Hi to All,
I know it is still some months until we can start celebrating Mario’s 100th birthday (and Enrico Caruso’s 100th anniversary of death), however, I wanted to create this new thread to post about the tributes that might come up in the future, no matter at what time, in what way or format.
I dearly hope that next year the Corona pandemic will not obstruct any celebrations that are planned by our Mario Lanza fan clubs.
Our own Vince di Placido has already done some „pre-celebration“ – as I call it - with all his wonderful you-tube videos, which he did with much love and devotion for the fans, and I am sure he’s not running out of inspiration and is already working on some more projects to be realized the coming months.
There are already a few things at the horizon right now.
I see that Joseph Calleja will do two concerts (maybe more to come?) next year, which include Mario Lanza: First, there’s one in Cologne on 21 May 2021, titled „Nostalgissimo,“ with Rumon Gamba conducting. I understand this concert will be showing excerpts from various film classics (in black and white) and featuring the closing scene from the movie „Arrivederci Roma.“ Then there will be a concert at the „Konzerthaus Dortmund“ on 30 May 2021 titled „Nostalgia: A Tribute to Mario Lanza: Opernarias und Filmusik.“ Not sure if this actually is the same show as the one in Cologne.
Filignano, Italy, the birthplace of Mario’s father Antonio, will celebrate Mario’s centenary next August.
Dublin, Ireland, will have „The Loveliest Night of the Year“ tribute („62th anniversary remembrance concert“) returning to the National Concert Hall on 6 October 2021. This year‘s concert unfortunately fell victim to Corona. I hope that other venues in Ireland, such as Cork or Limerick, will get their share, too, as it used to be the past years.
Marc Vincent, Australian tenor, who released a Mario Lanza tribute album three years ago (2017), will give a Mario Lanza tribute concert at the Orange Civic Theatre, Australia, on 6 February 2021, and another one (re-scheduled) will take place on 10 July 2021 at Bicentennial Hall in Queanbeyan, Australia.
Of course, all those planned events are still hanging in the balance, since nobody knows how things will develop in Pandemic times.
However, I have some surprising news (which Corona could not stop!) and which I will post about soon, something that came totally unexpected and might be especially interesting for our German speaking fans. So please stay tuned!
Steff
Hi to All,
Well, a few weeks ago I promised a surprise, so here it is:
In September, a beautiful music calendar for 2021 was published in Germany. There’s a page for each week of the year featuring one artist respectively. I am delighted to tell you, that Mario Lanza is represented on the page in his birthday-week. The publisher is „edition momente,“ based in Hamburg, Germany, and Zurich, Switzerland. The calendar, designed in very high quality (with spiral binding and an impressive size of 32.5 x 24 cm) and with great attention to detail, has a very appealing layout, fresh and modern appearance in tasteful colours, with stunning photos of various musicians. The subject of the 2021 calendar is „Sehnsuchtsorte“ (places of longing). Various artists are speaking of real existing places as well as ficitional ones, which, for them, had a special meaning in their lives and careers: „These can be real and imaginary places, happy, disappointing and lost ones, as well as places that are beyond our reach,“ as the publishers describe it on their website.
I am proud to say that mariolanzatenor.com (Derek McGovern and myself) was involved in this project, in that we did participate to Mario’s page. Last summer, Derek McGovern was approached with an enquiry from Miss Vitali, one of the publishers. They had chosen Mario for one of the calendar pages to commemorate his 100th birthday on 31 January 2021, and asked for permission to use a quote of Mario that they had spotted on our website.
As this was a German project Derek McGovern asked me to „take over negotiations,“ giving me free rein in whatever decision I would make.
The quote „in demand“ was not one of the usual – standard- ones of Mario, that we all are so much familiar with (like „I sing each word as though it were my last on earth“), but taken from his 1959 RAI radio interview, which he did only shortly before he passed away. Some of you might remember that, last year, I translated this interview from Italian into English, since some people, one poster from this forum in particular, wished so much to understand what Mario and his family were talking about.
Well, Ms. Vitali and her co-publisher, Ms. Elisabeth Raabe, must have come across this interview during their researches and decided to use the following quote (they translated it into German), where Mario speaks about his teacher Enrico Rosati: „I went to live with Maestro Rosati. And truly this was the most beautiful period of my live. It is strange that I tell you this. Maybe strange for you because how can it be that a person, as singer, can say that the studies with the maestro were the most wonderful time of his life instead of, let’s say, being on stage in front of an audience? No, it’s the truth, I can say, that for me, it was the happiest experience. 13 months, and after that he kissed me on both cheeks and said: „Mario, go and never come back to this studio as a student, but only as a friend.“
As a photo they chose the publicity photo of Mario in tuxedo from „That Midnight Kiss,“ the scene in which he sings he aria „Celeste Aida.“ In my opinion the photo is a good match to above quote, as it is the image of a very young looking Mario, who indeed looks like a music student in his beginnings rather than an accomplished opera singer.
