Mario Lanza: Difference between revisions

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	'''Mario Lanza''' (] ] – ] ]) (born '''Alfredo Arnold Cocozza''') was an ] ]tic ] and ] ] star, enjoying success in the ].		'''Mario Lanza''' (] ] – ] ]) (born '''Alfredo Arnold Cocozza''') was an ] ]tic ] and ] ] star, enjoying success in the ].

			Mario Lanza's life, sadly, has all the markings of an epic Shakespearean tragedy. The story is truly incredible: a wild, incendiary Philadelphia kid who can sing better than Caruso, sets out to become the greatest dramatic opera singer who ever lived, is detoured by Louis B. Mayer and vixen Hollywood, is remade into a fiercely handsome box office champ with 50 inch chest, his own national radio show, 1951 TIME Magazine cover idol, and king of the pop record world.

			He is besieged on cross-country concert tours and appearances years before Elvis and the Beatles, a true 'superstar' before the word was invented and the first singer to ever earn Gold Records with million sellers in both classical and popular categories.

			His MGM masterpiece - ''The Great Caruso'' - was the top-grossing film in the world in 1951. The Lanza voice is so incredible, so powerful, so golden, so dazzling that an awestruck Maestro Toscanini called it, simply and correctly, the 'voice of the century'. Among the multitudes of stunned admirers worldwide included the likes of: Koussevitsky, Sinatra, Presley, Schipa, Tebaldi, Tucker, Kirsten, Albanese, and countless others. Lanza's voice has been called the 'Northern Lights in a throat' and passed through a heart of peerless sensitivity and passion...and vulnerability.

			Fired by MGM during production of ''The Student Prince'' in 1952 after the German director Curtis Bernhardt assailed him over the 'excess' passion of one song in his stunning recording of the soundtrack, his career began a downturn that would never be reversed. Lanza never fully recovered from the emotional catastrophe of ''The Student Prince'' fiasco and losing his MGM contract, and declined slowly in a pattern of near-alcoholism, food-binging, huge weight gains and losses, and professional tempestuousness.

			Fed up with not being able to get film roles - save ''Serenade'' for Warners in 1956 - and a savage press, Lanza quit Hollywood and moved his family to ancestral Italy to rebuild his life and career. He made two mediocre European-produced films, enjoyed generally successful concert performances, and then died of an alleged heart attack on October 7, 1959, only seven years after ''The Student Prince'' nightmare at the terribly young age of 38, leaving behind four children and his shattered wife, who died five months later of a drug overdose after returning to Hollywood.

			Lanza's seven films and scores of astonishing recordings continue to stun and inspire singers and the public 40 years after his death. He is celebrated and honored with film festivals, a steady flow of new CDS, and constant worldwide musical tributes, most notably by Domingo-Carreras-Pavarotti, and a multitude of lesser vocal lights. People Magazine, in 1998, summed up the Lanza voice as 'Magnificent'. Simply put, there will never be another Mario Lanza.

			-Jeff Rense

			==========================

	Lanza was educated in the ]. His first performances were with ], and he was eventually very successful on radio and concert tours; he appeared on ''Winged Victory'' while in the ].Considered by many to have the perfect tenor voice. Lanza was able to sing all types of music. While his over-emotional style was not loved by the critics, he was immensely popular and his many recordings are still prized today. Lanza's short career covered radio, concerts, recordings, and motion pictures. He was the first artist for Victor Red Seal to receive a gold disc. He was also the first artist to sell two and half million albums. To date he has sold over 50,000,000 albums. Mario was no hollywood snob either, he enjoyed a good joke, and also liked to box. Contrary to popular belief Mario liked to drive, and drove himself to the stuido. Another rumor which has been proven false is that he was an alcoholic, a drug addict, and a glutton. In truth he was none of those things; nor should he be remembered for that; Mario should be remembered for his magnificent voice, because no one before, since, or those still to come will ever sound like Mario Lanza. He died at the age of thirty-eight of a ].		Lanza was educated in the ]. His first performances were with ], and he was eventually very successful on radio and concert tours; he appeared on ''Winged Victory'' while in the ].Considered by many to have the perfect tenor voice. Lanza was able to sing all types of music. While his over-emotional style was not loved by the critics, he was immensely popular and his many recordings are still prized today. Lanza's short career covered radio, concerts, recordings, and motion pictures. He was the first artist for Victor Red Seal to receive a gold disc. He was also the first artist to sell two and half million albums. To date he has sold over 50,000,000 albums. Mario was no hollywood snob either, he enjoyed a good joke, and also liked to box. Contrary to popular belief Mario liked to drive, and drove himself to the stuido. Another rumor which has been proven false is that he was an alcoholic, a drug addict, and a glutton. In truth he was none of those things; nor should he be remembered for that; Mario should be remembered for his magnificent voice, because no one before, since, or those still to come will ever sound like Mario Lanza. He died at the age of thirty-eight of a ].
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	* '']'', ]		* '']'', ]

