Mario Lanza

Here is a beautiful song magnificently performed by the great Mario Lanza.
Mario Lanza (born Alfredo Arnold Cocozza in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1921 – died in 1959) was an American tenor and Hollywood movie star who enjoyed success in the late 1940s and 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 always universally praised by critics, he was immensely popular and his many recordings are still prized today.
He was exposed to opera and singing at a young age, and by the age of 16 his vocal talent became apparent. His operatic debut 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". His operatic career was interrupted by World War II, when he was assigned to Special Services in the U.S. Army Air Corps. He resumed his singing career in October 1945 on the CBS radio program Great moments in music, where he made six appearances singing various operatic selections. He then embarked on an 86-concert tour of the United States, Canada and Mexico between July 1947 and May 1948. A concert at the Hollywood Bowl brought Lanza to the attention of MGM's Louis B. Mayer, who signed Lanza to a seven-year film contract with Metro Goldwyn Mayer. This would prove to be a turning point in the young singer's career. His first two films, That midnight kiss and The toast of New Orleans, were very successful, as was his recording career, and Lanza's fame increased dramatically. In 1951, Lanza portrayed Enrico Caruso in The great Caruso, which proved to be an astonishing success. Lanza then moved to Rome, Italy, in May 1957, where he worked on the film Seven hills of Rome and returned to live performing in a series of acclaimed concerts throughout Britain, Ireland and the European Continent. In early 1958, he auditioned for the management of La Scala in Milan, and was immediately offered a minimum two-year contract to sing at that theatre. At the same time, however, his health began to decline. He died in Rome in October of 1959 at the age of 38. Maria Callas would later say of him: "My biggest regret is not to have had the opportunity to sing with the greatest tenor voice I've ever heard". Lanza's short career covered opera, radio, concerts, recordings, and motion pictures. He was the first artist for RCA Victor Red Seal to receive a gold disc. He was also the first artist to sell two and half million albums. A highly influential artist, Lanza has been credited with inspiring the careers of successive generations of opera singers, including Plácido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti and Jose Carreras, as well as those of singers with seemingly different backgrounds, and influences, his RCA Victor label-mate Elvis Presley being the most notable example. When Frank Sinatra described the first time he heard Mario Lanza he said: "Talking about people swooning when I sing, the tables were turned the other day when a young chap came on my set and started to sing. There's no exaggeration in stating that for once in my life I really swooned".
Enjoy Mario Lanza's fantastic voice!

My destiny

Other great performances:

Granada

Be my love

On the street where you live (from My fair lady)