I think this calendar truly is a masterpiece, and Mario is in very good company of musicians such as Enrico Caruso, Nellie Melba, Giuseppe di Stefano (another centenarian), Claudio Abbado, Mariss Jansons, Alban Berg, Igor Strawinsky, Montserrat Caballé, Jessye Norman, Rosa Ponselle, to mention only a few of the featured -all non living- artists. It celebrates the greats on their birth- or deathday. At the end of the calendar you can find short biographies of each artist, which might be an inspiration and incentive to read more about them. Our website mariolanzatenor.com is mentioned under the acknowledgments, which, I hope, might draw attention to our website and, of course, to Mario Lanza, in order to hopfully attract some new fans.
This calendar is done highly professional, as are all the other calendars that this small but excellent publisher is offering.
For those who are interested in ordering the calendar, go to the website of the publisher which is edition-momente.com. Costs are Euro 22 (33.50 Swiss Francs respectively), which, I think, is a very fair price, given all the work behind it, the extensive researches, elaboration, costs for copyright and high class (climate friendly) printing. The calendar is also available in bookstores in Germany, Switzerland and Austria.
Apart from Ms. Raabe, who is responsible for the texts, and Ms. Vitali who looks for the pictures and secures the rights of reproduction, I would like to mention Max Bartholl who is responsible for design, and, last but not least, Dr. Melanie Unseld, professor at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, who composed the short biographies. I understand the four have been an experienced team for years.
Follow the link, and you will get a preview of the calendar, showing some of the pages, one of them Mario's (the calendar pages change automatically!):
https://www.edition-momente.com/kalender/musik-kalender-2021.html
I would like to extend warm thanks to the publishers for including Mario Lanza in this calendar. Given Mario’s special, at times controversally regarded status in the musical world and the fact that his extraordinary talent, sadly, still is not always acknowleged and appreciated the way it should be, this is a wonderful, heartwarming gift to Mario Lanza, his family and Mario’s steadfast fanbase. Mario deserves this recognition so very much, since he was so much more than just a Hollywood actor with a singing voice! And thank you dear „edition momente“ for having us participate!
What an honour and unexpected surprise - especially in those challenging times!
https://www.edition-momente.com/wir-ueber-uns.html
Steff
Mario's calendar page
Cover of the music calendar 2021
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Emilio Iodice
Wednesday, October, 7, 1959, a preview screening of Mario Lanza latest film “For the First Time” at the Metro Cinema, Melbourne.
I sat enthralled watching my idol and
thinking how impressive his singing was compared to his previous film “Seven
Hills of Rome.” I couldn’t wait to hear him in person – a tour of Australia had
been announced. The following morning came the shattering news-Mario Lanza was
dead! My world came crumbling down.
61 years later I am eternally grateful to
Mario Lanza for having enriched my life with the gift of his magnificent voice.
On 6 Oct 2020, at 22:40, Armando <acesa...@gmail.com> wrote:
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Thank you, Vince. It is 10 to 7 EasternTime. It was about this time when I was awakened and was told of a radio news flash that Mario had died. 61 years later I have a chill of that moment.
All the best and stay safe,
Jim Thompson
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On Jan 30, 2021, at 10:53 PM, Derek McGovern <derek.m...@gmail.com> wrote:
Today marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Mario Lanza. I'm going to celebrate this momentous occasion by revelling in the many video masterpieces that Vince Di Placido has created over the last few months, starting with his latest:And to my musical hero, who changed my life in immeasurable ways: Happy Birthday, Mario!
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“I shall pass this way but once; any good that I can do or any kindness I can show to any human being; let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.”
Etienne de Grellet, Quaker Missionary
"You can't win today's games with yesterday's home runs."
“You can never defeat a person who never gives up.”
George Herman "Babe" Ruth, American Baseball player.
"Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars and change the world." Harriet Tubman
"And you shall know the truth and the truth will make you free." John 8:32
Hello to All!
Well, here’s a first résumé of the long expected „Day of Days,“ some tributes for Mario’s 100th Birthday from Germany and Austria.
I was delighted to see a few radio tributes, which will be especially interesting for our German speaking Lanza friends. The tributes were more than unexpected and to me a big surprise.
I am not sure how long they will be available on the respective websites.
The Austrian ORF radio station already did a nice one hour tribute on 26th January, „Tenorstar abseits der Bühne,“ elaborated by Christoph Wagner - Trenkwitz. Our Austrian friends might be familiar with his name, as he is one of the commentators of the yearly Vienna Opera Ball, which is always broadcast live on TV. A very nice and enjoyable tribute despite some minor errors. Although the programme started with Mario’s signature song „Be My Love,“ the musical pieces that were chosen focused on opera - the last track being the Otello duet from „Serenade,“ which Wagner-Trenkwitz said was one of the most impressive of Mario’s recordings.
