Lanza at the Royal Albert Hall
Derek McGovern
anniversary of Lanza's first recital at London's Royal Albert Hall, I
thought I'd start a discussion thread on this memorable event. As many
of you know, Lanza didn't use a microphone at either of his Albert
Hall recitals - no mean feat considering the vastness of the
auditorium and the less-than-ideal acoustics. But he had no difficulty
at all being heard, much to the surprise of such musical luminaries as
Richard Bonynge and Joan Sutherland, both of whom were in the
audience. As Bonynge later told Armando:
"We were both surprised by the size of the voice. Frankly, we expected
it to be smaller. After all, one hears how film singers' voices are
amplified. We were also impressed by Lanza's innate musicality. No
doubt he could have had an outstanding operatic career."
Nicolai Gedda was also at the recital, and in an amazingly generous
statement about one of his contemporaries declared: "It's the greatest
tenor voice I've ever heard."
Lanza certainly was in great vocal shape that night. Reviewing the
original LP recording of the recital, the respected critic Edward
Greenfield praised Mario's "splendid ringing voice", singled out the
"tasteful" Già il Sole dal Gange, and wrote that he preferred the
album to any of Lanza's other discs! (It's a shame he didn't review
the "Mario!" album as well, though.)
But to be a party pooper for just a moment, impressive as Lanza sounds
here, I don't feel that this recital is representative of his best
singing during that final tour. According to the late Pauline
Franklin, a delightful woman and one of the founding members of the
British Lanza Society, Mario sang more beautifully at his Leicester
recital, which (from memory) she attended four days before the first
Albert Hall concert. I met Pauline in 1982, and she recalled that
Mario's singing in Leicester was much more delicate than it sounds on
the Albert Hall disc, and he certainly didn't shout! She added that
the biggest surprise of the evening was that the voice was more
impressive in person than on any recording that she'd ever heard.
Others who heard Lanza throughout the British segment of his final
tour also singled out his Usher Hall, Edinburgh recital in March as
one of his best performances. (What a shame that one wasn't taped, as
the hall was fully equipped for sound recording - and the acoustics
were apparently excellent.)
Interestingly, an erudite fellow named Steve Bell, who attended
Mario's Manchester recital in March 1958, told me that the recording
that best captured what he heard that evening was not the Albert Hall
disc, but the 1952 home rendition of the Improvviso (which is in our
Files section): "It was the voice I remembered: clear, strong,
focussed and with stunning high notes."
But getting back to the Albert Hall recital, my main reservations
about it are that although Mario's in thrilling voice here, he seldom
uses much light and shade, and overall he's pretty rough in his
approach. My theory, which I've mentioned to a few here before, is
that given the size of the Hall, he was probably over-compensating
with sheer volume (at the expense of style) for fear of not being
heard. If I'm right, he needn't have worried :-)
Several of the songs don't really work, and Marechiare is just plain
awful (especially the second half right through to the brutal ending),
while on Pietà Signore, there's none of the "ravishing mezza voce"
that critic Felix Borowsky had singled out at Lanza's Chicago recital
seven years earlier. (Surprisingly, his low notes are a bit wobbly on
this piece too.) But I doubt that any of these negatives would have
occurred to anyone who was actually there. It must have been an
extraordinary experience. The vibrancy in his singing here, coupled
with that velvety darkness (darker, curiously enough, than at the
Palladium performances just two months earlier) and thrilling upper
register, would have more than compensated for the stylistic
shortcomings.
The highlights for me are Lamento di Federico, Già il Sole dal Gange,
Tell Me, Oh Blue Blue Sky, and Because You're Mine. I also quite like
the E Lucevan le Stelle, and the *ending* to Mamma Mia, Che Vo' Sape
is hard to resist. The House on the Hill is nicely done too - botched
climactic note apart! (But that can happen to any singer in a live
performance.)
So while overall this is Lanza the Showman rather than Lanza the Great
Artist, for me it's still a wonderful record of an important event in
Mario's career. Appearing at Albert Hall in front of 8000+ people with
only a pianist for accompaniment and no mike for comfort or support is
about as raw and terrifying as it gets for *any* operatic artist. The
fact that Lanza did it (twice!) is a heck of a lot more significant
than his non-appearance at a Las Vegas nightclub three years earlier.
But did Time or Newsweek ever report his Albert Hall triumph? I doubt
it.
I'd be very interested in knowing members' thoughts on Lanza's singing
at this recital.
Muriel
written. It's a pity that not more of these concerts were recorded as
we cannot hear the various differences among them. All we know is what
those in attendance have said. What I *can* add is my impression of
Because You're Mine from the Albert Hall concert as I heard it played
on a professional console - don't know the proper name of the
thing...sorry. This is the song that the man (who made CDs from
Derek's tapes) played for me as he tested the condition of the tapes.
