Miscellaneous Lanza-related questions and comments

[Derek McGovern]

Please use this thread for any miscellaneous questions/comments, etc.
about Mario Lanza that you don't feel warrant an individual thread.

[Derek McGovern]

I'm just moving the following posts to this thread. (They were
originally on a thread titled "Mario's legacy," but since we already
have two other threads about Lanza's "legacy", I thought it best to
delete the discussion to avoid confusing everyone.)

On August 16 Jan wrote:

Derek.. Please move this to the appropriate thread.

Mario still continues to inspire people even after 50 years and if
anyone
doubted the value of his screen career there is present day proof.

Last night while watching the news on National Television there was an
item
on the Australian Singing Competition and they featured a young
ethnically
Chinese man with quite a nice operatic voice. When they interviewed
him he
stated he wasn't interested in opera at all until when he was 17 he
saw The
Great Caruso with Mario Lanza.
Jan

****************

Derek replied:

Hi Jan: Considering the fact that The Great Caruso came out almost 60
years ago, it's very gratifying that the film is still weaving its
magic. But I'm not really surprised. Lanza is in such fantastic vocal
shape in that film that one would have to be musically deaf not to
appreciate that his is a voice -- to quote Koussevitzky -- "such as is
heard once in a hundred years."

The amazing thing about Lanza's appeal, though, is that it even
extends to rock and pop musicians:

http://groups.google.com/group/mariolanza/browse_thread/thread/faff99cd22d2c7aa

*****************

On August 31 Emilio wrote:

I just read an excerpt from French tenor Roberto Alagna's bio. He
devotes considerable credit to Lanza and The Great Caruso to having
inspired him to sing. He writes about his being mesmerized by the
voice which propelled him to be a tenor.

All the best
Emilio

[Derek McGovern]

I've just created a page bringing together the reminiscences of
Herbert Grossman and Gloria Boh in one essay:

http://groups.google.com/group/mariolanza/web/firsthand-accounts-of-working-with-mario-lanza

[Derek McGovern]

I find it incredible that The Great Caruso *still* isn't available on
DVD! It's currently at #253 on TCM's most-wanted (on DVD) list with
468 votes, so let's do our bit to push it up a decent number of
notches:

http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title.jsp?stid=1782

(And while you're at that site, why not vote for Serenade, The Student
Prince & FTFT as well?!)

[Byron Hays]

I certainly will!

-Byron

[norma]

I`ve added my vote.When you consider some of the rubbish that is on
DVD it is beyond belief why all mario`s films aren`t. Still we`ll
keep praying.
I have the CD 101 essential opera favourites and heard Carlo Bergonzi
singing Donna non vidi mai from Manon Lescaut which I thought was
beautiful and immediately wished Mario had sung this.Do you also think
it would have been perfect for Mario?

[Derek McGovern]

Hi Norma: Good on you (and Byron) for voting. I see that The Great
Caruso has now moved from #253 to #248 on the "most wanted" on DVD
list at TCM. It all helps!

Oh, yes, Donna Non Vidi Mai would have been perfect for Lanza. In
fact, I'd love to have heard him sing anything from Manon Lescaut.
While the opera itself is a bit disjointed (Act IV seems tacked on,
for example), the tenor role (Des Grieux) contains some truly
wonderful music. One of my favourite moments in the opera is at the
end of Act III, when Des Grieux sings "No, Pazzo son" as he begs the
Captain of the ship on which his beloved Manon is being taken away
(she's being deported to America!) to let him accompany her.

Check out the 39-year-old Domingo singing "No, Pazzo Son." He does a
great job of it, and visually he even reminds me of Mario here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn3ViDzVs4s

[Derek McGovern]

I'm just moving the following post from Barry to this thread. (By the
way, Barry: if you're not sure where to post questions like this in
future, you can simply use this thread.)

"I'm not sure as to if this is the place to pose questions, but I was
just watching 'Midnight Kiss', and, was wondering when Mario was
auditioning for Jose Iturbi, the cameras occasionally would show the
faces of the cast members there...does anyone know if they had
anything to say about Mario's voice, whether good or bad? To me, his
singing here is about as good as it gets. A youthful Mario without any
'Hollywoodisms'."

