The Toast of New Orleans
Encyclopedia
The Toast of New Orleans is a 1950 musical film directed by Norman Taurog
and choreographed by Eugene Loring
. It starred Mario Lanza
, Kathryn Grayson
, David Niven
, J. Carroll Naish, James Mitchell
and a teenaged Rita Moreno
. The film was made in the wake of That Midnight Kiss
, Lanza's successful film debut, as an opportunity for Lanza to sing on the big screen again.
star soprano
Suzette Micheline (Grayson). It culminates with Micheline's manager, played by Niven, hearing Duvalle sing and offering him a position.
s from the operas Carmen
, Madama Butterfly
, and La traviata
, the film includes the song "Be My Love
", which was nominated for an Academy Award.
Norman Taurog
Norman Rae Taurog was an American film director, and screenwriter.Between 1920 and 1968, Taurog directed over 140 films, and directed Elvis Presley in more movies than any other director...
and choreographed by Eugene Loring
Eugene Loring
Eugene Loring American ballet and other dance-forms dancer, choreographer and teacher and administrator.-Biography:...
. It starred Mario Lanza
Mario Lanza
right|thumb|[[MGM]] still, circa 1949Mario Lanza was an American tenor and Hollywood movie star of the late 1940s and the 1950s. The son of Italian emigrants, he began studying to be a professional singer at the age of 16....
, Kathryn Grayson
Kathryn Grayson
Kathryn Grayson was an American actress and operatic soprano singer.From the age of twelve, Grayson trained as an opera singer. She was under contract to MGM by the early 1940s, soon establishing a career principally through her work in musicals...
, David Niven
David Niven
James David Graham Niven , known as David Niven, was a British actor and novelist, best known for his roles as Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days and Sir Charles Lytton, a.k.a. "the Phantom", in The Pink Panther...
, J. Carroll Naish, James Mitchell
James Mitchell (actor)
James Mitchell was an American actor and dancer. Although he is best known to television audiences as Palmer Cortlandt on the soap opera All My Children , theatre and dance historians remember him as one of Agnes de Mille's leading dancers...
and a teenaged Rita Moreno
Rita Moreno
Rita Moreno is a Puerto Rican singer, dancer and actress. She is the only Hispanic and one of the few performers who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony, and was the second Puerto Rican to win an Academy Award....
. The film was made in the wake of That Midnight Kiss
That Midnight Kiss
That Midnight Kiss was the screen debut of tenor Mario Lanza, also starring Kathryn Grayson, and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Among the supporting cast were Ethel Barrymore, conductor/pianist Jose Iturbi , Keenan Wynn, J. Carroll Naish, and Jules Munshin...
, Lanza's successful film debut, as an opportunity for Lanza to sing on the big screen again.
Plot
The plot revolves around Pepe Abellard Duvalle, a New Orleans fisherman, who falls in love with operaOpera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
star soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
Suzette Micheline (Grayson). It culminates with Micheline's manager, played by Niven, hearing Duvalle sing and offering him a position.
Music
In addition to selected ariaAria
An aria in music was originally any expressive melody, usually, but not always, performed by a singer. The term is now used almost exclusively to describe a self-contained piece for one voice usually with orchestral accompaniment...
s from the operas Carmen
Carmen
Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
, Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. Puccini based his opera in part on the short story "Madame Butterfly" by John Luther Long, which was dramatized by David Belasco...
, and La traviata
La traviata
La traviata is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on La dame aux Camélias , a play adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The title La traviata means literally The Fallen Woman, or perhaps more figuratively, The Woman...
, the film includes the song "Be My Love
Be My Love
"Be My Love" is a popular song with lyrics bySammy Cahn and music by Nicholas Brodzsky. It was published in 1950 and featured in the 1950 movie The Toast of New Orleans, where it was sung by Kathryn Grayson and Mario Lanza. The Lanza recording of the song was a million-seller and a Billboard #1...
", which was nominated for an Academy Award.