Customer Reviews

Mario Lanza Sings Songs From The Student Prince & The Desert Song / Romberg

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The magnificent Serenade from the Student Prince was the first Lanza recording I ever heard, and to this day it sends shivers down my spine. What a feast, then, to have its companion pieces issued on one CD. The Student Prince was one of Lanza's greatest achievements, with the tenor producing some of his most ardent and poetic singing. The highlights are undoubtedly the joyful Drinking Song; the inspired I'll Walk With God; the aforementioned Serenade; and the passionate Beloved - arguably Lanza's best recording of an English song.

Fans should note that with the exception of the 1953 Beloved, The Student Prince was recorded in 1952 - not 1954 as stated on the CD. This is the soundtrack of the 1954 movie The Student Prince, and is light years removed from Lanza's illness-affected remake of the operetta in 1959. There is one caveat, however: for contractual reasons the soprano Elizabeth Doubleday, who appears with the tenor on two tracks here, replaces Ann Blyth, Lanza's vocal partner on the actual soundtrack. Doubleday's contribution was recorded separately, with the disconcerting result that on Deep in My Heart, Dear, she sings both the soprano and the tenor parts in the middle of the song. Lanza's only contribution on this number is the magically phrased opening, which RCA clumsily repeats at the end. (For the original version, listeners will need to get hold of the movie itself, or settle for the slightly lesser outtake with Ann Blyth that features on the CD Mario Lanza At MGM.)

Romberg's The Desert Song concludes the CD. While vocally not in the same class as The Student Prince, there are a few highlights: the haunting One Alone; Azuri's Dance; and the formidable One Flower Grows Alone In Your Garden, with its difficult tessitura. The Desert Song was Lanza's final recording, made less than two months before his death in October, 1959. Astonishingly, the album was recorded at a time when the tenor was enduring a bout of double pneumonia (in addition to numerous other ailments). Tired though he understandably is here, the magnificent voice is still intact. But for Lanza at his romantic best, buy this CD for The Student Prince selections alone.

Mario Lanza is undoubtedly one of the greatest tenors ever. Taken at the young age of 38, the world lost a tremendous talent. But at least we still have his many recordings to remind us of what once was. This album comprises the recordings for "The Student Prince" and "The Desert Song" all digitally remastered. "The Student Prince" recordings are from the soundtrack of the movie, one that Lanza did not get to star in. Edmund Purdom was chosen to star, and Lanza's voice was dubbed into the soundtrack. Baffling! The recordings of "The Desert Song" were recorded just a few short months before his untimely death on October 7, 1959. He is sorely missed.

The Student Prince and The Desert Song are fine operettas which would be a pleasure to hear sung by any competent tenor. But this recording isn't sung by just any compatent tenor, it's sung by one of the greatest tenors ever recorded, Mario Lanza. And, therefore, this CD is very special. Lanza had the unique ability to sing romantic songs -- such as Golden Days and Deep in My heart Dear -- tenderly and with genuine feeling and then belt out more exhuberent songs with unrivalled power and passion. Regrettable, many people still do not take this great tenor seriously because he made his career in movies rather than opera houses. But if you will listen to Lanza with unbiased ears you will hear a glorious voice unmatched by the most acclaimed tenors of the current period. Domingo and Pavorotti are very good -- Lanza was great.

I think Mario Lanza is the greatest tenor that ever lived, & "The Student Prince" was his greatest album. Unfortunately, THIS ISN'T IT!!!! This is Mario Lanza SINGS SONGS FROM "The Student Prince"!!!!! If you want the real thing, you need to find it on Vinyl or cassette. It is the actual movie soundtrack, & it has a picture on the fron of Lanza dressed as the prince, presumably taken before he was fired from the film. On this version, some songs are left off, the ones included sound totally different, & it doesn't even sound like Mario Lanza's voice!!! To be blunt, this is AWFUL!!!!! If you truly want to hear Mario Lanza at his best & performing his crowning achievement, I suggest doing what I resorted to: Get the aforementioned vinyl or cassette & burn it to a disc. I CAN NOT, IN GOOD FAITH, RECCOMEND THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This cd is a fabulous example of the great American tenor Mario Lanza. While much of the music is not as polished as professionalism demands, Lanza's raw, energetic sound is THE MOST exciting tenor singing I have ever heard. The first track, the Orchestral Introduction, is a medly of tunes from the Student Prince and is so-so. The second track is the famous Serenade which I have never heard anyone sing like Lanza (Domingo, Heppner....). His high notes are ringing. However, some of his pronunciations are not as clean, standard as they should be. The Drinking Song is, again, just strait ahead, ringing singing. Beloved is probably the most polished track from the Student Prince, with the least pronunciation problems. I'll Walk With God is quite good. There are a few notes which are not really clean, and he hits the last B flat rather open and twists the vowel. Many of the problems with recordings are things which could easily have been fixed in a retake, and I cannot understand why the studio did not make him fix them. I would venture to guess that they didn't really care because it wasn't for a classical audience but instead was for the general public who wouldn't know the difference.

In the selections from the Desert Song, one can hear how Lanza has progressed from the wide open, strait ahead singing of his Student Prince years to a more refined, darker, operatic sound. I personally prefer his younger, open sound, because the operatic sound seems put on, or overdone at times, as if he was just arbitrary darkening his voice. However, the singing on the Desert Song is generally impressive, if not as thrilling as the tracks from the Student Prince.

This album is a must get. Fabulous voice.

MARIO SINGS BEAUTIFULLY THE DESERT SONG AND STUDENT PRINCE OPERTTAS! THIS IS A WONDERFUL CD. A TREAT TO LISTEN TO. THE MUSIC IS JUST WONDERFUL. LOVE AZZURI'S DANCE THEME FROM THE DESERT SONG! A MUST BUY!

There simply are not enough praises one can say for Mario Lanza.
I was around at his hey day and to my way of thinking, there have
been very, very few that possessed such a voice ever since. The Student Prince was always a favorite of mine. His, "I'll Walk With God" is
truly sublime. "The Desert Song" is another beautiful one , which by
the way was also sung by actor, Dennis Morgan back in the 1940's but
I cannot find any of his recordings. Even though Mario Lanza's voice
has been forever stilled, it is a joy to be able to listen to him on
CD.

I've read all the other reviews of this CD and I guess I know I'm going to get blasted. However, the fact is that Mario Lanza was a popular singer with a high range. To describe him as 'the greatest tenor ever' is to do a disservice, not only to the great tenors, but also to Mr. Lanza himself. This CD embodies his best style, operetta where his emotional performance is front and center and the deficiencies in his vocal delivery don't matter as much. I grew up attending amateur performances of these musicals and Mr. Lanza would have been highly regarded in those circles. He developed his sound so that it was easily recognizable and did very well.

This CD showcases his typical range of songs and for anyone who, like me, enjoys listening to lighter music on occasion, it's well worth the money. However, if you want to listen to real operatic tenor arias, buy a CD by a real operatic tenor. If you listen to recordings by, say, Jussi Bjoerling a few times, you'll soon appreciate the difference. I'm not in any way putting Mr. Lanza down; I'm merely suggesting that his talent was in performing popular but less technically demanding material.

OK, now fire away!

What a brilliant singer is Mario Lanza. Listening to this CD, one can get lost in the beautiful music. Reproduced with crystal clear sound, this CD would give any listener enjoyment for many years to come. I love it.

This is a wonderful CD with most of the songs from The Student Prince and The Desert Song hits. It has been restored and digitally remastered and the sound quality is excellent--no skips, scratches or background noise. Definitely a must-have in a CD library---they don't write music like this anymore. I love the entire album!