Tenor Mario Lanza's second appearance on the Shower of Stars TV show. His first appearance on the show (September 30, 1954) caused great controversy due to the fact that Lanza lip-synched to some of his previous recordings. In this show, much publicized, he sang LIVE and dispelled the many doubters and the press who claimed Lanza had lost his voice. Overweight and clearly very nervous Mario, nevertheless, sings beautifully. His first selection, "E lucevan le stelle" from TOSCA (Puccini) and secondly "Someday" from THE VAGABOND KING (Friml). Shortly after this appearance he was signed by Warner Brothers Studio and subsequently made one film for that studio; the film adaptation of James M. Cain's novel SERENADE. The film, by the same name, co-starred Joan Fontaine, Vincent Price, Sarita Montiel, and sopranos Jean Fenn and Licia Albanese. The film SERENADE contained more complete opera selections than any other Lanza film. While SERENADE was not a critical success, artistically it did reaffirm the fact that Mario Lanza was indeed born to sing opera. Sadly, Mario never realized that dream. He did make two additional movies, ironically for MGM (the studio that fired him due to breach of contract during his filming of the Sigmund Romberg operetta THE STUDENT PRINCE). The films, THE SEVEN HILL OF ROME and FOR THE FIRST TIME, were made in Italy where, in 1957, he had relocated with his family in hopes of rekindling his legitimate music career. Indeed, for a time this did seem promising: He concertized throughout Europe and was in the planning stages of making his operatic debut at La Scala in the 1960 season Sadly though, fate intervened and Mario Lanza died on October 7, 1959 in Rome at the age of 38. A great loss to music and what might have been in opera.