I understand there also was an Austrian programme with music broadcast on 29th January, „Zum 100er von Mario Lanza“ by Michael Gmasz. Sadly, I could not figure out if there is a way to re-listen to it as a podcast. Maybe someone from Austria can help and give some more information? I would love to hear it.
Then we had a little 4 minute tribute on RBB radio (Berlin) by Katharina Willhelm, „Erinnerung an Mario Lanza zum 100.Geburtstag.“ Although kept short, I thought it was very nicely done, and I was surprised that they even managed to play (as an audio) a few seconds of the Christopher Programme and the 2017 „The Best of Everything“ documentary with comments by Derek Mannering and Russell Watson.
https://www.rbb-online.de/rbbkultur/suche/#searchform_q__mario,,20lanza___start__0___fromSearchbox
The BR Klassik Radio station (Bavaria) will have Mario’s 100th as topic of the coming week, so the next five days, every day at 12:05 o’clock CET, Mario will be featured at the „Mittagsmusik.“ Apart from that there’s also a narration, „Zwischen Oper und Hollywood" by Markus Vanhoever.
BR also has an 8 minute podcast, which can be downloaded, „Mario Lanza zum 100.Geburtstag“ by Susanne Felix, originally aired on 30 January.
And last but not least, something from Deutschlandfunk, „Mario Lanza – Opernpopstar Hollywoods und der Schallplatte.“ Here we have mention of Armando Cesari and his book!
So, all in all, I am quite happy about my today’s „yield.“
Our daily local newspaper here, the „Badische Zeitung“ (Southwest Germany) even had an article about Mario Lanza in its weekend issue. I have to say, that I will have to pick a bone with the writer, as he made two mistakes, which could easily have been avoided: He wrote that Lanza was born in New York and that he died in 1957! Ah well!
No matter how correct and complete the narrations are – nobody is perfect - it is encouriging to see that Mario Lanza is not forgotten in Germany and Austria. None of the tributes was offending in any way, although some, of course, mentioned Mario’s problems.
Happy listening! VIVA Mario!
Steff
I am exhausted after listening to all the tributes! Maybe I should have avoided the glass of red wine to cheer Mario!!
Hello to All!
Well, here’s a first résumé of the long expected „Day of Days,“ some tributes for Mario’s 100th Birthday from Germany and Austria.
I was delighted to see a few radio tributes, which will be especially interesting for our German speaking Lanza friends. The tributes were more than unexpected and to me a big surprise.
I am not sure how long they will be available on the respective websites.
The Austrian ORF radio station already did a nice one hour tribute on 26th January, „Tenorstar abseits der Bühne,“ elaborated by Christoph Wagner - Trenkwitz. Our Austrian friends might be familiar with his name, as he is one of the commentators of the yearly Vienna Opera Ball, which is always broadcast live on TV. A very nice and enjoyable tribute despite some minor errors. Although the programme started with Mario’s signature song „Be My Love,“ the musical pieces that were chosen focused on opera - the last track being the Otello duet from „Serenade,“ which Wagner-Trenkwitz said was one of the most impressive of Mario’s recordings.
I understand there also was an Austrian programme with music broadcast on 29th January, „Zum 100er von Mario Lanza“ by Michael Gmasz. Sadly, I could not figure out if there is a way to re-listen to it as a podcast. Maybe someone from Austria can help and give some more information? I would love to hear it.
Then we had a little 4 minute tribute on RBB radio (Berlin) by Katharina Willhelm, „Erinnerung an Mario Lanza zum 100.Geburtstag.“ Although kept short, I thought it was very nicely done, and I was surprised that they even managed to play (as an audio) a few seconds of the Christopher Programme and the 2017 „The Best of Everything“ documentary with comments by Derek Mannering and Russell Watson.
https://www.rbb-online.de/rbbkultur/suche/#searchform_q__mario,,20lanza___start__0___fromSearchbox
The BR Klassik Radio station (Bavaria) will have Mario’s 100th as topic of the coming week, so the next five days, every day at 12:05 o’clock CET, Mario will be featured at the „Mittagsmusik.“ Apart from that there’s also a narration, „Zwischen Oper und Hollywood" by Markus Vanhoever.
BR also has an 8 minute podcast, which can be downloaded, „Mario Lanza zum 100.Geburtstag“ by Susanne Felix, originally aired on 30 January.
And last but not least, something from Deutschlandfunk, „Mario Lanza – Opernpopstar Hollywoods und der Schallplatte.“ Here we have mention of Armando Cesari and his book!
