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."
It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
Mario Lanza Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That glorious song of old
From Angels playing near the earth
To touch their harps of gold
Peace on the earth could will two men
From Heaven's all-gracious King
The world in solemn stillness lay
And I hear them singing
Sing, I do hear them singing
The first Noel the Angel did say
Was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay
In fields where they lay, they keeping their sheep
On a cold winter's night that was so deep
The song "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear" is a popular Christmas carol that was originally a poem written by Edmund Sears. It was first published in 1849 in the Christian Register, a Unitarian Church newspaper. The poem was later set to music by Richard Storrs Willis in 1850, and it is this version of the song that became the popular rendition we know today.
The lyrics of the song tell the story of the angels announcing the birth of Jesus to the shepherds in the fields on the night he was born. The angels play their harps of gold and sing a glorious song that brings peace to the earth. The world is filled with solemn stillness as everyone stops to listen to the angels singing. The second verse mentions "The First Noel", another well-known Christmas carol that tells the story of the shepherds hearing the news of Jesus' birth.
Mario Lanza's version of "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear" is a classic rendition that showcases his beautiful tenor voice. The way he sings the lyrics makes you feel the powerful emotions behind them. When he sings "And I hear them singing, sing, I do hear them singing", you can almost imagine the sound of the angels' voices in your mind.
Line by Line Meaning
It came upon the midnight clear
The clear sound of music began at midnight
That glorious song of old
The beautiful melody was an ancient one
From Angels playing near the earth
The Angels who were near the earth played the music
To touch their harps of gold
They played music using their golden harps
Peace on the earth could will two men
The coming of peace on earth was desired by all men
From Heaven's all-gracious King
The king of heaven had made this peace possible
The world in solemn stillness lay
The whole world was silent and peaceful
To hear the Angels sing
The world was waiting to hear the Angels' song
And I hear them singing
I can hear them singing
Sing, I do hear them singing
I can hear them singing clearly
The first Noel the Angel did say
The Angel announced the first Noel
Was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay
The announcement was made to poor shepherds while they were resting in fields
In fields where they lay, they keeping their sheep
The shepherds were resting in fields while they kept watch over their sheep
On a cold winter's night that was so deep
It was a very cold and dark winter night
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Songtrust Ave, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Edmund Sears, Fred Bock, Richard Willis
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@user-cq2ex7zd6r
Огромное спасибо🙏💕 за вашу поддержку альбома Марио Ланца БРАВИССИМО
@ohioalphornmusicalsawman2474
The great Mario Lanza😁 My Grandparents listened to him on vinyl when I was a kid.
@theressamurphy2996
He was the very best!
@Greg7341
Wonderful!
@AphroditeEros33
<3 what a beautiful music video with all the lovely paintings of angels:D angels with lute are very nice:) thank you so much for making & sharing <3
@MegaMusiclover1234
@Valdez244 I am so glad that you like it. I like your video on The Miracle of 34th Street. I've always preferred the 1947 film version with Edmund Gwenn, Maureen O'Hara and John Payne. You did a marvelous job putting together all those wonderful photos. Merry Christmas to you.
@MegaMusiclover1234
@AphroditeEros33 Thank you for your kind comment. I am very happy that you like this video. Angels have long been a favorite of mine too.
@MegaMusiclover1234
@Greg7341 Thank you Amy. I am glad that you liked it. Your O Holy Night video is also truly wonderful. I invite my viewers to watch it, they will certainly enjoy your singing this lovely Christmas carol and your other video uploads. Merry Christmas
@Lara-eu9sk
Christ is Born! Glorify Him!