Singers often do much more than just sing on the stage. Many have made their way onto the screen, not just as featured musical performers but also in prominent acting roles, even if they had no training or experience as a thespian. Some got their start singing on the radio.
This trend is usually associated with pop stars, like Harry Styles in the last 10 years or Bing Crosby during the Golden Era of Hollywood.
During the first few decades of talking pictures, several classical singers found an inside track to Hollywood stardom. Opera singers are more qualified to act than radio singers because opera involves dramatic acting as well as singing.
One opera singer who turned film actor was Ezio Pinza (1892–1957). Although this Italian bass never became a major movie star, he had an amazing career spanning four decades as he appeared at the Metropolitan Opera, on Broadway, and on the silver screen.
From Italy to the Met
Pinza was born into a poor family in Rome and grew up in Ravenna, an ancient city on Italy’s east coast. At age 8, he worked with his father, a carpenter, but Cesare Pinza believed that a singing career would give his son a better life. The boy, however, aspired to be a cyclist. His father took him to one of the best teachers in Bologna, Alessandro Vezzani, who declared, “This boy has no voice.”Undiscouraged, Cesare took Ezio to another of the great opera teachers, known as Ruzza, who agreed to teach him while he continued his carpentry career. When Ruzza became too ill to continue teaching young Pinza, the budding bass auditioned again for Vezzani, who didn’t recognize him. Vezzani was so impressed by his rendition of an aria from “Simon Boccanegra” by Giuseppe Verdi that he started teaching him. He also recommended him to the Bologna Conservatorio Giovanni Battista Martini, paying for Pinza’s tuition himself. Although Pinza quit bicycling, he credited the sport for building up his lung capacity.
At 22, Pinza made his operatic debut at a small company in Cremona. He performed the important role of Oroveso in Vincenzo Bellini’s “Norma.” His promising career was interrupted by World War I after only a few soloist performances. When he got out of the army four years later, he resumed his opera career at the Roma Opera, where he played minor roles. There, he was noticed by the famous conductor Tullio Serafin, who invited Pinza to the Turin Opera House, where he sang prominent bass roles.
In 1922, Pinza made his debut at the prestigious Teatro alla Scala in Milan as Pimen in the opera “Boris Godunov” by Modest Mussorgsky. He also performed there in Richard Wagner’s “The Master Singers of Nürnberg” (“Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg”). He so impressed conductor Arturo Toscanini that he became a soloist at the company.
Pinza soon became one of the most respected Italian lyric basses and toured the world. He is known as a lyric bass because of the smooth, gentle phrasing throughout his large range, enabling him to sing higher roles than many other basses.
Broadway
By 1948, Ezio Pinza was growing tired of being the foremost lyric bass at the Metropolitan Opera. After all, he had performed at the Met for 22 seasons, playing 51 different roles in around 587 performances, plus 246 additional performances on tour. After resigning from the Met, he turned his attention to Broadway. In 1948, he signed a contract with impresario Edwin Lester to star in the new musical “Mr. Ambassador” at the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera. Lester sold Pinza’s contract to songwriter Richard Rodgers once he realized that the musical would not come to fruition.Rodgers and his frequent collaborator, Oscar Hammerstein II, realized that Pinza would be ideal for the role of middle-aged Frenchman Emile De Becque in their musical, “South Pacific.” When Pinza joined, Rodgers and Hammerstein elevated the character to the male lead, although the singer’s contract limited his singing to 15 minutes per performance. Pinza introduced the now famous ballad “Some Enchanted Evening” and won a Tony Award for Best Actor. From 1954 to 1956, he appeared in a second Broadway musical, as Cesar in “Fanny,” opposite Florence Henderson.
On the Screen
Pinza made his film debut in “Carnegie Hall,” a 1947 United Artists musical that showcased the top classical musicians of the day. He played himself and sang one aria from “Don Giovanni” and another from “Simon Boccanegra.” After his Broadway success in “South Pacific,” he received a contract with MGM and appeared in two films, “Strictly Dishonorable” and “Mr. Imperium.” Although “Mr. Imperium” was filmed first, “Strictly Dishonorable” was released before it.In the musical comedy “Strictly Dishonorable,” he starred opposite Janet Leigh and played a suave opera star in 1920s New York. In the musical drama “Mr. Imperium,” he starred opposite Lana Turner and played a prince who must choose between love and duty. Although both films showed off his magnificent voice, suave personality, and romantic charisma, they both were box office failures, and MGM canceled his contract.
Hitting the Low Notes
Ezio Pinza was an amazing singer, although he never learned to read music. He learned everything by ear instead. His popularity and success in many genres can be attributed to more than just his voice, though. It was his personal magnetism, good looks, and savoir faire that made him a star. It is said that his romantic persistence was a little too much for some of his leading ladies.Basses rarely become operatic superstars, largely because they usually are relegated to playing fathers, jailers, and villains while tenors play the romantic leads. Although Pinza played his fair share of villains and elderly roles throughout his career, his rich yet lyrical voice and personal charm made him perfectly suited to play a leading man.
In two of his most famous operas, “The Marriage of Figaro” and “Don Giovanni,” Mozart wrote the titular romantic lead as a baritone, so it’s no wonder that the wily bridegroom and notorious lothario were two of Pinza’s best roles. In fact, Pinza is credited as the singer responsible for Mozart operas returning to the Met’s repertoire in the mid-20th century.
