Recordings
This will not be a comprehensive list of all of Mario's recordings, as a lot of the records are no longer available, except from second hand suppliers and some of the better dealers in out of print records, but rather a list of CDs and tapes that should be currently available, as we receive news of releases we will update the list, hopefully with reviews and some sleeve comments.
Click on pictures for track list
"Mario
Lanza Opera Arias and Duets" RCA
Victor CD number 09026-63491-2,
This latest Mario CD is an absolute treasure for Mario admirers and
opera lovers alike, not only is it the only CD that presents Mario in
all opera arias and duets but it is a CD that also presents him in
recordings made early in his career 1950 to those made at a later
period 1955, from the April 1950 recording
of
"Stolta paura" from Madam Butterfly with Elaine Malbin to the
November 1955 recording of "Dio ti giocondi" with Licia Albanese,
also included for the first time are the May 1950 recordings of the
two arias from Andrea Chenier both of these arias are magnificently
sung as is the "La fleur que tu m'avais jetee" from Carmen recorded
March 1952, this version is much more refined than the version that
was recorded later. For the critics who consistantly remark that
later in his career Mario's voice was experiencing problems I would
point you to track number 2 "Amor ti vieta" this aria was recorded
for the "Mario Lanza radio show" of June 6th 1952, the same aria was
recorded for the film Serenade in 1955, listening to the 1955
recording shows just how more mature Mario's voice had become in just
three years, the 1955 recording is so much smoother and sung with so
much more feeling. This selection starts with the 1952 recording of
"Celeste Aida" and finishes with the "Otello" duet with Licia
Albanese, there are 15 tracks in all with a running time of almost 68
minutes and it is a 68 minute musical journey of magnificent singing
with almost unbelievable feeling, power and tenor singing of beauty
and brilliant translation of the roles that the arias are derived
from. This Cd is very highly recommended to all whether they be Mario
fans or lovers of fine operatic tenor singing.
"Mario
Lanza in Hollywood",
Soundies
CD number SCD4101, This CD contains 17 tracks from Mario's first two
movies "That midnight kiss" and "The toast of New Orleans". I have to
praise this CD to the hilt, the sound is brilliant, the frequency
response is full and clean, the voice is bright and clear and the
remastering is great. Nearly all the songs from both movies are
there, in fact the only thing that is missing is the "Love is music"
from the end of "That midnight kiss" but that track is included on
the "Greatest performances at MGM" CD, from the first track "Che
gelida manina" to the last the duet "Stolta paura" from Madam
Butterfly you will be enthralled. The only part of this CD that I
would have a critical comment on is the liner notes, they are written
by Paul Aguirre, who it proudly announces is a film and theater
historian, the problem is that most of the facts are wrong, for
example Mario was never a truck driver except in the fertile minds of
the MGM publicity machine, Mario's name change from Alfredo Cocozza
had nothing to do with MGM, he was using the name Mario Lanza during
the 1945 "Celanese Hour" radio programs which predates his Hollywood
connection by two years, also the great Dane Lauritz Melchior who
sang the great tenor heroes of Wagnerian opera for three decades,
among many of his other great triumphs of the tenor repertoire, will
be pleased to learn that he is in fact a baritone, even the most
cursory of examination of the opera genre would have brought to light
this gross mistake, please record companies if you are going to
include liner notes make sure they are accurate.
"Lanza
sings Christmas carols" Cd number 09026-63178-2. This Cd is one of
BMGs Living Stereo releases.
"Living Stereo" this Cd is not it is a very poor effort at remastering even though it states that it is a 20bit recording. The voice is almost unrecognizable, there are no ringing high notes and even the low notes sound very wobbly, it is as though the voice has been compressed, the orchestra is not any better although there are some high frequency sounds at times the bass sounds very indistinct. I played the Cd and the original vinyl German pressing number PRL1-9083 and switched from one to the other to compare, the result is that the vinyl is far superior to the remastered Cd, the voice is clear and definitely much more the Lanza voice, the orchestra is more vivid and the chorus is much clearer, on the Cd Mario sounds very tired and lethargic. If you want this particular set of "Lanza sings Christmas carols" then try to find a print of the German pressing vinyl, but give the new Cd a big miss. There is another Cd RCA number 6427-2RG "Christmas with Mario Lanza" which is a Cd release of the October 1956 recording which is magnificent.
Mario
Lanza "When day is done" CD number 09026-63254-2. All of the tracks
on this Cd are taken from the 1950/52 Coke shows, all but two have
been released before on vinyl records, if you have the vinyl releases
and have enjoyed them then you are in for a real treat, as the saying
goes "you aint heard nothing yet" this Cd is marked AAD but don't be
fooled the sound reproduction is magnificent. Two of the tracks have
not been released before, they are "My Romance" and "One Night of
Love" these are different takes to those you have been used to, six
of the tracks include the spoken introduction by Mario. The
remastering is first class, the fullness of the sound and the clarity
of Mario's voice is magnificent, I am of the opinion that this is
back to how Mario's voice sounded, full powered and so emotional that
you live the song with him, every track on this disc is so
exeptional as the Lanza at his best was his
best in the Italian and Neapolitan songs then this is certainly at
his best in ballads and love songs. An absolute gem a must for all
admirers of Mario Lanza, and to those of you who may be looking for
something of Mario to find out what all the fuss is about, this is
also the disc for you, you will be amazed.
