Mario Lanza Nessun Dorma live 1948

Here is a 27 year old Mario Lanza singing Puccini's Nessun Dorma from Turandot live at the Hollywood Bowl in 1948. Much more superior to his 1955 studio recording for his movie 'Serenade'. In my opinion, Lanza would have made an excellent Calaf on the stage!
This also gives some insight to how he may have sounded in his 2 performances as Pinkerton in Puccini's Madama Butterfly in April of the same year...

Please enjoy, rate and comment!!

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Mario
• Lanza
• Puccini
• Turandot
• Nessun
• Dorma
• Live
• 1948
• Tenor
• Voice

[butchscorner]

Excellent as always. Mario Lanza can never be replaced at all. What a singer.

[stevevandien]

Would Lanza have become one of our greatest tenors, had he quit movies to concentrate on opera? We shall never know. But some world-class operatic artists --including Richard Bonyge, Joan Sutherland, Robert Merrill, George London, Richard Tucker and Licia Albanese -- believed that Lanza certainly shared their level. Several who heard Lanza live and unamplified, like Bonyge and Sutherland, praised the size and power of his voice --

[joelombrdo]

I think that the vast majority of us who love to sing (and non-singers as well) appreciate a good vocalist and don't truly care about the mechanical perfection that so manor opera purists demand. All I know is that the resonance and power and incredible beauty of this man's voice is, for me, without equal. I'm not putting any opera singers down (because I respect them all) but to my ear none of their voices matches the "Quality" that Lanza's voice had.

[MacPherson100000]

I'm not an opera fan at all, but when this man sings I can feel it from the top of my head, to the tip of my toes! His voice was like lightning in a bottle!!! Thank goodness there are still recordings of him!!!

[enterprisebaby]

Bravo, Lanza! Thank God we have this amazing recording of him singing this incredible aria. I agree, much better than the "Serenade" movie version. Stunning, simply stunning...mere words are inadequate.

[atlatahuac]

thank you ever so much, nomorewoe. Had no idea ML was recorded pre-Toast of New Orleans, Hollywood, 1949+. This '48 Nessum is a work of art ... his powerful diaphragm and golden throat squeeze out the notes in billows of effortless, floating notes ... No attempt to 'blow us out of the concert hall'.

[petereuropa]

On Wikipedia (very well written) we can understand how this tenor felt when they sacked him from Hollywood. And he had left the opera as a profession. Nobody wanted him, and in my opinion he was one of the all time greatest tenors. We can be gratefull that he made a lot of recordings. HE MUST BE RESPECTED AS ONE OF THE GREATEST TENORS EVER! Just listen! Bravo!

[kandor39]

Bravo Mario!!!

[ShawDAMAN]

@lanzanut I agree, much better than Pavarotti, and much better than the Serenade version.

[ShawDAMAN]

@crapfacejoe Dude I love Lanza as much as anybody but Tuckers voice was mediocre? I really must object. He had knock-your-socks off power/squillo coupled with great fioratura ability and lasted forever. Hardly mediocre.

I would still say Lanza is/was the most naturally gifted tenor of the recording era for sure and my favorite tenor voice, but let's be fair!

[Cocus62]

ESTA ES LA MEJOR INTERPRETACION DE PUCCINI'S TURANDOT NESSUN DORMA!!! Y A LOS 27 AÑOS ., INCREIBLE VOZ ...... ESPECTACULAR INTERPRETACION !!! AMAZING VOICE.

[tenordramaticitm2]

Bravo Maestro!!!!