Mario Lanza - Adeste fideles

Mario Lanza (1921-1959) recorded one of his final albums in the spring of 1959. This album, a stereo remake of an earlier collection of Christmas favorites, has been much maligned in recent years. Some critics have gone so far as to state that these recordings represent Lanza at his absolute worst and should be avoided at all cost. I respectfully disagree. While it is all too obvious that the voice heard on this album is that of a sick, sick man (Lanza, who had suffered a heart attack less than a month prior to recording this album, would be dead within five months), the performances are still very much worth listening to. Lanza is rather subdued on most of the tracks but, all in all, I consider it a magnificent effort on the part of this artist. Here, Lanza sings John Francis Wade&"Adeste fideles". Paul Baron conducts the orchestra in this recording, made at the Cinecittà Studios in Rome in May of 1959.