Mario
Lanza "Encore" Cd number DMC2-1709. This 2 Cd set was produced by
Harvest Music International, it is produced as BMG special products
in the USA and is only available by mail order. The Cd is an AAD
format but do not be fooled by this as it contains exceptionally good
clarity, the tracks that are here that originally sounded slightly
boxy have lost all of that sound, they sound as though they are brand
new recordings most of them sound better on this disc than they have
ever done even on the original release, in fact Harvest are to be
congratulated on this effort. Each disc has 15 tracks and includes an
excellent spread of Mario's Italian songs, Neapolitan songs and
operatic arias and covers recordings that range over a substantial
part of his career. I will not list all of the tracks as this will
take up too much of the available space, disc 1 starts of with
Funiculi Funicula which does sound clearer than the original record
track, track 2 is La donna e mobile which has the real Mario vibrant
sound back again, track 7 is A Vucchella which sounds like a lot of
the harshness that was evident in this track has gone and the
sweetness of sound from The Great Caruso era is back again, disc 2
starts with Vieni sul mar this song has always sounded as though it
had an echo, it still has that sound although it is nowhere near as
evident, track 2 is Ave Maria beautifully sung as only Mario could
sing it the sound is absolutely crystal clear, track 10 is Serenata
and this is how it should sound very smoothly sung with lots of
feeling it sounds like all the shadows have been removed and it has
burst into light, track 13 O tu che in segno agli angeli is fantastic
nearly all the compression sound has gone and all the power and
feeling has been restored to the voice.
This
is a marvelous disc set, the
sound is remarkably vibrant and clear, the orchestras are once again
evident and support the singer rather that being suppressed into the
background. Overall if we could get all of Mario's legacy with the
same attention to detail and with the same clarity released onto high
quality Cds like the 24kt gold series or the new 24/96 digital
format, we would never ask for anything more.
"Be
my love" Greatest Performances at M-G-M
CD Rhino R2
72958 This Cd is the most important Lanza
release in the last 30 years as it includes material never before
released on Cd or record. The quality of the sound is a bit uneven
between tracks, I think this may be due to the different media of the
source material, but the actual sound is excellent. From "That
Midnight Kiss" we have "They didn't believe me" duet with Kathryn
Grayson also the finale from the film "Love is music" there are 4
tracks from "Toast of New Orleans" and 5 from the "Great Caruso" two
of these tracks deserve comment the sextet from "Lucia di Lammermoor"
without the birth announcements is excellent but the real gem is
"Vesti la giubba" this is a different take and it is magnificent it
starts off quite relaxed with the recitativo and as it moves through
the aria the tension and the anger mount, until by the end you know
for a fact that this man is capable of murder, in my opinion this is
the best that I have ever heard this aria sung, the version by Enrico
Caruso may be on a par with it but no recorded version surpasses it,
there are 6 tracks from "Because you're mine" all are great but two
really stand out "All the things you are" that was not used in the
film is beautifully sung, you have never heard Mario sing this song
like this before and "The Lords Prayer" this sounds like a different
take to that used in the film, it is so moving that it is hard to
listen to for the fact that it brings home to you that the person who
could sing with this intensity and purity of tone is no longer with
us, it is a really emotional experience, the first time I played it I
had to turn it off half way through it is sung so much from the heart
that you can physically feel it.
From "The
student prince" there are 3 selections
"Serenade" complete with the introduction music that was left out
before, "Deep in my heart dear" with Ann Blyth which is lovely, and
last of all the rendition of "Beloved" that caused all the trouble on
the set, I think this take is better than that used in the film, it
has more feeling which to Curtis Bernhardt was the problem, but by
this time in the story the prince is no longer the Prussian Pickle
but he is truly in love and I think that this take was very
appropriate particularly listen to the line "let come whatever
tonight or never" the elation on the "Tonight" and the despair on the
"Never" this Cd is an absolute must not only for Lanza fans but for
anyone who is at all partial to his singing. Highly
Recommended.
"Mario
Lanza at his best" CD No.09026 68130 2
The italian
songs part of this CD is a vast
improvement on the original record release, the stereo effect is much
more evident and the voice is more pronounced, the "Vagabond King" is
slightly better than the record, although it is still disappointing,
it still has the original compression sound to it, it needs to be
remastered from the original tapes, and respliced without the false
sounding added ambience which makes the voices sound strained and far
away, it is a very worth while disc for Mario singing "Santa Lucia
Luntana" which he does to perfection with real feeling, "Voce 'e
notte" is very haunting, "Funiculi Funicula" is a happy tune anyway
but Mario is really enjoying it. Overall the italian songs are Mario
at his best.