Barry: The only people in that scene (the Una Furtiva Lagrima one)
whom I know for sure were interviewed about Lanza were Keenan Wynn,
Kathryn Grayson, and Jose' Iturbi. Armando interviewed all three. Wynn
admired Lanza, Iturbi felt that he had "the voice, temperament, and
flair of a supreme singing actor," and Grayson considered him greater
(vocally) than Caruso.

Not bad! :-)

[norma]

With regard to the above, if anyone wants to check out the aria I
wish Mario had sung ,you can find it on youtube under The twenty
better tenors- Carlo Bergonzi.

[Derek McGovern]

I see that the Hollywood journalist and teller of tall tales, James
Bacon, has just died at the age of 96. Bacon featured in a couple of
US television programmes on Lanza, including Mario Lanza: The American
Caruso in 1982, and enjoyed promoting the ridiculous story that
Mario's death was at the hands of the Mafia. According to Bacon, Lanza
couldn't have died of a heart attack because Rocky Marciano had told
him (Bacon) that "Mario had the strongest heart of anyone I've ever
known." ??!!

Even in death, Bacon isn't exactly doing Mario any favours. Here's a
snippet from an online article just out today:

"I was fortunate to have known Jim Bacon -- we'd both spent many years
reporting for the AP from around the world in our careers -- and I'd
occasionally take him out to lunch and just listen quietly while he'd
tell me about his many years covering Hollywood. The story I remember
best? How the old MGM and MCA publicity machine had conspired with him
to cover up a rape committed by then huge star Mario Lanza."

From http://www.deadline.com/2010/09/r-i-p-james-bacon/

Grrrr!

[Derek McGovern]

I'm just moving Byron's post from another thread, as it fits in better
here:

Derek - hope the partying in S. Korea is not too overwhelming! I guess
they do the firecracker thing, etc.?

Have a question. Could you hazard a GUESS as to how many hundreds,
thousands, etc., Mario fans there are spread around the globe? Do the
other fan clubs in Europe (I understood once that there was one in
Russia as well), Australia and ?elsewhere also have active forums as
yours and LL and Rense?

Don't know if this is a subject that has ever been brought up, but it
is of particular interest to me, and naturally I come to you for your
knowledge (and thank you again for that).

Kind regards,
Byron

********

Hi Byron: I haven't seen any fireworks (that's more a Lunar New Year
thing), but I've certainly seen a lot of eating and drinking! Chuseok,
as Korean Thanksgiving is called, is a three-day event, of which the
middle day (yesterday) is the most important. It begins at 8am with
bowing to one's ancestors, followed by lavish feasting and some rather
potent rice wine. Actually, it's not just Korea that celebrates
Thanksgiving at this time; China and other countries in Asia that
follow the lunar calendar also do so.

Anyway, back to Lanza: Judging by the number of 50th anniversary (of
his death) tributes that have taken place around the world during the
last year (see this thread for info:
http://groups.google.com/group/mariolanza/browse_thread/thread/b02dcca27b720cbc#),
I'd say that he's remarkably popular for someone who's been gone for
so long and who had such a short career. Mario seems to be especially
popular these days in the UK.

Off the top of my head, I can only think of one other online forum for
Lanza, and that's Roberto Scandurra's Italian site: http://www.mariolanza.it.
There's also a Paris-based Lanza club (http://www.operaclubdeparis-
mariolanza.fr/ctn/wordpress/read-in-english/), but I don't think their
website -- which, incidentally, boasts some wonderful audio clips of
Lanza -- has a forum.

As for the three English-language Lanza forums, I think it's fair to
say that each one caters for a different kind of Lanza admirer.

Cheers
Derek

[Derek McGovern]

This came via a Google Mario Lanza alert today:

`LANZA!' SINGS

Students from the University of Miami's Frost School of Music are
working with Grammy-Award-winning producer Phil Ramone (whose résumé
includes work with Billy Joel, Barbra Streisand and Paul Simon) to
craft a potential Broadway hit. Lanza!, a musical about the success
and self-destruction of 1950s singer-actor Mario Lanza, will get a
concert presentation at 8 p.m. Nov. 9 at UM's Maurice Gusman Concert
Hall, 1314 Miller Dr., Coral Gables.

