The History of the Tenor (not even close)

[Tony Partington‏]

I must confess I haven't a clue as to who Sydney Barker is. But his very, very brief biography is so filled with inaccuracies I though perhaps this was some sort of joke. He apparently sees himself as a vocal pedagogue and, for all I know, he is esteemed in his own land. However, as far as Lanza goes, he hasn't a clue. Here's the link.

https://historyofthetenor.com/mario-lanza/

Cheers,

Tony

PS: Derek forgive me if this message ends up in the wrong place on the forum. 

[Derek McGovern‏]

Hi Tony: I've come across that ignoramus's blatherings before, and I couldn't listen to more than a couple of minutes of his narration. "Lanza appeared only once in opera --- in La Boheme for the New Orleans Opera"?!  Lanza was "Spanish-Italian"?! Most annoying of all was his preposterous claim that because Lanza didn't sing Russian and French art songs, or appear "more than once" on the operatic stage, he could only be judged on his merits as a film star.

Incidentally, the written biography of Lanza that appears on that fellow's blog has been entirely lifted from the British Mario Lanza Society's own web site. It too contains some peculiar statements. For instance, the BMLS writer claims that "In the 'Triumph March' for the final scene of 'For The First Time' [Lanza] oversang the 260 member Rome Opera House orchestra and chorus." 

What on earth does this person mean? "oversang"? As well as being the wrong verb (the person obviously meant "outsang"), the claim---no matter how well intentioned---is absurd. The reason Mario's voice is heard so clearly above the orchestra, chorus, and soloists in the Aida Grand March scene is entirely due to the way he was recorded (close up) and the recording mix. 

The BMLS writer also makes the claim that Lanza's parents were "émigrés"---an odd choice of words, since it implies that they had to flee their own country because of persecution and the like. No they didn't! They simply immigrated to the US with their families.

It's precisely because of misinformation such as this---and especially the likes of Sydney Barker and countless other ignoramuses who write nonsense about Lanza on YouTube---that Lee Ann and I created Mario Lanza, Tenor. 

Cheers,

Derek