~
vinyl LP front cover
album cover photographer unknown
This entry of the recording of The Student Prince, without any doubt, rightfully belongs in my "Music & Mayhem" category (link below).
I
have loved musicals since I was a little kid in the forties. I remember
my first one, mostly because of the situation. My father wanted to take
me to the fights, he was big into boxing and wrestling (link below), and my mother wanted to take me
to see the Student Prince, which is technically NOT a musical, it is an operetta by Sigmund Romberg, but back then I didn't know the difference.
I actually wanted to go to the fights with my dad as I loved them.
I remember the huge argument between them and my father hitting her, it
is my first memory of that happening. My mother won the argument,
however, so,
split lip and all, off she and I went. My first recollection of the
event is
sitting in a plush seat that popped up when empty; it was my very first
theater
experience and thought that was the most fun thing EVER and kept letting
the seat pop up and pushing it back down until my mom irritably told me
to cool
it. Looking back I think she was still sore about the fight with my dad.
The next memory is the house lights dimming, the goose bumps
when the orchestra tuned up (I
still get them) and the giant red velvet curtain slowly opening to
the most magnificent scene imaginable. Between the spectacle I saw that
night on the stage and the anger toward and fear I felt of my dad, I was hooked on musicals forever!
The Student Prince was made into a film in 1954 with Mario Lanza cast in the title role with John Ericson, Louis Calhern, Edmund Gwenn, S. Z. "Cuddles" Sakall and Betta St. John. It was directed by Richard Thorpe and produced by Joe Pasternak.
During most of his film career, Lanza suffered from addictions
to overeating and alcohol which had a serious effect on his health and
his relationships with directors, producers and, occasionally, other
cast members.
The legend goes, like Liz Taylor in the filming of Cleopatra,
he had erratic weight problems during filming which made it impossible
for him to fit into the costumes at times; thus, the role of the prince
was recast with Edmund Purdom . . .
. . . with Lanza singing the songs, which had been recorded early on during the filming, dubbed in (link below) and the film credits read, "the singing voice of Mario Lanza".
The Student Prince - 1954
lobby card
However, the real story is, there was a dispute during the filming; a disagreement with director Curtis Bernhardt
over Lanza's singing of one of the songs in the film led to Lanza
walking off the set. MGM refused to replace Bernhardt, and the film was
subsequently made with English actor Edmund Purdom. Ann Blyth
appears as the love interest for the Prince in the film; she had
previously appeared as Lanza's love interest and wife in the 1951 film, The Great Caruso. A true twist of fate.
The hit songs from The Student Prince with Lanza singing was released by RCA records in 1954 with songs from other musicals included on the "B" side but subsequently released an album with only the music from the film in 1960.
vinyl LP front cover
One of the most beautiful love songs ever written, Serenade, is sung by Lanza in the film; he also sings the very wistful, Golden Days. His stunning voice is resplendent in the rollicking drinking song, Drink, Drink, Drink (links below).
publicity photo
Depressed by his dismissal, and with his self-confidence severely
undermined, Lanza became a virtual recluse for more than a year,
frequently seeking refuge in alcoholic binges. During this period, Lanza
also came very close to bankruptcy as a result of poor investment
decisions by his former manager, and his lavish spending habits. And to boot, he was left
owing about $250,000 in back taxes to the IRS.
In April 1959, Lanza fell ill, mainly with heart problems as
well as pneumonia. On September 25, 1959, he entered the Valle Giulia
clinic in Rome for the purpose of losing weight for an upcoming film. While in
the clinic, he underwent a controversial weight loss program
colloquially known as "the twilight sleep treatment", which required the patient to be kept immobile and sedated for prolonged periods. On October 7, Lanza died of an apparent pulmonary embolism at the age of 38.
In 1991, his son Marc Lanza died of a heart attack. He was 37, a year
younger than Mario was when he died. In 1998, the daughter of Marios Lanza, Colleen Lanza, was
killed by a car as she crossed a street. She spent two weeks in the
hospital in a coma from which she never recovered. The son of Mario Lanza, Damon Anthony
Lanza, died on August 16, 2008 in California at the age of 55.
