Episode 1

Dame Kiri Te Kanawa presents a revealing portrait of an extraordinary singing talent who influenced a whole generation of tenors, including Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti.

Lured away from a promising future in opera by Hollywood's millions, Lanza's career rise was meteoric. Yet his story is a real American tragedy. He suffered ill-health after years of drinking, overeating and crash dieting, there was a split from MGM, and his career was curtailed by an untimely death, at the age of 38.

The Mario Lanza Story features interviews with, among others, Lanza's daughter Ellisa, his best friend Terry Robinson, renowned tenor Jose Carreras and actor Terence Stamp.

This documentary first broadcast in October 2009, to mark the 50th anniversary of his death [on 7 October 1959].