Mario Lanza: singing to the Gods

Mario Lanza was blessed with one of the great tenor voices of all time, a consummate artist whose repertoire recognized no musical boundaries. Groomed at the outset for a career on the opera stage, Lanza instead got sidetracked into Hollywood, where his powerful singing and larger-than-life personality made him an overnight sensation. His films, most notably The Great Caruso and Serenade, brought the world of Puccini and his contemporaries to countless millions, confirming his status as one of the most exciting entertainers of his day. But his staggering successes came at a high price and by age 38 he was dead, a victim of his own troubled psyche and expansive lifestyle. Derek Mannering's newly researched and richly detailed examination of Mario Lanza's life and times, warmly endorsed by the singer's daughter, Ellisa Lanza Bergman, confronts the tragedy head-on, revealing in the process a man torn apart by inner demons and an unbridled passion for life. This definitive biography of a great star also includes the most exhaustive analysis ever captured in print of Lanza's unforgettable career as a recording, film and concert artist.