Fiorella Mannoia


Fiorella Mannoia is an Italian singer and actress.

Biography

The Beginning

Fiorella Mannoia's father Luigi was an Italian film stuntman, and Fiorella, her brother Maurizio and sister Patrizia began work in this area as children. Fiorella Mannoia's first film role as stuntwoman was at the age of 13 in the film Non cantare, spara! . She often acted as a stand-in for Monica Vitti, e.g., in Amore mio aiutami, and was also a stand-in for Candice Bergen in The Hunting Party. She debuted in the world of music at the Castrocaro Music Festival in 1968, singing Un bambino sul leone by Adriano Celentano. Although she didn't win, she obtained a record contract with Carisch, with whom she recorded her first 45, Ho saputo che partivi, which had on the B-side Le ciliegie, written by the young guitarist :it:Riccardo Zappa|Riccardo Zappa.
In the Spring of 1968, she participated in Un disco per l'estate, a Summer song festival broadcast on RAI, with the song Gente qua, gente là, the music for which was written by Bruno De Filippi, while the lyrics were written by her producer, Alberto Testa. Her third 45 featured Mi piace quel ragazzo lì, whose text is dedicated to Adriano Celentano, with Occhi negli occhi on the B-side, reused from the previous record. These discs, while still being influenced by certain "beat" sounds, presented evidence of Mannoia's vocal qualities, although they did not sell well. The tracks are available on the collection I primi passi, containing songs by Fiorella Mannoia and Carla Bissi, published by On Sale Music.
In 1970 she got to know the singer and guitarist Memmo Foresi, who had put out some 45s as a solo act and with whom she formed a relationship. After signing a contract with the label :it:It |It founded by Vincenzo Micocci, in 1971 she cut a 45 of a song written by Enzo Perrotti and a Foresi track on the B-side; this too went unnoticed.
The next year, the collaboration with Memmo Foresi led to the release of the album :it:Mannoia Foresi & co.|Mannoia Foresi & co. for :it:RCA Italiana|RCA Italy. The track Ma quale sentimento was retitled Prologo for release as a single. In 1974, her new single Ninna nanna was censored because of the lyrics by Marco Luberti, which were considered too raw. Fiorella Mannoia then decided to leave RCA and go to the label :it:Dischi Ricordi|Ricordi, with whom she released three 45s, Piccolo, Tu amore mio and Scaldami.
In the early 70s, she had minor roles in the spaghetti Westerns Un colt in mano del diavolo , E il terzo giorno arrivò il corvo and Sei bounty killers per una strage .

Sanremo Music Festival

On leaving the label :it:Dischi Ricordi|Ricordi, Mannoia signed with :it:CGD - Compagnia Generale del Disco|CGD. Her first recording for the new label was not for a record of her own but for an album by :it:Pierangelo Bertoli|Pierangelo Bertoli, entitled Certi momenti. She sang a duet with :it:Pierangelo Bertoli|Bertoli on Pescatore and the great success of this single, and of the album, also helped to make her name known.
In 1981, she performed at the Sanremo Music Festival with Caffè nero bollente, which made her widely known in Italy. That year she also had a moderate hit with E muoviti un po' , written by the Torinese singer-songwriter :it:Valerio Liboni|Valerio Liboni, with whom she took part in :it:Festivalbar|Festivalbar. She continued recording albums and 45s produced by :it:Mario Lavezzi|Mario Lavezzi. She again changed record companies, moving to :it:Dischi Ariston|Ariston.
She entered the Sanremo Music Festival once more in 1984 with Come si cambia, written by :it:Renato Pareti|Renato Pareti, which had a certain amount of sales success. She won the final of the television miniseries La Premiatissima '84 with the song Margherita by Riccardo Cocciante. In 1985, L'aiuola was a big hit for her and the album Premiatissima '84, which included Margherita, was released.

