MARIO Lanza, the great tenor and matinee idol, died 50 years to the day of his anniversary tribute concert at UCH on Wednesday October 7.
It’s hard to believe Lanza’s career spanned only a decade. The worldwide hearthrob, movie star and opera great died at the age of 38, victim of a massive heart attack.
“Mario Lanza became the biggest star of his generation,” Emma Foote of UCH points out. “At the height of his career he even outsold Elvis Presley. Although he was never an opera star in the true sense of the word – he only made two live opera appearances – he did more to popularise grand opera than any of his contemporaries”.
Hollywood studios wielded and moulded all the power in the 20th century making of careers, and what Hollywood wanted, it got. Mario Lanza was contracted promptly to the screen to achieve a far wider and greater fame than the opera stage access.
His recordings sold in their millions, songs such as Golden Days, Loveliest Night of the Year and A Walk with God, are still popular fifty years after his death. Mario Lanzo’s landmark movies, The Great Caruso, The Student Prince, and That Midnight Kiss are classics in the high musical genre.
Back to the concert hall. The Loveliest Night of the Year concert will feature Vladimir Joblokov, leader of the Slovak Festival Orchestra, and tenor Sean Costello with special guests Niall Morris (former Celtic Tenor) and Sandra Oman. 8pm curtain to greatness, reference
www.uch.ie.
