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."
Gaudeamus Igitur
Mario Lanza Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Juvenes dum sumus.
Gaudeamus igitur
Juvenes dum sumus.
Post jucundam juventutem
Post molestam senectutem
Nos habebit humus.
Nos habebit humus.
Vita nostra brevis est
Brevi finietur.
Vita nostra brevis est
Brevi finietur.
Venit mors velociter
Rapit nos atrociter
Nemini parcetur.
Nemini parcetur.
Vivant omnes virgines
Faciles, formosae.
Vivant omnes virgines
Faciles, formosae.
Vivant et mulieres
Tenerae amabiles
Bonae laboriosae.
Bonae laboriosae.
Vivat academia!
Vivant professores!
Vivat academia!
Vivant professores!
Vivat membrum quodlibet
Vivant membra quaelibet
Semper sint in flore.
Semper sint in flore.
The song "Gaudeamus Igitur" is a traditional song sung at university graduation ceremonies and other academic occasions. It is often referred to as the "student anthem" or the "hymn of Bacchus" due to its association with university life and drinking. The lyrics of the song celebrate the joys of youth and the pursuit of knowledge, while acknowledging the brevity of life and the inevitability of death.
The first verse of the song calls on all of the young people to rejoice and enjoy life while they are still young. It is a call to live in the present and enjoy the pleasures of youth before they are gone. The second verse, however, reminds us that life is short and death is inevitable. It warns that death comes quickly and takes us without mercy, regardless of who we are.
The third verse celebrates the beauty and grace of women, both young and old, and acknowledges their important contributions to society. The final verse celebrates the importance of academia and the role that teachers and students play in advancing knowledge and understanding. It is a call for all members of the academic community to flourish and continue to grow and learn throughout their lives.
Overall, the lyrics of "Gaudeamus Igitur" celebrate the joys of youth, the beauty of women, and the importance of education, while reminding us that life is precious and fleeting, and that we should savor every moment.
Line by Line Meaning
Gaudeamus igitur
Let us therefore rejoice
Juvenes dum sumus.
While we are young.
Post jucundam juventutem
After a joyful youth,
Post molestam senectutem
After a troublesome old age,
Nos habebit humus.
The earth will hold us.
Vita nostra brevis est
Our life is brief
Brevi finietur.
And will be shortened.
Venit mors velociter
Death comes quickly
Rapit nos atrociter
And snatches us cruelly
Nemini parcetur.
No one will be spared.
Vivant omnes virgines
Let all maidens live
Faciles, formosae.
Easy-going and beautiful.
Vivant et mulieres
Let women also live
Tenerae amabiles
Tender and lovable
Bonae laboriosae.
Good and hard-working.
Vivat academia!
Long live the academy!
Vivant professores!
Let the professors live!
Vivat membrum quodlibet
Let any member live
Vivant membra quaelibet
Let any limb live
Semper sint in flore.
And may they always flourish.
Contributed by Ian J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@krismoller6433
What a voice! The Angels must clapping their hands in heaven!.
I was 12 years old when I discovered this long playing record at the home of our parents. I sat most of the weekend listening to it, went on te see The Student Prince and went on to fall in love with classical music due to this man! At that tender age. A boy who lived in a small town.
@adamschwartz2656
I was born and raised in South Philly not far from his house. My parents went to see the Student Prince and brought home the EP of this album and I love it and have to this very day . A magnificent voice that we shall not hear again......
@annetteelliott1494
Loved this music since i was 7 years young.....at 74 i still can't get enough of this beautiful rich voice.....
@BlossomFlowerGirl
I saw the Student Prince when I was 16 and loved it. Of course the actor wasn’t the one who did the singing. I have loved listening to Mario Lanza ever since, his voice was utter perfection and beautiful to listen to it was as if God sent His angels down. No tender since has come close although Pavarotti reminded me of Lanza.
@maryjanewilkie8472
This song, this movie, was the impetus that led this little girl from the suburbs of Houston, Texas, in the 1950s to another life, in Europe today. Thank you, Mario Lanza.
@thomascollins4325
Mario Lanza. The absolute best!!! 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
@tompurcell1499
I grew up with my dad playing music from Jussi Björling, The Dubliners; the Uillean pipes of the Chieftains, and the man he would trek Ireland to listen to: namely Leo Rowsome, again, on the Uillean pipes. Indeed, my dad was a proud bagpiper himself.
I have been so enriched by the musical experience that my father engendered in me. Indeed one example of his legacy was a 45 rpm record of Gaudiamus Igitur by Mario Lanza, that I would listen constantly on an old Bush monograph record player.
It is heartening (and indeed, heart-warming) to remember my father while listening to this great drinking song.
@wranglers2
He had such an exuberant, full voice. wonderful
@bobapbob5812
My wife and I saw The Student Prince produced in the courtyard of Heidelberg castle. Never to be forgotten
@rouman7
even angels, cannot sing this good, without doubt the best voice, bar none simply superb......