Mario Lanza Live at Hollywood Bowl: Historical Recordings (1947 & 1951)

See also Live at the Hollywood Bowl for other artists' performances at the Hollywood Bowl

Mario Lanza Live at Hollywood Bowl: Historical Recordings (1947 & 1951)
Live album by Mario Lanza
Released	2000
Recorded	1947, 1951
Genre	Opera
Label	Gala

Mario Lanza Live at Hollywood Bowl: Historical Recordings (1947 & 1951) is a 2000 CD, released by the Gala label, includes the six selections that tenor Mario Lanza sang at his first Hollywood Bowl concert in August 1947. This is the performance that first brought Lanza to the attention of Hollywood, and shortly afterwards the tenor was signed to a seven-year film contract with MGM. He sings the arias "Una furtiva lagrima" from L'elisir d'amore, "Un Di all'Azzurro Spazio" from Andrea Chénier, and "E lucevan le stelle" from Tosca. In duet with soprano Frances Yeend, he also sings "Parigi, O Cara" from La traviata, "Vogliatemi bene" from Madama Butterfly, and "O Soave Fanciulla" from La Bohème. The conductor is Eugene Ormandy.

Reviewing the concert in the Los Angeles Examiner, Ernest Lonsdale wrote that, "Mario Lanza could have taken the Bowl with him. [His] voice is rich, full, warm and ringing. He has expression, emotion and good pronunciation. His operatic potentialities, if he works hard for a few more years, are unmistakably great."

References

Armando Cesari. Mario Lanza: An American Tragedy (Fort Worth: Baskerville 2004).