A Movie Night at the Opera

The late, great Luciano Pavarotti was not the first classically trained opera singer to take a stab at Hollywood stardom and certainly won’t be the last. Although none reached the nadir that Pavarotti did in the box-office bottom-feeder known as "Yes, Giorgio," his choral predecessors enjoyed or suffered varying degrees of success and disappointment.

As unlikely as it sounds to cast an opera star in silent films, the legendary Enrico Caruso (1873-1921) was signed in 1918 for two films by Paramount Pictures mogul Adolph Zukor. Silent cinema was initially modeled after turn-of-the-century theater, and opera especially depended on the melodramatic plots and over-the-top pantomimic acting that audiences enjoyed. Ironically, opera singers - deprived of their claim to fame - found themselves among the early movie stars. Caruso’s first film, "My Cousin" (not to be confused with "My Cousin Vinny"), found the famous tenor playing dual roles, one a celebrated opera singer who gives a performance at the old Metropolitan Opera House. "My Cousin" was a flop, and the follow-up film, "The Splendid Romance." was shelved.

Ezio Pinza (1892-1957), born in Rome and universally regarded as one of the outstanding opera voices of the first half of the 20th century, appeared in more than 750 performances of 50 operas over 22 seasons at the Met, and yet couldn’t read a note of music. Instead, he would first listen to his part played on the piano, then sing it.

After retiring from the Met in 1948, he pursued a second, successful career on Broadway. His performance of "Some Enchanted Evening" in "South Pacific" made him an instant matinee idol. Movies were inevitable, including roles with Lana Turner, Janet Leigh, and Anne Bancroft. In 1953, Pinza even starred in a short-lived television sitcom, "Bonino."

Not so fortunate was Mario Lanza (1921-1959), a street kid from Philly whose tenor voice equaled - even transcended, according to some - Caruso’s. He had his own radio show and enjoyed crossover success in pop records, fending off throngs of fans long before Elvis and The Beatles, and becoming the first singer to earn million-selling Gold Records in classical and popular categories.

His ascendancy to opera’s throne took a detour to Hollywood, where he was made over as a box-off hunk with 50-inch pecs. The highlight of his brief film career had to be the starring role as his idol in 1951’s "The Great Caruso." Shortly thereafter, his Hollywood hopes capsized during the production of "The Student Prince," based on Sigmund Romberg’s operetta. Director tried to tell Lanza how to sing, Lanza told director to direct only his acting because singing was strictly Lanza’s concern. The star stormed off the set, and the end result was his replacement by another actor who lip-synched Lanza’s pre-recorded songs, while the singer himself lost his studio contract and began a slow downward spiral of alcoholism, overeating, and volcanic outbursts. He left Hollywood for his ancestral Italy and made two forgettable films there before succumbing to a heart attack at the age of 38.

In contrast, Nelson Eddy (1901-1967) was a classically schooled baritone who made a prosperous and enduring move from grand opera to motion pictures, thanks in no small part to his golden-boy good looks and charisma. He starred in 19 Hollywood musicals during the 1930s and ‘40s, and was best known for his eight films with soprano Jeanette MacDonald, among them "Naughty Marietta," "Rose Marie," and "Sweethearts."

Outside the opera house but staying on the same block, mention must be made of movie performances by a pair of otherwise respected and popular musicians whose screen debuts rivaled Pavarotti’s for their kitschy value as one-miss blunders. Kate Smith (1907-1986), a radio star and singer known as much for her hefty physique as her show-stopping renditions of "God Bless America," found herself the unlikely co-star in "Hello, Everybody!" (1933), a syrupy musical about a pair of poor farmer’s daughters. Kate plays the fifth-wheel sister of the pretty one and, not surprisingly, does not end up with handsome leading man Randolph Scott but does achieve radio stardom. Despite her imposing presence, Kate was no match for another heavyweight, the original "King Kong," which became one of the box-office champs that year. Kate said, "Goodbye, Hollywood!" and never starred in a movie again.

Flamboyant entertainer and Las Vegas peacock Liberace (1919-1987) was a classically trained pianist at the height of his success when he starred in "Sincerely Yours" (1955), portraying a famous concert pianist who loses his hearing (ciao, Luciano!). To fill in the screen time before the surefire cure, he becomes a benevolent Peeping Tom with binoculars who finds himself playing God for people in need. In the script by Irving Wallace (who would gain later fame as the author of such novels as The Chapman Report and The Prize), Liberace even gets the girl!

Despite the career-killing possibilities of "Sincerely Yours," Liberace’s flourished, and in the 1966 film version of The Loved One, British writer Evelyn Waugh’s dark satire of the funeral and film businesses in Southern California, he had a brief but memorable cameo as a casket salesman. He also camped it up as guest villain "Chandell" on the ‘60s TV series "Batman," portraying a self-parody of his flashy persona.

Fittingly, Miss Smith and Mr. Liberace share the dubious honor of being featured in the "Disastrous Debuts" gallery of the 1984 book The Hollywood Hall of Shame by film critic Michael Medved and his brother Harry, co-authors of The Golden Turkey Awards. And yes, "Yes, Giorgio" receives honorable mention in the "Basement Collection" of the Hall of Shame.