the son of Italian immigrants Antonio Cocozza (1894-1975) and Maria Cocozza (née Lanza) (1902-1970). While still a high school student, Lanza was already experimenting with alternative names for a stage career, as these reproductions from his school notebook reveal. He finally settled on his mother's birth (or "maiden") name, together with the masculine form of her first name. Called "Freddie" by his parents and childhood friends, the tenor was known professionally as Mario Lanza from 1942 onwards, and on October 7, 1948—exactly eleven years before his death—he legally adopted that name.

as New York City, with a variety of incorrect birth dates also provided (most often, 1922—a date that was probably encouraged by MGM's publicity department). Lanza himself variously claimed to reporters to have been born in 1922, 1923, 1924, and 1925. In an interview with Howard Thompson of the New York Times on May 6, 1951, the then 30-year-old Lanza cheerfully alluded to his habitual fibbing, stating that he was twenty-nine—"And twenty-nine I'll remain for at least another ten years." In this respect, he was carrying on a family tradition, since his mother shaved almost three years off her own age, always insisting that she had been sixteen when he was born. (She was actually in her nineteenth year.)

There is also ample photographic evidence that Lanza was not a tall man, although this has not prevented some of his more fervent admirers from insisting that he was really 5' 10½," or almost 180cm. See this forum discussion for more information.

and the couple remained together until his death. They had four children, three of whom died prematurely: Colleen (1948-1997), Ellisa (1950- ), Damon (1952-2008), and Marc (1954-1991). Betty Lanza outlived her husband by just five months, dying of apparent asphyxiation following a prolonged period of depression.

due to either a pulmonary embolism—arguably the most likely scenario due to the phlebitis he was suffering from at the time—or a massive heart attack. A third (though less likely) possibility was a cerebral hemorrhage. See Mario Lanza: A Fatal Zest for Living, by Armando Cesari and Philip A. Mackowiak, MD, for more information.

Note: The absurd rumor that Lanza died at the hands of the Mafia is addressed here.

He was also a serious binge drinker—some of his friends and associates considered him an alcoholic—during the last five years or so of his life. At the time of his death, Lanza was in poor physical shape, with the beginnings of arteriosclerosis, dangerously high blood pressure (with systolic readings of up to 290), liver damage, and a number of other ailments. However, the most potentially lethal of these health problems was phlebitis, a condition presumably caused (or at least aggravated) by his lifestyle. See Mario Lanza: A Fatal Zest for Living, by Armando Cesari and Philip A. Mackowiak, MD.

Hollywood experience as the root cause of his subsequent problems. Prior to working for MGM film studios, Lanza was by most accounts a happy person who showed no signs of self-destructive tendencies, and a singer who was clearly headed for a major operatic career. The pressures and distractions of Hollywood changed all that. According to his close friend George London, Lanza started drinking heavily within two years of arriving in Hollywood—a problem that was almost certainly related to the pressures of his unexpected (and sudden) superstardom, coupled with guilt feelings regarding his unfulfilled operatic ambitions. The crash diets that he was obliged to undertake by his film studio—requiring him to lose, on occasion, as much as eighty pounds, or 36kg—also compromised his health and emotional well-being.

Lanza's insecurities were further compounded by the near-constant attacks to which he was subjected by the press from 1951 inwards, together with the criticisms and often-unfounded skepticism he received from many music critics. See Lanza and the Press for more information.

and that of a (more dramatic) spinto, such as Franco Corelli. His vocal range was almost two and a half octaves: from a low A below middle C (A2) to a D natural (D5) above (a tenor's) high C. Lanza's lowest and highest recorded notes are, respectively, a low B-flat (B♭2), as heard in the scales scene in his 1950 film The Toast of New Orleans, and a D-flat above high C (D♭5), as heard on his live and soundtrack recordings of the "Addio, Addio!" from Verdi's Rigoletto. Lanza possessed a freely produced "natural" voice, as opposed to a manufactured sound.

Among Lanza's formative musical influences were Enrico Caruso, Aureliano Pertile, and Beniamino Gigli.

At sixteen Lanza discovered that he possessed a potentially great tenor voice of his own when his parents arranged for him to sing for retired baritone Antonio Scarduzzo. Highly impressed, Scarduzzo nevertheless urged the young tenor to delay actual singing lessons for two years. In the meantime, Scarduzzo recommended, Lanza should study solfeggio (sight reading), languages and piano.

