Mario Lanza: Singing to the Gods (American Made Music)
by Derek Mannering
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Book Summary Information
Author: Derek ManneringForeword: Ellisa Lanza Bregman
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2005-07-05
ISBN: 1578067413
Number of pages: 280
Publisher: University Press of Mississippi
Book Reviews of Mario Lanza: Singing to the Gods (American Made Music)
Book Review: A great biography for a great singer
Summary: 5 Stars
When I read Derek Mannering's first book, MARIO LANZA - A BIOGRAPHY, in 1993, I knew then that this was the best work written to date on the great tenor who was my boyhood idol and musical inspiration. Yet that was only the beginning: since then, Mannering has produced two other first-rate books, SINGING TO THE GODS and MARIO LANZA - A LIFE IN PICTURES (both published in the UK), that have been even better than his first effort. He has also in those years become BMG's primary consultant on the release of new Mario Lanza CDs, resulting in Lanza's return to the best-seller lists in the UK, even hitting #1 with THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION -- a remarkable feat for a singer who died five decades ago.
Now, happily, the first-ever American edition of MARIO LANZA - SINGING TO THE GODS has been published by University Press of Mississippi. Not merely a copy of Mannering's book produced for the UK, this new, updated edition includes never-before-released material in the way of photos and interviews, including several poignant reminisces of Lanza's niece, actress Dolores Hart, who retired from the screen more than 40 years ago to become a nun, Mother Dolores. As in his previous works, Mannering has had the blessings and cooperation of two very important people in Mario Lanza's life - his best friend and trainer, Terry Robinson, and Lanza's only surviving daughter, Elissa Lanza Bregman, who wrote the book's heartfelt Foreword.
Always written in a lively and entertaining style, the strength of Derek Mannering's books lies in the fact that he focuses on Mario Lanza's incredible talent, and how he used that talent -- thru films, radio, television, concerts and recordings -- to bring the world of opera and great music to the average person. And, at the same time, influencing more of today's opera singers than almost any other artist in memory.
Mannering points out Lanza's flaws and mistakes, which caused the singer much difficulty and heartache in his lifetime, and more than a little controversy that lingers to this day. Yet at the same time, Mannering does not dwell on these failings. And while, like all others who have written Lanza bios, Mannering ponders the "what ifs," he does not invent a career which Lanza never had, and celebrates instead the remarkable career for what it was and what it achieved, which was considerable.
For those who might wonder how Derek Mannering's SINGING TO THE GODS stacks up to the other books out there (and Lanza has more bios than almost any other singer I can think of), I would let Mario's daughter, Elissa, speak in the closing words of her Foreword:
"Anyone who wants to know about the life and times of Mario Lanza need go no further than this book."
DAVID WEAVER is the author of BLACK DIVA OF THE THIRTIES - THE LIFE OF RUBY ELZY, published in 2004 by University Press of Mississippi.
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