The show's songs and orchestrations will be student-created, the Henry
Mancini Institute Orchestra will play the score, and students from the
theater department and the musical theater/opera program will form the
cast. A cast album, electronic sets and behind-the-scenes documentary
are planned, with graduate students in the Arts Presenting and Live
Entertainment program overseeing production and marketing. Tickets are
$15-$50. Info: 305-284-8289 or music.miami.edu.

[norma]

Ihave been reading about the passagio in a book called The Voice
Doctor by Arnold Maran.I understand that this is when the voice
changes from the chest voice to the head voice. He states that wheras
most tenors change at around D and E, Mario entered the passagio at
F and G. This gives an enormous excitement and flair to the Dand E
sung with a high chest voice.I am quoting.Please could Armando
give an example of where Mario enters the passagio for good or not so
good as I am ignorant of this. T hanks a million for all the
information on this site.

[Armando]

Hi Norma: An example of Mario entering the passaggio is in ‘E lucevan
le stelle’, on the phrase ‘Le belle forme disciogliea dai veli’.

He goes from E on *for* to F sharp on *me* to G on *di* to A on *scio*
back to G on *gliea.*

However, such was the ease of his voice emission that the switch from
chest to head voice is not apparent. Quite remarkable!

I hope I have been sufficiently clear in explaining this.

[Derek McGovern]

Glad you brought this up, Norma. I've always felt that Lanza's ability
to switch almost seamlessly throughout the three vocal registers is
one of his most underrated qualities. No obvious "gear shifts" with
him! Yet how often do the critics even mention this quality (if indeed
they were even aware of it)? The only occasion I can think of is at
his final recital -- in Kiel, Germany, in April 1958 -- when Dr. Kurt
Klukist of the Lubecher Nachricten praised "the well synchronized join
between [Mario's vocal] registers."

The good Doctor also pointed out other qualities that seem to have
eluded most of Lanza's other critics: "The faultless breathing
technique, the elastic precision of his wording." And he put his
finger on the essence of Mario's appeal: "His delivery is not a
technical exercise, but an event of blessed southern sensuality."

We read so often that Lanza needed more vocal training -- that his
voice wasn't ready for the stage. Well it was. As Licia Albanese has
noted, the only thing he needed was coaching -- not on vocal
technique, but on repertoire. Someone to rein him in when necessary on
stylistic matters and correct him when he made musical mistakes.
Giacomo Spadoni was one of those people (and we can hear the fruits of
his labor in Serenade and in the third Hollywood Bowl performance).
Franco Zauli in Rome was another.

Cheers
Derek

[Maria Luísa]

Sorry to bother you Derek but I just read in your answer to Norma's
comment that Mario did a third Hollywood Bowl performance. I did not
have knowledge of such occurrance. Either I forgot all about it which
is a bit strange to me or I never heard about the same which is even
more strange I must say.

Anyway I had a quick look down all your Home page to find out if
there was some mention to it but naturally there wasn't because it
must not be the right place to look for, I believe. Could I please ask
you where can I look for so that I could listen to it? That is in case
you keep it in your immense beautiful archive about Lanza. Thanks very
much in advance Derek.

[Derek McGovern]

Hi Luísa: Lanza did indeed make a third appearance at the Hollywood
Bowl. On 16 August 1949, he sang Celeste Aida and the duet E' il Sol
dell'Anima....Addio! Addio! from Rigoletto with Mary Jane Smith.
Sadly, no recording of the Celeste Aida has turned up, but we do have
the Rigoletto duet. You can hear it on the CD that accompanies
Armando's book.

What I wouldn't give to hear that Celeste Aida! It was the last time
that Lanza sang the aria in concert, and given how good his singing is
on the Rigoletto duet, I'd imagine he more than delivered the vocal
goods.
Presumably it *was* broadcast, as our tape begins with a scripted Mary
Jane Smith asking Mario to stay on for a duet. He must have just
performed the aria.

