Mario Lanza- a glorious 1951 Thine Alone (Herbert)

Mario Lanza (1921-1959) ’Thine Alone’ (Herbert-Blossom). Recorded for the July 1, 1951, broadcast of “The Mario Lanza Show“, with studio orchestra conducted by Ray Sinatra. As it was only recently released on CD, I’ve just now become acquainted with Lanza’s Coca-Cola show recording of Victor Herbert’s lovely ’Thine Alone’ (from his 1917 operetta “Eileen“). But it is by far the best of Lanza’s three extant versions of the song- including the duet with Kathryn Grayson from the Hollywood Bowl- and has quickly become one of my all-time favorite Lanza performances. He is in absolutely PRISTINE voice, the singing is full of youthful ardor and enthusiasm, and the ascent to the climactic, final B-natural is nothing short of hair-raising.