A concert at the
Hollywood Bowl in August 1947 had brought Lanza to the attention of
Louis B. Mayer, who promptly signed Lanza to a seven-year film contract with
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The contract required him to commit to the studio for six months of the year, and Lanza initially believed he would be able to combine his film career with his operatic and concert appearances. In May 1949, he made his first commercial recordings for
RCA Victor. Lanza's recording of the aria "
Che gelida manina" (from
La bohème) from that first session was subsequently awarded the prize of Operatic Recording of the Year by the (United States) National Record Critics Association.
The Toast of New Orleans Lanza's first two starring films,
That Midnight Kiss and
The Toast of New Orleans, both opposite top-billed
Kathryn Grayson, were commercial successes, and in 1950, his recording of "Be My Love" from the latter became the first of three million-selling singles for the young tenor, earning him enormous fame in the process. While at MGM, Lanza worked closely with Academy Award-winning conductor, composer, and arranger
Johnny Green. In a 1977 interview with Lanza biographer Armando Cesari, Green recalled that the tenor was insecure about the manner in which he had become successful and was keenly aware of the fact that he had become a Hollywood star before first having established himself on the operatic stage.Had [Lanza] been already a leading tenor, if not
the leading tenor at the Met[ropolitan Opera House], and come to Hollywood in between seasons to make a picture, he would have had [the security of having] the Met as his home," Green remarked. According to Green, Lanza possessed "the voice of the next
Caruso. [Lanza] had an unusual, very unusual quality ... a tenor with a baritone color in the middle and lower registers, and a great feeling for the making of music. A great musicality. I found it fascinating, musically, to work with [him].
The Great Caruso Lanza portrayed
Enrico Caruso in
The Great Caruso (1951), which was MGM's biggest success of the year. At this time, the tenor's increasing popularity exposed him to intense criticism by some music critics, including those who had praised his work just a few years earlier. His portrayal of Caruso earned him compliments from the subject's son, Enrico Caruso Jr., a tenor in his own right. Shortly before his own death in 1987, Enrico Jr. wrote in
Enrico Caruso: My Father and My Family (posthumously published in 1990) that:I can think of no other tenor, before or since Mario Lanza, who could have risen with comparable success to the challenge of playing Caruso in a screen biography ... Lanza was born with one of the dozen or so great tenor voices of the century, with a natural voice placement, an unmistakable and very pleasing timbre, and a nearly infallible musical instinct.
The Student Prince (left) speaking with Lanza in 1958 at Tucker's
Covent Garden debut as
Andrea Chénier Lanza's next film for MGM, ''
Because You're Mine (1952) was another financial, if not critical success; Lanza felt the script was far inferior to The Great Caruso'', and he didn't want to make the film. Lanza's reputation for being temperamental and difficult began during this production. Later in 1952, Lanza was suspended and ultimately fired by MGM after he had recorded the songs for his next film,
The Student Prince (1954). The reason most frequently cited in the tabloid press at the time was that his recurring weight problem had made it impossible for him to fit into the costumes of the Prince. However, as his biographers Cesari and Mannering have established, Lanza was not overweight at the beginning of the production, and it was, in fact, a disagreement with director
Curtis Bernhardt over Lanza's performance of one of the songs in the film that led to Lanza walking off the set. MGM refused to replace Bernhardt, and the film was subsequently made starring British actor
Edmund Purdom, who lip-synched to Lanza's dubbed singing voice. Depressed by his dismissal by MGM and with his self-confidence severely undermined, Lanza became a virtual recluse in his home for more than a year, frequently seeking refuge in alcoholic and eating binges. During this period, Lanza's lavish spending habits and poor financial decisions by his former manager had brought him to the brink of bankruptcy. Additionally, Lanza owed around $250,000 in unpaid taxes to the
IRS.
Serenade Lanza returned to an active film career in
Serenade (1956), released by
Warner Bros. However, the film was only a moderate financial success despite strong musical content, including arias from
Der Rosenkavalier,
Fedora, ''
L'arlesiana, and Otello, as well as the Act I duet from Otello'' with soprano
Licia Albanese. In 1980, Mme. Albanese said of Lanza:I had heard all sorts of stories about Mario. That his voice was too small for the stage, that he couldn't learn a score, that he couldn't sustain a full opera; in fact, that he couldn't even sing a full aria, that his recordings were made by splicing together various portions of an aria. None of it is true! He had the most beautiful
lirico spinto voice. It was a gorgeous, beautiful, powerful voice. I should know because I sang with so many tenors. He had everything that one needs. The voice, the temperament, perfect diction. ... Vocally he was very secure. All he needed was coaching. Everything was so easy for him. He was fantastic! In May 1957, Lanza moved to
Rome,
Italy where he starred in the film
Seven Hills of Rome (1958), and returned to performing live in November of that year, appearing before
Queen Elizabeth II at the Royal Variety Show at the
London Palladium. From January to April 1958, Lanza gave a concert tour of the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands, France and Germany. He gave a total of 22 concerts on this tour, receiving mostly positive reviews for his singing. Despite a number of cancellations, which resulted from his poor health during this period, Lanza continued to receive offers for operatic appearances, concerts, and films. In September 1958, Lanza made a number of operatic recordings at the Rome Opera House for the soundtrack of what would turn out to be his final film,
For the First Time (1959). It was then that he came to the attention of that opera house's artistic director, Riccardo Vitale, who promptly offered the tenor
carte blanche in his choice of operatic roles. Lanza also received offers to sing in any opera of his choosing from the
San Carlo in Naples. ==Personal life==