Cheers
Derek

PS: You may find this Time Line a useful reference for many of the
significant events of Lanza's life and career:

http://groups.google.com/group/mariolanza/web/mario-lanza-a-time-line

[Maria Luísa]

Thanks very much Derek. I went to read the Time line and there it is
in fact your mention of such third concert. I have Armando's first
book from Amazon which came with a CD which I listened to immediately
the day I received it but that was quite some time ago. Perhaps that
is why I had a vague idea that somewhere somehow I had read
"something" about that third Mario's performance at H.B. I've
forgotten all about it and that because I kept the book religiously
right after reading it twice with an interval of few days. Now I'm
going to listen to that CD again.

It is a pity though that as you say there's no Celeste Aida recording
of that H.B. third Concert. For me it was an experience never to
forget to listen to his fabulous C.A. in The Great Caruso. To be
honest all the arias and song he sings in that adorable film is always
to remember. To cite just an example the more than beautiful
Because. I have the same feeling in respect to his extraordinary
Lamento di Federico of Serenade and his sad wonderful unforgetable
Vesti of his last film. But there are a lot more of course.

Mario's voice by 49 was already great but in my humble opinion it
reached its maxim greatness, extreme beauty and astonishing power,
incredibly almost immediately, that is a year after, by 1950/51 and
from then on he miraculously never lost those exceptional qualities
until the day he died, with the very few exceptions we all know.

Those exceptions happened sometimes due to his bad health and others
for lack of time to practice the songs and arias properly (not his
fault since he was a perfectionist) and finally his big last
depression gotten after being forbidden to portray his most desirable
The Student Prince. This is another dream of a film but essentially
due to Mario's glorious unique voice. Thank you once more Derek.

[norma]

Hi Armando,Thanks a .million for your information about Mario`s
passaggio I listened to`e Lucevan le stelle and agree that the change
is so smooth.I shall listen to his other recordings with greater
insight.

> > > $15-$50. Info: 305-284-8289 or music.miami.edu.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

[zsazsa]

Hi Derek,
here is a very interesting write up about Mario and the forthcoming
musical on Nov. 9 at UM`s Maurice Gusman Concert Hall. I enjoyed to
read it very much and do hope that you`ll like it as well. Have great
week and Cheerio from Susan

[zsazsa]

Hi Derek,
sorry for my mistake, here is the link of the very good article I
mentioned before. Do hope you`ll like it, and once again SORRY!

http://www.knightarts.org/community/miami/um-musical-to-spotlight-tenor-lanza#comment-339

Cheers from Susan

[Derek McGovern]

Hi Susan: Thanks for the link. Yes, it is a nice article. I did
scratch my head, though, over the writer (Gregory Stepanich)'s
description of the Butterfly Love Duet with Malbin as one of Mario's
"important" operatic recordings. It's actually one of his *worst*
operatic recordings! Vocally and stylistically, Mario's a very long
way indeed here from the magnificence of his Hollywood Bowl
performance with Frances Yeend. (Stepanich provides a link to the Bowl
performance, but doesn't make any comment about it.) Still, Stepanich
is right about one thing in the Malbin version: Pinkerton's "virility"
is certainly on display here!

Good to see the Otello duet with Albanese being praised.

Cheers
Derek

On Nov 4, 12:02 am, zsazsa <marlan_k...@web.de> wrote:
> Hi Derek,
> sorry for my mistake, here is the link of the very good article I
> mentioned before. Do hope you`ll like it, and once again SORRY!
>

> http://www.knightarts.org/community/miami/um-musical-to-spotlight-ten...

[Mike McAdam]

Hey Gill, nice to see you posting again.
I agree that it's a pretty loose and innacurate statement to say Lanza
recorded a lot of "junk" in the early fifties. People in the later
fifties *were* listening to such memorable ditties as 'Alley Oop!' and
'Tallahasee Lassie' to be sure but I do believe Mario passed on those?
Pineapple Picking aside ;-) he generally chose great numbers from the
cream of Tin Pan Alley and Broadway to record. Whether or not he gave
his best performances in all of them is a matter of constantly-debated
opinion.

