RoR: Forum

Beautiful, Chris. When all is said and done, I think we all can agree that we can all find inspiration in the struggles of those who, even if trapped in the muck, still aim for the stars. Even better if they succeed. Let's prepare a landing spot for their return.

Post 1

Thursday, October 7, 2004 - 2:01am

Naturally I'd read this review many times. It is, after all, in the new Free Radical. It was still moving to read it yet again here, after posting it tonight. Whatever the differences among contributors to this board - & they are fierce - on questions of musical taste, we can all agree that the entertainment/serious art dichotomy is one of the falsest of the false, & that Mario Lanza was one of its most potent busters: a fact brought out very eloquently in Chris' article & Armando's book. If only Mario himself had had the philosophical nous not to feel guilty about it!!

In case anyone is wondering ... ordinarily I wouldn't be posting a Free Radical article so soon after the hard copy's release. Most articles don't get posted online at all. Those listed on SOLOHQ's front page are but a small fraction of the magazine's entire hard copy contents. On this occasion, October 7 being Mario's deathday & all, I made an exception.

Thanks Chris, & thanks, Armando! In the words of a song I might cite just to show I'm not *entirely* ignorant of contemporary culture: "How wonderful life is, while you're in the world." :-)

Linz

Post 2

Thursday, October 7, 2004 - 10:40am

A beautiful, moving article, Chris. Every time I think of how young Mario was when he died, it breaks my heart all over again. I would give almost anything to see and hear him perform the operas for which he was born.

Barbara

Post 3

Thursday, October 7, 2004 - 3:50pm

Thank you all for your own very moving words. Viva Mario!

Post 4

Thursday, October 7, 2004 - 7:18pm

Chris: You've succeeded spectacularly here in combining scholarly comment with great poignancy. This review is as much a tribute to Lanza as it is to your own remarkable talents and unmistakable sense of life.

It's precisely because of people like yourself that we're witnessing a major reassessment of Lanza.

Post 5

Friday, October 29, 2004 - 1:02am

At long last I�ve received the current issue of the Free Radical, which contains the superlative assessment of my book by Chris Matthew Sciabarra.

My heartfelt thanks to Lindsay for making it possible, to Graham Clark and all who worked on the production side, and in particular to Chris for a beautifully written and moving tribute to a gigantic talent.

Post 6

Friday, October 29, 2004 - 1:53am