As biographer Armando Cesari notes in this speech, "The path to a successful career [was thereafter] relatively easy for Lanza. ... He started working with a coach [the former soprano Irene Williams] at the age of 19. Two years later, he auditioned for Serge Koussevitzky, the great conductor of the Boston Symphony, who immediately awarded him a scholarship to study in Tanglewood, the summer home of the Boston Symphony. Lanza made his debut as Fenton in The Merry Wives of Windsor to rave reviews, but shortly after his studies were interrupted [by World War II], and he was inducted into the Army for the next two years." While still a soldier (performing in Special Services), Lanza was courted by RCA, who subsequently signed him to an exclusive recording contract. The young tenor also signed with Columbia Artist Management, who would handle his subsequent concert and opera appearances following his discharge from the Army in January 1945.

who had been the legendary tenor Beniamino Gigli's only teacher. In later years, Lanza credited Rosati with providing him with a rock-solid vocal technique that would enable him to sing for hours without tiring. (More information can be read here.) Lanza also studied operatic repertoire for many years (principally with Giacomo Spadoni, one-time vocal coach to Enrico Caruso). After appearing in a number of roles in local operatic productions while still an amateur, the 21-year-old Lanza studied and performed the principal tenor role of Fenton in Nicolai's The Merry Wives of Windsor at the Berkshire Music Festival in Tanglewood. For his efforts, he was hailed by both Opera News and the New York Times as an outstanding operatic prospect.

Six years later, after completing army service and a period of intensive study (followed by a tour as part of the Bel Canto Trio with George London and Frances Yeend), Lanza performed the role of Pinkerton in Puccini's Madama Butterfly for the New Orleans Opera Association. Again, he received considerable praise for his singing, and was immediately invited to return to New Orleans the following year as Alfredo in a production of Verdi's La Traviata (opposite Eleanor Steber). Hollywood, however, distracted him from his plans, although he always intended to return to opera—"his only true love," as mentor Peter Herman Adler once observed. See this forum discussion for more information.

in Nicolai's The Merry Wives of Windsor, Canio in Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, Turiddu in Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana, and three Puccini roles: Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly), Rodolfo (La Bohème), and Cavaradossi (Tosca). An eighth role that he presumably learned sufficiently was that of the Contino del Fiore in Federico and Luigi Ricci's Crispino e la Comare, a lead tenor part that he performed in an Apollo Grand Opera Company production in Philadelphia around 1941.

Lanza twice performed the roles of Fenton and Pinkerton in 1942 and 1948, respectively, and at the time of his death had tentatively agreed to perform Canio at the Rome Opera during that theatre's 1960-61 season (provided that a scheduled 1960 operation on his phlebitis-affected right leg was successful). In February 1950 it was also announced that he would be performing the role of Chénier at La Scala in the fall of that year, following a visit to Los Angeles by legendary conductor Victor De Sabata. Although Lanza subsequently declined the invitation, together with an offer from Gaetano Merola to sing the same role that year at the San Francisco Opera, it speaks volumes of the tenor's talent that both these distinguished conductors were prepared to take a chance on a relative operatic novice.

Reviews of Lanza's operatic appearances can be read here, and a list of all known material that he performed live is available here.

Of these recordings, there are almost 300 unique selections, or individual titles. (This total does not include partial renditions of songs or operatic material.) See our Discography, which is divided into Operatic Recordings, English Songs, Italian and Neapolitan Songs, and Latin/German/French/Spanish Songs, for details and recommended recordings, together with this overview of Lanza's recorded output.

(Claims of a final recording of "The Lord's Prayer" that same month are pure invention.) Lanza had begun recording The Desert Song in August, but hospitalization for pneumonia interrupted the sessions until early September.

but he was miming to the voice of uncredited soprano Jacqueline Allen (1925-2009). Ms. Allen's mini-biography can be read here. (Allen replaced the original boy soprano selected to sing with Lanza, since the young chorister was not available on the scheduled recording day.)

For the First Time, was nominated for one (shortly after his death). It lost to the soundtrack of Porgy and Bess .

and two for albums (The Student Prince and Other Hit Songs from Musical Comedies, which held the #1 spot on Billboard's Popular Album Chart for 42 weeks, and The Great Caruso). All of these would qualify as platinum records in today's terms, with “Be My Love” almost double platinum at close to two million copies sold. Lanza was also the first classical artist to sell more than a million copies of an album (The Great Caruso). More information about Lanza's record sales can be found here.

of great operatic singers unable to read music; they include Ezio Pinza, Lauritz Melchior and Luciano Pavarotti. In Lanza's case, his inability (or unwillingness) to read music was never a handicap for him, given that he possessed outstanding musicality and a fine retentive ear. [More information can be read here and here.]

But it's important to note that Lanza's seven-year film contract was only for six months of each year. He signed that contract believing (naively) that he would be able to devote the remaining six months of every year to concerts and opera, and for a short time he managed to achieve that goal. Once his film career had taken off, however, Lanza would discover that there was never sufficient time (let alone the right artistic atmosphere in Hollywood) to achieve the goal of preparing for—and then performing—operatic roles. See this essay for further information.