For the First Time (Soundtrack)/Mario Lanza Sings Caruso Favorites [Soundtrack]

Sandro and Paola, Vincenzo di Taccani (Composer), George Stoll (Composer), Eduardo di Capua (Composer), Bette (Composer), Asso (Composer), Ruggero Leoncavallo (Composer), Giuseppe Verdi (Composer), Edvard Grieg (Composer), Franz [Vienna] Schubert (Composer), Italian Traditional (Composer), Ernesto de Curtis (Composer), Stanislao Gastaldon (Composer), Stefano Donaudy (Composer), Enrico Caruso (Composer), Arturo Buzzi-Peccia (Composer), Paolo Tosti (Composer), Luigi Gordigiani (Composer), Carlo Savina (Conductor), Callinicos (Conductor), Paul Baron (Conductor) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Conductor: Carlo Savina, Callinicos, Paul Baron
• Composer: Sandro and Paola, Vincenzo di Taccani, George Stoll, Eduardo di Capua, Bette, Asso, et al.
• Audio CD (May 8, 2001)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: Collectables
• ASIN: B00005B523
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #232,501 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Come Prima (For the First Time), song

2. Tarantella (From "For the First Time")

3. O sole Mio

4. Neapolitan Dance (From "For the First Time")

5. Hofbrauhaus Song (From "For the First Time")

6. O mon amour (From "For the First Time")

7. Mazurka (From "For the First Time")

8. Pineapple Pickers (From "For the First Time")

9. Vesti La Giubba

10. Finale

11. Act 1

12. Jeg elsker Dig (I Love but Thee), song for voice & piano, Op. 5/3

13. Ellens Gesang III ("Ave Maria"), song for voice & piano, D. 839 (Op. 52

14. Vieni sul mar, song

15. Senza nisciuno for voice & orchestra

16. Musica proibita, for voice & orchestra, Op. 5

17. Vaghissima sembianza, for voice & piano (or orchestra)

18. Serenata

19. Lolita, serenata spagnola for voice & orchestra

20. Luna d'estate, for voice & piano/orchestra

See all 25 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

The most popular operatic tenor since Caruso showcases his stentorian sound-and pays homage to his idol-on these two original RCA LPs. 25 tracks!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Impressive performances from Lanza's final years, December 17, 2004

By 

DJ McGovern (South Korea) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: For the First Time (Soundtrack)/Mario Lanza Sings Caruso Favorites (Audio CD)

This CD contains most of the soundtrack from Lanza's final movie, the 1958 For the First Time, together with the 1959 album Mario Lanza Sings Caruso Favorites.

By 1958 Lanza's lirico spinto tenor had darkened significantly, acquiring a baritonal richness in its middle and lower registers, while still retaining the celebrated top notes for which he was justly famous. On his best days, he was also a more sensitive singer than he had sometimes been in his Hollywood period. This is immediately noticeable on the operatic selections included here: Vesti La Giubba; the Otello Death Scene (Niun Mi Tema); and the Grand March from Aida. On the first two numbers, Lanza phrases beautifully and avoids marring these arias with the hammy histrionics that many more celebrated names have indulged in elsewhere. Dark with haunting overtones, his voice is by now ideal for both Canio and Otello.

The Grand March scene is also impressive, with Lanza delivering some staggering B flats over the deafening Rome Opera Orchestra and chorus. All three operatic selections from For the First Time were recorded (and subsequently filmed) at the Rome Opera House, and the effect that Lanza had on the musicians present was extraordinary. "A very musical tenor of enormous possibilities, with an exceptional timbre" was the verdict of the theatre's then Artistic Director Riccardo Vitale.

The first half of For the First Time is much lighter, and includes the pleasant title song, Come Prima, along with a sweet and all-too-brief O Mon Amour. There is also the novelty of hearing Lanza singing in German in the rousing Hofbrauhaus Song, as well as a ridiculous rock and roll number called Pineapple Pickers. (Typically, BMG place this next to Vesti la Giubba on the CD, with no thought for the massive jump in musical style and content between the tracks.) O Sole Mio sounds a little laboured here, and rings out much more thrillingly in the movie. But with the exception of the videotape of the actual film (reviewed elsewhere on this site), many of these selections have never sounded better. There is still the ever-present sandiness that mars all of Lanza's stereo releases, but at least this is an improvement on the soundtrack's earlier outing on the Double Feature CD.

