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."
The Lords Prayer
Mario Lanza Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hallowed be Thy Name
Thy kingdom come
Thy will be done on earth
As it is in Heaven
Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our debts
And lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from evil
For thine is the kingdom
And the power and the glory forever
Amen
The lyrics of Mario Lanza's song, The Lord's Prayer, call out to God the Father, who is in heaven. The prayer is attributed to Jesus Christ, and it goes on to ask that God's name be kept holy, and that His will be done both on earth and in heaven. The implication is that whatever is happening on earth is a reflection of what is happening in heaven. The singer then implores God to provide daily bread, and to forgive any debts, while also asking that he will be able to forgive others as well. The song finishes with the plea to not be led astray, to be delivered from evil, and offers praise to God for his eternal kingdom, power, and glory.
There is a simple and pure quality to Lanza's performance of this prayer. He sings with sincerity, and his beautiful tenor voice brings out the depth of the words that he is singing. The lyrics of the Lord's Prayer are meant to invoke faith, hope, and love, and with Lanza's heartfelt rendition, the message is clearly conveyed to the listener.
Line by Line Meaning
Our Father, who art in heaven
Oh God, our creator and father, you exist in the heavenly realm
Hallowed be Thy Name
Your name is holy and worthy of worship
Thy kingdom come
May your kingdom come to earth, and reign over us
Thy will be done on earth
Let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven
As it is in Heaven
Just like it is in the heavenly realm
Give us this day our daily bread
Give us sustenance daily that we may not lack anything
And forgive us our debts
Forgive us of our shortcomings and transgressions
As we forgive our debtors
As we extend forgiveness to those who wrong us
And lead us not into temptation
Please don't allow us to fall into temptation
But deliver us from evil
Please rescue us from the grips of evil
For thine is the kingdom
For yours is the kingdom and all the power that comes with it
And the power and the glory forever
You have all the dominion and honor, forever and ever
Amen
So be it
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: MIKLOS ROZSA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Victory In CHRIST
Eileen Bates....
True Mario LANZA is outstanding...
Ask for FREE 🎶 MUSIC
Andrea BOCELLIA SINGING 🎶
The LORDs prayer 🙏🏻
Think you will enjoy it very much
Also
Percy Sledge SINGING 🎶
My Special prayer 🙏🏻
Patricia Robison
Greatest singer in my lifetime. I am 84. I listen to him every day. He gave his all in every performance and left nothing back.🤣🌻
Francine Fernandes
When Mario Lanza sings a song he tells a story vocally, visually, facially with such power and emotion the greatest tenor I have ever heard. R.I.P. Maestro ❤️❤️❤️
Bobcat Bigpaws
Amen.
Elfreda Billinghurst
😊l ki no
Not long
Elaine Cristina Neri
This voice needs no comment. Simply heavenly.
janice simmons
Amen
romagman
The world needs more of this. Absolutely beautiful
Susanne Seppo
I agree!!!! We need much, much more of this!!!!
Susanne Seppo
Absolutely true!
Trish Miller
Fully agree ❤