Dakota Beacon

Alfredo Arnold Cocozza was an inspiration to many great artists.  Among those whose careers were fired up by him were no less than Placido Domingo, José Carreras, Luciano Pavarotti, Elvis Presley.  He was respected by the greats - Licia Albanese and Enrico Caruso,Jr. praised him.  The renowned music director of the Boston Symphony, Serge Koussevitzky, said this of him:  "Yours is a voice such as is heard once in a hundred years.” 

At the height of his career he had his choice of the great opera houses of the world and any tenor rôles he would like to sing.   He may well be known to you, but as Mario Lanza.   Born into modest circumstances in Philadelphia, to Italian immigrant parents, he was born with the talent for and love of singing.   His gift earned him a scholarship to study at Tanglewood in 1942.  His career went on hiatus during his service in World War II, in the U.S. Army, although his performing for the services did not - he appeared in wartime live shows as well as the movie, Winged Victory.  

He studied his art seriously and brought to it his unique ability to phrase and accent the lyrics so as to convey the songs and arias like no one else.  He was a consummate artist with a magnificent voice.  

A concert at the Hollywood Bowl brought him to the attention of screen mogul Louis B. Mayer and he signed with MGM in 1947.  His films were basically showcases for his amazing voice and passion.  Few have combined these at such a level.  He made seven movies with MGM - That Midnight Kiss, The Toast of New Orleans, Because You’re Mine, The Great Caruso, The Seven Hills of Rome, For the First Time, and the vocals for The Student Prince (his voice was dubbed in for actor Edmund Purdom).  In between he made Serenade with Warner Bros.   His fellow performers remembered his infectious smile, generosity, warm, kind-hearted personality as well as an incredibly talented musician.  However, a dispute over artistic differences with the director of The Student Prince, Curtis Bernhardt, resulted in Lanza walking out.  Yet his vocal tracks are the loveliest thing in the movie and among his best, in the opinion of some.

His overindulgence in food and drink spiked as his self-confidence and depression grew following this and he was out of sight for at least a year, a hermit. To make matters worse, he had also overindulged in spending and owed the IRS a quarter of a million dollars.  He moved to Italy to work on The Seven Hills of Rome and also did an intense concert tour, despite failing health.  He was forced to cancel some of the performances due to his health.  

As part of his effort to get back into shape for his next film, Lanza checked into a clinic where he was to undergo experimental therapy including long periods of immobility and sleep.  He died there unexpectedly, of a suspected pulmonary embolism, in 1959, at age 38.  

The tragedy didn’t end there, though, because his widow, distraught and in shock, returned to the U.S., where she subsequently died of a drug overdose only a few months later.  The couple had four children, two sons, Marc, who died at only 37 of a heart attack, Damon Anthony, who died at age 55, two daughters, Colleen, who was struck by a car and killed, and Ellisa, who survives.  

His life was beset by stress and difficulty and ended far too soon.  Yet he left us some of the most sublime singing and some of the most beautiful moments in motion picture history.

And here are just a few of them:

"Be My Love" (The Toast of New Orleans) with Kathryn Grayson (and a side of David Niven): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j86MXFE80zE

"The Tina-Lina" (The Toast of New Orleans) Lanza as an energetic Cajun with Rita Moreno:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qG_Wox6hiJg

"Torna a Surriento" (Serenade): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fEld8UNi60

"Ave Maria" (Serenade): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zl3fGCSlYa0

A melody of Tchaikovsky (That Midnight Kiss) again with the very pretty Kathryn Grayson:  https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=mario+lanza+-+that+midnight+kiss&ru=%2fsearch%3fq%3dmario%2520lanza%2520-%2520that%2520midnight%2520kiss%26pc%3dcosp%26ptag%3dG6C1N1234D090118A98C4AF66BD%26conlogo%3dCT3210127%26FORM%3dVDVVXX&view=detail&mid=A9095FDCAA6CBD7BB63FA9095FDCAA6CBD7BB63F&rvsmid=113F0BBB22A93B7B63D6113F0BBB22A93B7B63D6&FORM=VDRVRV

"Una furtiva lagrima" (Donizetti - L'Elisir d'Amore):  https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=mario+lanza+-+una+furtiva+lagrima&docid=608023449127627506&mid=502596EB3E292C04D2E9502596EB3E292C04D2E9&view=detail&FORM=VIRE

"Granada":  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWXNSlZU0Us

"Arrivederci Roma" (The Seven Hills of Rome) (in English this time!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZqyUau5Qyw

"La Donna è Mobile" (Verdi - Rigoletto):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xVic0_Eo48

"Che gelida manina" (Puccini - La Bohème) 1949: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOPvS5mYX70

"Recondita armonia" (Puccini - Tosca):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZBu5OO2iKc

"Celeste Aida" (from the movie The Great Caruso) (Verdi - Aida):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZAgkjfg94s

"È luchevan le stelle" (in concert at the London Palladium) (Puccini - Tosca):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMLmsQPpNuE

Songs from The Student Prince -Romberg :  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZgpUrzXS2I

Cole Porter’s "Begin the Beguine":  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mjcmvAmiUs

"Roses of Picardy":  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8Ex9epoVP4

"Thine Alone" (from Victor Herbert’s Eileen):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbG-daRLPRY

"Yours Is My Heart Alone" (Lehár - The Land of Smiles):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yyyJy965qo

"Because" (from The Great Caruso):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qp7LIQ6tqyg

"Serenade" (from the exquisite score of The Student Prince): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcdkJeTBxaQ

"Will You Remember?" (Romberg - Maytime):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llVskchddms

"The Loveliest Night of the Year" (from The Great Caruso) with Ann Blyth:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqKbR5lRnQQ

"Come Prima" ( from For the First Time):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdPCoMGSD_o

I need to stop.  I could do this all night long.  I hope if you are a fan as well that you’ve heard some favorites here; if you haven’t had the pleasure of hearing Mario Lanza’s incredible voice and style, I trust I’ve kindled your appreciation!

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From a reader:

What a delight! It should be noted also that José Carreras was greatly inspired by Mario Lanza after his parents took him to see "The Great Caruso"! He was singing one of the songs all the way home and had it memorized in no time (La donna e mobile, if I recall). It was driving them crazy after a while so they bought him the record of the movie's songs, and another album of (again, if my memory serves me) di Stefano singing Neapolitan songs. He learned every song by heart. Pretty soon they realized they'd have to get him a teacher. He was 6 years old. Sadly, Mario Lanza didn't live to learn what an immense influence he would ultimately have had on the future of Opera.