The 56th Annual Mario Lanza Ball and weekend will begin on Saturday, November 11th beginning at 8:30 pm at The Victor Café, 1303 Dickinson Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. There will be a special Mario Lanza Tribute dinner featuring fine Italian cuisine, raffles and a singing wait staff. On Sunday, November 12th beginning at 11:00 am, the Mario Lanza Museum located at 712 Montrose Street, will have an open house and a coffee and cake reception. Later in the day will be the Mario Lanza Ball, beginning with a cocktail hour at 5:00 pm. The Ball will include the Mario Lanza Scholarship Competition winner’s concert, two video presentations on Lanza’s film “Because You’re Mine” and dinner and dancing to the Tony Dee Orchestra.
Elaine Malbin will be the Mistress of Ceremonies joining family and fans of Mario Lanza as they gather at the Double Tree Hotel on Broad Street to pay tribute to the late, legendary tenor. Ms. Malbin is a star of many opera stages and a pioneer of opera on television. She also recorded two duets with Lanza for an RCA album devoted to selections from his second film and is a judge in many prestigious vocal competitions. These events act as a fundraiser by the Mario Lanza Institute to help perpetuate Lanza’s dream of aiding young aspiring opera singers through scholarships. To date, the Institute has awarded over 250 scholarships. This year, the Lanza Institute is proud again to partner with the Coccia Foundation which is sponsoring the third-place scholarship. Mario Lanza was an ambassador for all good music. Through his films, concerts, recordings, radio show and television appearances, he brought great enjoyment to all who experienced his wonderful and exciting talent and introduced many to the world of opera for the very first time.
To order tickets contact the Mario Lanza Institute at (215) 238-9691 or [email protected]. Requests as well as donations may also be sent to Mario Lanza Institute, P.O. Box 54624, Philadelphia, PA 19148-0624. Tickets for the Mario Lanza Ball are $165 per person. Tickets for the Mario Lanza Tribute dinner are $80 per person. You may also visit the web site at www.mariolanzainstitute.org to download the invitation.
