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."
Begin the Beguine
Mario Lanza Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It brings back the sound of music so tender,
It brings back a night of tropical splendor,
It brings back a memory evergreen.
I'm with you once more under the stars,
And down by the shore an orchestra's playing
And even the palms seem to be swaying
To live it again is past all endeavor,
Except when that tune clutches my heart,
And there we are, swearing to love forever,
And promising never, never to part.
What moments divine, what rapture serene,
Till clouds came along to disperse the joys we had tasted,
And now when I hear people curse the chance that was wasted,
I know but too well what they mean;
So don't let them begin the beguine
Let the love that was once a fire remain an ember;
Let it sleep like the dead desire I only remember
When they begin the beguine.
Oh yes, let them begin the beguine, make them play
Till the stars that were there before return above you,
Till you whisper to me once more,
"Darling, I love you!"
And we suddenly know, what heaven we're in,
When they begin the beguine
The song "Begin the Beguine" by Mario Lanza is about the power of music to evoke past memories of love and happiness. When the beguine music begins to play, the singer is transported back to a night of tropical splendor and is reunited with a lost love once more. The music is described as bringing back the tender sound of music and swaying the palm trees. While reminiscing, the singer acknowledges that the moment was divine but unfortunately short-lived as clouds came along and dispersed their joys. The singer then pleads with the musicians not to play the beguine anymore so that the memory can remain a pleasant ember rather than a painful reminder of a lost love. However, the singer ultimately surrenders to the power of the music and pleads with the orchestra to play the beguine once more so that they may relive their past love and be reunited in heaven.
The song is a tribute to the beguine, a popular dance in the Caribbean islands in the early 20th century. The lyrics were written by Cole Porter, and the music was composed by Artie Shaw, a renowned jazz clarinetist. Porter intended for the song to be a tribute to the beguine dance, and Shaw added his own touch of jazz to the melody. The song was first performed in 1935 and became an instant hit.
Line by Line Meaning
When they begin the beguine
When the music known as the beguine starts to play
It brings back the sound of music so tender,
The beguine reminds me of sweet and gentle melodies
It brings back a night of tropical splendor,
Hearing the beguine brings back memories of a wonderful night in a tropical paradise
It brings back a memory evergreen.
The beguine reminds me of a memory that will never fade away
I'm with you once more under the stars,
The beguine takes me back to a time when I was with you under the stars
And down by the shore an orchestra's playing
I remember the sound of an orchestra playing by the shore
And even the palms seem to be swaying
The entire environment seems to come alive and join in the dance
When they begin the beguine.
All these memories rush back to me when I hear the music start
To live it again is past all endeavor,
It's impossible to relive these moments, no matter how much I try
Except when that tune clutches my heart,
But the beguine has the power to make me feel like I'm reliving those memories once again
And there we are, swearing to love forever,
I feel like we're back there, promising each other eternal love
And promising never, never to part.
We promise to never be apart from each other
What moments divine, what rapture serene,
These memories are so precious and blissful
Till clouds came along to disperse the joys we had tasted,
But eventually, reality intervened and took away that happiness
And now when I hear people curse the chance that was wasted,
When I hear others regret missed opportunities, I can relate to that feeling
I know but too well what they mean;
Because I too have experienced that kind of regret
So don't let them begin the beguine
To avoid feeling that regret again, I try not to let the beguine start playing
Let the love that was once a fire remain an ember;
I keep the love we shared alive, but at a more subdued level
Let it sleep like the dead desire I only remember
I hold onto the memory of our intense desire, but I don't try to awaken it
When they begin the beguine.
Because I know what emotions it may bring up
Oh yes, let them begin the beguine, make them play
But then again, there's a part of me that wants to hear it again
Till the stars that were there before return above you,
I want to relive that moment under the stars with you
Till you whisper to me once more,
And for you to say those sweet words to me once again
"Darling, I love you!"
To hear you tell me you love me
And we suddenly know, what heaven we're in,
In that moment, we'll feel like we're in heaven
When they begin the beguine
When the beguine starts to play and brings us back to that moment
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Cole Porter
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
EDITH SYMMANS
Mario Lanza the man with the exceptional warm rich outstanding voice of my generation ...
Mario has pure diction and such a rich heart felt warm soul in all he songs...
Mario always put all of his own soul, heart, passion and emotion in to everything he ever sang..
This is so beautiful, have loved Mario Lanza's voice since I was three years old, listen to him every day...
Mario the handsome charismatic, romantic tenor and surpassed all others...
Elvis Presley was a huge fan and had Mario's records, loved his voice....
Mario Lanza has always been No.1 in my book when he was living and still to this day.....
Mario gains new fans today of the younger generation, says a great deal of his impact still today...
Rest in Eternal Peace Mario Lanza.... You are deeply missed, always remembered and will be fondly loved forever more.
EDITH SYMMANS
Mario Lanza the man with the exceptional warm rich outstanding voice of my generation ...
Mario has pure diction and such a rich heart felt warm soul in all he songs...
Mario always put all of his own soul, heart, passion and emotion in to everything he ever sang..
This is so beautiful, have loved Mario Lanza's voice since I was three years old, listen to him every day...
Mario the handsome charismatic, romantic tenor and surpassed all others...
Elvis Presley was a huge fan and had Mario's records, loved his voice....
Mario Lanza has always been No.1 in my book when he was living and still to this day.....
Mario gains new fans today of the younger generation, says a great deal of his impact still today...
Rest in Eternal Peace Mario Lanza.... You are deeply missed, always remembered and will be fondly loved forever more.
dmar5143
he takes cole porter songs to a level where no one has gone.theres only 1 lanza.hes vocal magic..
Bryan Pabustan
Not many take note of this but Mario Lanza is a VERY EXCELLENT POP SINGER. He can actually croon like Perry Como or Bing Crosby on some of the passages in this song. Yes he is a TRUE CROSSOVER ARTIST. The very first may I add!
Ирина Малафеева
Бессмертное исполнение бессмертного произведения. Спасибо, Марио,за эту красоту!
Rafael Poyatos Bojollo
Perhaps, united, the best song of Lanza and the best version of Begin...It's also remarkable the part of the orchestra, by Ray Sinatra. A master piece, so good as a famous aria.
Jose Cantero
Gran versión del irrepetible y único M.Lanza, compararlo con otros cantantes de estilos y versiones diferentes por ejemplo (J.Negrete dixit) para mí es como un mal chiste.
RN Healer
Mario Lanza could sing any song with passion from a simple show tune to magnificent opera with passion and soul. There will never be anyone else like him.
BrickPa
One of the best singers ever! You may post as many Lanza performances as you might wish!
BrickPa
What could be better? One world's finest popular songs sung by one of the world's best singers.
takoma5
Fantastic version by Mario 😃