"Don't
Forget Me" CD No.09026 61420 2
This is a
first class Mario CD made in collaboration
with Clyde Smith, who also wrote the cover notes, in the note from
the producer the point is made that Mario's voice was difficult to
record on the equipment of the day, this is a fact we cannot ignore
when listening to the recordings transferred onto todays medium, but
this CD is a revelation, the voice is ringing when it needs to be and
sweet and tender at other times, the remastering is exeptionally well
done, the tracks sound fresh and new. This disc is a must for all
admirers of the great Mario, and for those who are just discovering
his voice it is a catalogue of the variety Mario was so admired for,
from opera to the popular songs of the day, and also marvelous
examples of italian songs sung the way they were meant to be sung,
the song of the title is the last track "Non ti scordar di me" if
this was the only CD we had heard of Mario, on the strength of this
disc alone we would not forget him.
"Be
My Love" Cd No.GD60720
This Cd
features some of Mario's best loved songs
from the title song to items that include "Danny Boy"and "My Wild
Irish Rose", to "Ave Maria" and "You'll never walk alone", it also
includes some Neapolitan songs like "Maria mari" and "O sole Mio" and
a previously unreleased "Neapolitan love song". A very good Lanza Cd
with an excellent selection of items particularly for anyone
interested in Mario but would like a Cd that will give a good idea of
the versatility of his singing, the only area that it does not cover
is his interpretation of opera arias, but then there are a number of
disks that feature this part of his repertoire.
"Lanza"
Cd No.BPCD5063
This Cd
contains a wide variety of material including
selections from "The Student Prince" and "The Vagabond King" also a
number of items from the "Cavalcade of Show Tunes" record. Hear Mario
sing a fantastic rendition of "The Donkey Serenade" also included are
"You'll never walk alone" from "Carousel" and "With a song in my
heart" from "Spring is here" other items include "The Lords Prayer"
and "Ave Maria" also one opera aria "Vesti la Giubba" from
"Pagliacci" as only Mario can sing it, there are 18 tracks in all, a
disk like the preceding Cd, a very good disk to introduce anyone to
Mario as it contains a wide selection of numbers and highlights his
exceptional versatility.
"You
do something to me" Cd No.CAD1-450
This is an
RCA Camden Cd release of a digitally
remastered version of the RCA Camden record of the same name, if you
would like a demonstration of the difference that digital remastering
makes get hold of a copy of this Cd. the copy I have is made in
Canada and may be difficult to obtain here, but it would be worth the
effort to find it. Two tracks of great interest are "Song of India"
this is a great example of the feeling that mario could put into a
song, and also his ability to sing difficult vocal lines, the other
very interesting track is the aria "O Tu Che in Seno Agli Angeli"
from "La Forza del Destino" by Verdi, and it is worth finding for
this aria alone, also included are "Lygia" based on the theme from
"Quo Vadis" and "Someday" from "The Vagabond King" there are 11
tracks in all, it is only a short Cd it runs for approximately 40
minutes but is well worth having in any Mario collection.
"The
Great Caruso" CD No.GD60049
As with the
comments of the film what else can be
said of this recording, except that it would have been better to have
presented the tracks as they were in the film, never the less as they
are presented here they are vintage Mario, most of the opera
presentations are here excluding gems like the actII sextet from
"Lucia di Lammermoor" and the lovely "Marta" finale featuring the
"Last Rose of Summer" tune that ended the film. Also included are a
selection of Caruso favorites which include among others "Musica
Proibita" "Vieni sul mar" and "Ideale" a song that was very closely
associated with Caruso. If you are an admirer of Mario Lanza's
singing of opera arias or traditional Italian songs, the this disc
should be in your collection.
"The
Mario Lanza Collection" CD No.GD60889(3)
This is a 3 CD set featuring a taste of almost the full range of
Mario's vocal presentations, it starts with "Be My Love" on disc 1
and continues right through to "Addio alla madre" at the end of disc
3, and in between there is a whole gammut of song and arias, 61
tracks in all, there are songs and arias that are readily associated
with Mario, and quite a number that usually are not, tracks like
"Ciribiribin" "This Land" and "Somewhere a voice is calling" these
three tracks are very rarely heard but each one is a revelation of
just how much effort that Mario put into each and every song, also
Mario's four million sellers are featured with their "B" sides as
they appeared on the original records. For anyone starting a Lanza
collection or for dedicated fans who would like to hear these songs
as they sounded on the first releases this is The Set, the
remastering is first class and the fidelity is magnificent,
particularly as some of the tracks were originally released on 78s
and some on very early LPs. Overall an excellent set.
"Mario
Lanza -
Serenade and A Cavalcade of
Show Tunes"
RCA/BMG number 82876 625932. Two great records on the one CD, this is
the third offering of two complete records on the one CD.
For comment or further information email Michael Davis
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