Mario Lanza In Hollywood: That Midnight Kiss (1949 Film) / The Toast Of New Orleans (1950 Film) [2 on 1]

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Music reviews of Mario Lanza In Hollywood: That Midnight Kiss (1949 Film) / The Toast Of New Orleans (1950 Film) [2 on 1]

Music Review: Lanza's versatility to the fore
Rating: 4 Stars

Recorded at Lanza's very first commercial session on May 5, 1949, Che Gelida Manina from La Boheme and the Neapolitan song Mamma Mia, Che Vo' Sape? are true classics. Upon hearing the Boheme recording, the great Toscanini is said to have remarked that "Mario Lanza possesses the greatest natural tenor voice of the 20th century." Whether he actually said this or not, the pronouncement was an accurate one! Just listen to this rendition and you'll understand why Lanza's performance won the 1949 Operatic Recording of the Year Award in the United States. His line, his every note (and what a High C!) are truly unforgettable.

Mamma Mia Che Vo Sape is in the same class, with Lanza's meltingly beautiful mezza voce in evidence coupled with great reserves of power. A Lanza classic. Core N'Grato is a real sizzler - not quite in the same class as its companion pieces from the tenor's May 1949 session, but a great sign of things to come. Ditto the Celeste Aida, which Lanza was soon to better on his 1950 recording (see the MGM CD).

The material from Toast of New Orleans alternates between operatic arias and duets, and love songs. Trite though the love songs mostly are, they're great fun, and you'll never hear a more perfect High C than the one Lanza produces at the end of Tina-Lina. The arias are a mixed bag, with a rough Butterfly Love Duet and an equally unpolished Libiamo from La Traviata. The Flower Song is wild and unrestrained - but convincing! (Carmen would never have abandoned THIS Don Jose.) The real standout, though, is a perfectly sung M'appari, Tutt'amor from the opera Martha. This is the ideal recording to play to all those Lanza doubters out there - but make sure you don't tell them who it is first!

All in all, a very good release and one of the few CDs available with a half-way decent reproduction of Che Gelida Manina. Buy it for this classic alone and you'll not be disappointed.

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