My only gripe is that the delightful Cosi Fan Tutte trio - E Voi Ridete - has been omitted. Instead we have three uneventful (and irritating) non-Lanza musical interludes. *Mercifully* missing, however, is the tenor's La Donna 'e Mobile. Uncharacteristically strained, it was his least impressive performance of the aria, and the only vocal lapse in the entire film.

The final twelve selections from the Caruso Favorites album also feature Lanza in mostly fine form. As with all the tenor's 1959 recordings, however, the reproduction of his voice (though curiously *not* the orchestra) is less than ideal, and the ever-present distortion - particularly on his top notes - mars some of the best moments. Gripes aside, this is an important album in the Lanza canon. Among the highlights are the Neapolitan song Senza Nisciuno; a tasteful Vaghissima Sembianza, replete with two beautiful High As; the daunting Serenata; and three exquisite Tosti songs: L'Alba Separa Dalla Luce L'Ombra, Pour Un Baiser and Ideale.

L'Alba Separa dalla Luce l'Ombra deserves special mention. Lanza is appropriately operatic on this miniature masterpiece, and although his voice sounds a little heavy at times, the impact of his performance is very moving. From "Chiudimi, O notte, nel tuo sen materno," (Envelop me, O night, in your maternal [...]) onwards, Lanza is in full control of the song, faltering only slightly on the climactic note on "eterno" (though this may, in fact, be due to the distortion). Lapses aside, L'Alba Separa is a fine example of Lanza's artistic maturity.

Among the few lesser moments, Mario runs out of steam in the second half of La Mia Canzone, and is subjected to an overly boisterous arrangement on Santa Lucia, which sounds more akin to a march than a lilting ode to the Bay of Naples! At times Lanza does sound tired, and as one perceptive reviewer has noted, we miss the characteristic smile of his earlier voice. Ironically, critics and habitual Lanza-knockers are much more likely to praise this album for the very reason that the tenor *is* so subdued.

Caruso Favorites and For the First Time - together with the brilliant Neapolitan album Mario! Lanza At His Best (also reviewed on this site) - represent the tenor's most impressive singing from the final period of his life. As Lanza authority Lindsay Perigo has noted, the tenor's voice on all three albums is often "hauntingly ethereal." In short, these are not performances that are easily forgotten.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For the First TIm CD/Mario Lanza Sings Caruso Favorites, March 12, 2009

By 

RAFAGAL - See all my reviews

This review is from: For the First Time (Soundtrack)/Mario Lanza Sings Caruso Favorites (Audio CD)

I found the music from For the First Time to be an example of Lanza's varied vocal range. For me two outstanding arias were Vesti La Giubba from I Pagliacci and the Otello Finale. His performance of the Vesti aria has to be his very best renditiion of it. What beautiful depth and feeling in his voice. As for Lanza Sings Caruso Favorites, he sings in near top form again and I especially enjoyed listening to the Serenada and Musica Proibita among the twelve tracks, but really each of the tracks offers evidence of his versatility and affinity to the Neapolitan sound. It is a treasure to own and enjoy.

4.0 out of 5 stars MARIO IN STEREO AGAIN, October 18, 2011

By 

Christopher W. Brierley - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: For the First Time (Soundtrack)/Mario Lanza Sings Caruso Favorites (Audio CD)

On this CD you have songs from Mario's film,"For The First Time" and a good selection of songs made famous by Caruso,25 tracks in total.
His singing is generally excellent,especially when you take into account he was to die so soon after recording this CD.
All the tracks are in stereo,but all is not well with their sound.All the Mario Living Stereo CD's seem to suffer from distortion and edgy sound particularly with Mario's voice when he sings loudly,which is quite often.The choirs tend to suffer the same fate,but the orchestra is generally excellent,with a wide stereo image and very realistic reproduction for 50+ years old recordings.
I own this CD as it is part of my Mario stereo collection,however I suggest you listen to any mp3 samples available.
There is no stereo alternative,however there are several CD's of Mario singing Caruso songs in mono but atleast they do not distort like this CD.The "For The First Time",is only available on Living Stereo,so you are stuck with the edgy sound even though it is also available coupled with "That Midnight Kiss".So recommended with drawbacks.