On Nov 4, 9:12 am, Gill Saunders <distefano...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hello everyone, I'm sorry I've not posted in a while. Life's
> usual tribulations and all that.
>
> I just wanted to ask you all if you agree with that writer(the one in the
> linked article a couple of messages ago) about Mario Lanza recording a lot
> of "junk"? I know he qualifys his comment by saying that it was the kind of
> music people were listening to in the 1950's, but I thought it was a
> bit demeaning and unfair to be honest.
>
> Just my opinion...but am curious to know if anyone else thought the comments
> were a bit 'off'.... Gill.

[Derek McGovern]

Hi Gill and Mike: I wasn't too bothered by that comment. My take on it
was that the writer, Gregory Stepanich, was simply frustrated that
Mario didn't record more opera. I share that frustration! But "junk"
was a bit over the top; I'd have written "lighter repertoire."

The late Christopher Palmer (he's the gifted fellow who arranged the
songs on Carreras' 1993 Lanza Tribute CD) was kinder, praising Mario's
"'natural' good taste, an infallible sense of quality," and adding
that, "He rarely sang trash, but on the rare occasions when he did he
made it sound better than it had any right to sound."

But I'm curious myself now: do others here feel that Lanza sang "a lot
of junk"?

Cheers
Derek

PS I posted a reply to that article earlier today. (Didn't mention
anything about the "junk" comment, though.) Who knows: perhaps Mr.
Stepanich will join us? He'd be most welcome.

[zsazsa]

Hi Derek,
I like your sentence, as it is so very true: `He rarely sang trash,
but on the rare occassions when he did he made it sound better than it
had any right to sound.` Is`s so very, very true! About this `trash`
statemant of Gregory Stepanich, I didn`t bother much, as I was
concentrate about the nice and very true things, that he wrote!
Mostly, I want to find positive statements in a write up about Mario
and ignore the negatives. It is so very oft happens, that they write
not true, or negative things that one can get immune about it. I think
that is the reason that I pick out always the positive in a write up,
or something like that.
Cheers from Susan

[Mike McAdam]

Back in November, 2009 Derek said: Our German-speaking members may
want to check out this interview with
Anna Moffo on German TV:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQGCkRpvG_o

Anna looks terrific here at 58, and seems to have a pretty good grasp
of German (not that I speak the language!). Interestingly, she
mentions Lanza almost straightaway (in connection with other
Philadelphian-born operatic singers)- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Derek: being a newly-minted You Tube junkie (now that I have been
rescued ...enfin.....from the wretched world of dial-up) I just
spotted, then watched this delightful interview with Anna Moffo. My
once-passable German is pretty rusty now but I like the way that Anna
mentions Mario almost immediately and says something to the effect
that, if she hadn't been so much younger than him, they would have
likely been touted as the new version of MacDonald and Eddy. A comical
and likely pretty astute comment.
(when Lindsay P. interviewed her on New Zealand radio some years ago
and brought up the subject of Mario Lanza she started to talk about
him with enthusiasm then Perigo quickly changed the subject
entirely??? Strange!)

I never realized that this multi-talented lady also played the piano
(almost? ;-) and had her own long-running show on Italian television.
She was in her late twenties/early thirties at that time.What a
sensual and multi-faceted performer she comes across as in this
collection of You Tube clips from that RAI show (she does a couple of
songs penned by Ennio Morricone too, don't you know?):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8G0-cD4X-s AND
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfXC9a17LTI&feature=related

Lovely then and, as you say Derek, still gorgeous at 58 in the 1990
interview!

> > > were a bit 'off'.... Gill.- Hide quoted text -

[zsazsa]

Hi Mike,
thank you very much for the very interesting Anna Moffo interview and
it was very good to hear at the beginning, her saying: ``Sorry, that I
was too young for Mario Lanza, because we could do together, like
McDonald and Nelson Eddy.`` In the other parts of the interview she is
speaking about her career, that she was learning music (piano and
other instrument) and speaks about her firs performance and also about
her debut in the MET. It is interesting to hear her, how she prepears
herself for the role that she will singing, she told that she is
looking at the mirror, not to see herself, but to see if it is right
as she will play this or that caracters. She was a very wonderful
person and singer. Thanks a lot for the nice interview.
Cheers from Susan

> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8G0-cD4X-sANDhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfXC9a17LTI&feature=related

[Derek McGovern]

Hi Mike: Ah, Anna!

