Mario Lanza as a riveting Otello- Dio, Mi Potevi

Mario Lanza (1921-1959) sings ’Dio, mi potevi scagliar’ from Verdi’s “Otello“, in the 1956 Warner Bros. film “Serenade“. The studio orchestra is conducted by Ray Heindorf. This is arguably Lanza’s best singing film, and the clip shows why- the voice is a bit darker and even more virile than it had been in previous years, loaded with squillo, and his stage presence is magnetic. I know of no better performance of this, and I’ve heard them all- Galuzin, Domingo, McCracken, Vickers, del Monaco, Windgassen, Vinay, etc., etc. Incidentally, the lady seated on the stage in the video is Licia Albanese, who recorded the ’Dio ti giocondi’ duet with Lanza and remains one of his staunch supporters.