New Sepia Records CD coming in May: "Mario Lanza: The Definitive Student Prince"

[Derek McGovern]

A sensational new CD from Sepia Records will be available in May (directly from Sepia) and elsewhere from June 5.

The sound quality on this DES (Digitally Extracted Stereo) release is often extraordinary,  while the accompanying booklet is stunning and includes a number of rare photos.

I'll be posting more details about this CD in the second half of April, but for now here is the track list:

https://www.mariolanzatenor.com/news/new-cd-mario-lanza-the-definitive-student-prince

[Fr. Damien Quigley]

Fantastic news! I've always wanted a CD with all of "The Student Price" recordings included. What a treat to look forward to!

Sincere thanks to Derek, all involved and all at Sepia Records for making this CD a reality.

[Derek McGovern]

Thanks, Damien! 

[Ray]

Is the Gaudeamus Igitur outtake truly previously unreleased?  I seem to recall 1 or 2 outakes being made available some years ago.

[Derek McGovern]

Ray: The Gaudeamus Igitur rehearsal from The Student Prince certainly hasn't been released on any commercial CD, but you may well have heard it before on one of the Damon Lanza Productions private discs. There is only one outtake floating around that I'm aware of, and we included it here for the sake of completeness. 

For those who are interested in purchasing this CD, here are some more details.

As most Lanza fans know, the 1954 RCA Student Prince (and Other Great Musical Comedies)  LP wasn't a true soundtrack album.  To be sure, it was a great album (with only one poor choice on its Side B: the Coke "Yours Is My Heart Alone"), but RCA's meddling on various tracks was unfortunate, even if it was necessary on the two duets, due to Ann Blyth's voice having to be replaced. "Deep in My Heart, Dear" was particularly unsatisfying, since only Mario's intro was used (and then clumsily repeated at the end). And there was no need for the duplications that occurred on "Drink! Drink! Drink!" and "Gaudeamus Igitur," both of which featured some embarrassing edits perpetrated by RCA to extend these recordings. On "Drink!" an abrupt orchestral section was inserted in the middle of the song (after the point at which Mario had actually finished his one-take rendition), and then bits of Mario's recording were simply repeated to create a longer song, while his rendition of a single verse of "Gaudeamus" was repeated so that it became Mario-Chorus-Mario. Thus, we ended up with the same verse sung three times!  

The RCA album also omitted "Ergo Bibamus" (sung by Mario with the male chorus) and the Martin Luther hymn "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" (only a third of which is heard in the movie). Other complete film numbers that could not be included on the album for contractual reasons were Ann Blyth's two solos ("Come Boys" and the Summertime in Heidelberg" reprise) and the students' marching song "To the Inn."

Over the years Sepia Records has received many requests for a "complete" Student Prince film CD to complement their excellent reproduction of Mario's 1959 RCA remake of The Student Prince,  but the sticking point was always the absence of the two film duets with Blyth---and, for completeness, the non-Lanza items. Instead Sepia had to make do with releasing outtakes of "Summertime in Heidelberg" and "Deep in My Heart, Dear."

The situation changed, however, when Sepia's owner recently came into the possession of a collection of acetates, which included the elusive film versions of the two duets, various solos, such as "Golden Days," and a number of non-Lanza items, including an outtake of "To the Inn We're Marching." (A snippet of the "Golden Days" acetate is attached here in its raw form, complete with Lanza's throat-clearing.) Thanks to the magic of DES (Digitally Extracted Stereo), which often allows for scratches and other unwanted noises to be assigned to a separate "stem" and then deleted, we were able to clean up these acetates to an impressive standard and then convert all of the recordings with orchestral accompaniment to stereo.

For me the sonic standouts on this CD from the MGM film are "Serenade," "Golden Days," "Drink!," "Summertime in Heidelberg," "Beloved," "Deep in My Heart, Dear" and "I'll Walk With God"---all of which sound truly magnificent in stereo. In fact, several of them now sound better than the reproductions in the film, which was the previous gold standard. With "Drink! Drink! Drink!", for example, we were able to remix the recording so that the male chorus and Mario occupy different "stems" of the same recording. In other words, Mario's voice is now left free to soar in the centre, while the chorus sings around him (as one might expect to hear on a true stereo mix). The result is truly thrilling. 

It's also fun to hear the non-Lanza numbers in stereo, particularly Ann Blyth's "Come Boys, Let's All Be Gay, Boys" and her sweetly rendered "Summertime in Heidelberg" reprise.

Other revelations on the CD include Lanza's 1946 live radio rendition of "Serenade," which is really quite a remarkable piece of singing for a 25-year-old neophyte (as I belatedly realised while working on this CD), and which has never sounded more thrilling, together with the five 1959 recordings, all of which have been freshly remastered for this CD. 

We chose to include only two tracks from Lanza's 1959 stereo remake of The Student Prince---"Thoughts Will Come to Me" and "Just We Two"----given that he didn't perform these songs in the film. Repeating anything else from the 1959 album, however, would have put Mario in competition with himself, and let's face it: the MGM recordings are definitive.  

The remaining three 1959 recordings (featured in the bonus tracks section) have never sounded better. Anyone who is fond of Mario's "Nocturne," "Love Me Tonight," or "One Alone" will be impressed by the improvements in these stereo remixes. (I can't stop listening to them.) 

Finally, the four 1956 Cavalcade of Show Tunes numbers that conclude the CD all sound as though they were born for stereo. They are stunningly reproduced, and I hope to provide a preview at some point of samplings of these and other  tracks on the CD.