Success

Great success came when she changed labels to :it:DDD - La Drogueria di Drugolo|DDD and subsequently won the Critic's Prize at the Sanremo Music Festival for two years in a row. In 1987, she won with Quello che le donne non-dicono, her first number one hit, written specifically for her by Enrico Ruggeri and :it:Luigi Schiavone|Luigi Schiavone. She won again in 1988 with Le notti di maggio, written by :it:Ivano Fossati|Ivano Fossati. In 1988, the album Canzoni per parlare was released, which included these and other songs by leading Italian songwriters, including Ron and Riccardo Cocciante. This was also her first record produced by the musical director and guitarist :it:Piero Fabrizi|Piero Fabrizi, who has played an important role in all of her subsequent work.
The album Di terra e di vento, on which she collaborated for the first time with Francesco De Gregori, was released in 1989. This album also contains an Italian version of the song O Que Será by the great Brazilian singer-songwriter Chico Buarque de Hollanda, sung as a duet with Ivano Fossati, who also translated the lyrics from Portuguese.
In 1992, Fiorella Mannoia released the pivotal album I treni a vapore, which, as well as the title track by Ivano Fossati, also contains the popular tracks Il cielo d'Irlanda by :it:Massimo Bubola|Massimo Bubola, Tutti cercano qualcosa by Francesco De Gregori and Inevitabilmente by Enrico Ruggeri and :it:Luigi Schiavone|Luigi Schiavone, which was used on the soundtrack of the film Caro diario by Nanni Moretti.
Her next album Gente comune was released in 1994. Highlights include the songs Crazy Boy, written for her by Samuele Bersani and :it:Piero Fabrizi|Piero Fabrizi, Il culo del mondo written by the Brazilian singer-songwriter Caetano Veloso, who sang with her on this number, and Giovanna d'Arco , written for her by Francesco de Gregori.
On Belle speranze she collaborated with younger songwriters including :it:Daniele Silvestri|Daniele Silvestri and :it:Gianmaria Testa|Gianmaria Testa. This album also contained the ironic Non sono un cantautore written by :it:Piero Fabrizi|Piero Fabrizi. Certe piccole voci, the first live album of her career, contained the Vasco Rossi song Sally, one of her most popular numbers. This double CD was a huge hit in Italy, reaching number one a couple of months after release, and, ultimately, double platinum status.

2000s

In 2000, Fiorella Mannoia was invited to the 50th Festival of Sanremo as Italian Super Host.
During the early to mid-2000s, she did a lot of touring, initially with Pino Daniele, Francesco De Gregori and Ron, and more recently solo. After the studio album Fragile , Fiorella Mannoia released the live album In tour with Daniele, De Gregori and Ron. Returning to her cinema roots, she played a cameo role in the film Prima dammi un bacio , a romantic comedy written and directed by :it:Ambrogio Lo Giudice|Ambrogio Lo Giudice. In 2003, she dueted with Niccolò Fabi, recording the song "Offeso", included in his album La cura del tempo.
In 2004, the solo live album Concerti was released, together with Due anni di concerti, a DVD recorded at the visually stunning Teatro Valli di Reggio Emilia. In 2005, she sang three songs at the Live 8 concert, Rome: Sally, Clandestino, and Mio fratello che guarda il mondo, written by Ivano Fossati.
, Cremona 11 December 2017.
During her career, Fiorella Mannoia has won the prestigious :it:Targa Tenco|Targa Tenco for Italian singers five times. She is the only performer to have won the :it:Targa Tenco|Targa Tenco in this category more than once.
On 2 June 2005 the President of Italy, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, conferred on Fiorella Mannoia the rank of Ufficiale in the Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana.
In 2006 she released the single Cravo e canela, written by Milton Nascimento and :pt:Ronaldo Bastos|Ronaldo Bastos. This was followed by the album Onda tropicale, from which the single was taken. The tracks on the album, six translated into Italian by :it:Piero Fabrizi|Piero Fabrizi and five in the original Portuguese, are all from the rich carioca repertoire of Brazil. All of the tracks are duets with well-known Brazilian artists. This was the first time anyone had succeeded in bringing all these important Brazilian artists together in a single project. Her longtime collaborator :it:Piero Fabrizi|Piero Fabrizi, guitarist, musical director, arranger and songwriter, again played an important role on this album.
Fiorella Mannoia has also devoted herself to social issues, lending her attention to subjects such as abortion and divorce, and has also expressed her solidarity with the aid association Emergency.
During her career, Fiorella Mannoia has sung in a number of languages including French, Spanish, Portuguese and English, as well as Neapolitan and her native Italian.

Discography

45 rpm

Prizes