It's been 20 years since I last listened to that Perigo interview with
Moffo, but I remember wishing at the time that he'd lingered a little
longer on the subject of Lanza. The real shame, though, is that none
of us knew then that in 1958 Anna had been scheduled to record The
Student Prince with Mario. (That only came out after John Coast's
death in 1989; it was mentioned in passing in one of his letters.) Had
Perigo known that piece of information, then I imagine the interview
would have gone in a quite different direction. At least we would now
know why the recording never took place! Was Anna unavailable in April
1959, when the recording finally happened, or was there some other
reason?

Mike: have you heard Moffo's Chi il Bel Sogno from Puccini's La
Rondine? It's one of her most sensual creations:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yrKWwQIOT4

Cheers
Derek

[Derek McGovern]

PS Anna Moffo was also scheduled to appear at the Met Guild Tribute to
Lanza in 2005, but had to pull out due to her worsening health. Sad.

[Tonytenor]

Hello Folks! Say I'm not sure if this has already been mentioned on
the forum, but I was just poking around Amazon looking at their Lanza
offerings and came across this:

http://www.amazon.com/At-Movies-Original-Recordings-1949-1959/dp/B0045IBWQ4/ref=sr_1_37?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1289041094&sr=1-37

MARIO LANZA - At the Movies (Original Recordings 1949-1959)
Release date: December 7, 2010

Not sure if there's anything to this but I thought I'd pass it along.

Ciao, Tony

[Derek McGovern]

Hi Tony: That CD was news to me, but if you click here on the UK
version of Amazon, you'll see the list of contents:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Movies-Original-Recordings-1949-1959/dp/tracks/B0045IBWQ4/ref=dp_tracks_all_1#disc_1

It's obviously a bootleg release, so I wouldn't hold out too much hope
for the sound quality. Still, you never know...

On Nov 6, 8:09 pm, Tonytenor <tonyparting...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hello Folks!  Say I'm not sure if this has already been mentioned on
> the forum, but I was just poking around Amazon looking at their Lanza
> offerings and came across this:
>

> http://www.amazon.com/At-Movies-Original-Recordings-1949-1959/dp/B004...

[Mike McAdam]

Yeah, I'm not too optimistic that this release will contain actual M-G-
M soundstage recordings à la the withdrawn Rhino CD release "Be My
Love...Mario Lanza's Greatest Performances at M-G-M". Insofar as we've
heard nothing to make us believe that M-G-M has now granted the rights
for RCA (or other) record companies to release the studio's actual
film cuts my gut feeling is that these numbers will be the RCA studio
recordings of Lanza's earlier film songs (which are already widely
available) plus the soundtrack recordings from his later films
(commencing with 'The Student Prince') which RCA *was* allowed to
release commercially. In other words, there's likely to be nothing new
here.

On Nov 6, 10:45 am, Derek McGovern <derek.mcgov...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Tony: That CD was news to me, but if you click here on the UK
> version of Amazon, you'll see the list of contents:
>

> http://www.amazon.co.uk/Movies-Original-Recordings-1949-1959/dp/track...

