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."
Yours Is My Heart Alone
Mario Lanza Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And without you life holds no charm
Yours, every thought I own
Our love the theme of every dream
Love that makes life seem worthwhile
Dwells in your eyes and the spell of your smile
There is no song half so sweet to me
When far away or near you
In dreams I see and hear you
And yielding to your fascination
I kneel to you in adoration dear, you alone
My queen shall reign and my heart you enchain
All day I sigh for you and I dream on the night
I live or die for you, my adored vision bright
All that makes life seem worthwhile
Was in your eyes and the spell of your smile
There is no song half so sweet to me
As your voice whispering, "I love you, Dear"
The lyrics to Mario Lanza's song "Yours Is My Heart Alone" describe the intense and all-consuming love the singer feels for their significant other. Without the person they love, life holds no appeal or charm. Every thought the singer has is consumed with their love, and it is the theme of every dream they have. The love they share is what makes life worth living, and it is encapsulated in the spellbinding smile and the eyes of their partner, which hold an enchanting power over the singer.
The song describes the depth of the singer's love, which brings them to their knees in adoration of the person they love. Whether near or far, the mere thought of their significant other brings them to their senses, and they dream of them each night. The song's heightened passion and love are evident in every stanza, where the singer declares their unwavering commitment to their beloved, willing to live or die for them. The singer's heart belongs entirely to their loved one, whose voice whispering "I love you" is the sweetest sound they can hear.
Line by Line Meaning
Yours is my heart alone
My heart only belongs to you
And without you life holds no charm
My life is meaningless without you
Yours, every thought I own
You occupy my every thought
Our love the theme of every dream
You are always in my dreams and our love is the focus
Love that makes life seem worthwhile
The love we share makes life worth living
Dwells in your eyes and the spell of your smile
I can see our love in your eyes and your smile has a magical effect on me
There is no song half so sweet to me
No other song compares to the sweetness of hearing you say 'I love you, Dear'
As your voice whispering, "I love you, Dear"
Hearing you say 'I love you, Dear' is the sweetest sound to me
When far away or near you
Whether you are far or near to me
In dreams I see and hear you
I dream about you and can see and hear you in my dreams
And yielding to your fascination
I am completely entranced and captivated by you
I kneel to you in adoration dear, you alone
I worship and adore you, you are the only one for me
My queen shall reign and my heart you enchain
You are my queen and have captured my heart completely
All day I sigh for you and I dream on the night
I spend my days longing for you and dreaming of you at night
I live or die for you, my adored vision bright
I would do anything for you, my beloved and radiant vision
All that makes life seem worthwhile
Everything that makes life meaningful
Was in your eyes and the spell of your smile
I can find everything that is meaningful to me in your eyes and your smile
There is no song half so sweet to me
No other song compares to the sweetness of hearing you say 'I love you, Dear'
As your voice whispering, "I love you, Dear"
Hearing you say 'I love you, Dear' is the sweetest sound to me
Writer(s): F. Lehar, H. B. Smith, H.b. Smith
Contributed by Isabelle B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@FriendsInNY
There are many good to excellent renditions of this classic in this World but this one is unworldly.
I saw "The Great Caruso" I think in 1952(3? on a re-release locally) as a child. Mario's voice and passion hooked me. It was the seed that prompted me to discover and love opera, classical, and standards outside the pop of whatever time.
Don't get me wrong, I liked as a youth and still do, all types of music and artists. And when it comes to opera I am no fool, I recognize and appreciate exceptional talent. I've worn out many a needle (and YouTube hours now) so to speak on many greats.
But Mario and Callas are my go to when I want my soul to be lifted into another World. Something about the voices and the passion when they are in form that is hard to beat.
Thanks for the upload.
@KellieEverts--conductsNightTra
God sang through Mario Lanza. I feel the closeness of God when I listen to his renditions. RIP, I'm confident he's smiling down at us from his Heavenly throne......Sad fate befell Christopher Reeves. He's free now.
@user-nw8oh1ef7u
Love listening to Mario Lanza since childhood. He was my Dad's favorite and I still have his vinyl records in my collection.
@normanashurst1591
I have loved mario singing sice i was a 12 year old lad now i am 82 i have many of his songs on my favourites and often listen to them with emotion he was and will always be the best
@susanabaeza3941
Bellisima voz y sublime interpretación.
@elenewentzel610
❤️🌟Just sitting and relaxed listening to some off the most romantic songs ever composed.
Mario Lanza had just the tenor voice to sung these beautiful songs🌟❤️🦢
@davidtrue8257
never ending pleasure for the last 65 years the first record i bought when i was 15 years old now i am old it still enchants me
@ronstriebig2749
Truly the voice of the 20th century
@marirothbauer5407
Oh! Listening to Mario Lanza I swear my heart does a rapid beat from excitement and my day just floats along on a cloud. I am positive anyone who is feeling down will certainly
Feel on top of the world if they listen to Mario Lanza.
@MegaMusiclover1234
Betty, Yes, Mario's beautiful voice does have that effect on us. Thank you for your comment. May you continue to enjoy the videos which I create with Mario, the greatest voice of the 20th century. Take Care, Sandra
@dtmhmmsu
Beautiful !!! Dein ist mein ganzes herz.