Mario Lanza: A Discography
Operatic Recordings
by Derek McGovern
About the 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. (This service is being updated regularly.) 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, a starting point is
Mario Lanza: Opera Arias and Duets (BMG, 1999). 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.
Last, but not least, there are a number of recent (2015~2025) CDs released by Sepia Records that cumulatively feature almost all of Lanza's best operatic recordings. These are drawn from a variety of sources, including live broadcasts, acetates from Lanza's films, and commercial material. Two of these Sepia discs are devoted entirely to opera---Mario Lanza: Greatest Operatic Recordings and Greatest Operatic Recordings, Vol. 2---while The Undiscovered Mario Lanza offers numerous outtakes and operatic rarities. And perhaps best of all: both Golden Days and Night and Day feature many of the tenor's finest operatic recordings in stereo for the first time.
Please note that while the aforementioned Sepia CDs were compiled by me, Armando Cesari, and Vincent Di Placido, none of us has any financial interest in these discs.
I intend to provide a more detailed discography (featuring exact recording dates, conductors' names, etc) here when time permits.