Derek used the word "vibrancy" to describe Mario's voice, and it was
surely that, at the very least! At the first note, it seemed like a
cannon had gone off, with ear-splitting suddenness. It was not a sound
that made me want to cover my ears, though, but one so beautiful that
it caused instant tears to form. I know I was covered with goosebumps,
and I hoped the man hadn't noticed my reaction. He too was greatly
impressed and commented on the power of Mario's voice. Mr. Greenfield
was correct in describing it as a splendid, ringing voice, if he and
the audence heard it the way I did.
I don't know where a person had to sit to hear him straight on, but if
his voice carried so well, then it's no wonder this audience gave him
such rousing applause and cheers. I'm sure they were mesmerized to the
point of not noticing the flaws, and why should they? To have heard
the glorious parts sung by this beloved artist standing before them,
was enough to make the memory of a lifetime! It is only now,
listening to the recording that we can study it and separate the great
from the not-so-great. We know what Mario was capable of and we can
wish it was perfect from beginning to end, but such is the result in a
live performance, with no retakes possible.
When I listen to this CD, I play the tracks that please me the most -
probably the same ones Derek quoted with the addition of A Vucchella
and all the special introductions he gave as well. I guess that's all
I can add. I'll be curious to hear what others think too....
On Jan 15, 12:04 pm, "Derek McGovern" <derek.mcgov...@gmail.com>
wrote:
Armando
My theory, which I've mentioned to a few here before, is
that given the size of the Hall, he was probably over-compensating
with sheer volume (at the expense of style) for fear of not being
heard. If I'm right, he needn't have worried :-)
intimidating.
Richard Tauber had been scheduled to give a concert there. He took one
look at the hall and pleaded illness. The concert was cancelled, but
he did sing there a few years later,
Lou
less than the Bonynges, in a hall with "less-than-ideal acoustics" and
a seating capacity more than twice that of the Met should put to rest
once and for all any doubt that Lanza had a voice of operatic
proportions. Come to think of it, beats me why the tiresome myth of
Lanza's having a small voice refuses to die. Even Time Magazine in its
mean-spirited article, "Million-Dollar Voice", concedes that Lanza had
a big voice and that MGM's sound technicians did not tamper with it.
>
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Lover of Grand Voices
acoustics were not the best so I can understand how Mario felt and
handled it. I have not heard the recordings. Are they available on
CD? Please let me know.
If so it would help me comment on the quality of his performance but,
in any case, I am sure it was spectacular. I did visit the place where
a tree was planted in Mario's honor and it is a moving experience.
His photo should be in the Hall along with other greats who performed
at the Royal Albert.
All the best
Emilio
Derek McGovern
on CD is called Live From London (it was formerly "A Mario Lanza
Program" on LP):
http://www.amazon.com/Live-London-Siegfried-Behrend/dp/B000003FLG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1200511325&sr=8-1
It appears the CD is no longer available directly from Amazon (has BMG
deleted it perhaps?), but you can still purchase it through their
online sellers at the above link.
Vince Di Placido
great post (as always!)
It made me sit down with my dear old Dad & talk about the evening he
shared with Mario in 1958 at the Usher hall in Edinburgh, he was 22
years old in March 1958 & has told me about that experience many times
but I wanted to hear it again.
Papa says Mario looked very well & relaxed & received a great welcome
as he walked out between the seating at the back of the stage that
seats some of the audience (just like The Albert Hall does). Mario's
voice filled the Usher Hall & was FREE, FULL, RINGING & there was no
strain whatsoever, Dad had been singing himself for quite a few years
& had studied with good teachers, he told me Mario's voice was BIG &
was the same beautiful instrument he knew from countless recordings,
in fact Dad says Mario was more impressive than he had been on some
recordings.
Mario leaned against the piano quite a bit, Dad didn't understand why
until he read the newspapers the next day when they explained Mario
was trying to take the strain of his leg, Dad says he walked perfectly
though. As Mario went for one of his breaks, walking past the audience
seated at the back of the stage a man said something to him & Mario
stopped & put his arms warmly around his shoulders & crouched to
listen to him & shared a laugh before walking off. Mario had a glass
of water on the piano that Costa had moved & when Mario later went to
go for a drink & it wasn't there he jokingingly gestured to punch
Costa, Dad says the whole evening was fantatsic & he was just amazed
Mario was there in front of him, Dad was 5 rows from the stage!! Mario
excused his casual dress on lost luggage, we all know now this was
standard practice.
The most important thing I wanted to clear up was whether his approach
& interpretation was different to The Albert Hall recording, Dad says
his singing at The Usher Hall was beautiful, expressive & had a great
ring to it & when the album of The Albert Hall concert was released he
remebers thinking that the singing was better in Edinburgh.
I'm sorry this is so badly written, I just wanted to quickly write
down my impressions after talking to Papa.
Derek McGovern
father was at Usher Hall!
I'm very glad we have such a reliable eyewitness's account of Lanza's
singing there, and it's interesting that your father also thought that
the Albert Hall performance was not quite up to the same standard.