>
> It's obviously a bootleg release, so I wouldn't hold out too much hope
> for the sound quality. Still, you never know...
>
> On Nov 6, 8:09 pm, Tonytenor <tonyparting...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> > Hello Folks!  Say I'm not sure if this has already been mentioned on
> > the forum, but I was just poking around Amazon looking at their Lanza
> > offerings and came across this:
>
> >http://www.amazon.com/At-Movies-Original-Recordings-1949-1959/dp/B004...
>
> > MARIO LANZA - At the Movies (Original Recordings 1949-1959)
> > Release date: December 7, 2010
>
> > Not sure if there's anything to this but I thought I'd pass it along.
>
> > Ciao,  Tony
>
> > On Nov 5, 6:00 am, Derek McGovern <derek.mcgov...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > > PS Anna Moffo was also scheduled to appear at the Met Guild Tribute to

> > > Lanza in 2005, but had to pull out due to her worsening health. Sad.- Hide quoted text -

[Derek McGovern]

Here's a link to an interesting article (complete with photos of the
performers) on Phil Ramone's forthcoming Lanza musical:

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/11/05/1915711/um-phil-ramone-stage-new-musical.html

Reading between the lines, it certainly sounds as though it's going to
be an over-wrought piece of musical theatre! In terms of its accuracy
to Lanza's life, it may also give The Great Caruso a run for its money
in the fictionalized biography genre :)

[zsazsa]

Sorry Derek, our posts crossed each other.
But here is another site about this musical, and it is with promotion
trailer as well. Here is the link:

http://www.miami.edu/index.php/frost/frost_events/be_my_love--the_mario_lanza_story_a_new_musical--first_reading--concert_version_with_orchestra/

Ciao from Susan

On 11 Nov., 14:28, zsazsa <marlan_k...@web.de> wrote:
> Hi Derek,

> here is an article in the Miamiherald newsletter about the musical
> `Lanza!` and I thought that it will be interesting for you all. Here
> is the link:
>
> http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/11/05/v-fullstory/1915711/um-phil-ram...

>
> Cheers from Susan
>
> On 4 Nov., 14:51, Derek McGovern <derek.mcgov...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

[Derek McGovern]

A question from John Van Buyten:

Hey Mario lovers,
As a Belgian Mario Lanza fan, I was hearing a song from Mario on
Belgium radio with the title "Love me tonight". For me it was one of
the most fantastic and romantic songs ever that Mario was singing
during his lifetime. On which cd I could find this song???

Thanks
John van Buyten

*********************************************

Hi John: The best reproduction I've heard of Lanza's Love Me Tonight
is on the 2006 SACD (Super Audio Compact Disc) release Mario! Lanza At
His Best:

http://www.amazon.com/Mario-Lanza-Best-Hybrid-SACD/dp/B000E1NWHI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1289614389&sr=1-2

[Derek McGovern]

Hi Gill: That's a tricky one!

Sadly, no interviewer (to my knowledge) ever thought of asking Lanza
that question (just as journalists seldom asked him *anything* related
to singing), and I don't know that RCA ever pushed him to take part in
any complete opera recordings while he was still in America. (Correct
me if I'm wrong, Armando!) What I do know, though, is that by the late
1950s plans were definitely afoot for Lanza to record a series of
complete operas. As Armando mentions in his book, Mario Lanza: An
American Tragedy, RCA was planning to hire the Comunale Theatre in
Bologna for these recordings, which were to take place between 1959
and 1961. (This was reported in Variety on 14 October 1959.)

The other thing to remember, of course, is that complete opera
recordings were still relatively in their infancy during the late
1940s/early 1950s. By the time things started speeding up in that
respect, Mario was in a professional and emotional slump. (I'm
thinking of the period immediately following the break-up with MGM.)

One operatic project that Lanza apparently was keen on during his so-
called dark years (1953-54) was an album of arias from obscure operas.
According to Callinicos, Lanza's accompanist, Mario worked diligently
on 35 arias from "forgotten" works by the likes of Cilea, Leoncavallo
and Giordano. But for whatever reason (depression? loss of confidence
on Lanza's part? indifference on the part of RCA?), the album was
never recorded. Such a shame. It could have been sensational.

Cheers
Derek

On Nov 13, 5:22 pm, Song of the Nightingale <distefano...@gmail.com>
wrote:
> I only recently realized that Mario Lanza never recorded an opera in
> its entiety.  This floored me !  I had just taken it for granted that
> he would have.  Can anyone explain why he didn't?
>
> Thank you.
>
> Gill.

