Mario Lanza
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Philadelphia, United States
Mario Lanza (31 January 1921 – 7 October 1959) was an American operatic tenor and Hollywood movie star who enjoyed success in the 1950s. His voice was considered by many to rival that of Enrico Caruso, whom Lanza portrayed in the 1951 film The Great Caruso. Lanza was able to sing all types of music. While his highly emotional style was not universally praised by critics, he was immensely popular and his many recordings are still prized today.
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.”
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.”
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The Very Best of Mario Lanza
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Mario Lanza`s Radio Broadcasts 1951-1952…
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The Wonderful World Of Mario Lanza
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The Ultimate Collection
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Shoutbox
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hel1ch wrote:
Ridi Pagliaccio sul tuo amore infranto!
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pettybo wrote:
Agree with Animal, I have a big sweet crush on Lanza's voice plus his way of not limiting himself to strict opera...but Caruso is hands down the greatest in talent and innovative for taking full advantage of the latest technology during his time. (at least to me - I'm not an expert).
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Oblaka wrote:
http://kakajarasniza.blogspot.com/
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Chavie1982 wrote:
one of my all time favorite singers so much emotions on his high notes.
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petruspaul wrote:
Mario Lanza war ein sehr guter Tenor, und Schauspieler. Doch leider Starb er am 7.10. 1959. Alles was er uns hinter lies sind seine Musik und Filme.
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KevinDemuynck wrote:
Mario lanza isn't popular amongst the youth... a shame !
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chickrocksteady wrote:
watched a documentary about him yesterday, very sad really. longed to be an operatic tenor, altho he struggled in front of large crowds, but was always perceived as a singing movie star, in america at least. and inspired so many after him to sing! a great shame he died so young
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chickrocksteady wrote:
bit surprised donkey serenade isnt up there. aiiiii aiiiii aiiiiii yaiiiiiii aiiiiiiiii AAAAAAAA
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donaldcat wrote:
Enrico Caruso is truely the greatest but I can hardy find any recording of him, even if I did, the recording technique just couldn't capture his true talent... However, I like Mario Lanza more due to his more emotional performance.
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PitaDauphin wrote:
The small amount of plays is shocking.
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TippinMyStuff wrote:
crappy crappy crappy
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blond-ambition wrote:
He's Amazing!
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Animal_1966 wrote:
I like Mario Lanza a lot, but the greatest tenor by far is Enrico Caruso.
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SpanishTrain wrote:
greatest tenor, ı like so much his vocal...
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christuiqbul wrote:
mario lanza is the gratest tennor that the world has ever seen, he has never been equaled, and i beleive that he will never ever be equaled or bettered.
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KateDubillyew wrote:
'mario lanza, the greatest tenor' thanks to heavenly creatures for turning me onto him
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donaldcat wrote:
Im so happy the shoutbox is not empty anymore
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theapril-sea wrote:
lolita<3
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angelspain wrote:
Mario is my favorite opera singer.Its 49 years this year and he is still loved. I have some Lanza stories to tell.Want to know send me a message.
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angelspain wrote:
I love Mario Lanza . I have some mario stories to tell. My Mom played his records.He is the first opera singer I ever heard and I just loved his voice. I was about 11.
Videos
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Cosi Cosa
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Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise
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The Lord's Prayer
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The Loveliest Night of the Year
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docplamb, falknis, bundwyer and 6 other people added Mario Lanza to their libraries. 6 hours ago
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and 23 other people added Mario Lanza to their libraries. last week
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JayDea tagged Mario Lanza with ‘american’. December 2011
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LewisCrise tagged Mario Lanza with ‘classic male vocal pop’. December 2011
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Rondine_alivolo tagged Mario Lanza with classic, mario lanza, opera and 2 other tags. December 2011
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