So, all in all, I am quite happy about my today’s „yield.“
Our daily local newspaper here, the „Badische Zeitung“ (Southwest Germany) even had an article about Mario Lanza in its weekend issue. I have to say, that I will have to pick a bone with the writer, as he made two mistakes, which could easily have been avoided: He wrote that Lanza was born in New York and that he died in 1957! Ah well!
No matter how correct and complete the narrations are – nobody is perfect - it is encouriging to see that Mario Lanza is not forgotten in Germany and Austria. None of the tributes was offending in any way, although some, of course, mentioned Mario’s problems.
Happy listening! VIVA Mario!
Steff
I am exhausted after listening to all the tributes! Maybe I should have avoided the glass of red wine to cheer Mario!!
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Hello to All!
Well, here’s a first résumé of the long expected „Day of Days,“ some tributes for Mario’s 100th Birthday from Germany and Austria.
I was delighted to see a few radio tributes, which will be especially interesting for our German speaking Lanza friends. The tributes were more than unexpected and to me a big surprise.
I am not sure how long they will be available on the respective websites.
The Austrian ORF radio station already did a nice one hour tribute on 26th January, „Tenorstar abseits der Bühne,“ elaborated by Christoph Wagner - Trenkwitz. Our Austrian friends might be familiar with his name, as he is one of the commentators of the yearly Vienna Opera Ball, which is always broadcast live on TV. A very nice and enjoyable tribute despite some minor errors. Although the programme started with Mario’s signature song „Be My Love,“ the musical pieces that were chosen focused on opera - the last track being the Otello duet from „Serenade,“ which Wagner-Trenkwitz said was one of the most impressive of Mario’s recordings.
I understand there also was an Austrian programme with music broadcast on 29th January, „Zum 100er von Mario Lanza“ by Michael Gmasz. Sadly, I could not figure out if there is a way to re-listen to it as a podcast. Maybe someone from Austria can help and give some more information? I would love to hear it.
Then we had a little 4 minute tribute on RBB radio (Berlin) by Katharina Willhelm, „Erinnerung an Mario Lanza zum 100.Geburtstag.“ Although kept short, I thought it was very nicely done, and I was surprised that they even managed to play (as an audio) a few seconds of the Christopher Programme and the 2017 „The Best of Everything“ documentary with comments by Derek Mannering and Russell Watson.
https://www.rbb-online.de/rbbkultur/suche/#searchform_q__mario,,20lanza___start__0___fromSearchbox
The BR Klassik Radio station (Bavaria) will have Mario’s 100th as topic of the coming week, so the next five days, every day at 12:05 o’clock CET, Mario will be featured at the „Mittagsmusik.“ Apart from that there’s also a narration, „Zwischen Oper und Hollywood" by Markus Vanhoever.
BR also has an 8 minute podcast, which can be downloaded, „Mario Lanza zum 100.Geburtstag“ by Susanne Felix, originally aired on 30 January.
And last but not least, something from Deutschlandfunk, „Mario Lanza – Opernpopstar Hollywoods und der Schallplatte.“ Here we have mention of Armando Cesari and his book!
So, all in all, I am quite happy about my today’s „yield.“
Our daily local newspaper here, the „Badische Zeitung“ (Southwest Germany) even had an article about Mario Lanza in its weekend issue. I have to say, that I will have to pick a bone with the writer, as he made two mistakes, which could easily have been avoided: He wrote that Lanza was born in New York and that he died in 1957! Ah well!
No matter how correct and complete the narrations are – nobody is perfect - it is encouriging to see that Mario Lanza is not forgotten in Germany and Austria. None of the tributes was offending in any way, although some, of course, mentioned Mario’s problems.
Happy listening! VIVA Mario!
Steff
I am exhausted after listening to all the tributes! Maybe I should have avoided the glass of red wine to cheer Mario!!
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I see that it's not currently possible (at least from Amazon) to preorder the Blu-ray of The Great Caruso; somehow it's already temporarily out of stock. If it really is at #1 or #2 in Musicals, as Amazon is alternately claiming, then there must have been a rush of preorders! (Or perhaps Amazon is teasing us.)Just a couple of things I noticed about the blu-ray's specifications here: 1) It's apparently Region A (US, Canada, South Korea, Japan, etc) and is "untested" for Regions B (Europe, NZ, Australia, etc) and C (most of Asia), and 2) It's described as 2K---even though it clearly states "4K restoration" here. I'm still assuming it is 4K, though---and I see that's some excitement at this Warner Bros. forum about it being apparently taken from the original three Technicolour negatives.
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On 2 Feb 2021, at 10:49, Steff Walzinger <Stefanie....@t-online.de> wrote:
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This documentary "Неразрешимые противоречия Марио Ланца" was produced by late great bariton Мuslim Magomaev around 2010yr (? ) and first uploaded on Youtube in 2011. It includes fragments from Eddy Lovaglo's documentary "Mysteries and Scandals. Mario Lanza" Unfortunately this documentary is not found on YouTube now, perhaps it had been deleted. Only a short fragment of it (without Lovaglio) in Spanish is left.
