Operatic career:
Born Alfredo Arnold Cocozza in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he was exposed to opera and singing at a young age, and by the age of 16 his vocal talent became apparent. Starting out in local operatic productions in Philadelphia, he later came to the attention of conductor Serge Koussevitzky, who provided young Cocozza with a full student scholarship to the Berkshire Music Festival at Tanglewood in Massachusetts. Koussevitzky would later tell Lanza that, "Yours is a voice such as is heard once in a hundred years."
His operatic debut, as Fenton in Otto Nicolai's The Merry Wives of Windsor, was at Tanglewood on August 7, 1942, after just six weeks of study with conductors Boris Goldovsky and Leonard Bernstein. It was here that Cocozza adopted his stage name from his mother Maria's maiden name of Lanza. His performances at Tanglewood won him critical acclaim, with Noel Straus of The New York Times hailing the 21-year-old tenor as having "few equals among tenors of the day in terms of quality, warmth, and power."
His operatic career was interrupted by World War II, when he was assigned to Special Services in the U.S. Army Air Corps. He appeared on the wartime shows On the Beam and Winged Victory while in the Air Corps.
He resumed his singing career in October 1945 on the CBS radio program Great Moments in Music, where he made six appearances singing various operatic selections. He later studied under Enrico Rosati for fifteen months, then embarked on an 86-concert tour of the United States, Canada and Mexico between July 1947 and May 1948 with George London and Frances Yeend. In April 1948, he sang Pinkerton in the New Orleans Opera's Madama Butterfly. A concert at the Hollywood Bowl brought Lanza to the attention of MGM's Louis B. Mayer, who signed Lanza to a seven-year film contract with Metro Goldwyn Mayer. This would prove to be a turning point in the young singer's career.
Film career:
MGM's contract with Lanza required him to commit to the studio for six months, and at first Lanza was able to combine his film career with his operatic one, singing two acclaimed performances as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly for the New Orleans Opera Association in April 1948. He also continued to perform in concert, both in solo appearances and as part of the Bel Canto Trio with George London and Frances Yeend. In May 1949, he made his first commercial recordings with RCA Victor. However, his first two films, That Midnight Kiss and The Toast of New Orleans, were very successful, as was his recording career, and Lanza's fame increased dramatically.
In 1951, Lanza portrayed Enrico Caruso in The Great Caruso, which proved to be an astonishing success. At the same time, his popularity exposed Lanza to intense criticism by music critics, including those who had praised his work years earlier.
In 1954, Lanza was dismissed by MGM after he had pre-recorded the songs for The Student Prince. The film was subsequently made with actor Edmund Purdom miming to Lanza's vocals. During this period Lanza came very close to bankruptcy as a result of poor investment decisions made by his former manager. Owing about $250,000 in back taxes to the IRS, Lanza withdrew from the public eye for a time.
Mario Lanza at home.He returned to an active film career in 1956 in Serenade; despite its strong musical content, it was not as successful as his previous films. Lanza then moved to Rome, Italy in May 1957, where he worked on the film Seven Hills of Rome and returned to live performing in a series of acclaimed concerts throughout Britain, Ireland and the European Continent. In early 1958, he auditioned for the management of La Scala in Milan, and was immediately offered a minimum two-year contract to sing at that theatre. The opera initially discussed was Puccini's Tosca. Later that year, Lanza also agreed to open the 1960/61 season at the Rome Opera as Canio in Pagliacci. At the same time, however, his health began to decline, with the tenor suffering from a variety of ailments, including phlebitis and acute high blood pressure. The following year, in April 1959, Lanza suffered a minor heart attack, followed by double pneumonia in August. He died in Rome in October of that year at the age of 38 from a pulmonary embolism. His widow moved back to Hollywood with their four children and died of a drug overdose five months later; the younger of their two sons died of a heart attack at the age of 37. When Lanza died rumors spread that the notorious mob boss Lucky Luciano (Salvatore Luciano) had had him killed after he refused to perform for him but those rumors quickly died down because they simply were not true. Soprano Maria Callas would later say of him, "My biggest regret is not to have had the opportunity to sing with the greatest tenor voice I've ever heard."
Lanza's short career covered opera, radio, concerts, recordings, and motion pictures. He was the first artist for RCA Victor Red Seal to receive a gold disc. He was also the first artist to sell two and half million albums. A highly influential artist, Lanza has been credited with inspiring the careers of successive generations of opera singers, including Plácido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti, Leo Nucci and Jose Carreras, as well as those of singers with seemingly different backgrounds, and influences, his RCA Victor label-mate Elvis Presley being the most notable example. In 1994, tenor José Carreras paid tribute to Lanza in a worldwide concert tour, saying of him, "If I'm an opera singer, it's thanks to Mario Lanza."
