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."
My Destiny
Mario Lanza Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Your smile is my destiny
And I must be what you want me to be
My future lies
Beyond the stars in your eyes
When you are near life is sheer ecstasy
For you alone can make my arms
A heavenly cathedral
By sharing my embrace
My warm embrace
My destiny
Your kiss is my destiny
And I'm content never more to be free
Your lips control
My very heart and my soul
And I am chained
To my destiny
The song "My Destiny" by Mario Lanza is a beautiful ballad about love, fate, and devotion. The lyrics speak of the singer's deep obsession with his love interest, and how he is willing to do anything and everything to make her happy, even if it means sacrificing his own freedom. The opening lines of the song, "Your smile is my destiny, and I must be what you want me to be" sets the tone for the rest of the lyrics as the singer expresses his unwavering commitment and dedication to the person he loves.
The song continues to describe the singer's feelings of euphoria whenever he is around his beloved, "When you are near life is sheer ecstasy." He then goes on to describe the power of their physical connection, "Take my arms, for you alone can make my arms a heavenly cathedral by sharing my embrace, my warm embrace." The following verses are a beautiful testimony of his emotional and physical dependence on the person he loves.
Finally, the chorus delivers the song's title: "My destiny, your kiss is my destiny, and I'm content never more to be free. Your lips control my very heart and my soul, and I am chained to my destiny." The singer is willing to surrender himself entirely to the will of his lover and let her control his fate. The song is a breathtaking love letter to the power of devotion and surrender in a romantic relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
My destiny
The direction of my life is determined by factors outside of my control.
Your smile is my destiny
The happiness and contentment of my life are dependent upon your approval and positivity towards me.
And I must be what you want me to be
I am devoted to pleasing you and fulfilling your expectations.
My future lies
The ultimate purpose and meaning of my life is yet to come.
Beyond the stars in your eyes
The most important destination of my life is found in your physical presence and the love that we share.
When you are near life is sheer ecstasy
The joy and elation I experience when we are together is beyond description.
Take my arms
I offer myself completely to you.
For you alone can make my arms
Your attention and love are the only things that can breathe life and purpose into my existence.
A heavenly cathedral
Our love is a powerful and beautiful force that fills all aspects of my life.
By sharing my embrace
Our union is the source of my comfort, peace, and foundation for life.
My warm embrace
I offer love, comfort, and protection.
Your kiss is my destiny
Your affectionate gesture determines the direction of my life and where I will end up.
And I'm content never more to be free
I find my deepest satisfaction and fulfillment in being bound to you in love and mutual desire.
Your lips control
Your words and actions are the ultimate power over my mind, body, and soul.
My very heart and my soul
You hold a position of utmost importance and influence in my life.
And I am chained
My love and devotion to you are unbreakable and unyielding.
To my destiny
My fate is inextricably tied to you and our love, and I find my ultimate purpose and journey in being bound to you.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: NIKOLAUS BRODSZKY, SAMMY CAHN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Nana Pigal
Слов нет от восхищения!
Graciela Rodriguez
Dios le dio un gran DON para compartirlo
Юрий Бакиев
❤❤❤🎙🌏🎙❤❤❤👍👍👍🎼🎶🎵🎵👍👍👍СПАСИБО !....🇷🇺🇷🇺🇷🇺.....Надежда.
Suely Fernandes
Mario is unique.
Brasil 2019
Ирина Малафеева
Мой идеал, ушедший в вечность, оставивший свой голос на Земле!
John Blasiak
Unbelievably good
Henry Soltana (tenor)
Genius!
catty cass
your fantastic for your apprreciation of Mario Lanza ! thank you Vincent
KentuckyJet
awesome.
Böke Wilhelm
wusste gar nicht dass vincent pr. auch piano "spielen" konnte und das so toll.-in hollywood ist alles möglich