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And here you can read about the 100th birthday celebrations at the hotel "San Giorgio" in Campobasso, Molise region. Campobasso is about 75 kilometres away from Filignano, the hometown of Mario Lanza's father Antonio Cocozzza."Musica e parole nel segno di Mario Lanza, lo spettacolo in diretta mondiale omaggia il grande tenore molisano:"
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She said that it is an extraordinary occasion to honour this great singer. And she concluded with "I love you! Auguri (best wishes), Mario Lanza," and and then she repeated," Auguri Mario! - I simply say 'Mario' [not Mario Lanza] since, if he were still with us, I would embrace him for what he gave us!"
She appears to be a very down-to-earth person.
As a side note, she's playing in a very successful Italian TV-series (no, she's not playing an opera singer!) opposite Terence Hill, titled "Un passo dal cielo," which runs on RAI TV with settings in the Trentino/Alto-Adige region.
Hard to believe, she already turned 75 last 16th January! She looks younger - even without much make-up. I understand she has experienced quite some setbacks in her life and career.
She's a classy lady, and I think this was the first time I heard her speaking. She was so lovely as Desdemona in Franco Zeffirelli's movie "Otello" with Plácido Domingo, that's where I first learned about her - back in the mid. 1980s.
The "Otello" film was one of three films that has envoked my interest in opera. First, there was "The Great Caruso," (what else?!!) which I would watch so often with my Mom when I was a kid (and when German TV still aired such films!). Then, when I was a teenager, came Zeffirelli's "Carmen" movie with Migenes/Domingo/Raimondi, followed straight away by Zeffirelli's "Otello," an opera which has been one of my favourites ever since. I only later noticed how terribly they cut down the music in this movie to make it fit. Anyway, when thinking of all the Zeffirelli opera movies I imagine how many movies of this style Mario Lanza could have done had he been born later. Well, this might be a question to start a discussion on a separate google thread ...
Steff
"American tenor Bryan Cheney will join forces with West End Composer/Lyricist/Producer duo Daniel Curtis and Laura Coyne to present “Because You’re Mine” on Sunday, January 31, 2021. The showcase will celebrate iconic tenor Mario Lanza’s 100th birthday and is a very special event for Cheney, who has always admired the great American tenor.“Ever since I discovered the great Mario Lanza in my early twenties I have been in awe of his gorgeous technique but, more importantly to me, his individuality,” Cheney told OperaWire. “A truly great singer, to me, is one that purely sounds like himself. In my studies with Jerry Hadley, part of my homework was to listen to the great tenors of the past. Caruso, Gigli, Bjorling, Corelli, and, of course, Lanza. Not only to understand the lineage of the Garcia technique but to embrace the fact that when these great singers sang with the same technical perspective they sounded completely different from one another. Jerry recorded a beautiful album, ‘Golden Days,’ to honor Lanza and I feel that I am not only honoring Lanza but Hadley as well. I am thrilled and very proud to be a part of this lineage.” The concert is set to last one hour and will be broadcast on Cheney’s Youtube channel and official website. This is the latest in Cheney’s long-running online recital series, which started since the worldwide lockdown back in March 2020."
https://www.briancheneytenor.com/event/because-youre-mine-celebrating-mario-lanzas-100th-birthday/
Hubo más cantantes aparte de Carreras que se sometieron al influjo sonoro de Lanza potenciado por las suntuosas imágenes en technicolor. Giuseppe Giacomini era capaz de ver la película tres veces al día y, más cerca de nosotros, y posiblemente a través de algún recurrente pase televisivo, Vittorio Grigolo siguió los mismos pasos transitados por Carreras. Los tres cantantes, artísticamente hablando, se destacan por el entusiasmo con que tradujeron (o traducen) sus interpretaciones."
The impact of Lanza's film was immense [...] and the influence it had on certain spectators would be decisive for their future. For example, José Carreras watched it as a child and decided upon the singing profession, because he was enchanted by Lanza's voice. [...] There were more singers beside Carreras who were influenced by the sound of Lanza's voice, enhanced by the opulent technicolor picture. Giuseppe Giacomini would watch the film three times a day and [...] Vittorio Grigolo followed the same steps taken by Carreras. The three singers, artistically speaking, stand out for the enthusiasm with which they perform."
Now, nothing new regarding Carreras, but I don't think I was aware about tenor Giuseppe Giacomini's enthusiasm for Lanza in "The Great Caruso."
Anyone?
Another radio tribute from Spain, from the RTVE radio station, aired on 28 January 2021:The programme is called "El ojo critico" and the episode was titled, "Botticelli, 'Nada es crucial y Mario Lanza"The host Laura Barrachina speaks with Martín Llade, a journalist and music lover, about Lanza.You can download the programme here:The part about Lanza starts at about minute 33:45 and ends at about 41:00.