Arrivederci Roma
Mario Lanza Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
T'imbevi de fori e de scavi
Poi tutto d'un tratto te trovi
Fontana de Trevi che è tutta per te
E mentre er soldo bacia er fontanone
La tua canzone in fondo è questa qua
Arrivederci, Roma
Si ritrova a pranzo a Squarciarelli
Fettuccine e vino dei Castelli
Come ai tempi belli che Pinelli immortalò
Arrivederci, Roma
Goodbye, au revoir
Si rivede a spasso in carrozzella
E ripensa a quella ciumachella
Ch'era tanto bella e che gli ha detto sempre no
Arrivederci, Roma
Goodbye, au revoir
Si ritrova a pranzo a Squarciarelli
Fettuccine e vino dei Castelli
Come ai tempi belli che Pinelli immortalò
Arrivederci, Roma
Goodbye, au revoir
Si rivede a spasso in carrozzella
E ripensa a quella ciumachella
Ch'era tanto bella e che gli ha detto sempre no
In Mario Lanza's song "Arrivederci Roma", the singer is envious of the tourists who arrive in Rome and get to soak in all the sights and sounds of the city - the ruins, the Trevi Fountain, and more. While the tourists are busy taking in the sights and spending money at the fountain, the singer acknowledges that their true song is one of goodbye - they will have to leave the city eventually. The singer then reminisces about his own experiences in Rome - enjoying fettuccine and wine at Squarciarelli, strolling around in a carriage, and thinking about a beautiful woman who always said no to him.
Through the lyrics, the singer conveys a sense of longing and nostalgia for Rome - a city that has captured his heart and left a lasting impression on him. The use of simple language and vivid imagery allows listeners to visualize the city and its landmarks, while the singer's personal reminiscences add a touch of emotional depth to the song.
Line by Line Meaning
T'invidio turista che arrivi
I envy the tourist who arrives
T'imbevi de fori e de scavi
You soak up the forums and the excavations
Poi tutto d'un tratto te trovi
Then all of a sudden you find yourself
Fontana de Trevi che è tutta per te
Trevi Fountain, all for yourself
E mentre er soldo bacia er fontanone
And while the coin kisses the big fountain
La tua canzone in fondo è questa qua
Your song after all is this
Arrivederci, Roma
Goodbye, Rome
Si ritrova a pranzo a Squarciarelli
Meeting for lunch at Squarciarelli
Fettuccine e vino dei Castelli
Fettuccine and wine from the Castelli hills
Come ai tempi belli che Pinelli immortalò
As in the good old days that Pinelli immortalized
Si rivede a spasso in carrozzella
Sees again walking in a wheelchair
E ripensa a quella ciumachella
And remembers that silly woman
Ch'era tanto bella e che gli ha detto sempre no
Who was so beautiful and always said no to him
Arrivederci, Roma
Goodbye, Rome
Si ritrova a pranzo a Squarciarelli
Meeting for lunch at Squarciarelli
Fettuccine e vino dei Castelli
Fettuccine and wine from the Castelli hills
Come ai tempi belli che Pinelli immortalò
As in the good old days that Pinelli immortalized
Si rivede a spasso in carrozzella
Sees again walking in a wheelchair
E ripensa a quella ciumachella
And remembers that silly woman
Ch'era tanto bella e che gli ha detto sempre no
Who was so beautiful and always said no to him
Lyrics © MUSIC SALES CORPORATION, Kanjian Music, BMG Rights Management, Tratore, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Allessandro Giovannini, Pietro Garinei, Renato Ranucci
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@dimionix
She is my great-Aunt. Mario Lanza was a good friend of the my family, and my uncle Paul's god father...
@SteelyBlue
She is wonderful, could you tell her I would sing with her part(in Italian)when I was maybe 5yrs old. I grew up with my mom playing Mario Lanza's records, I am sure it was because she was half Italian, and loved classical music. For me this is nothing short of a Fantastic Memory. Could you tell her that for me. Please. Thank you, either way. <3
@priscillawatson7049
it moves me...every time I see this clip. wonderful. did she continue singing?
@nuttywatty
Lucky you
@davidjdow
Luisa Di Meo is your Great-Aunt ? Aren't they both still in italy, their both over 66 now ? Was this movie & song in the 1950s ?
@susanaterrazas6456
Wow
@LePrince1890
The greatest Italian tenor of his generation, and the first one to leave a real mark in motion pictures.
@user-gt3bm3mm2p
I'like Mario Lanza wery wery, but he was one of the first. You forget great polish tenor JAN KIEPURA, 19 movies and opera cariere. Famous IN EUROPA befor and after WWII. Даже в советском союзе показывали в 1930-х "Под чужим именем" Das Lied einer Nacht"(1932).
@geoffm9944
A delightful ballad! Loved the girl’s singing! Lanza was a hugely talented singer. It was tragic that he died so young.
@catherinepizzitola-cintori8192
C'est une merveille cette chanson, c'est un bonheur après tant d'années de l'entendre à nouveau