	== External ~~Link~~ ==		== External Links ==



	{{opera-singer-stub}}

	]		]

Revision as of 19:03, 16 April 2005

Mario Lanza (31 January 1921 – 7 October 1959) (born Alfredo Arnold Cocozza) was an Italian American operatic tenor and Hollywood movie star, enjoying success in the 1950s.

Mario Lanza's life, sadly, has all the markings of an epic Shakespearean tragedy. The story is truly incredible: a wild, incendiary Philadelphia kid who can sing better than Caruso, sets out to become the greatest dramatic opera singer who ever lived, is detoured by Louis B. Mayer and vixen Hollywood, is remade into a fiercely handsome box office champ with 50 inch chest, his own national radio show, 1951 TIME Magazine cover idol, and king of the pop record world.

He is besieged on cross-country concert tours and appearances years before Elvis and the Beatles, a true 'superstar' before the word was invented and the first singer to ever earn Gold Records with million sellers in both classical and popular categories.

His MGM masterpiece - The Great Caruso - was the top-grossing film in the world in 1951. The Lanza voice is so incredible, so powerful, so golden, so dazzling that an awestruck Maestro Toscanini called it, simply and correctly, the 'voice of the century'. Among the multitudes of stunned admirers worldwide included the likes of: Koussevitsky, Sinatra, Presley, Schipa, Tebaldi, Tucker, Kirsten, Albanese, and countless others. Lanza's voice has been called the 'Northern Lights in a throat' and passed through a heart of peerless sensitivity and passion...and vulnerability.

Fired by MGM during production of The Student Prince in 1952 after the German director Curtis Bernhardt assailed him over the 'excess' passion of one song in his stunning recording of the soundtrack, his career began a downturn that would never be reversed. Lanza never fully recovered from the emotional catastrophe of The Student Prince fiasco and losing his MGM contract, and declined slowly in a pattern of near-alcoholism, food-binging, huge weight gains and losses, and professional tempestuousness.

Fed up with not being able to get film roles - save Serenade for Warners in 1956 - and a savage press, Lanza quit Hollywood and moved his family to ancestral Italy to rebuild his life and career. He made two mediocre European-produced films, enjoyed generally successful concert performances, and then died of an alleged heart attack on October 7, 1959, only seven years after The Student Prince nightmare at the terribly young age of 38, leaving behind four children and his shattered wife, who died five months later of a drug overdose after returning to Hollywood.

Lanza's seven films and scores of astonishing recordings continue to stun and inspire singers and the public 40 years after his death. He is celebrated and honored with film festivals, a steady flow of new CDS, and constant worldwide musical tributes, most notably by Domingo-Carreras-Pavarotti, and a multitude of lesser vocal lights. People Magazine, in 1998, summed up the Lanza voice as 'Magnificent'. Simply put, there will never be another Mario Lanza.

-Jeff Rense

==============

Lanza was educated in the Berkshire School of Music. His first performances were with Victor Recordings, and he was eventually very successful on radio and concert tours; he appeared on Winged Victory while in the Air Force.Considered by many to have the perfect tenor voice. Lanza was able to sing all types of music. While his over-emotional style was not loved by the critics, he was immensely popular and his many recordings are still prized today. Lanza's short career covered radio, concerts, recordings, and motion pictures. He was the first artist for Victor Red Seal to receive a gold disc. He was also the first artist to sell two and half million albums. To date he has sold over 50,000,000 albums. Mario was no hollywood snob either, he enjoyed a good joke, and also liked to box. Contrary to popular belief Mario liked to drive, and drove himself to the stuido. Another rumor which has been proven false is that he was an alcoholic, a drug addict, and a glutton. In truth he was none of those things; nor should he be remembered for that; Mario should be remembered for his magnificent voice, because no one before, since, or those still to come will ever sound like Mario Lanza. He died at the age of thirty-eight of a heart attack.

Filmography

External Links

Mario Lanza Mario Lanza Institute

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