Tell me: does your father feel that the Mario! album (which, of
course, was recorded only nine months after he heard him in Edinburgh)
is a good representation of the voice that he heard that evening? To
my ears, it's not *quite* as fresh a sound as we hear on the Albert
Hall disc (with the exception of things like Canta Pe' Me), and is
slightly darker in timbre, but it'd be interesting to know what your
father thinks in this regard.
I love the story about Mario crouching down and chatting to one of the
concertgoers with his arm around him. How many other singers would do
such a thing? And yet it was so typical of the man's spontaneity and
warmth!
On Jan 17, 8:32 am, Vince Di Placido <vincent.diplac...@gmail.com>
wrote:
>
Vince Di Placido
Usher Hall had darkened from the early fifties, of course, but not to
the extent of the baritonal sound of the Mario! album, but says there
was an impressisive ring to the voice, he was aware of the slight
darkening of Mario's voice through Serenade, Lanza on Broadway (Yes!
Papa bought them all!) & Cavalcade of show tunes so he had become
accustomed to Mario's new timbre. But he says he heard the voice he
knew & loved from recordings & films, He says he was just fantatsic.
Vince Di Placido
the photo they took of Mario in his suite in the Carlton hotel while
he was in Edinburgh. I'll scan it tomorrow & upload it to our files.
On Jan 16, 8:55 pm, Vince Di Placido <vincent.diplac...@gmail.com>
Derek McGovern
photo! I have seen a small pic of him eating (what look to be) kippers
in his Edinburgh hotel suite, but even it's the same photo, it'd be
great to have a decent version of it. I recall, too, that he did look
quite well in the pic. And just to be really greedy :-): if, by any
chance, you have the reviews of that recital, they'd be fascinating to
read.
On Jan 17, 10:40 am, Vince Di Placido <vincent.diplac...@gmail.com>
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Vince Di Placido
it out, the program from the concert is in there but I don't remember
seeing reviews from the concert but I'll try locate it. Everything is
in there reported in the newspapers & magazines as it happened:
falling out with MGM, The Student Prince, Miming on Shower of stars,
Serenade, moving to Italy etc. It was something I looked through
constantly as I was growing up.
Muriel
Mario in Scotland. Such an experience is priceless! As he was a singer
himself, I'm sure he noticed a lot more than the average fan would
have. I can well imagine how impressed he was with Mario's tangible
voice. He heard the power, the beauty, firsthand. We can only hear as
well as our home equipment allows us to hear, but we get an enormous
thrill from that as well.
Mario sounds like a warm man with a sense of humor, in addition to his
down-to-earth attitude. I'll bet it was his South Philadelphia
background, knowing how people in his neighborhood related to one
another that manifested itself as he stopped to embrace that man in
the audience. He loved the interaction with his very appreciative
audience as they made him feel at home and adored. I think Mario
missed the human aspect of stardom with so many always trying to get
something from him. Poor guy, he needed more people like us around!!
Thank you, too, for adding those lovely pictures to the files. This
makes our Lanza site so special. I added one picture to an essay of
mine earlier today, and I struggled with it! I could use your guiding
hand as I'd love to do more here to help Derek. I use the *hit and
miss* method, I'm afraid. At least I didn't delete the whole page
section!!
Keep your love for Mario always in your heart and you will be one
happy person. You are young and have many years to enjoy the legacy he
left us...
Con amore, Muriel
On Jan 16, 2:32 pm, Vince Di Placido <vincent.diplac...@gmail.com>
wrote:
Derek McGovern
Armando and I were just admiring the quality of the print. The detail
is amazing, and Mario does indeed look very well here.
By the way, that interesting colour photo of Mario that you've just
added comes from a September 1949 magazine article. It's actually back
to front! I've just added another interesting photo from the same
magazine article to our Files section; this one's in black and white,
and it's quite a different Lanza pose. (Armando has literally hundreds
of photos in his collection that I've never seen before!)
We played the Albert Hall E Lucevan le Stelle last night. Hearing it
through superior speakers, I was blown away by the quality of Lanza's
voice here. Whatever one can say about his stylistic shortcomings
here, the voice is phenomenal on this recital.
Vince Di Placido
I love that photo you just added! Do
you have it without the text? Yeah! I noticed Mario's parting was on
the wrong side in my colour photo, I'll flip it around tomorrow, I was
just so excited to find it in the scrapbook & wanted to scan & upload
it straight away. I played The Albert Hall concert while I was
scanning the scrapbook this afternoon & I was impressed by how much
Mario had the audience in the palm of his hand, he was just so
charming & there are moments of vocal beauty, not nearly enough,
granted, but there are great moments.
Yes, the print of Mario in Edinburgh
is fantastic quality. it's a shame they caught Mario before he
straightened himself up. I think it is the only photograph I've seen
where Mario has stubble.
I hope you are having a great time.
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Derek McGovern
Happy reading!