Mario Lanza

When I was a kid my mother had this recording of THE STUDENT PRINCE featuring Mario Lanza as the prince.  The quality of his voice was unlike anything I had ever heard.  Years later, I have not heard a voice to compare to his.  I have listened to arias sung by both Pavarotti and Lanza and to my taste, Lanza had the better voice.  I think one could argue Pavarotti had better musicianship, but for pure God given voice, there is nothing like Lanza.  Now those who heard Caruso live said he had the voice.  I have heard Caruso only in recordings that are primitive to say the least and I cannot make a fair comparison.  One can hear hints of the power and quality of Caruso but it is not enough. 

The Student Prince was composed by Sigmund Romberg and his melodies are the kind that stick in your head as you leave the show.  The Student Prince was made into a movie which is hard to find now.  Lanza was to star in the film and he recorded the songs.  But he had a fight with the director and Lanza was replaced by another actor who was dubbed by Lanza for the songs.  It is unfortunate that Lanza was not allowed to complete the film.  He made a few other movies and while most are not great films, it is a wonderful experience to hear the voice of Lanza.  When I was in high school I did a tour of Europe and one of our stops was Heidelberg and I could only hope to see the linden trees with fragrant breeze.  Incidentally, the song "Summertime in Heidelberg" was written for the movie and was not in the original Broadway production.  All of the lyrics of the Broadway show were written by Dorothy Donnelly.  There is a musical bio-pick about Sigmund Romberg called "Deep in my Heart" which is also the title of one of the songs from the Student Prince.  You won't learn much about Romberg in that movie except to hear many excerpts from his music.