ALFREDO ARNOLDO COCOZZA: MARIO LANZA
Alfredo Arnoldo Cocozza’s parents were Italians emigrants.His father, Antonio Cocozza was born in Filignano, a village in Molise, his mother Maria Lanza, was born in Tocco Casauria, Pescara in Abruzzi. They met in Philly and got married in 1919.Mario Lanza back then little “Freddy”, was born January 31st 1921.The same year, in Naples, Caruso died.
The Cocozza family lived together with Salvatore Lanza, the grandfather of Mario, who owned a drugstore in 616 Christian Street.Little Freddy grew up in a musical enviroment: his grand father had a collection of Enrico Caruso recordings.Freddy spent many hours listening all his favourite arias on the old Victrola and it’s said that he was caught listening 27 times the same record performed by Caruso: Vesti la giubba from Pagliacci.Freddy used to sing along the record, and in this way his parents found out that he had a tenor voice.
Maria Lanza will get three jobs to provide his son to attend the expensive singing lessons.She had a beautiful soprano voice, but back then the woman that worked on stage were considered “bad”, and her father, granpa’ Salvatore, didn’t allow it.Maybe, for this reason, Maria was really focused in giving her son the possibility to study Bel Canto.
Mario had two coaches: Maria Margelli who gave him the music fundamentals and Irene Williams who was an operatic singer and knew quite well the Academy of Music entourage in Philadelphia.When Irene Williams realized that she couldn’t teach anything more to Freddy Cocozza, provide him with an audition at the Academy of Music. M° Sergey Koussewinzky was in town to conduct a concert and during the break she managed a “surprise-audition”.The conductor was in his dressing room and Freddy started singing “Vesti la giubba”. When he heard his beautiful voice, he ran out of his room and hugged him:”You’ll come with me to Tanglewood!”
In Tanglewood, Freddy Cocozza, changed his name: Mario Lanza (taken from his mother maiden name).Mario was among the best students and thanks to this he’ll be Fanton in the Merry wives of Windsor.
When he completed his studies at the B.M.Center in Tanglewood, Lanza was to join the Army.He was settled in the military base of Marfa, Texas. When they found out that he was a tenor he was sent in a Special Department and cast in the Winged Victory Musical, that will take him to Hollywood thanks to a 5 years contract with RCA Victor.
In January 1945 Mario Lanza was discharged and got married with Betty Hicks in Beverly Hills.Then went to New York to study and Sam Weiler becomes his agent.He studied with Enrico Rosati, Beniamino Gigli coach, and signes a contract with the Columbia Concert that will take him on a tour throughout all the United States, Canada and Mexico with the Bel Canto trio together with Francis Yeend, soprano, and George London, bariton.
In August 1947 he gave two big concerts at the Hollywood Bowl. Ms Covermann, Louis B. Mayer Secretary, was in the first night audience. She knew that MGM wanted to shoot some musicals, but they lack of the male character.They were looking for a young handsome tenor.The interest and the concern of Ms Coverman captured Louis b. Mayer attention that attended the Hollywood Bowl concert the following night. That’s it! Mario is beautiful, young and has an incredible voice.
The day after Mario signed a contract with MGM and MGM found his singing Clark Gable! The contract is for 7 movies in 7 years.During the breaks from shooting Lanza can hold concerts, be guest in radio-TV programs (TV is at its beginnins), record.
After the realization of his first movie: “That midnight kiss”, one of his dreams comes true: he has his opera debut as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, at the New Orleans Opera House.The soprano was Toniko Kanazawa.
After two performances the critics wrote: “Rarely we had the chance to see a tenor so romantic and so good looking. His voice substains him greatly.Unfortunately the increasing popularity, the big success and the movies will prevent him to pursue his dream: to sing Opera on stage. It was a great loss for the Opera World couldn’t enjoy Lanza in a live Opera role. The MGM organized a concert tour that ended on July 24, 1948 with the Gala Concert at the Hollywood Bowl with the soprano Katrine Grayson.
