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."
La Donna e Mobile
Mario Lanza Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
muta d'accento, e di pensiero.
Sempre un amabile, leggiadro viso,
in pianto o in riso, è menzognero.
La donna è mobile, qual piuma al vento,
muta d'accento, e di pensier
e di pensier, e di pensier.
chi le confida, mal cauto il core!
Pur mai non sentesi felice appieno
chi su quel seno non liba amore!
La donna è mobile, qual piuma al vento,
muta d'accento e di pensier,
e di pensier, e di pensier!
The lyrics to Mario Lanza's song La Donna E Mobile describe the contradictory and deceptive nature of women. The opening lines, "La donna è mobile, qual piuma al vento, muta d'accento, e di pensiero" translate to "Woman is fickle, like a feather in the wind, changing in accent and thought." The verse goes on to describe a woman's amiable and delicate appearance, which can be deceiving whether she is crying or laughing.
The next verse highlights the danger of confiding in a woman, as she can easily betray the trust placed in her. It suggests that true happiness cannot be found in a woman who does not reciprocate love. The chorus is repeated, emphasizing the ever-changing and unpredictable nature of women, and how trusting them can lead to misery.
Overall, the lyrics convey the idea that women are unreliable and misleading, and that those who put their faith in them are bound to be disappointed. While this interpretation may not resonate with modern audiences, it reflects the attitudes towards women held by many in the past, and how these attitudes were expressed through music.
Line by Line Meaning
La donna è mobile, qual piuma al vento,
A woman is fickle, like a feather in the wind,
muta d'accento, e di pensiero.
She changes her tone and thoughts quickly.
Sempre un amabile, leggiadro viso,
Always presenting a lovely, delicate appearance,
in pianto o in riso, è menzognero.
Whether crying or laughing, she is deceitful.
È sempre misero, chi a lei s'affida,
Those who rely on her are always miserable,
chi le confida, mal cauto il core!
As they trust her with an unguarded heart!
Pur mai non sentesi felice appieno
One can never truly be happy,
chi su quel seno non liba amore!
Unless they drink the nectar of love from her bosom!
La donna è mobile, qual piuma al vento,
A woman is fickle, like a feather in the wind,
muta d'accento e di pensier,
Changing her words and thoughts,
e di pensier, e di pensier!
And with many thoughts in her head!
Contributed by Cooper R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Rat Rat
La donna è mobile
Qual piuma al vento
Muta d'accento
E di pensiero
Sempre un amabile
Leggiadro viso
In pianto e riso
È menzognero
La donna è mobil
Qual piuma al vento
Muta d'accento
E di pensier
E di pensier
E di pensier
È sempre misero
Chi a lei s'affida
Chi le confida
Malcauto il core
Pur mai non sentesi
Felice appieno
Chi su quel seno
Non liba amore
La donna è mobil
Qual piuma al vento
Muta d'accento
E di pensier
E di pensier
E di pensier
suzanne
There will never be another Mario Lanza. I've always loved opera and played records of Mario and saw every movie he made. Even the three tenors couldn't even come close to him. Plus, he was absolutely gorgeous. He can sing without looking like it hurts.. like so many others. I'm 73 now and still listen and see him, and sometimes pretend he is still with us...thanks to YT.
LockeGr
thanks for the post. I started listening to opera a couple of years ago, i am 39 now. i loved him from the first videos i watched. Vesti la giubba is my favorite. be well and take care of yourself.
Steve V
Ironic that he played the title role in The Great Caruso, then went on to exceed his fame. One of my all time favourite films.
Irina Shandybin
Боже, какой же чудесный человек- красавец, великолепный талантливый певец, читала, что в жизни был очень порядочным. Обожаю его! Именно эту арию могу слушать бесконечно.
Amy Fisher
I love how he just casually throws it out like it’s the easiest thing in the world to sing.
Dar Robinson
To him it was easy. Coz he was crazy gifted
Pedro Medeiros
He probably is doing lipsync
Amy Fisher
@Pedro Medeiros Um, no. He didn’t do that.
Pedro Medeiros
@Amy Fisher how do you know?
Amy Fisher
@Pedro Medeiros Because I’m smart.