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| FYI: At the risk of appearing meanspirited or ungenerous, I take exception to Mr. Weller's attributed "quote" of Professor Enrico Rosati's supposed "sobbing" endorsement of Lanza's voice! I was there in my grandfather's studio that day when Lanza was brought by an agent, to audition for Professor Rosati. Nonno was excited, no doubt about it,as he immediately recognized the raw talent and "diamond in the rough" God given voice; but he was not given to those sort of emtotional outbursts or pronouncements, as he knew only too well, from first hand disappointing experience(as in the case of Luis Picciardo, an extrememly talented Cuban Basso,who was of the quality of Chaliapin,Pinza or London, but with a verstility and stage presence, not possessed by either or these artist's), how many other prerequisites there are to a successful career,not the least of which include luck,and circumstance! Marina Rosati Thompson |
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| I can attest to the fact that he studied with Professor Rosati, my grandfather, at the latter's studio in the Osborne House, across from Carnegie Hall. I met him in passing as he arrived and left his lessons. In my recollection it was a good deal longer than 15 months, as I was enrolled at the High School of Music & Art at the time, and I remember clearly having conversations with Lanza, while he waited for Nonno to finish with the previous student. He was a typical young Italian-American, from a working class background, with a very likable, sweet, impulsive, nature. He wanted very much to please my grandfather and was a serious student! He tried to emulate Gigli's unforced, technique and unbroken scale of high tones, "il terzo registro", produced in the head's frontal sinuses! Against my grandfather's advice, who felt Lanza was not yet "ready" Lanza interrupted his studies for the Hollywood opportunity. Who can blame him ? But what Nonno feared - came to pass; his constant crash dieting in order to to be photogenic and Hollywood "life style" caught up with him, his voice and technique; resulting in "forced" high notes, loss of the "bel canto" and ultimately, his life ! "Pecato" Marina Rosati Thompson-Perry |
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| Very interesting, becoblue! Thank you for that reference. David Hobson is a good bloke. Let's hope we don't let our musically talented young people go unrecognised. |
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| guise84 - check out the followiing website - you may see something interesting on it, re music in schools http://musicaviva.com.au/ |
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| Weiler, as Lanza's Business Manager, probably saw that he did get his money back. It is a sad story. An American Tragedy, as the biographer called it. Not unlike Elvis Presley. Our education system needs to recognise talent in children early. The Institute of Sport in some way does this for our athletes. Music is a much bigger feature in schools now than it was in years gone by - so, for instance, Anthony Callea was able to study music and performance at school for his HSC and will not fall into the traps that Lanza and Presley fell into. |
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| All so sad really, to have that talent but without all the other attributes necessary to realise its full potential. I wonder if Weiller ever recouped his outlay? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Here is a quote from Time Magazine in 1951 while Lanza was still alive and had been paid $100 000 (!) for his role in The Great Caruso. (After leaving the Army) Lanza got some radio shows and smalltown concert dates, but his voice would not work the way he wanted it to, nor pay the bills he was piling up in high living. Lanza, was broke, hoarse and dispirited, but his luck was just about to click again. One day at a singing coach's studio he met a sunny little realtor named Sam Weiler, a man with plenty of money and a great yearning to be a singer. Realtor Weiler was ready to face up to the fact that he himself was no Caruso, and never would be. He listened to Lanza, then told the tenor: "I am going to have a career through you." Patron-Business Manager Weiler paid off $11,000 of Lanza's debts, canceled his current broadcasts and concert bookings, gave him $90 a week to live on and sent him to study with Enrico Rosati, then 72, who had taught the great Beniamino Gigli. In all, he sank some $90,000 into Lanza before any money began to come back. "I have waited for you for 34 years—ever since Gigli!" sobbed Maestro Rosati. For 15 months, under Rosati and with help from Teacher Grant Garnell, Lanza buckled down to work. He even learned something he had always shirked: how to read music. |
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| Yes. everything that I have read says that Mario Lanza trained with Gigli's teacher, Enrico Rosati, for 15 months. Here is a quote from Beniamino Gigli that perhaps bears on other discussions we have had about some of the celebs who have already left ITT. As Gigli said: "Before one can sing it is necessary to act, to always interpret that which one sings, entering into the role and trying to convey the suffering, the joy or the grief, always referring to the part which is being interpreted, looking always for a variety of vocal colors like an artist who is painting a picture with many colors". |
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| I guess it depends which articles you read, guise84. Will we ever know the truth? Two that I read this morning did say that he trained with Gigli's teacher for 15 months. I've heard that he was dreadful to work with. One of his tricks was that if he didn't like the leading lady he would eats lots of garlic before a performance. You can imagine how the ladies loved that!!! Re David H. I know he has had coaching for various roles, which is quite different to formal singing lessons, and also language instruction overseas. Mario Lanza was definitely his own worst enemy. |
