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."
Gypsy Love Song
Mario Lanza Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tell the love I love least
Who knows!
Red rose out of the West,
Tell the love I love best
Love is a rose.
Only a rose I give you,
Only a smile to keep in memory,
Until we meet another day!
Only a rose to whisper,
Blushing as roses do,
I bring along a smile or a song for anyone,
Only a rose for you!
Only a rose to whisper,
Blushing as roses do,
I bring along a smile or a song for anyone,
Only a rose for you!
The lyrics to Mario Lanza's song Gypsy Love Song are an expression of love through the symbolism of roses. The lyrics describe the giver of the roses as conveying a message to both the love they love the least and the love they love the best. The roses are depicted as coming from both the East and the West, potentially representing the two different loves in the giver's life. The lines "Red rose out of the East, tell the love I love least" and "Red rose out of the West, tell the love I love best" suggest that the giver sees the roses as a way to communicate their feelings indirectly, as they perhaps cannot bring themselves to express their love directly to either of their two loves.
The next lines suggest that the giver understands that love can be fleeting, like the dying away of a song. They promise to give the love they cannot express directly only a rose to remember them by until they meet again. The lines "only a rose I give you, only a song dying away, only a smile to keep in memory, until we meet another day" convey the giver's understanding that love can be fleeting and short-lived.
The subsequent lines seem to be an offer of love to the person the song is being sung to. The combination of a smile or a song, in addition to the rose, might suggest that the giver wants to share their happiness and love with the person they are singing to. The lines "I bring along a smile or a song for anyone, only a rose for you" suggest that the giver's love is special, and that they are singling out the person they are singing to as someone worth their attention and affection.
Line by Line Meaning
Red rose out of the East,
From the East, a red rose blossoms, conveying my affections towards the one I care for the least. Who knows if they'll ever receive the message?
Tell the love I love least
Through this rose, let my message travel to the one who doesn't have a special place in my heart.
Red rose out of the West,
From the West, another rose blooms, carrying my love towards the one who has captured my heart.
Tell the love I love best
Let this rose inform the one I adore that they hold a special place in my heart.
Love is a rose.
Love can be compared to a rose with its soft petals and thorns that protect the beauty within.
Only a rose I give you,
A rose is all I can give to express my gratitude and affection for you.
Only a song dying away,
Like a song that fades away, I have to part from you, but the memory of your smile will keep me company until we meet again.
Only a smile to keep in memory,
Although I have to leave, I will treasure the smile that you gave me for an eternity in my memory.
Until we meet another day!
I look forward to the day when we will meet again, and I hope to see that beautiful smile once more.
Only a rose to whisper,
Nothing else can express the depths of my love but the delicate petals of this rose.
Blushing as roses do,
The rose blushes as it conveys my message, a symbol of the love that flows within my heart.
I bring along a smile or a song for anyone,
As I wander along the roads of life, I have nothing but a gentle smile or a sweet melody that I can share with everyone I meet.
Only a rose for you!
But this rose is exclusively for the one I love, and it is my gesture of affection that comes straight from my heart.
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
MegaMusiclover1234
Mario sang with so much heart. He was simply the best. Thank you so much for uploading this.
Louis Vaccaro
Mario Lanza was without the greatest tenor that ever lived, my best friend terry robinson was marios health trainer he told me many stories about him and mario going out late at night, driving around LA, mario was to famous to go out during the day, he would be mobbed by his fans, also after he passed away 4 months later his wife died, leaving his 4 children without parents. it was terry robinson who legally adopted them, and raised them in honor of mario and his wife. god bless them, and may mario sing with the angels forever. member of th mario lanza institute in phil, and the mario lanza sciety in new york. best wishes Louie Vaccaro tenor, las vegas.
Palmarola2012
Thank you for posting this marvelous performance. It shows Lanza's fantastic talent. A great book explains so much about him. It is the bestseller, “A KID FROM PHILADELPHIA, MARIO LANZA, THE VOICE OF THE POETS.” It is a series of essays that exhibit his life and ability to be the greatest of tenor and the greatest of performers.
Mario Lanza had one of the most thrilling voices of all time. He was a tenor who was able to cross over from opera to popular music as no one else could. It is no wonder that he was the idol of Pavarotti and Domingo and so many singers today. The book, “A KID FROM PHILADELPHIA, MARIO LANZA, THE VOICE OF THE POETS.” captures his passion and is a lovely homage to him from a fan for his fans.
Norma Hobson
This is so great, Nick! I have never heard this one by Mario before but it was well worth the wait and it shows such a tenderness as he seems to caress every word. How very brilliant he was! Can't praise you enough for this one, dear Nick
Louis Vaccaro
Hi Norma, as you know there will never be another mario lanza. he was very special, he was a super star before the word was even invented. he sang for all of us with so much feeling, and emotion, able to make you feel in your heart the loveliness of the song with his most beautiful voice. no one can compare.i have been a member of the mario lanza institute in philadelphia, also the ny society of mario lanza for more than 30 years. my best friend terry robinson was marios health trainer, i was also very good friends with marios son damon, and also marios best friend eddie durso who he grew up with.God Bless mario lanza,our love to you always. best regards Louie Vaccaro las vegas,nv.
Louis Vaccaro
Hi nick, i have been a member of the mario lanza institute in philadelphia for more than 30 years now, and was best friends with Damon Lanza, and marios best friend and health trainer Terry Robinson. I tell you the truth, mario lanza had it all, terry use to take mario to all the recording studios, so mario could record, and terry said, one song in particular granada, when got finished singing it, the orchestra put there instruments down got up and applauded, which is very rare. There will never be another tenor like mario lanza at least in our life time. god bless Louie Vaccaro tenor, las vegas.
dottydreen
Beautiful nostalgia sung so feelingly by Mario L. I cannot fault Mario's recordings but this has to be one of his best.
Cocus62
Grande grande LANZA!!! Bellisima interpretación!!!
Gladys Armasa
!! QUE MANERA SOÑADA, DE INTERPRETAR!!SI MARIO ES EL MAS MARAVILLOSO , DE TODOS LOS TIEMPO.SIEMPRE TE AMAREMOS.
OidSoldier
lAways brings a tear to my eye because it reminds me of my unrequited love of 65 years ago.