Steff
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I interviewed Ricciarelli in 1993. She was giving a series of concerts in Australia and she came to the Italian Radio Station I was working for at the time.
We had quite a job getting her to agree to an interview. She informed us that she was being interviewed by the ABC and didn’t have time to come over to our station. She had been in Australia once before, in 1986 and perhaps had had a bad experience with the Italian media. Eventually, we managed to convince her to grant us an interview. She came to the station with her then-husband, Pippo Baudo, whom I did not care for at all, and at first, she was very guarded. She looked me up and down as if to say – what do you know about opera? She then told me that she could only grant me 10 minutes.
After I introduced her and gave a short description of her career we spoke for a while and then, during the first break while I played the Salice from Otello, she smiled and said, “You really know what you are talking about!” The ice was broken and the interview ended up lasting almost 40 minutes. At the end of it, she told me it was the best interview she had done in Australia. Off the air, I asked her about the 3 tenors and she said Carreras had a beautiful voice, Pavarotti a very easy and exciting top, but that Domingo was the most complete and greatest tenor she had sung with. I asked her about Lanza. She told me she had seen all his films (her favourite was The Great Caruso) that she loved both his voice and personality, his beautiful smile and great charisma.
When she found out I was from Venice (she is from Rovigo, about an hour from Venice) she started to speak in our Venetian dialect and then arranged for me to attend the concert she was giving the following night. She sang well, but although she was only 47 the voice was already past its peak and slightly wobbly in the upper register.
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I would love to identify and confront the ignoramus who started this absurd rumour about Pavarotti singing with Lanza in the "Ave Maria" scene of The Great Caruso. It irritates me no end to see it endlessly regurgitated on YouTube and elsewhere (probably by the same types of people who believe that Trump won the 2020 election). Even the well-known classical music commentator Norman Lebrecht (mischievously?) posted about it on his popular blog slippedisc.com recently!I've tried to educate people about this nonsense (and other equally annoying myths) at this page at mariolanzatenor.com, but it seems that disinformation rules supreme when it comes to Mario Lanza.
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31.January: 100th BIRTHDAY OF MARIO LANZA Till this day, millions of music friends and several experts think of him as the greatest singer of all times. After Caruso and long before Elvis and the Beatles, he enraptured his public up to hysterical storms of enthusiasm. On 31st January will be the 100th birthday of this once idolized Mario Lanza. He filmed his last film, „Serenade einer großen Liebe“ [For the First Time] in Berlin – opposite a very young Johanna von Koczian at the St. Michaels-Heim in Grunewald. During the filming I had a cordial meeting with the master of Belcanto, who died all too young in 1959.
"The entire opera world knows that Placido Domingo just celebrated his eightieth birthday, but hardly any attention is paid to Mario Lanza, whose birth on January 31, 1921 (twenty years before Domingo’s) already hinted that he would develop a beautiful tenor voice.
Opera lovers often turn their noses up at Mario Lanza who, after a fine start to his career with roles such as Fenton in Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor, Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly and several concert tours, at the age of barely twenty-six said a final goodbye to the opera stage in order to sell his soul to the studio bosses of Hollywood. You have to see something like this in its time, of course. Hollywood was the American dream par excellence in 1947 and the sunny tenor of Mario Lanza came just in time to take over the helm of the aging Nelson Eddy & Jeanette MacDonald team. Singers, by the way, are still undiminished opportunists. How else do you explain that a successful tenor like Jonas Kaufmann, to name but one of the hundreds, unashamedly prostitutes himself in accordance with the senseless demands of modern opera directors, the current rulers of the opera world, and their wankerkind productions. Mario Lanza, born Alfred Arnold Cocozza, was the son of Tony Cocozza and Maria Lanza, children of Italian emigrants who had settled in Philadelphia. His singing talent became apparent at a very early age, and he was barely 16 when he began to build his professional career. After performing at the Hollywood Bowl, he was able to secure a contract from Louis B. Mayer (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer). Mario was readied for his debut in That Midnight Kiss (1949) with Kathryn Grayson, a soprano who also initially preferred opera to film, but like Mario later changed her preference. It was a great success and they became a beloved film couple. They toured together and their popularity was such that they starred in another film together: The Toast of New Orleans (1950). The real success came for Mario Lanza in 1951 with The Great Caruso. However, not everyone was satisfied with his portrayal of the legendary tenor. The film barely had anything in common with the historical reality and in terms of voice Lanza, unlike popular belief, was not Caruso, he lacked the dark timbre and the unequalled legato.After that it was all downhill. Mario was a heavy drinker, undisciplined and would not tolerate criticism, even if it was justified. For The Student Prince only his voice was hired, while the role was played by Edmund Purdom. The film was not a success, but the LP with the beautiful songs by Sigmund Romberg was. In 1957 he turned his back on Hollywood and moved with his family to Italy. He gave his first live concert in six years at the Royal Albert Hall in London and the audience was pleasantly surprised to hear a tenor there who sounded exactly as they had heard him in the cinema. Mario Lanza didn’t need a microphone at the Royal Albert Hall; he had a real operatic voice. He auditioned at the Scala of Milan and was immediately offered a two-year contract that would begin with Cavaradossi in Tosca. He also signed an agreement with the Opera of Rome to open the 1960/61 season with Canio in Pagliacci.Alas, it was all too late. Mario’s health had been undermined, the toll of years of debauched life in Hollywood. He had heart problems, way too high blood pressure and clogged veins. This became fatal to him. He died of an embolism in Rome on October 7, 1959, just 38 years old. Praise from the cultural world also came too late. The soprano Maria Callas said after his death, “What I regret most is that I did not have the opportunity to sing with the greatest tenor I ever heard.” Placido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti and José Carreras all admired Mario Lanza. In 1994, Carreras even paid homage to Lanza through a concert tour in which he unequivocally confessed: 'That I am an opera singer is due to Mario Lanza.'"
