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."
I'll See You Again
Mario Lanza Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When ever spring breaks through again
Time may lie heavy between
But what has been
is past forgetting
This sweet memory
Across the years
Will come to me
In my heart will ever lie
Just an echo of a sigh
Goodbye
All my life I shall remember knowing you
All the pleasure I have found in showing you
The different ways
That one may phrase
The changing light
And changing shade
Happiness that must die
Melodies that must fly
Memories that must fade
Dusty and forgotten by and by
I'll see you again
When ever spring breaks through again
Time may lie heavy between
But what has been
is past forgetting
This sweet memory
Across the years
Will come to me
Though my world may go awry
In my heart will ever lie
Just an echo of a sigh
Goodbye
The lyrics of 'I'll See You Again' by Mario Lanza are a depiction of a person's memory of a lost love. The singer of the song sings about how he remembers his lost love, and how the memories of her will always be with him, even as time passes. When the spring season returns, the memory of this lost love comes flooding back to him. He acknowledges that time may make it difficult for him to remember her, but the memories of her are so strong that he is not capable of forgetting her. The singer also expresses the pain that he feels at the loss of his lover, and how he longs to see her again.
The lyrics of this song are a testament to the power of memories and the lasting effects of love, even if it is lost. The songwriter has done an excellent job of capturing the emotions of someone who has lost a loved one, and the pain and longing that comes along with it. The lyrics of the song also speak to the fact that no matter how much time passes or how far apart two people are, the memories of their love will always remain with them. In the end, the singer of the song accepts that he will never see his lost love again, but the memories of her will always be with him.
Line by Line Meaning
I'll see you again
One day, I will be reunited with you
When ever spring breaks through again
During the spring season, which symbolizes hope and growth
Time may lie heavy between
Although time may feel long and burdensome
But what has been is past forgetting
We cannot forget what we have experienced and shared
This sweet memory
Our memories of each other
Across the years
No matter how much time passes
Will come to me
I will remember them
Though my world may go awry
Even if my life falls into chaos
In my heart will ever lie
I will always hold onto
Just an echo of a sigh
A faint reminder of our final goodbye
Goodbye
The end of our time together
All my life I shall remember knowing you
For my entire life, I will remember the experience of knowing you
All the pleasure I have found in showing you
I have enjoyed sharing my experiences with you
The different ways
The various methods
That one may phrase
One can express themselves in different ways
The changing light
The constantly evolving world around us
And changing shade
The different shades of life we experience
Happiness that must die
Even moments of joy eventually end
Melodies that must fly
Songs that come to an end
Memories that must fade
Our memories will eventually lose their clarity
Dusty and forgotten by and by
Eventually becoming forgotten and distant
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: NOEL COWARD, NOEL PIERCE COWARD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@MegaMusiclover1234
Norma Hobson
"Brief Encounter" is a wonderful film, one of my very favorites. It was released in 1945 and starred Celia Johnson and veteran actor Trevor Howard and was directed by the well-known British filmmaker David Lean, who later directed "Lawrence of Arabia."
Thank you for your nice comment. I am very pleased that you like my video, may you continue to enjoy them.
I'm sorry for the delay in replying to you. I just found out how to use the new YouTube apparatus. I am 70 years old and I am not very computer savvy. Please pardon the great delay.
Kind Regards,
Sandra
@hrbooksmusic7878
The epitome of wistful melancholy … I can feel my heart break on every single note… 🎵🎶🎵🎶🎶🎵🎶🎵🎶
Wonderful movie, deeply touching song, magnificent singer… ⭐️❤️⭐️
Thank you for sharing this! 🙏🍀
@user-du8xr1vr2f
Прекрасный тенор. Марио , мир скорбит о твоей короткой жизни , но ты оставил миру прекрасное наследие .Я смотрю ролики с твоим пением каждый день ! Спасибо интернету !
@kencampbell2359
My favorite movie and my late mother's favorite song. A perfect combination for me!
@sugarbist
Beautiful diction, voice and the great ability to be intimate with his listeners. R.I.P.
@Milordvega
This song, Lanza's voice, and this beautiful movie. PERFECT combination!
@MegaMusiclover1234
Ed,
Thank you so much for your lovely comment. It is most appreciated.
Kind Regards,
Sandra
@Milordvega
I remember watching Trevor Howard on TV as Captain Bligh in the Marlon Brando version of "Mutiny on the Bountry" as well as in a small role in "Superman." And so as an adult, I was glad to see him playing such a warm compassionate man.
I love listening to all the great established opera tenors, but it cannot be denied: Mario Lanza simply had the greatest tenor voice of all.
@MegaMusiclover1234
Ed,
Thank you for your comment about Trevor Howard. He was an excellent actor, but Brief Encounter is my favorite film of his.
Yes, there are a number of very capable tenors, many inspired by Mario, but there is only Mario Lanza who tops the list as you say, "the greatest voice of all". Sometimes his way of communicating the heart touching meaning of the song, brings me to tears. He not only had an extremely beautiful voice, the "greatest tenor voice of all" as you say, he felt deeply what the lyrics were meant to impart, and he shared, from his own heart to ours, those feelings with us, his listeners. He was and still is "the greatest voice of all". There may never again be such an incredibly wonderful tenor as Mario. Thank goodness for the many recordings which he left for us, and future generations to come, to enjoy.
May he rest in peace, he is among the angels now.
Thank you so much for your comment.
Kindest Regards,
Sandra
@joanmulhall5616
My favorite movie forever.
@marcela21884
Adorable! Greatly missed dear Mario...