Mario Lanza ~ Opera Arias & Duets, from Andréa Chenier · La Bohème · I Pagliacci · Madama Butterfly · Otello
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Free Music Notes for Mario Lanza ~ Opera Arias & Duets, from Andréa Chenier · La Bohème · I Pagliacci · Madama Butterfly · Otello
Free Music Review: excellent
Hit: 5 Stars
This is a showcase of Mario"s voice. So powerful, so magnicent, better than tenor Ive heard. He really have a golden voice.Free Music Review: Outstanding
Hit: 5 Stars
Hey, this is Mario Lanza, it can't get any better. A great collection of the best Arias!Free Music Review: Unsurpassed!
Hit: 4 Stars
I am sick and tired of all these technical reviews and critical remarks leveled against everything Mario Lanza did in his short life!
True, musically Mario made some mistakes....but so has every other great tenor in history....from Caruso to Pavarotti and beyond!
And perhaps he sang some arias with too much fortissimo....so what?
Every single song on here, be it among his best or worst work, is a masterpiece when compared to renditions of the same arias by other, more legit and operatically acclaimed tenors.
In order to "get" Lanza one must discard all notions of "finesse", "grace" and " elegance" for Lanza operated, and sang on raw, unadulterated, gut wrenching emotion.
THAT was the genious of Mario Lanza.
We can argue for another 40 years as to his operatic legitimacy...for nought!
Lanza was a VOCAL master and his approach to song was as unconventional and idiosyncratic as was his life.
That's what makes these songs so special and unique.
No one other than perhaps Corelli had the voice and the balls to sing with such uninhibited emotion and that's what this CD is all about.
It is a testament of a great voice.
The fact that Lanza did not have the benefit of a great conductor or teacher guiding him through most of his career, makes these recordings all the more great.
He sang the music as he felt it and that's a big no-no in the stuffy, overbearing and self-righteous world of opera.
Lanza earned millions of dollars because his voice touched all who heard it. His art brought more people to opera than all the leading tenors of his day combined....and this during the golden age of tenors and opera as a whole!
The only word of lesser praise I can offer is the inclusion of the duets. Mario did not have the temprament for duet singing, and subsequently he ended up drowning his partners out, or engaging in a sort of vocal warfare which was the case with much of what he and Grayson recorded during his MGM days.
The arias are great....the duets are medicore on all accounts.
In closing, I apologize for not having spen time on the actual songs. It's been done to death.
All I can say is that, if you wish to hear opera arias sung in a way such as will never be heard again in our lifetime, then this is a CD for you.
If you want proper, technically proficient opera, sung by some big name opera jerk, then stick to that....you'll only end up feeling like all the other good people who have so much negative to say about this CD.
Free Music Review: Mario WAS a trained opera singer
Hit: 4 Stars
To the reviewer from Michigan who said Mario never performed an opera on stage, you are wrong. He did two performances of Madame Butterfly as Pinkerton before going off to Hollywood. He was sought after by many opera companies, including the NY Metropolitan Opera. He had extensive vocal training for years, and had some top teachers. The great conductor Toscanni said "There is no doubt, this is the greatest voice of the 20th century" Toscanni worked with the great Caruso, by the way. Yes, some of Mario's recordings are not as good as others, and there are several recorded versions of some of his material, both live and studio, which are superior to others.
But the sheer beauty and power of Mario's voice is unmatched, in my opion, by any other tenor I have ever heard.
Free Music Review: Mario Lanza WAS a trained opera singer
Hit: 4 Stars
To the reviewer from Michigan who said Mario never performed an opera on stage, you are wrong. He did two performances as Pinkerton in Madame Butterfly before going off to Hollywood.Mario had extensive operatic training from some top teachers. He was sought after by many opera companies, including the Met in New York.
It is true that some of Mario's recordings are not as good as others. He did various versions of much of his material, both live and studio, so of course you will find some you prefer to others. But the beauty, power and expressiveness of his voice is unmatched by any tenor I have ever heard.