Seven Hills of Rome (film)
Seven Hills of Rome is an Italian-American film international co-production released in January 1958 and shot on location in Rome and at the Titanus studios. It was filmed in Technicolor and Technirama, distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, was tenor Mario Lanza's penultimate film, and Marisa Allasio’s last film.
Theatrical poster for the USA release
Mario Lanza was an American tenor and actor. He was a Hollywood film star popular in the late 1940s and the 1950s. Lanza began studying to be a professional singer at the age of 16. After appearing at the Hollywood Bowl in 1947, Lanza signed a seven-year film contract with Louis B. Mayer, the head of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, who saw his performance and was impressed by his singing. Prior to that, the adult Lanza sang only two performances of an opera. The following year (1948) he sang the role of Pinkerton in Puccini's Madama Butterfly in New Orleans.
MGM still of Mario Lanza, circa 1950
Mario Lanza's birthplace, 636 Christian Street, Philadelphia - June 8, 2016, demolished July 2018
Lanza as Giuseppe Verdi's Otello
Tenor Richard Tucker (left) speaking with Lanza in 1958 at Tucker's Covent Garden debut