Hollywood columnist Hedda Hopper
wrote that "his smile, which was as big as his voice, was matched with
the habits of a tiger cub, impossible to housebreak." She adds that he
was the "last of the great romantic performers".
Lanza was a fan of opera star Richard Tucker but they only met once in 1958 at the Covent Garden in London. Tucker stated that Lanza possessed “the voice of the [twentieth] century.”
Placido Domingo
declared Lanza possessed “one of the truly great natural tenor voices
of the past century – a voice of beauty, passion, and power!”
In a summary, author and astrologer Eleonora Kimmel recognized that Lanza "blazed like a meteor whose light lasts a brief moment in time".
It is a tragedy that the life of Mario Lanza rose to the dizzying heights of fame and stardom but ended in disaster.
Tracklist:
Side 1:
Side 1:
A1 - Orchestral Introduction
A2 - Serenade
A3 - Golden Days
A4 - Drink, Drink, Drink, words by Donnelly*
A2 - Serenade
A3 - Golden Days
A4 - Drink, Drink, Drink, words by Donnelly*
A5 - Summertime In Heidelberg, Soprano Vocals – Elizabeth Doubleday, words by Webster*, written by Nicholas Brodszky
Side 2:
A6 - Beloved, words by Paul Francis Webster
A7 - Gaudeamus Igitur, written by Traditional
A8 - Deep In My Heart, Dear, Soprano Vocals – Elizabeth Doubleday, words by Donnelly*
A9 - I’ll Walk With God, written by Nicholas Brodszky
B1 - Yours Is My Heart Alone, written by Franz Lehár
B2 - Romance, words by Walter Donaldson, written by Edgar Leslie
B3 - I’ll See You Again, written by Noel Coward*
B4 - If I Loved You, words by Oscar Hammerstein II, written by Richard Rodgers
B5 - I’ll Be Seeing You, words by Irving Kahal, written by Sammy Fain
B6 - One Night Of Love, words by Gus Kahn, written by Victor Schertzinger
Companies, etc.
Copyright (c) – Radio Corporation Of America
Pressed By – RCA Records Pressing Plant, Indianapolis
Credits:
Conductor – Constantine Callinicos (tracks: A1 to A9), Ray Sinatra (tracks: B1 to B6), written by Sigmund Romberg (tracks: A1 to A4, A6, A8)
Notes:
Full title on sleeve: "MARIO LANZA Sings the hit songs from THE STUDENT PRINCE And other Great Musical Comedies".
Full title on vinyl label: "Songs from "The Student Prince" and other Famous Melodies".
The A-side is the songs from "The Student Prince", the B-side the other songs.
B1 from "Land Of Smiles"
B2 from "Cameo Kirby"
B3 from "Bittersweet"
B4 from "Carousel"
B5 from "Royal Palm Revue"
B6 from "One Night Of Love"
Barcode and Other Identifiers
Matrix / Runout (Label Side A): E4RP-8166
Matrix / Runout (Label Side B): E4RP-8167
Matrix / Runout (Runout Side A (stamped)): E4 RP8166-18S I A3
Matrix / Runout (Runout Side B (stamped)): E4 RP8167-12S I B2
Matrix / Runout (Label Side B): E4RP-8167
Matrix / Runout (Runout Side A (stamped)): E4 RP8166-18S I A3
Matrix / Runout (Runout Side B (stamped)): E4 RP8167-12S I B2
Viewfinder links:
Net links:
LA Times ~ Mario Lanza
mariolanzatenor ~ Myths about Mario Lanza: the Man
Opera Vivra ~ Mario Lanza
Singing Voice Success ~ Tenor Who Took Hollywood by Storm!
Villages News ~ What killed Mario Lanza at age 38?
YouTube links:
"I sing each word as though
it were my last on earth!"
~ Mario Lanza