”It’s not surprising that a character of that kind would shy away from the hard graft of being a proper operatic tenor, when the movies and concert tours offered such bountiful rewards. And maybe we shouldn’t be sorry for that. Rather than regretting the might-have-beens of those operatic performances, which might not have been so great, let’s enjoy what Lanza actually left us: a handful of films that are full of vocal fireworks and period charm, and more than 200 recordings. My favourites among them are not the operatic numbers, impressive though they often are, but the popular song albums, particularly a 1958 recording of Neapolitan folk songs that’s entitled Mario!, and is (for me) Lanza’s masterpiece.
"For all sad words of tongue and pen, The saddest are these, ‘It might have been’. John Greenleaf Whittier
January 31, 2021 is the 100th anniversary of the birth Alfredo Arnold Cocozza known to posterity as Mario Lanza; Lanza was his mother’s maiden name. A native of Philadelphia, he was the son of Italian immigrants who exposed him to opera at an early age. He was well known locally by the time he was 16. Serge Koussevitzky, the conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, sponsored his attendance at the Berkshire Music Center where he briefly studied voice with Boris Goldovsky and Leonard Bernstein; the latter only three years Lanza’s senior.
He sang only a few performances as Fenton in Otto Nicolai’s The Merry Wives of Windsor, before entering the Army in 1942. He was assigned to the Special Services branch of the Air Corp where he participated in a number of musical productions. Following his discharge he appeared in several concerts and radio broadcasts. He studied with Enrico Rosati for 15 months. He then toured North America giving 86 concert performances as part of The Bel Canto Trio – the other two singers were Francis Yeend and George London.
After the conclusion of this itinerary, he appeared two times as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly in New Orleans – April 1948. These were his last performances in a staged opera.
Lanza had appeared in a concert in the Hollywood Bowl the previous year. There he had the good fortune or misfortune, depending on how you view his subsequent career, to attract the attention of Louis B Mayer the head of MGM. Mayer was an opera lover and he signed Lanza to a seven year contract.
In 1949 his first movie That Midnight Kiss opposite Kathryn Grayson was released. He made numerous recordings under the RCA Red Seal label that sold millions of copies; they’re still available today. He had achieved fame, fortune, and misery. He was making films when he should have been singing at the Met and its like.
Most operatic tenors are short, fat, and bald – ie, mesomorphs. Franco Corelli was a notable exception. You can work around the short stature and buy hair. Lanza’s head in his later movies looks like a black bear cub had taken residence on his skull. It was the weight problem that was most difficult to handle. He was the leading man in his movies; leading men are supposed to be slim. He had to go on crash and dangerous diets to keep his weight at least under partial control. In some of his movies you can see two Lanzas 60 pounds different.
Oscar Wilde quipped that “One would have to have a heart of stone to read the death of little Nell without dissolving into tears…of laughter.” He was referring to the character in Dickens The Old Curiosity Shop. One feels the same sentiment watching Lanza’s movies. I had a professor of music in college who said he always asked for a seat behind a post whenever he went to the Met for a Wagner opera. There were no posts in the old Met, but there were seats with partially obstructed views. Some things are better heard than seen.
With Lanza all that matters is the voice. If you watch one of his pictures, fast forward through the talking and just listen to him sing. Better yet forget about the movies and listen to his records. Lanza had a rich tenor that verged close to a spinto. He sang with great feeling and was able to realize the emotional content of the songs and arias he performed. He spoke fluent Italian and instinctively knew where to emphasize and shade what he sang. His high notes had squillo and he could go up to a high D. A prisoner of his fame, he likely avoided the opera house out of fear that he would be held to an impossible standard. I have little doubt that he would have risen to the top of opera had he taken the path he bypassed.
