Mario Lanza: Collection (4CD)

Mario Lanza was one of the finest tenor voices of the 20th century, respected and admired as much by his peers in the world of opera as by his millions of fans around the world, who were introduced to him by his succession of Hollywood movies in the post-war years. Having been tempted into movies, he never enjoyed an illustrious career in opera to match the likes of predecessors such as Caruso and Gigli, or indeed those that followed like Domingo, Carreras and Pavarotti, but those more recent stars were the first to acknowledge the inspiration Lanza had given them. This great-value 92-track 4-CD set selects tracks from across his all-too-brief career, which ended with his premature death in 1959 aged just 38. It includes many of the best-known songs from his movies, which provided the rare achievement for an operatic tenor of three million-selling singles as well as several other hits, along with most of the A and B sides of his singles for RCA, plus a selection of album tracks and performances from his hugely successful radio shows sponsored by CocaCola. It provides a fabulous showcase for his unique voice, as well as his versatility in delivering powerful performances of opera favourites along with lighter show tunes and standards