Let's start our tour through Italian music!

"Viva Verdi"

Italy boasts experience in various kinds of music: classical, jazz, rock, pop to name just a few. As we can't examine all of them, we have decided to focus on classical music and pop music.

CLASSICAL MUSIC

The XIX century was the time of the Italian Opera season, which had as main characters Gioacchino Rossini, Vincenzo Bellini, Gaetano Donizetti, Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) and Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924). The Italian Opera tradition enhanced the role of singing that became pure expression of the soul. During the century it absorbed aspects of the French Opera which highlighted appearances and the esthetics of Naturalism. At the beginning the orchestra simply accompanied the singing voices, but, with Puccini, it became a symphony orchestra.

GIUSEPPE VERDI

Giuseppe Verdi was born on 10th October 1813, in Busseto (Parma). In 1839 he composed his first melodrama, called "Oberto conte di San Bonifacio" that was performed at the "Scala" in Milan. Verdi's music conveyed the ideals of the Italian Risorgimento. He started to compose his masterpieces "Rigoletto", "Il Trovatore" and "La Traviata" between 1851 and 1853. Other important operas are "Aida" and "Otello". Verdi died in Milan on 27th January 1901 .

NABUCCO

"Nabucco" was Verdi's first success. The story is drawn from the Old Testament and is about the invasion of Giuda's reign by the Babylonians around 586 b.C. The story takes place in Jerusalem and in Babylon, where the Jews were deported as slaves. The tragedy ends with the conversion of Nabucco, that liberates the Jews from slavery. The most famous tune is "Va pensiero" that is widely known and sung as to be considered a possible substitute for our national anthem.

GIACOMO PUCCINI

Giacomo Puccini was born in Lucca in 1858 into a family of musicians. His first opera was "Manon Lescaut". After that he composed "Bohème", which was really important because facts of everyday life were brought on stage. Other famous works are "Tosca", "Madama Butterfly", "La fanciulla del West" and "Turandot", that wasn't finished because of his death in Bruxelles in 1924.

MADAMA BUTTERFLY

This opera tells the story of a Japanese girl, Madama Butterfly, who marries a U.S. Navy official called Pinkerton who leaves after having married her and had a child. He returns to America to marry a fellow countrywoman. Madama Butterfly will wait for her beloved husband all her life and when he comes back with his new wife to reclaim his child, Madama Butterfly commits suicide.

POP MUSIC

The advent of the Italian song, based on vocal melody and instrumental accompaniment, corresponds to the period of our political unity, namely the second half of the XIX century, when Ruggero Leoncavallo together with Francesco Paolo Tosti wrote lyrics to be sung. The experience of the Parisian Café Concert spread also in Italy with the opening of "Salone Margherita" in 1890. Our country also witnessed the development of music-hall and operetta.

SANREMO SONG FESTIVAL

Sanremo Festival was born in 1951 and it was a stepping stone for pop music in Italy. Nilla Pizzi won the first edition of this national festival with her song "Grazie dei fiori". In the edition of 1958 Domenico Modugno sang "Nel blu dipinto di blu", thus changing pop music in our country. Around the end of the decade, under the influence of American black music, Tony Dallara made his debut with "Come prima". Then it was Little Tony's and Giorgio Gaber's turn. In the same years three very important Italian singers, Mina, Gianni Morandi and Adriano Celentano, started their careers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-DVi0ugelc

ITALIAN SONGWRITERS

The first Italian songwriters' school developed in Genova. It wanted to be different from rock'n'roll and very close to French singers.Gino Paoli, Fabrizio De André, Bruno Lauzi and Paolo Conte, who are all from Genoa, belong to this tradition. Famous songwriters in Lombardy were/are Umberto Bindi, Enzo Jannacci and Giorgio Gaber. Whereas the singers who met at the famous club "Piper" in Rome were influeced by the British beat. Among them, Patty Pravo, Caterina Caselli and the so-called "Piper's guys" such as Renato Zero, Loredana Berté and Mia Martini. The careers of the bands Equipe 84, Dik Dik, Giganti, Camaleonti and Nomadi started on the radio, thanks to a popular programme called "Bandiera Gialla". Meanwhile Lucio Battisti, who wrote his songs with Mogol, came successfully on the music scene.

THE NEW ITALIAN MUSIC

In the '90s several record companies gave birth to lots of independent projects. Claudio Baglioni and Renato Zero are still famous as melodic singers, while in most recent years Sanremo festival contributed to the success of Eros Ramazzotti, Giorgia and Laura Pausini.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_WyCOGZjbM

Written by: Eliana Castellano, Angela Ongarini, Veronica Vezzoli.