Ron Cohen column: Ode to Minnie May 15, 2008
In my teenage years, Mario Lanza came along. We went to see That Midnight Kiss and The Great Caruso together. (Swampscott Reporter, MA)
Placido Domingo comes back to Boston Apr 6, 2008
He was inspired by recordings of Caruso and Mario Lanza, and surely he had noticed that the tenor, not the baritone, gets the soprano. So he worked his voice up, "semitone by semitone," into the tenor range. (Boston Globe)
Carreras - from boy wonder to task master Jan 3, 2008
"That evening the film was The Great Caruso with Mario Lanza. Lanza's personality and voice - it inspired me, or woke up in me an instinct for ... music and for singing.". Carreras recalls driving his parents completely mad with warbling. (ABC Online)
San Francisco Opera and the Bigger Picture Jointly Announce Four-Year Worldwide Digital Cinema Agreement Dec 19, 2007
My very first opera experience was actually in a movie theater hearing Mario Lanza sing in the film, The Great Caruso, stated San Francisco Opera General Director David Gockley. I vividly remember the power of hearing that incredible voice at a young age and the feeling that I absolutely had to experience a live opera. (Yahoo! Wire -- Entertainment News)
Seeing double Nov 7, 2007
Top-notch singers such as American tenor-Hollywood movie star Mario Lanza and celebrated Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti are their primary inspirations. While their peers would prefer to stick to the pop, rock or Res, the twins are focussed on their own thing. (The Star Online, Malaysia)
Verdi, there, here and everywhere Oct 15, 2007
If he sings a song in English it is likely to be Some Enchanted Evening from South Pacific, made famous by Carreras's childhood hero, Mario Lanza. "I saw [the movie] The Great Caruso in Barcelona in my home town when I was only six years old. It made a tremendous impact on me.". (Sydney Morning Herald -- Entertainment)
Pavarotti leaves a massive void Sep 10, 2007
Unlike Mario Lanza, he didn't attain movie stardom. Despite a scene in a hot-air balloon, Pavarotti's leaden 1982 romantic comedy Yes, Giorgio never soared at the box office. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
Big Lucy and a life on the high Cs Sep 8, 2007
When his voice broke he sang in town choir and was fascinated by the movies of Mario Lanza, including The Great Caruso. Yet he trained to be a primary school teacher. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Entertainment)
Luciano Pavarotti, 71; tenor transcended opera world Sep 7, 2007
"Mr. Pavarotti was born on Oct. 12, 1935. His father was an amateur singer and a baker; Mr. Pavarotti shared a wet-nurse with his lifelong friend and frequent costar, soprano Mirella Freni. "My voice changed when I was about 15," Mr. Pavarotti once told the Globe. "At the beginning it was a very high tenor, and when I changed the voice I began to imitate the movies of Mario Lanza. all of them. (Boston Globe)
PAVAROTTI: LAST OF THE GREAT VOICES... Sep 7, 2007
Mes amis," in Donizetti's "La Fille du Regiment" at the Met in 1972. From Beijing to Buenos Aires, people immediately recognized his incandescent smile and lumbering bulk, clutching a white handkerchief as he sang arias and Neapolitan folk songs, pop numbers and Christmas carols for hundreds of thousands in outdoor concerts. His name seemed to show up as much in gossip columns as serious music reviews, particularly after he split with Adua Veroni, his wife of 35 years and mother of their three... (The Drudge Report)
* Luciano Pavarotti, world renowned tenor, dies aged 71 Sep 7, 2007
"In my teens I used to go to Mario Lanza movies and then come home and imitate him in the mirror," Pavarotti said. In 1961, Pavarotti won a local voice competition and with it a debut as Rodolfo in Puccini's La Boheme. (Taipei Times, Taiwan)
Here's to romance: Saturday at the Franchi Estate Sep 7, 2007
Along with Michael Amante whom Tony Bennett has hailed as "the next Mario Lanza," and who is also performing at the Foxwoods Resort Casino on Friday night a group of young, talented singers will win a few hearts on Saturday afternoon as well. Patrizio Buanne will travel from Italy, where he s established himself as a romantic tenor in the tradition of Dean Martin, Perry Como and, of course, Sergio Franchi. (Westerly Sun, RI)
Luciano Pavarotti dies (updated) Sep 6, 2007
He was influenced by the American movie actor-singer Mario Lanza. "In my teens I used to go to Mario Lanza movies and then come home and imitate him in the mirror,'' Pavarotti said. Singing was still nothing more than a passion while Pavarotti trained to become a teacher and began working in a school. But at 20, he traveled with his chorus to an international music competition in Wales. The Modena group won first place, and Pavarotti began to dedicate himself to singing. With the encouragement... (The Star Online, Malaysia -- News)
Pavarotti: Dead at 71 Sep 6, 2007
American movie actor-singer Mario Lanza. "In my teens I used to go to Mario Lanza movies and then come home and imitate him in the mirror," Pavarotti said. (WTVR.com, VA)
All is ephemeral … the famous as well Aug 9, 2007
To make matters worse, Limelight somehow found a place in the list for Mario Lanza. Now, some people who know a lot about opera singers would say Lanza doesn't even deserve the title; that he was a movie singer, not an opera singer, and not such an accomplished movie singer at that. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Opinion)
New on DVD: Zodiac, The Number 23 Jul 24, 2007
Available in the boxed set or as two-disc releases are That Midnight Kiss and The Toast of New Orleans, both featuring Kathryn Grayson and Mario Lanza; and Royal Wedding and The Belle of New York, which star Fred Astaire. DVD boxed set, $59. (MSNBC -- Movies)
Hoffman's biggest save made early Jun 12, 2007
"He sounded like Mario Lanza." Save for Greg, now a school teacher and a former basketball coach in the Anaheim school system near where the family grew up, none of the brothers were allowed to play football. And even Greg, the biggest of the trio, only lasted one year in Pop Warner, playing in a class that matched his weight, but with kids two or three years older and much more mature. (MLB.com -- San Diego Padres)
I dragged myself back May 18, 2007
"I've burnt everything out of it already. What's he going to find there - Mario Lanza?". Ozzy Osbourne: accident-prone, foul-mouthed family man. (Telegraph.co.uk)
Hip-hop visitor Jan 13, 2007
So help me, rap and post-rap forms of pop music are infinitely better at turning out compelling and vivid movie actors than conventional rock and pop music ever were (for which the entire screen careers of Mario Lanza, Johnny Ray, Elvis Presley, Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson, Mick Jagger, etc. will provide ample illustration). (Buffalo News -- Entertainment)
