Derek Mannering

In paperback for the first time, this author's bestselling biography of "Mario Lanza" now contains a fabulous new collection of forty rare photographs drawn from the private collections of Lanza's closest friend Terry Robinson, and the tenor's niece, the former actress Dolores Hart. 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 the age of thirty-eight he was dead, a victim of his own troubled psyche and expansive lifestyle. This richly detailed and definitive examination of Mario Lanza's life and times, warmly endorsed by the singer's daughter, Ellisa Lanza Bregman, confronts the tragedy head-on, revealing in the process a man torn apart by inner demons and an unbridled passion for life. It also includes the most exhaustive analysis ever captured in print of Lanza's unforgettable career as a recording, film and concert artist.