Mario Lanza (31 January 1921 – 7 October 1959) was an American operatic ten… Read Full Bio ↴Mario Lanza (31 January 1921 – 7 October 1959) was an American operatic tenor and Hollywood movie star who enjoyed success in the 1950s. His voice was considered by many to rival that of Enrico Caruso, whom Lanza portrayed in the 1951 film The Great Caruso. Lanza was able to sing all types of music. While his highly emotional style was not universally praised by critics, he was immensely popular and his many recordings are still prized today.
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."
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."
O Sole Mio
Mario Lanza Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That beautiful thing na jurnata ' and sun,
n' serene air doppo na storm!
Pe' ll' fresh air seems na festivity already...
That beautiful thing na jurnata ' and sun.
But n' atu sun
beautiful cchiù, oje of '.
' or sun mine
it is ' nfronte to you!
Quanno makes night and ' or sun if of scenne,
me veins quase ' na malincunia;
under ' to restarria fenesta toia
quanno ago night and ' or sun if of scenne.
But n' atu sun
beautiful cchiù, oje of '.
' or sun mine
it is ' nfronte to you!
n' serene air doppo na storm!
Pe' ll' fresh air seems na festivity already...
That beautiful thing na jurnata ' and sun.
But n' atu sun
beautiful cchiù, oje of '.
' or sun mine
Quanno makes night and ' or sun if of scenne,
me veins quase ' na malincunia;
under ' to restarria fenesta toia
quanno ago night and ' or sun if of scenne.
But n' atu sun
beautiful cchiù, oje of '.
' or sun mine
it is ' nfronte to you!
The lyrics of the song O sole mio by Mario Lanza carry a sense of admiration and awe for the beauty of nature. The poet describes the magnificence of the day when the sun is shining after a storm in a serene atmosphere. The air is fresh, and it feels like a celebration already. The poet marvels at the beauty of the day and the sun's warmth, which is even more lovely when it falls upon the person he loves.
The poet contrasts the daytime with the night, and there is a shift in the tone of the song. He talks about feeling melancholic when the sun sets, and the darkness falls, but he can find solace by looking at his beloved's window, as she is the real sunshine of his life. The song's overall theme is an appreciation of nature and the beauty of love, and how both intermingle to create a beautiful experience. The poet expresses his gratitude for the sun, which gives light and warmth to every living thing, and also for the woman he loves, who does the same for him.
Line by Line Meaning
That beautiful thing na jurnata ' and sun,
The beauty of a bright sunny day following a storm and the fresh air that comes with it feels like a celebration.
n' serene air doppo na storm!
The air is calm and peaceful after a storm passes.
Pe' ll' fresh air seems na festivity already...
The fresh air feels like a festive occasion.
But n' atu sun
But another sun
beautiful cchiù, oje of '.
Is more beautiful, oh yes!
' or sun mine
My own sun
it is ' nfronte to you!
It is in front of you!
Quanno makes night and ' or sun if of scenne,
When night falls and the sun goes down,
me veins quase ' na malincunia;
I feel a sense of melancholy;
under ' to restarria fenesta toia
I would stay under your window
quanno ago night and ' or sun if of scenne.
when night falls and the sun sets.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Tratore
Written by: Eduardo Di Capua, Afredo Mazzucchi, Giovanni Capurro
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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@buddytrabucco2901
Mario lanza was the king of tenors his voice gives me chills and it touches my heart no other tenor comes close to Mario lanza and never will and the 117 who put a thumbs down on him you have no taste for good music at all thank you Mario lanza for giving the world beautiful music and that beautiful voice you have a place in my heart forever
@doctorparadigmshift
This guys sings with such power and emotes better than anyone I have ever heard. The placement of emphasis and annunciation in order to express feeling is incredible!
@deerhunter2218
This is coming from an old skinhead in Scotland, my mum used play Mario when I was a kid, never thought too much of him, only when you're older you appreciate, what a magnificent voice!!
@dross1450
I also have no hair and I like him too
@SuperGreen4219
His voice helps me forget what year I am in right now
@2CalaMo
This is Lanza voice at it's best! The best and most romantic rendition that I have ever heard!. He didn't just create sound, he made music with the sound of his voice. When I hear him sing, my whole body turns into one big goose bump!
@davegiacon3976
Beautiful as only Mario can sing this beautiful song
@ninanikitina7651
Как только впервые услышала Марио Ланца,то сразу была покорена на все времена!
@michaelsotir7102
MARIO LANZA FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!
@FlipFlopandFly
Till this day he still sends chills up and down my spine.. What a voice !