[Tonytenor]

Hey Gang, anybody seen or know anything about this???

www.mario-lanza.com

Tony

> > Gill.- Hide quoted text -

[zsazsa]

Hi Tonytenor,
sorry, but if I call the web, it comes only Error 404 Not Found.
Curious.
Ciao
Susan

[leeann]

Hi, Susan! Rather than following Tony's link, just cut-and-paste
http://www.mario-lanza.com and the site will appear. Best,Lee Ann

[Mike McAdam]

Yes, Derek: the divine Ms Moffo is just heart-touching here. Love the
way she floats that high F-major into D-minor at the :35 mark. I could
listen to this gal all day. By the by, I think I've found another
common song that both her and Lanza recorded. As their keys and tempo
are more similar here than in the last concoction I cobbled together
as a duet, I may have a go at that while I have some spare (?) time
this winter. Must get back now to some client website updates; with
Anna in the background, of course.

[zsazsa]

Hi Leeann,
thank you very much for your instruction, yes it works! The set looks
great and the price is really more than acceptable. Las year, I`ve got
a very similar package of Mario`s movies and `Singing to the Gods`
documentary and Winged Victory, but unfortunatelly in the latest,
there is not Mario to see, but this collection has never had CD
enclosed, but it was from the same company. So, surely the DVD`s are
the same as last year.
Once again thanks a lot dear Leeann and wishing you and you all all
the very best.
Susan

On 17 Nov., 15:35, leeann <leeanngha...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi, Susan!  Rather than following Tony's link, just cut-and-pastehttp://www.mario-lanza.comand the site will appear. Best,Lee Ann

[Tonytenor]

I don't want to burst any bubbles, but I find myself inclined to ask -
is this "Box Set" the genuine article. Are the DVDs really from
studio masters and released by the studio (or whoever holds the rights
to the films at this particular minute, things change hands so quickly
one corp buying another corp, etc). I rented THE GREAT CARUSO on DVD
from NetFlix and it's dreadful. Clearly a copy of the VHS and with
some rather un-subtle edits so the whole film is not there "on DVD."

I guess what I am wondering is, just exactly who and what is "Mario-
Lanza.com" and is one purchasing quality product from them or second-
rate bootlegs. Just a question mind you, this could indeed be the
break we've all been waiting for and we can now sit back and enjoy all
the Lanza films in pristine video with surround sound. If they are
the real McCoy, then I'll be ordering my box set post haste. Who
knows, maybe next year they will come out with the long lost and
unknown video of the Royal Albert Hall of Januay 16, 1958. Wouldn't
that be something!

Ciao, Tony

> > Hi, Susan!  Rather than following Tony's link, just cut-and-pastehttp://www.mario-lanza.comandthe site will appear. Best,Lee Ann- Hide quoted text -

[Derek McGovern]

Hi Tony: I wouldn't touch those DVDs with a bargepole! There's no way the films can have been taken directly from the masters. What I'm sure they are is simply DVD transfers of the VHS copies of the films, or bootleg copies of DVDs in the case of That Midnight Kiss and Toast of New Orleans, which are the only Lanza films that have been officially remastered for DVD release to date. Don't waste your money!

Also, the information in the ad itself is contradictory. It says the set includes the documentary "Singing to the Gods," but elsewhere it states "The American Caruso." It's much likelier to be the latter -- and, again, I'm sure it's a bootleg release. And if The Vagabond King really is included (again, debatable, since the ad contradicts itself), it's the Maltese tenor Oreste Kirkop's fine performance, not Kathryn Grayson's warbling of "Some Day", that's the real attraction :)  

Cheers

Derek 

[Derek McGovern]

As a P.S. to the above: the UK seems to be awash these days with bootleg Lanza releases of very dubious quality (and equally dubious selections in the case of the CDs). "Buyer beware" definitely applies! 

[zsazsa]

Hi Derek,
here is a very interesting comment from a gentleman, called Kenneth
Bennet Lane, I think you would be interested to read it. Here is the
link, that I`ve got it from Thelma in the Rense Forum:

http://www.wnyc.org/shows/fishko/2010/nov/19/

Ciao Susan

On 4 Nov., 14:51, Derek McGovern <derek.mcgov...@gmail.com> wrote: