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."
Beloved
Mario Lanza Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tomorrow just another day
Let come whatever
Tonight or never
I'll through the mask away
Beloved with all my heart I love you
With every breath I pray some day
Summer or spring
Winter or fall
You are my life
My love my all
Beloved
The very stars above you
Are jealous of the way your eyes
Sparkle and shine
Day after day near or apart
I try to say be still my trembling heart
But try though I may I cannot hide
This passion inside
That won't be denied
This is be madness
then it's all in madness
I never know I'll never rest
Till you are mine
Beloved believe me when I tell you
From now until the last bright star
Fades from the blue
Now and forever
Whatever I do
Beloved I love you
The lyrics to Mario Lanza's song Beloved speak of a love that is all-encompassing and all-consuming. The first line, "Tonight was just a masquerade, tomorrow just another day," suggests that the singer has been putting on a facade or pretending that everything is normal in their life until now, when they can't hide their love any longer. They are willing to throw away this facade, to take off the mask, and reveal their true feelings, even if it's just for one night. The following lines, "Let come whatever, tonight or never, I'll throw the mask away," show the urgency and desperation of the singer's desire to confess their love.
The chorus, "Beloved with all my heart I love you, with every breath I pray someday you will be mine, summer or spring, winter or fall, you are my life, my love, my all," underscores the depth and intensity of the singer's feelings. The phrase "you are my life, my love, my all" suggests that this person is the center of the singer's world, that they are the reason for their existence.
The rest of the song continues with expressions of love and longing, such as "The very stars above you are jealous of the way your eyes sparkle and shine," and "But try though I may I cannot hide this passion inside that won't be denied." The singer's passion for their beloved is so great that they are willing to call it madness and say that they will never rest until they are together. The final lines, "Beloved, I love you, now and forever, whatever I do," show that the singer's love is unending and will never fade.
Line by Line Meaning
Tonight was just a masquerade
Tonight was just a pretense
Tomorrow just another day
Tomorrow is just an ordinary day
Let come whatever
Whatever happens, let it happen
Tonight or never
Either tonight or never
I'll through the mask away
I'll throw away the pretense
Beloved with all my heart I love you
My love for you is wholehearted
With every breath I pray some day
I pray with every breath that one day
You will be mine
You will be mine
Summer or spring
Whether it's summer or spring
Winter or fall
Whether it's winter or fall
You are my life
You are my everything
My love my all
My love, my everything
Beloved
My love
The very stars above you
The stars in the sky above you
Are jealous of the way your eyes
Are envious of how your eyes
Sparkle and shine
Sparkle and shine
Day after day near or apart
Whether we're near or apart day after day
I try to say be still my trembling heart
I try to calm my heart
But try though I may I cannot hide
But no matter how hard I try, I cannot hide
This passion inside
This passion within me
That won't be denied
That cannot be denied
This is be madness
This must be madness
then it's all in madness
Then it's all madness
I never know I'll never rest
I'll never know peace, I'll never rest
Till you are mine
Until you are mine
Beloved believe me when I tell you
My love, believe me when I say
From now until the last bright star
From now until the very last star in the sky
Fades from the blue
Disappears from the blue sky
Now and forever
Now and forever
Whatever I do
Whatever I do
Beloved I love you
My beloved, I love you
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: NIKOLAUS BRODSZKY, PAUL FRANCIS WEBSTER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Steve Weaver
Phenomenal. I've never heard such a beautiful, impeccably controlled voice to better Mario's. He left the world far too soon but thankfully we will always have the recordings and movies to enjoy.
John Morgan
Yet another beautiful song Beloved sung by in my book, overall, the finest tenor of all time. I like them all but there is something very special about Mario. Inspite of his desperately tragic premature death how wonderful I can continue to enjoy this master voice & great artist for the remainder of my life
bobvocal
The finest voice I have ever heard in my life, the best tenor of them all . his tone is beautiful
Allen Lipkind
Mario Lanza was the greatest just listen to that voice in my opinion Caruso couldn’t even come close
jim kreider
First time I've heard this song. I saw an interview with his daughter speaking of it. I cry every time I hear him sing. It is so beautiful
Francine Fernandes
I remember as a child watching the Student Prince and being in awe of his vocal prowess, Mario Lanza set a vocal standard of emotion and power that affected his generation and mine and some of the modern day tenors. R.I.P Maestro Mario Lanza. Thank you for the beautiful music
Stephen Corkhill
Transcended all generations.Without a doubt one of the greatest singers of all times.
Diana Thornton
I happened to see one of his movies and fell completely in love with his voice. What a great singer! I was riding in a car with a friend one day and she apologized for playing his music. It was wonderful to find out she was a fan too.
thetruthaboutsinging
The truth about singing today is that this is perfection. Pure beauty and magic!
Fra Clarke
Never be another like him , fantastic ,