Plácido Domingo hosts this tribute to American tenor Mario Lanza. Interviews, rare footage and vintage recordings chronicle Lanza's life from his Philadelphia childhood to his meteoric rise as an opera singer and film actor and his tragic death. Credited with bringing opera and classical music into the home of everyday Americans, Lanza starred in That Midnight Kiss and The Toast of New Orleans and portrayed Enrico Caruso in The Great Caruso.

Before Elvis and The Beatles - there was Mario Lanza. Trained for a career in opera, Lanza became the first true crossover artist when MGM made him a matinee idol during the 1950's with box office hits such as 'The Toast of New Orleans' and 'The Great Caruso'. With his unique blend of both classical and popular music, Lanza's recordings of 'The Loveliest Night of the Year', 'Beloved' and his signature ballad, 'Be My Love' sold in their millions. But within 10 years, the star that glowed so brightly burned itself out - and Lanza's sudden death in 1959 at the age of 38 was the first tragic death of the modern pop and rock era.

A bio-documentary of the Italian American tenor, star of The Great Caruso and inspiration to the Three Tenors.