New Mario Lanza CD from Sepia Records: "The Quintessential Tenor"

[Derek McGovern]

I'm excited to announce that Sepia Records will be releasing Mario Lanza: The Quintessential Tenor next month, with Amazon and other online stores offering it from May 12 onwards. The Mario Lanza Museum will also be stocking it (and before Amazon gets it), with proceeds going towards its annual scholarships.

This is the 12th Lanza CD that Vince, Armando, and I have compiled for Sepia, and I believe it's one of our best.

Full details about the CD and its contents will be announced here around the first week of April.   

[Derek McGovern]

[quigle...@gmail.com]

Great news! Always look forward to and enjoy these releases.

On Thursday, March 16, 2023 at 2:34:40 PM UTC Derek McGovern wrote:

[Derek McGovern]

Thanks, Damien. I'm sure you'll enjoy this one!!

Here's a teaser from the CD in the meantime.

[Derek McGovern]

I've just posted a detailed announcement about the new Lanza CD:

https://www.mariolanzatenor.com/news/new-lanza-cd-in-april-the-quintessential-tenor

[Derek McGovern]

The Quintessential Tenor can now be ordered directly from Sepia Records' website. It's listed as a "forthcoming release" for May 2023, which is the official release month, but it's actually in stock now. 

Sepia's price, including postage, is £8.99 for people in the UK, £10.99 for those in Europe, and £12.99 for everyone else.

For those in the US only, it can also be pre-ordered from the Mario Lanza Institute at this link. The Institute should have the disc in stock later this month (at least a couple of weeks before Amazon has it).   

[quigle...@gmail.com]

Happy days! Just ordered :)

[Vincent Di Placido]

I have played the disc several times now and I love it, great reproductions of Mario's amazing performances.

The warmth and depth on the DES tracks like, "You and the Night and the Music", "When You're in Love" and "Nessun Dorma" is absolutely stunning!

"One Alone" shows anew, and better than ever before, how glorious Mario's voice still was even at his lowest moments health-wise. His voice was as magnificent as ever, it was just the body that was failing.

Mario's vocals are just leaping from my speakers. The most beautiful, expressive and versatile tenor voice there has ever been perfectly showcased on this excellent release from Sepia, what a run it's been with Sepia since 2015.

[Derek McGovern]

The Quintessential Tenor is now available from Amazon, where the first review has just appeared---and it's a glowing one:

Dane S. Thomas

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Restorations

Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2023

Verified Purchase

Yes, I'm a huge Mario Lanza fan. Yes, I have everything by Mario I could get my hands on. Sad truth is that Sepia has done a fantastic job re-mastering and enhancing these recordings, many of which have never been available before or only in inferior sound. I say "sad" because RCA has the masters to most of these and while they could have put some effort into improving the sonic quality of these recordings, they apparently didn't think it was worth their time or effort. Hats off to Robin Cherry for doing some amazing restorations! It is a pleasure to listen to these after hearing the shoddy mastering done in the past. Digital Extracted Stereo enhancements also add depth and richness to many of these items. For a voice so rich and amazing to be treated so shoddily by RCA was a crime. They made and still today make a fortune on Mr. Lanza's recordings, yet they lack the desire to put his recordings out there in their best light. Some excellent singing here, and some amazing versatility between Film, live concert recordings, classical, and popular selections. You will not find a better example of exciting, beautiful singing than these gems. Bravo Sepia! Great job!

______________________________

I don't know Dane S. Thomas, but I'm very happy to read his review, as I do feel that this is the most sonically

 thrilling of all twelve Sepia Records Lanza CDs that Vince, Armando, and I have worked on. I also feel

 that The  Quintessential Tenor truly lives up to its name as a representative compilation of Lanza's incredible

 versatility.  And while Robin Cherry (Sepia's resident sound engineer) has been singled out for praise in the

 above review, my friend Steve Cutler also deserves recognition for his glorious DES (Digitally Extracted

 Stereo) restorations of ten of the CD's tracks. As Vince commented above, these mono-to-stereo remixes

 enable us to hear Mario's authentic voice in warmth and depth. They are a true revelation! 

I couldn't be prouder of this CD, and I hope it proves a bestseller for Sepia Records, who certainly deserve the highest praise for their commitment to Mario Lanza over the last eight and a half years.

Derek