14.60) for the rest of the world. 
For those in the US only, the CD is now in stock at the Mario Lanza Museum in Philadelphia. Bill Ronayne, President of the Mario Lanza Institute, writes: "The CD is $12 + $5 Shipping & Handling. Checks should be made out to Mario Lanza Institute and sent to Mario Lanza Institute 1214 Reed Street Philadelphia, PA 19147. For credit card orders, more information or if you're ordering more than one CD, call 215-238-9691."
It is also currently available for pre-order from Amazon, with a scheduled release date of April 1. 

Vincent Di Placido has created a beautiful promotional video for this CD (see below).