In a short career spanning only 10 years Mario Lanza became the biggest star of his generation. At the height of his career he even out-sold Elvis Presley. Although he was never an opera star in the true sense of the word he did more to popularise Grand Opera than any of his contemporaries. Lanza, an American of Italian parentage, had every interest of pursuing an operatic career, but is was the intervention of one of Hollywood’s biggest studios that resulted in Mario Lanza achieving a far wider and greater fame than the opera stage could have ever envisaged. His recordings sold in their millions; his songs including Golden Days, Lovliest Night of the Year and A Walk with God, are still popular fifty years after his death, and his movies The Great Caruso, The Student Prince, and That Midnight Kiss, to name but a few, became classics.

The Lovliest Night of the Year, is a special celebration concert honouring the life and times of Mario Lanza featuring Vladimir Joblokov, leader of the Slovak Festival Orchestra, with Tenor Sean Costello and special guests Niall Morris (ex Celtic Tenor) and Sandra Oman (Opera Ireland).