Tenors Roberto Alagna and José Carreras claim that they became interested in opera after hearing Mario Lanza, and it’s easy to tell why. Aside from the natural “sit” of the voice, which is precisely right for big-money notes (those notes above A-natural), it’s also rich at the bottom of its range. But perhaps most importantly, Lanza sings with an animal magnetism that is both sensual and thrilling in the extreme, the sound itself is beautiful, and he always seems to be enjoying himself. All that having been said, he tends to sing at the same volume for everything, his “dramatic” choices are obvious, unsubtle, and devoid of intellect (unlike either Carreras’ or Alagna’s, which are somewhat thought through), and of course, he hadn’t the stamina to sing an entire opera.
I realize we’re dealing with two separate entities here–the true opera singer versus the popular artist who sings opera (albeit with a true operatic voice)–but Lanza’s hat is in the “true opera singer” ring. All the selections here are well-performed and exciting, although the tenor occasionally strays from pitch and/or breaks up a word or phrase in the wrong place for the benefit of breath. The accompaniments and tempos are those chosen for excerpts and to show off a voice rather than to have their in-context effect. But Lanza’s “Recondite armonia” is world class, and if his “Vesti la giubba” is hammy, well, it’s no more offensive than Richard Tucker’s in that respect. And the songs, such as “Be my love” and “Granada”, offer positively visceral thrills. If you don’t know Lanza, who died far too young (38) and might have gone legit (sorry) at some point (and could have, with the right training) had he lived, you should–and this CD is a fine place to start.
