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 New Moon: Softly As In A
Mario Lanza Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Gay and tender
Love came to me
Sweet surrender
Love came to me
In bright romantic splendor
Fickle was she
Faithful never
And clever
So will it be forever, forever
Softly, as in a morning sunrise
The light of love comes stealing
Into a new born day, oh
Flaming with all the glow of sunrise
A burning kiss is sealing
The vow that all betray
For the passions that thrill love
And lift you high to heaven
Are the passions that kill love
And let you fall to hell
So ends the story
Softly, as in an evening sunset
The light that gave you glory
Will take it all away
The lyrics of Mario Lanza's song "The New Moon" tell a story about love and its promise of joy and hope. It begins by describing love's arrival as something bright and beautiful, but also capricious and unfaithful. The singer goes on to explore the paradox of love, how it can bring us to the heights of passion but also leave us devastated in its wake. The chorus speaks to the fleeting nature of love's promise, and the inevitable disappointment that follows.
Despite its melancholy message, the song has a dreamy, romantic quality that is enhanced by Lanza's smooth tenor voice. The melodies are lush and sweeping, evoking the sense of young love and longing that the lyrics describe so well.
Overall, the song captures the bittersweet nature of love, with its heady highs and crushing lows. It reminds us that while love can be a source of great joy, it is never without risk.
Line by Line Meaning
Love came to me
I encountered romantic love
Gay and tender
Love was happy and gentle
Love came to me
I encountered romantic love once again
Sweet surrender
I gave myself over to love
Love came to me
I encountered romantic love for a third time
In bright romantic splendor
Love was bright and glorious
Fickle was she
Love was unreliable
Faithful never
Love was never loyal
Fickle was she
Love was unreliable once again
And clever
Love was intelligent and cunning
So will it be forever, forever
That's how it will always be
Softly, as in a morning sunrise
Gentle, like the rising sun in the morning
The light of love comes stealing
Love slowly creeps in and takes hold
Into a new born day, oh
At the start of a new day
Flaming with all the glow of sunrise
Burning with the fiery intensity of the sun rising
A burning kiss is sealing
A passionate kiss is sealing the deal
The vow that all betray
The promise that love always breaks
For the passions that thrill love
The things that make love exciting and thrilling
And lift you high to heaven
And make you feel like you're soaring
Are the passions that kill love
Are the same things that ultimately destroy it
And let you fall to hell
And make you feel like you're in a terrible place
So ends the story
That's the end of the tale
Softly, as in an evening sunset
Gentle, like the setting sun in the evening
The light that gave you glory
The same light that made you feel special
Will take it all away
Will ultimately strip it all away
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN, II, OSCAR II HAMMERSTEIN, SIGMUND ROMBERG
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@user-cq2ex7zd6r
Марио ланцаа великолепен во всех жанрах --Богом посланный гений!!!
@arthurfirth1001
I don't think any one will ever take his place,he was the best and still is.
@kathleenhartman3718
I truly believe Mario's rendition of this song is amazing. The passion that he brings into it is fantastic and there is no way that anyone else can possibly do any version as well. Thank you so very much for posting this for us to enjoy.
@britomirabel
I started listening to Mario at the age of 10 am 54 years now. Loved every moment of his singing.
@maureen1938
Such a beautiful song sung superbly by the one and only Mario Lanza. THANKS for posting, I love it.
@ursmue1937
The great Lanza.
@user-ct1ez8ll5u
Светлый ,солнечный человек,как и его песня "Тихо,как на рассвете"
@Genevieve.Spring
Thank God, a non jazz version on here! Thank you. I'll be performing this for my opera workshop this semester. It was nice to hear this.
@ronaldgoff7499
live version from 58 albert hall but he forces high note
@isabella1954able
IL mio povero amato fratello,morto di tumore,desiderava tanto avere la traduzione di questa canzone ,per conoscere il significato delle parole,AMAVA MARIO TANTISSIMO,io son felice d'averla trovata,GRAZIE.ECCO UMBERTO ASCOLTA.