A Mario Lanza Discography
Derek McGovern
This covers the entire 19-year period (1940-1959) of Lanza's recorded
life from the primitive home recordings made when he was just a
19-year-old stripling to the final RCA sessions in Rome in August,
1959. Rather than list all of Mario's recordings in chronological
order, I've separated them into Neapolitan Songs, Operatic Recordings,
Songs in English, etc. I think they're probably easier to sort through
that way. The numerous English songs are in alphabetical order, as are
the titles of the operas from which Lanza recorded extracts.
Obviously, I had to draw the line somewhere, so I haven't included
*everything* that he recorded. Missing here are details of some of the
partial takes of various songs and arias (eg, the last few phrases of
Cielo e Mar featured in The Great Caruso), a few of Mario's 1952 home
recordings that exist in almost-unlistenable condition because of the
atrocious sound quality (eg, Lamento di Federico, Che Gelida Manina,
'A Vucchella), Mario's "joke" recordings (eg, the Imitations from
Seven Hills, the Be My Love spoof of a bad Italian tenor, the
Martinelli imitation, etc), and the 1944 snippet of an unknown aria.
(You can hear this last recording in our Files section, anyway.) I
also haven't included details of known recordings that have not yet
surfaced or that possibly no longer exist, eg, the partial (?)
Improvviso take recorded for The Great Caruso and additional outtakes
of Celeste Aida from that same film.
Next to each title, you'll find the year(s) that Lanza recorded the
number. In many cases, there are multiple versions listed - sometimes
two or more from the same year. In a few instances where numerous
versions exist (eg, Vesti la Giubba), I haven't listened all of the
known renditions - just the most significant ones. I've also included
the names of some of Lanza's more distinguished singing partners.
Of course, in an ideal world, I would have also listed the composer of
each song, the operetta or musical comedy that a particular number
comes from, etc. I was also hoping to identify the CDs on which each
item could be found. But that's a mammoth task for another day! In the
meantime, I hope that this discography will prove a useful resource
for newcomers to Lanza, in particular, as well as providing the
inspiration for some interesting discussions.
When you consider the fact that Lanza only lived to 38 - and that for
two dark years in the 1950s (during what should have been the vocal
prime of his life) he was virtually inactive as a performer - his
recorded legacy is pretty remarkable in terms of its size and variety.
Lou
lot of brow-knitting and head-scratching.
In my opinion, the composer and provenance of each song can be googled
easily enough, so as far as I'm concerned, that information can stay
on a back burner indefinitely. It would be interesting to know,
though, your first choice
among two or more Lanza versions of a song or aria. I think that will
start some interesting discussions.
Lou
Derek McGovern
to the discography, particularly where multiple versions are
concerned. But it remains a work in progress!
As to my own favourite versions in each instance, they're part of the
fun in discussing Lanza. I look forward to many stimulating
discussions!
Selma Singer
Thank you so very much for doing this.
Selma
am...@ruc.dk
useful discography. It's a great idea listing it in alphabetical
order. It makes it nice and easy to go through the various takes.
Derek, you 'spoil' us, providing us with discographies, sound clips,
great articles, translated lyrics, pictures etc. - everything a Lanza
fan could ever desire :-))
Ann-Mai
Jan Hodges
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Yes.... I want to thank you too Derek for all the work you do and for all the knowledge you so readily impart.
When the last Lanza forum closed I was devastated and am really grateful for this new one.
Jan | |||
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