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| Are you sure of that Becoblue? Are you sure that Mario Lanza was a trained Opera singer? Mario Lanza's biography, An American Tragedy, says that he (born Alfred "Freedy" Cocozza) was an only child of American parents in Philadelphia. His father had many Opera records and young "Freddy" used to sing along with them. He was expelled from High School at the age of 19, and did not get a job but preferred to sleep in until 2 pm whilst his parents were both working. At this point (aged 19) his parents heard him karaoking along with a Caruso record and took him off to a singing teacher who taught him for 2 years and reported him to be lazy, unwilling to learn or practise, but with a huge voice. She took him to be heard by Koussevitsky who recognised his potential and sent him off to a camp for a short, few months singing course. He changed his name to Lanza (his mother's name). He was conscripted into the army, as a military policemen, where he languished, over-ate and became fat again. He then was lucky enough to be assigned to an entertainment unit and after that things looked up. He performed in Opera twice on stage in Madame Butterfly before going to Hollywood. There he was given the role in The Great Caruso, and his fortune was made. He starred in a few Hollywood movies, made a few pop records, over-ate again, over-drank, over-womanised, drove his wife to drugs and drink, and died at the age of 39 in Italy after the Hollywood studios could no longer tolerate his behaviour. He could not read music. He lacked taste and musicianship. His Italian was bad. He probably suffered from depression and paranoia. (Unlike David Hobson whose music has an intelligent, intellectual, educated base and who has performed on stage in many Operas over more than 20 years, with, undoubtedly, voice coaches, acting coaches etc , Mario Lanza achieved fame and then decline before his voice had settled.) He was an American Tragedy - destroyed and killed by the cult of personality and ce ... |
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| Mario Lanza had voice training from a local singing teachers as a youngster, then after the war he trained intensely for fifteen months with the same teacher used by Beniamino Gigli. Granted, that's certainly not what one would call prolonged or intensive. Still, it's 15+ months more than ITT's current opera singer. |
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| Mario Lanza trilled because he could not always hit the note first go, so he would glide around a bit until he found it. He was a gifted amateur who had not had the privilege of the intense and prolonged training that Opera singing demands. |
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| twoleftfeet44: Mario Lanza, I'm not really a fan of all the trills he uses. The real other end of the spectrum, Michael Bolton.........thats a turn-up for the books. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkrCMI2fXTo He didn't do a bad job, but you have to ask the question why. But back to young Mark Vincent we will definately be hearing a lot more of him in the future. |
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| Mark Vincent can come and sing for me any time. In recent years I've watched on TV several huge productions of song and dance by Secondary Schools throughout NSW - I cannot remember the name of the programs - but the talent of some of those young people is quite astonishing. |
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| I just listened to that young Mark Vincent. Pheww, lets hope he stays singing! What a voice!!!! He sounds so much older! Very much like Pavarotti. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| At the other end of the time spectrum - Mario Lanza a version from 1948 also on Youtube. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Young Mark does a remarkable job jambipur....very easy to listen to.....he does look quite mature for 14.....no doubt we will hear more from him in the future. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| His performance was pre-recorded, not live, it may have been good to hear him sing something else from his album. He seems like a very likable humble person. No-one sing's Nessun Dorma like Pavarotti does, it was his signature and it catapulted him to the top once of the charts when it was used in the 1990 Fifa World Cup. If you want to here a fantastic version of it you should listen to a young 14 year old Australian guy called Mark Vincent of Sydney, he has been likened to Pavarotti. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zy9cINBUSc |
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| Like how "Abide With Me" has become synonymous with British Football, but it stretches the imagination to see how the words are appropriate. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| So, is "getting things right" to be deplored? Oh dear! The inverted snobbery of those who, when showing their ignorance, use "intellectual" as an insult! Bad role models, that's what anti-intellectuals are :-) If you look further down you will see that the spelling of "Nessun Dorma" was queried. I think it is interesting (and maybe others don't) to see how songs are used totally contrary to what their words are saying, particularly if they sound "grand", "Classical" or "Pious", and if they are in a foreign language! So John Lennon's Imagine which is clearly atheistic is regarded, by some, as religiously inspiring, and that's not even in a foreign language. Pavarotti sings Nessun Dorma at the opening of a football match and it becomes an anthem to be sung again with great inspiring reverence and a sombre face. But that is not what the words are saying, not "Play up, Play up and Play the Game, and overcome all odds," . Instead the aria is saying "Until tomorrow I'll keep my name secret and then reveal it with a kiss and so win the cold-hearted heroine's hand in marriage, even if none of you others sleep while you scurry about trying to work out who I am." |
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| That spiel was for my benefit Sonlmor, to get a reaction from me...guess what, I have none, my feelings are well noted.:)) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I wouldn't even have a clue what language it is in, sorry about the intellectual remark on another thread bec I think it should be reserved for guise | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I didn't understand what was meant by that whole spiel bec | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Showing off, perhaps?....lol | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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