Mario Lanza: At His Best!

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I was 12 years old when I saw the movie The Great Caruso.
Mario died when I was 17. I lost interest in Tenors until I saw Pavaroti on TV. It was after I attended a live preformance of Andrea Bocelli that I was overwhelmed with his voice. Since then, I purchased many CD's of Mario Lanza and have concluded that his powerful voice beats all the tenors of today.

I highly recommend this CD and all Mario Lanza's CD's September 20, 2007

Few Could Sing Neapolitan Songs like Lanza

Neapolitan music is very special and unique. It requires singing from the soul and heart and a voice that articulates the language and its many nuances

Mario Lanza was not Neapolitan but he mastered the dialect and the music and the lyrics in a way that few have been able to articulate. As always, Lanza gives a wonderful performance on this album which does not need or deserve the pieces from the Vagabond King.

The greatest voice of this century and the twentieth century comes out in this splendid work. Just having the Neapolitan songs sung by Mario is worth the cost. I recommend it highly for lovers of the best and brightest, like Lanza was. March 13, 2007

Canto Neapolitane

This was the last album Lanza recorded in which he was able to muster all his vocal splendor and create what remains perhaps the most passionately interpreted set of Neapolitan songs ever recorded by any tenor in history ( a close second being recordings by di Stefano, Corelli and Sergio Franchi).

Lanzas diction is uncannily Neapolitan, which is no mean feat considering that the Neapolitan dialect is all but impossile to duplicate by anyone not born and raised in the region. Even such greats as Corelli and del Monaco had problems with it and the much over-rated Pavarotti never even came close.
Lanza nailed it!

The song selection is great with the exception of Funicula...that song doesn't work no matter who sings it.
My personal favs are Dichitenchello Vuie, Voce la Notte, and Passione...Canta'p'me being a close second.
Lanzas gift for pouring his every emotion into his singing really comes forth on these songs. Moreso even than on any of his operatic selections which are peerless in their own right.
However; in my mind, Lanza always did his best work on the Neapolitan songs.

The songs from the soundtrack of the film "The Vagabond King" are about as lame as can be. They are right along the usual line of Hollywood junk which Lanza recorded too much of in his short career.
Thus the 4 star rating. I turn the CD off once the Neapolitan stuff is over with.

The only other major distraction here is not due to anything Mario could have controlled or done differently. It's in that that RCA decided to release this album in this then newly discovered "stereo surround" format, which was nothing more than overblown reverb effects. This worked well for a thin voiced Elvis, but it didn't fare to well with this type of material or Marios larger than life voice.

In the end, this is, and always will be a collection of the finest sung Neapolitan songs ever recorded.

Bravo Commendatore Lanza! Bravo! February 7, 2006

GREAT!!!!!

If your gong to get one Mario Lanza CD or CD Set get the Mario Lanza Collection, But if you want to get one more, get this one, Mario Lanza At His Best. This is one CD (not a set like the collection) which contain many beautiful Italian folk songs and then competes with the songs from Lanza's Movie, The vagabond king. Lanza sings wonderful renditions of Funiculi Funicula, Dicitencello Vuie (just beautiful), Maria Mari (my Grandmothers favorite song), Voce e' Notte, Canta pe' Me, O Surdato Namurato, Comme Facette Mammeta?, Santa Lucia Luntana, Fenesta Che Lucive, Ta Ca Nun Chiagne, 'Na Sera 'e Maggio, and Passione (Which is just beautiful. Then the CD moves to the songs form the vagabond King; Drinking Song, Some day, Love Me Tonight, only A Rose, Tomorrow, Nocturne, Song of the vagabonds and Finale all well done. Judy Rasking sings with Mario on Some day, Only A Rose, Tomorrow, and Finale. November 26, 2005

world's greatest tenor

Mario Lanza was a singer who possessed an absolutely glorious voice. soaring and beautiful, with a deep rich tone. He sings exclusively in his native Italian language on these recordings and the record is in two parts. the first 12 songs are more operatic in structure, containing moody, solemn passages in which Lanza's voice excels in the passion and romantic solitude that this kind of music is so well at expressing. the remaining eight tracks are a series called The Vagabond King and it's song structures are a little bit more of the old Hollywood variety, beginning with the cheery "Drinking Song" (which was a high rated hit in the u.s.). Mario is joined by soprano Judith Raskin on 4 of the songs and his singing is in English for these songs. this is a great introduction to the world of this fabulous singer. October 29, 2005

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