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In 1941, the twenty year old tenor was given an audition before the world famous Russian conductor [[Serge Koussevitsky]]. Koussevitsky was impressed with Cocozza's rendition of "Vesti la giubba" and immediately offered him a scholarship to attend the [[Tanglewood Festival]] in [[Massachusetts]] where he would receive training from conductors [[Boris Goldovsky]] and [[Leonard Bernstein]]. It was at Tanglewood where Cocozza first used masculine version of his mother’s name, Mario Lanza, as a stage name. At Tanglewood he would also make his operatic debut as Fenton in ''[[Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor]]''.
In 1941, the twenty year old tenor was given an audition before the world famous Russian conductor [[Serge Koussevitsky]]. Koussevitsky was impressed with Cocozza's rendition of "Vesti la giubba" and immediately offered him a scholarship to attend the [[Tanglewood Festival]] in [[Massachusetts]] where he would receive training from conductors [[Boris Goldovsky]] and [[Leonard Bernstein]]. It was at Tanglewood where Cocozza first used masculine version of his mother’s name, Mario Lanza, as a stage name. At Tanglewood he would also make his operatic debut as Fenton in ''[[Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor]]''.
During [[World War II]], Lanza's career was interrupted when he was drafted for military service. He managed to find his way into Special Services where he would entertain the troops and would be known as the "Service Caruso." Upon being discharged in 1945, he relocated to [[New York City]], with his wife Betty, where he received a contract from [[Columbia Records|Columbia Artists Management, Inc]]. Lanza regularly filled in for the [[Metropolitans Opera]]'s [[Jan Peerce]] on the popular radio program, "The Celenese Hour: Great Moments in Music."
In 1947, Mario Lanza, along with soprano [[Frances Yeend]] and bass-baritone [[George London]], would form a group called the [[Bel Canto Trio]]. The Bel Canto Trio performed 86 concerts throughout the [[United States]], [[Canada]] and [[Mexico]] between July 1947 and May 1948.
==References==
==References==