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."
Come Back To Sorento
Mario Lanza Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tender thoughts occur to me
I have often seen your eyes
In the nighttime when I dream
When I pass a garden fair
And the scent is in the air
In my mind a dream awakes
But you said goodbye to me
Now all I can do is grieve
Can it be that you forgot?
Darling forget me not!
Please don't say farewell
And leave this heart that's broken
Come back to Sorrento
So I can mend
These lyrics are from the Mario Lanza song "Come Back to Sorrento." The song captures the feelings of a person who is pining for their lost love. The first stanza talks about the beauty of the sea and how it reminds the singer of their love. The singer remembers their significant other's eyes and how they have seen them in their dreams.
In the second stanza, the singer talks about the garden and how its scent reminds them of their lost love. The singer says that their heart is breaking, and they feel overwhelmed with sadness. The singer then asks their love not to say farewell and leave them with a broken heart. They plead for their love to come back to Sorrento, so they can mend their heart.
The song's lyrics portray the anguish of losing someone you love and wanting them to come back. It is a sad and emotional song that captures the deep emotions of heartbreak and longing. The song has a message of hope that the singer's love will come back to them, and they can be happy again.
Line by Line Meaning
Sunlight dances on the sea
The bright sun is reflecting off the sea and creating a beautiful sight.
Tender thoughts occur to me
I am reminded of happy memories with someone special.
I have often seen your eyes
I remember the way you looked at me.
In the nighttime when I dream
Even when I am asleep, I still think of you.
When I pass a garden fair
When I walk by a beautiful garden,
And the scent is in the air
And I can smell the lovely flowers,
In my mind a dream awakes
I start to think of a happy memory.
And my heart begins to break
But then I remember that you are gone and my heart starts to feel sad.
But you said goodbye to me
You left and said you would never come back.
Now all I can do is grieve
So now I am left to feel sad and mourn.
Can it be that you forgot?
I wonder if you have forgotten about me.
Darling forget me not!
Please don't forget about me and the happy memories we shared.
Please don't say farewell
Please don't leave me alone.
And leave this heart that's broken
And don't leave me with a broken heart.
Come back to Sorrento
Please come back to this special place where we spent time together.
So I can mend
So that I can heal from the heartache and pain of losing you.
Lyrics © MUSIC SALES CORPORATION, Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN), Spirit Music Group
Written by: Ernesto De Curtis
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@bibijohns7567
Tell me which Tenor sings in 2023 like this ?! No one ! Bravo Lanza.
@zelinwang2907
You’re right 🎉
@CMar-tw3od
Dimash Qudaibergen
Kazakh singer and songwriter
@user-mz9ke7mt5v
Это разные вещи и сравнивать их нельзя. Димаш только как будто-то пробует голос, но не поёт. Петь надо уметь
@nevillefilar6931
Freddie de Tommaso. And his top is freer than Lanza’s was too. But this is a fabulous bit of proper singing.
@operaaugu8526
I
Me
@zuzannawisniewska4464
Who else is still listening in 2023...is the best tenor of the world of the 20th century. Great voice.....from Chicago, IL
@user-lm3mc1df3z
Восторг ! Фантастика !
@russneese1004
Answer…. No one.
@yamilababilonia3801
Esa era una de mis cansiones de Cuba mi Padre me la cantina a El le decian Caruso era El Caruso Cubano cuando no SE podia our musica en Cuba Yo tennis mi cantante particular gracias mi Viejo me oyes desde El Cielo tu eras in angel