On May 5th ,1949 Mario recorded 4 arias with his coach and pianist Costantine Callinicous. Among these arias there is also the popular “Che gelida manina”, Boheme. This recording was considered as “the best recording of the year” by the National Records Artistic Association and was introduced by RCA hall of fame.
In 1950 he shot the movie: “Toast of New Orleans” that included the most famous song performed by Mario: “Be my love”.
The following movie, the Great Caruso, is considered the best interpreted by Mario, he promoted the movie with a concert tour with M° Costantine Callinicous. After about one hour of the ticket booths opening, the tickets for the concert were all sold out.
Mario got prestigious offers to be part of some radio programs. One of these was by the Coca Cola Corporation for a weekly program called: The Mario Lanza Show. Mario signed the contract and between June 26th 1951 and August 22nd 1952 recorded 59 shows broadcasted by CBS and NBC.
In each program Mario sung 4 song or arias and he always had singers as guests.One of these was the Canadian soprano Giselle Mc Kenzie . M° Ray Sinatra conducted and arranged the songs, intead M° Callinicous the arias. The shows should have been “live”, but after the first show, it had to be recorded: the thrilled response of the audience was too huge, and the applause were never ending! These shows underlined Mario Lanza talent: he could sing Verdi as well as Cole Porter, popular song, operatic arias or religious song.
After the “The Great Caruso” success, the following movie should have been The Student Prince, the screen adaption of the Operetta by Romberg. Time was short and Mario was very excited, because he always wanted to be in such a play. But some troubles occurred and it was postponed and the studios approached Lanza with the shooting of “Because you’re mine”.
Mario co-star was the soprano Doretta Morrow that had just obtained a great success in Hollywood with the musical “The King and I”Mario didn’t like the movie: a light movie with few music in it! But the movie was shot and it was chosen as best MGM movie of the year to be at an evening Gala to Queen Elisabeth in London.
After “Because you’re mine”, finally, they started the production of “The Student Prince”.Lanza recorded the movie sound track and the result was unbelievable.The record, realized before the movie itself, was out a top selling record.
Due to different problems the shooting of the movie didn’t begin, and it was always postponed month after month.One year later unfortunately ,MGM and Mario Lanza broke their contract. The leading role of the movie was given to the English actor Edmund Purdom who “sings” in playback arias and songs previously recorded by Lanza.
The final result was not satisfactory and the movie didn’t have the success that MGM wished and that the selling of the record let suppose.
Lanza could not shoot any movie with other movie companies and could not record or sing in live performances. In 1956 Lanza broke all the legal links with MGM and shoots “Serenade” for Warner Brothers”.
In 1957 he moved with his family to Italy to start over with his life and career.Amongst his projects there was an important one: to sing opera on stage: la Scala theatre and M° Victor De Sabata asked him to open the Opera Season in 1960. He should have sung Rigoletto.At the same time the San Carlo theatre in Naples approached him to sing in an opera of his choice: Mario chose Pagliacci.All this is documented in a interview to the tenor in Rome shown in the Ed Sullivan Show.
In 1957 Mario shoot the Italian musical comedy: “The seven hills of Rome”. It was his Italian debut and had e great success.
The last movie shot by Mario was:“For the first time”, in 1959.He had already planned to be in two others movies: “Granada” and “Laugh, clown laugh”
Mario died in Rome, in Clinica Valle Giulia and all his projects and programs would never come true.
Rekindle the young generations, that saw Mario Lanza movies, to opera and classical music has been one of the great merit of Lanza.
Especially the great Caruso Movie drew young people to study Bel Canto and to begin the operatic career
Among these there are "the big artists of today such as: Placido Domingo, Jose Carreras, Luciano Pavarotti, our honorary members, Leo Nucci, our honorary president.
Back to Homepage !!!