Lest anyone reading the above cynically assumes that my enthusiasm is due to a financial interest in this CD, please be assured that I, Steve Cutler, Armando Cesari, Vince Di Placido and everyone else involved in the recordings, notes, and photos for this disc will not be receiving a cent of any profits. We simply provide Sepia with the materials for their long-running series of Lanza releases because we want to honour the finest tenor that we have ever heard.  And the class act that is Sepia never lets Mario Lanza down.

Derek 

[AZENCOT MARCEL]

Superbe analyse et hommage, Derek, et bravo à vous tous, toi Derek,Vince et Armando pour le magnifique travail! Et bravo à Sépia pour leur courage et leur engagement pour Mario Lanza, 

Bien amicalement à vous tous,

Marcel Azencot

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[Ray]

Hi Derek

I can't imagine why I thought I had 2 different Gaudeamus Igitur outtakes.  I've now checked - I only have one.  Recorded in a significantly lower key than the released track - is this the one included in the new Sepia CD?

On the subject of the 1954 RCA LP release, I've always considered, given the difficulties facing them, that RCA actually did a good job.  And, of course, in those days we hadn't yet become Lanza experts.

Ray

[Tessa1111]

Mario possibly would have approvef of the new "definitive" release, since he wasn't consulted on the RCA Victor 1954 LP album, and didn't receive any royalties from sales.  

It would have been a better film if the "original" Romberg Operetta had been made, Mario wouldn't have rebelled if various characters and songs hadn't been cut to ribbons. 
'

Looiking forward to June release

Tessa1111

[Derek McGovern]

Hi Ray: Yes, the Gaudeamus Igitur on the new CD is the one you're familiar with. 

Tessa: I don't know where you're getting your information from, but Mario did receive royalties for the Student Prince album, and I have no doubt that he was consulted on its release. 

The alterations made to the original Romberg operetta had nothing to do with the clashes between Mario and MGM that ultimately led to his firing. While it's true that, initially, he didn't see the need for any new songs to replace existing ones in the score, he changed his mind once he heard the three Brodszky compositions. And thank goodness he did, as his singing of Summertime in Heidelberg, Beloved, and I'l Walk With God is glorious. I feel that the three songs complement Romberg's score beautifully.

Also, don't forget that if MGM had opted for a completely faithful film version of The Student Prince, Mario would have had fewer solos and less to do overall, as the operetta contains subplots (such as the romance between the Princess and Captain Tarnitz). The Prince doesn't sing "Drink! Drink! Drink!" in the operetta, for example, and even the immortal Serenade is performed as an ensemble number. The only major song for the Prince in the operetta that was actually cut by MGM was "Thoughts Will Come to Me (of Days That Are No More)"---and even that's performed as a duet with Dr. Engel (as is "Golden Days"). And in Romberg's score, "Just We Two" is a duet between the Princess and Captain Tarnitz.

Yes, MGM altered the story (while retaining its basic premise), changed some of the lyrics (mostly to good effect, I feel), and shortened a number of the songs, but the film also boasts an enchanting, witty screenplay---which Mario loved, by the way---and superb arrangements. There are few things more magical to my ears than Maurice De Packh's orchestral settings on Serenade and Deep in My Heart, Dear. 

Derek

[Ray]

Hi Derek

Thanks for your detailed comments about The Student Prince operetta - who sang what etc in the original show.  I thought MGM did a sterling job in their movie.  And - very controversially and probably expressing a minority opinion - I thought the film was better for not having Mario in it.  Edmund Purdom acted the role very well.  His lip synching was also first class.

Ray

[Tessa1111]

I know some folks don't care for Mario's re-release of "The Student Prince" LP in 1958,
 
for myself, I enjoy it as it's songs are longer, and songs cut from the film appear here.
It was as if he was singing the Operetta on a stage, in full-voice.
Trying to figure out what compelled Mario to do so if he "loved" the film's rendering so much.

Didn't he wish to do a Cinerama Opera, (La Boheme or Tosca) with Ezio Pinza and Licia Albanese?
If memory serves, he shared this desire with Hedda Hopper in 1953.

 https://vintagepaparazzi.com/mario-lanza-answers-back/

[Ray]

Tessa

The Student Prince LP from1958?  Do you mean the 1959 recordings?  If so it shouldn't really be described as a "re-release" - they were completely new recordings.  And they did not include "songs cut from the film"; I'm guessing you mean songs from the original score that were not included in the film.  The only Lanza item recorded for, but ultimately cut from the film, was Gaudeamus Igitur which was of course included in the 1954 album.

Ray

[Tessa1111]

Thanks for clarifying...re-release or new release...it was Mario's choices.  Did you read Hedda Hopper's interview?  Always like to get information from Mario himself.

[Derek McGovern]

Tessa: The 1959 Student Prince album had been on the cards for some time, actually, as there's a reference to it in an April 1958 letter from Mario's London agent, John Coast. At that stage, there were plans afoot for the album to be recorded in the summer of 1958, and with the wonderful Anna Moffo as Kathie. (If only!) But as it turned out, Mario ended up in Walchensee that summer, getting himself into shape for the filming of For the First Time, and The Student Prince was delayed until the following April.

The 1959 stereo remake is, as you pointed out, akin to a stage performance. Mario's delivery is more operatic than the MGM version, which is sung in a more intimate style---appropriate for a film.

If anyone is interested in hearing a few minutes of samples from the upcoming CD Mario Lanza: The Definitive Student Prince, please click here. (I think you'll need a desktop computer to play them.) Time and skill permitting, I'm also hoping to put some kind of video promo together in early May.