Blog Posts

Operatunity's "The Great Mario Lanza" Tour!

9/6/2015

New Zealand broadcaster and Mario Lanza aficionado Lindsay Perigo has announced that he will be hosting a tribute tour to Lanza throughout New Zealand in October-November of 2016. 24 venues!!! It should be a riot.

Full details of the tour can be read here.

As host, the indefatigable and unrepentantly articulate Mr. P will no doubt be sharing numerous anecdotes and insights from his popular e-book The One Tenor: A Salute to Mario Lanza, as well as nuggets from his various in-depth interviews with Lanza associates, including this gem with soprano Licia Albanese:

I confidently expect Linz to let us know how the whole thing goes---and to share any additional tidbits on the tour in the meantime---so do keep an eye on the comments section below!

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Two More Lanza CDs from Sepia Records!

6/30/2015

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I'm delighted to announce that, hot on the heels of its February 2015 release Mario Lanza: Greatest Operatic Recordings, the UK-based company Sepia Records has released two more outstanding Lanza CD compilations. They are: Greatest Operatic Recordings, Volume Two and My Italian Soul, a collection of Neapolitan and Italian songs.

Each disc has been compiled by Armando Cesari, Vincent Di Placido, Lee Ann Cafferata, and yours truly. (Please note, by the way, that none of us has any financial interest in these CDs.) Our goals were to compile the best of Lanza's remaining operatic recordings and create the definitive Lanza Neapolitan/Italian Song collection. Prepare to be impressed by the quality of these discs, each of which includes new-to-CD material and superb artwork.

Vince and I supplied the recordings for the discs, drawing from the best-available vinyl, acetate and reel-to-reel sources. These were then remastered by Sepia's sound engineer, Robin Cherry. Some of the commercial recordings featured here, such as "Dicitencello Vuie" and "L'Alba Separa dalla Luce l'Ombra," actually sound better than ever before. There are also some beautifully restored rarities, including the thrilling Royal Variety Show performance of "E lucevan le stelle" and a recently discovered (alternate) 1945 test recording of "Mattinata." "Agnus Dei" has also never sounded better.

The two CDs are available now for £9.39 each (including international postage) directly from Sepia Records' UK outlet, ProperMusic.com. And for those who prefer the more expensive Amazon option, the CDs are also available from all of its outlets.

Mario Lanza: Greatest Operatic Recordings, Volume Two

1. Cilea: L’Arlesiana. Lamento di Federico. Recorded 13 July 1955.
2. Scarlatti: L’honestà negli amori. Già il sole dal Gange. Performed at the Royal Albert Hall, London, 16 January 1958. Constantine Callinicos, pianist.
3. Lanza warming up his voice. Recorded in Rome, September 1958.
4. Verdi: Rigoletto. Questa o quella. Recorded 15 May 1950.
5. Verdi: Rigoletto. Parmi veder le lagrime. Recorded 29 May 1950.
6. Donizetti: L’elisir d’amore. Una furtiva lagrima.Recorded 15 May 1950.
7. Verdi: La traviata. Parigi, o cara. With Frances Yeend, soprano. Performed at the Hollywood Bowl, 28 August 1947.
8. Puccini: La bohème. O soave fanciulla. Details as for track #7.
9. Leoncavallo: La bohème. Testa adorata. Recorded 9 May 1952. Source: radio broadcast acetate.
10. Rimsky-Korsakov: Sadko (adapted Mercer). Song of India. Recorded 17 June 1953.
11. Mascagni: Cavalleria rusticana. Bada, Santuzza, schiavo non sono! With Marina Koshetz, soprano. Recorded 17 October 1950.
12. Verdi: Il trovatore. Sconto col sangue mio. With Lucine Amara, soprano. Recorded 19 August 1950.
13. Puccini: Tosca. Qual occhio al mondo. Recorded 13 July 1955.
14. Puccini: Tosca. E lucevan le stelle. Performed at Hollywood Bowl, 28 August 1947.
15. Giordano: Andrea Chénier. Un dì all’azzurro spazio. Details as for #14.
16. Leoncavallo: Pagliacci. Un tal gioco. Details as for #9.
17. Leoncavallo: Pagliacci. Vesti la giubba. Recorded 17 July 1950. Source: RAI broadcast, La Mia Vita per il Canto, 11 October 1959.
18. Verdi: La forza del destino. O tu che in seno agli angeli. Recorded 6 June 1950.
19. Verdi: Aida. Celeste Aida. Recorded 5 May 1949.
20. Verdi: Aida. Gloria all’Egitto. With chorus; Gian Giacomo Guelfi, bass-baritone; and unidentified soloists. Recorded September 1958.
BONUS TRACKS
21. Unknown Aria. Private recording, 22 May 1944. Pianist unknown.
22. Giordano: Madame Sans-Gêne. Questa bocca tua profumata e pura. Home rehearsal, 1952. Pianist Constantine Callinicos.
23. Puccini: Tosca. E lucevan le stelle. Performed at the London Palladium, 18 November 1957. (Royal Variety Show performance)
24. Bizet: Carmen. La fleur que tu m’avais jetée.  Recorded 8 April 1950.
25. Ponchielli: La gioconda. Cielo e mar. Recorded 21 March 1952. Original radio broadcast acetate.

Mario Lanza: My Italian Soul
1. Mamma Mia, Che Vò Sapé? (Mama, What Do You Want to Know?) (Nutile-Russo)
2. Rimpianto (Regret) (Toselli’s Serenade) (Toselli-Silvestri)
3. ’A Vucchella (Little Mouth) (Tosti-D’Annunzio)
4. Torna a Surriento (Come Back to Sorrento) (E. De Curtis-G. De Curtis)
5. La Danza (The Dance) (Rossini-Pepoli) Introduced by Lanza
6. ’O Sole Mio (My Sunshine) (Di Capua-Capurro)
7. Tu Ca Nun Chiagne! (You Who Do Not Cry!) (De Curtis-Bovio)
8. Santa Lucia Luntana (Santa Lucia Far Away) (Mario)
9. Fenesta Che Lucive (The Window That Used to Shine) (G. Cottrau-Paolella)
10. Dicitencello Vuie (You Tell Her) (Falvo-Fusco)
11. ’O Surdato ’Nnammurato (The Soldier in Love) (Cannio-Califano)
12. Voce ’e Notte (Voice in the Night) (De Curtis-Nicolardi) With RCA Italiana chorus.
13. Canta Pe’ Mme! (Sing for Me!) (De Curtis-Bovio)
14. Comme Facette Mámmeta? (How Did Your Mother Make You?) (Gambardella-Capaldo)
15. ’Na Sera ’e Maggio (One Evening in May) (Cioffi-Pisano)
16. Passione (Passion) (Tagliaferri-Valente-Bovio)
17. Senza Nisciuno (Without Anyone) (De Curtis-Barbieri)
18. Vaghissima Sembianza (Very Vague Semblance) (S. Donaudy-A. Donaudy)
19. Serenata (Serenade) (Bracco-Caruso)
20. Pour un Baiser (For a Kiss) (Tosti-Doncieux) Sung in French.
21. Luna d’Estate (Summer Moon) (Tosti)
22. L’Alba Separa dalla Luce l’Ombra (The Dawn Divides the Darkness from the Light) (Tosti-D’Annunzio)
23. Ideale (Ideal) (Tosti-Errico)
BONUS TRACKS
24. Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) (Bizet) Sung in Latin. Live recording
25. Mattinata (Morning) (Leoncavallo) Previously unreleased (newly discovered recording)

Recording information: #1: Recorded May 5, 1949. #2: June 6, 1950. #3: February 23, 1951. #4: June 30, 1955. #5: June 28, 1955. #6: September 1958. #7-16: December 1958. #17-23: June 1959. #24: July 24, 1948. #25: June 1945.

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At last! The identities of the 'Così fan tutte' singers in "For the First Time" are revealed!

4/22/2015

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It has long frustrated many Lanza aficionados (including me!) that the baritone and bass who appear with Mario Lanza in For the First Time in the delightful "E voi ridete" trio from Mozart's Così fan tutte have remained unidentified after all these years.

But no longer! I'm very happy to report that, thanks to information forwarded to me by resident Lanza sleuth Stefanie Walzinger, the two singers have been positively identified as Paolo Silveri (1913-2001), a well-known baritone who sang at the Met, Covent Garden, and La Scala, and bass Plinio Clabassi (1920-1984), who enjoyed a long stage career, and can be heard on quite a number of recordings. Interestingly, Clabassi was married to tenor Beniamino Gigli's daughter, soprano Rina Gigli.

It seems certain from comparing various photographs that Silveri didn't appear in For the First Time, however; instead, another singer lip-synched to his recording. But it may well be his colleague Clabassi whom we see in the film. I hope to have confirmation of that soon.

In the meantime, it's wonderful to have yet another Lanza "mystery" solved. Thank you, Steff!

Plinio Clabassi

Paolo Silveri

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New Operatic CD

1/1/2015

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Unfathomably, for an artist whose film The Great Caruso inspired the careers of many leading opera singers, and whose RCA album of the name was the first operatic LP to sell a million copies, CD compilations of tenor Mario Lanza have long emphasized the lighter part of his recorded legacy. Indeed, as I argue here, the casual buyer/listener would be hard pressed to know that there was more to Lanza than the Great American Songbook and "Be My Love." And yet the tenor made some extraordinary operatic recordings, many of which are known only to his aficionados. Simply put, there has never been a single consistently outstanding CD compilation of Lanza's operatic recordings.

Until now, that is.

I'm delighted to announce that UK-based Sepia Records will be releasing the CD Mario Lanza: Greatest Operatic Recordings on February 9, 2015. This is a Lanza compilation that (for once!) lives up to its title. While it may not contain all of Lanza's greatest operatic performances---no single disc could---my good friend Vincent Di Placido is right on the money when he describes its contents as "all killer, no filler." (Vince, by the way, played a major role in ensuring that the vinyl transfers made for this disc were of the highest-available quality.) And while all of the selections were chosen by Lanza biographer Armando Cesari and me, I can assure you that neither of us has any commercial interest in this CD!

What's on the CD?

1.      Von Flotow: Martha. M’apparì [1950]
2.      Mozart: Così fan tutte. E voi ridete    [1958]
3.      R. Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier. Di rigori armato   [1955]
4.      Puccini: La bohème. Che gelida manina    [1949]
5.      Puccini: Tosca. Recondita armonia    [1950]
6.      Puccini: Tosca. E lucevan le stelle    [1950]
7.      Puccini: Madama Butterfly. Vogliatemi bene [Live performance with Frances Yeend, soprano, 1947]
8.      Puccini: Turandot. Nessun dorma [Live performance]    [1948]
9.      Cilea: L’Arlesiana. È la solita storia (Lamento di Federico)   [Live performance, 1948]
10. Verdi: Rigoletto. È il sol dell’anima…Addio! Addio! [Live performance with Mary Jane Smith, sop., 1949]
11. Mascagni: Cavalleria rusticana. Mamma, quel vino è generoso (Addio alla Madre)   [1950]
12. Leoncavallo: Pagliacci. Vesti la giubba    [1958]
13. Giordano: Andrea Chénier. Un dì all’azzurro spazio (Improvviso)    [1950]
14. Giordano: Andrea Chénier. Come un bel dì di maggio    [1950]
15. Giordano: Fedora. Amor ti vieta   [1955]
16. Meyerbeer: L’Africana. O paradiso    [1955]
17. Verdi: Otello. Dio ti giocondi [Outtake with Gloria Boh, sopano, 1955]
18. Verdi: Otello. Dio! Mi potevi scagliar (Monologue)    [1955]
19. Verdi: Otello. Niun mi tema (Death of Otello)    [1958]
[76 minutes]

Track #17---a ten-minute duet from Otello---is especially noteworthy, as this is not the more familiar commercially released version with the great diva Licia Albanese, but a recording made four months before that rendition. And as great as Lanza is on the Albanese version, he's even better here: more musical, more vocally resplendent, and more terrifying in his characterization of Otello. (The sound quality is acceptable given that the original source was a scratchy 1955 acetate.)

More information about this CD, including specific recording details of each track, can be found on our forum here.

I'll leave you with a paragraph from my liner notes for this disc:

"This CD brings together for the first time arguably the best of Lanza’s live and studio operatic recordings, beginning with the tenor’s forays into lighter, lyric parts, then moving gradually into heavier spinto territory and, finally, dramatic roles. As such, it should be a revelation to many. For the tenor presented here is not the sometimes-erratic artist one hears on numerous lightweight compilations, but an opera singer—and a potentially great one at that. Of course, some will baulk at that description, citing the fact that Lanza performed only two complete roles. But as musicologist Matthew Boyden reminds us, '[That] is a little like claiming that a painter is only ever an artist when his or her work has been shown.'"

The CD is available from Amanzon.com here and at Amazon.co.uk here. A cheaper option (particularly for those outside the UK) is also available here.

Back cover of the CD booklet

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This feature is for news related to Mario Lanza's life and recorded legacy. Postings here will include information about the latest CDs, books, articles, documentaries, and scintillating additions to this site. Anyone is welcome to post responses (see the "Comments" section below each item); we only ask that your posts be both civil and relevant. (Note: If you have a Lanza-related item of interest that you would like us to consider posting, please contact us here.)

Derek McGovern is a New Zealander living in Busan, South Korea, where he works as an associate professor of English literature at Pukyong National University. Smitten from the age of eleven with Mario Lanza's singing, he has been writing (and talking!) about the man ever since.

Operatunity's "The Great Mario Lanza" Tour!

Two More Lanza CDs from Sepia Records!

At last! The identities of the 'Così fan tutte' singers in "For the First Time" are revealed!

New Operatic CD

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