MARIO LANZA. The final scene from “For the First Time“ with “Triumphant March“ from “Aida“.

Recently MGM released a Blue-ray edition of “For the First Time“. It has a superb quality, but has one very distressing fault: the very last moments of the film were cut. We don’t see how Aida remains prostrate on her knees and dispirited Radames turns away from the audience. He understands that his victory will bring his beloved Aida only new sufferings. This dramatic moment looks almost as a prediction of what would happen to Lanza only several weeks later (the film was released on August 26, 1959). He turns away as if giving his last farewell to all of us while the closing curtain separates him from his audience forever. And it really looks like a prediction of his future destiny. That’s why I want you to see this scene in its original version.