1921 was also the birth year of Corelli and Giuseppe Di Stefano. Lanza should have matched their accomplishments. He ought to have modeled his career after Richard Tucker’s. Tucker stayed close to the Met limiting his appearances elsewhere to a manageable number. He chose his roles carefully and handled his voice and career with the utmost discretion and delicacy. Had Lanza done the same, we likely would have had two great American operatic tenors instead of just the one – Tucker. In opera nobody really cares if a tenor is fat. Lanza could have eaten to his heart’s content and detriment. Also, Tucker didn’t become the great spinto tenor he was until he was about 40. Lanza’s best vocal years were erased by his premature death.
He was plagued by the ill effects of non-standard weight loss regimens, phlebitis, overeating, alcohol abuse, and wild spending that left him in debt to the IRS. His death at age 38 still is suspicious. He had a wife and four children. His spouse was devastated by his death and died five months after he did from a drug overdose. His story is sad enough to be a verismo opera.
But we do have his recordings that are still in wide circulation and which demonstrate the huge talent that went astray. I’ve picked a baker’s dozen which give a good portrait of this unique voice.
Be my love was Lanza’s first million selling record. Granada by the Mexican composer Augustin Lara has been recorded by just about any singer with access to a microphone and studio, but never with more panache than by Lanza even if his Spanish is tinged with a bit of Italian.
He was particularly effective singing the Neapolitan songs that have endured longer than any other popular songs. His work in the genre is exceeded only by that of Giuseppe Di Stefano who was the master of these songs.
‘A vucchella is by Paolo Tosti set to words by Gabriele D’Annunzio. The poet was not from Naples but he wrote the words in the Neapolitan dialect. It’s about a woman with a small mouth that looks like a rose, but is a bit faded. It sounds better in the dialect. Lanza gives a gentle and sensitive reading of the song achieving a wonderful effect.
Core ‘ngrato is perhaps the most passionate of all Neapolitan songs. The singer describes the despair that Catari’s rejection of his ardor has caused in him. He’s so desperate that he’s sought succor from a priest. The cleric advised letting go. I don’t think the nameless emotional wreck can do it.
Everyone know O sole mio. Even Elvis Presley sang it – to new English lyrics. The singer likens the beauty of his lover’s face to that of the sun.
But it is in Italian opera that Lanza is heard to best effect. Alas, he never recorded a complete opera, only arias and an occasional duet. He was alleged to be planning to both record a complete opera and to return to the stage, plans that were dashed by his sudden death. I wonder if he would ever have really done so, imprisoned as he was by fame and bad habits.
Lanza’s voice was attune with the music of Verdi, Puccini, and his lesser contemporaries. Nevertheless, I’ll start with a French aria, by a German, sung in Italian – O Paradiso from Meyerbeer’s last opera L’Africaine. This recording is made with a piano accompaniment – its from one of his movies. The voice is in spectacular condition.
Celeste Aida is sung by every tenor with even the faintest claim to being a spinto. Lanza follows the near universal practice of belting out the final high notes.
Next two Puccini arias. Che gelida manina is from the first act of La Bohème. Nessun dorma, the last of Puccini’s tenor arias is from Act 3 of Turandot. The second of these is a video (below) taken from the movie Serenade. The singing is great even if the lip synching isn’t. The Bohème aria is given a full throated and passionate rendition.
Vesti la giubba is the most familiar number from the only opera by Leoncavallo that’s made it into the standard repertory. Testa adorata is from Leoncavallo’s La Bohème. The opera was overwhelmed by Puccini’s version, but the aria is frequently sung in recitals.
Addio a la madre is from the other half of the Cav and Pag pairing. Finally, the Improvviso from Giordano’s Andrea Chenier. All these Italian arias are delivered with beauty of tone and passion.
Lanza’s voice and temperament were such that he should have been one of the last century’s top 10 tenors. His seduction by the glitz of the movies and his inability to resist deprived opera goers of a truly great voice. Lanza’s vocal technique was so well grounded that he should have lasted as long as did Richard Tucker. He then could have succumbed to a heart attack in his 60s still in fine vocal condition. But we do have the recordings."
The article is linked with a dropbox, that has the recordings, which the writer is referring to here, in mp3 format. To listen to them, please follow the link to the writer's website above!
I think I forgot to mention a tribute that Derek Mannering did as part of the Mather Telephone Topics online service. His one hour programme, „A Centennial Remembrance of Mario Lanza,“ took place as a Zoom meeting on 21 January 2021(„Zoom“ had been a complete new medium to me before that date). Derek accompanied his lively talk about Mario with video-clips from Mario’s films. Very enjoyable! Maybe more to come? One hour just went by too fast.
Correction: The complete title of the article is "1921 - The year of the four tenors."