Mario Lanza - Love Duet(Otello) - Great Moments In Music

In October 1945, not long after his release from the US forces, young budding tenor Mario
Lanza was approached by ABC Radio to occasionally stand in for Jan Peerce on "The Celanese
Hour: Great Moments In Music".
Lanza performed on just six of those programmes between 1945 & 1946, all of which I
endeavour to upload in chronological order.
Here, Lanza sounds youthfull and vibrant, if a touch forgetfull in some songs and, as one
biographer describes it, 'a little cold' in some performances.
However, this is a very important body of work, one that is essential to the Mario
Lanza story and if anything sows the seeds to the sort of songs he would record througout
his career - the highlight in, my opinion, being A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody.
I have not found any of these recordings so far on YouTube, but forgive me if they are
already here.
This is simply to keep alive the memory greatest voice of the 20th Century!

Full list of songs:

Show # 1 - 24/10/1945 - excerpts from Puccini's "Tosca"
1) Recondita Armonia
2) Love Duet(with Jean Tennyson)
3) E Lucevan Le Stelle

Show # 2 - 7/11/1945 - selections from "Peace Must Be Won"
4) The House On The Hill
5) America The Beautiful(with Robert Weede, Vivian Bauer & chorus)

Show # 3 - 14/11/1945 - excerpts from Verdi's "Otello"
6) Drinking Song(with Robert Weede & chorus)
7) Love Duet(with Jean Tennyson)

Show # 4 - 26/12/1945 - excerpts from Lehaman's "In A Persian Garden"
8) Ah, Moon Of My Delight
9) A Jug Of Wine(with Frances Yeend)

Show # 5 - 23/1/1946 - selections from "The Music Of Irving Berlin"
10) All Alone/What'll I Do?(with Natalie Bodanya, Leonard Stokes & chorus
11) A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody(with chorus)
12) Blue Skies(with Natalie Bodanya)

Show # 6 20/2/1946 - excerpts from Romberg's "The Student Prince"
13) Serenade(with chorus)
14) Deep In My Heart, Dear(with Winifred Smith)
15) Golden Days(with Robert Weede)

Please rate, coment and enjoy!

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Mario Lanza
• Love Duet(Otello)
• Opera
• Great Moments In Music
• Radio

[baccala12]

That is stupendous singing for a 24 year old and great singing for any better than average experienced tenor. Amazing!

If Hollywood would not have grabbed him like they did - if they had really allowed to fully cultivate and use his talent and gifts in his art - I think he would have been forever without rival without a doubt in anybody's mind.

continued...

[baccala12]

continued...

His Otello excerpts 12 years later are to me the best I have ever heard on stage or on record. And I have heard and have seen great Otello tenors. I wish he had seriously recorded a full staging of it or better made a movie version of it in his later years.

[ShawDAMAN]

nice lyric singing for radio. Most likely would never have been a good role for him on stage.

[maritere1939]

Mario Lanza será siempre el gran tenor de todos los tiempos.