She passed away tonight at the age of 91, singer Ornella Vanoni, one of the most enduring and recognizable figures in Italian music. Born in Milan in 1934, she had trained at the Piccolo Teatro, under the direction of Giorgio Strehler, in an environment where discipline, rigor and attention to words formed the basis of daily work. Vanoni entered the acting school with the intention of devoting herself to theater, but it was Strehler who directed her toward singing, sensing its expressive potential. This apparently lateral passage becomes the starting point of a career that will develop outside the traditional patterns of Italian popular song.
It was in the 1960s that the performer gained public attention through the so-called “canzone della mala,” a repertoire composed of ballads linked to life in the Milanese suburbs, to marginal figures and stories of petty crime. Vanoni tackles them with a sober, almost detached vocal structure, far removed from the melodramatic rhetoric prevalent at the time. This register, shaped by the theatrical school, allows her to immediately distinguish herself and define a clear artistic identity. The songs of the mala, arranged with essentiality, highlight the precision of diction, the control of volumes, and the ability to create a narrative climate without resorting to expressive excesses.
The next phase coincides with the expansion of the repertoire and entry into songwriting. Decisive is the meeting with Gino Paoli, with whom a personal and professional bond is born that is destined to leave deep traces in the production of the time. Paoli composed songs for her that enhanced her way of interpreting, entrusted more to subtle nuances than to spectacular vocal solutions. The collaborations of those years put her on the circuit of musicians and arrangers who were redefining Italian song under the banner of lyrical care and harmonic research, thus expanding the range of her expressive possibilities.
During the 1970s Vanoni consolidated her position through a series of albums that reflected a gradual opening toward more modern sounds. She collaborated with arrangers such as Sergio Bardotti and worked with musicians from thejazz area, experimenting with forms that allowed her to interpret even very different songs without losing her own identity. In this decade the artist defines a sober and controlled public image: an essential stage presence, far from the construction of spectacular characters or figures, relying on minimal gestures and a calibrated use of the voice.
At the same time, she opened up to television and film, often in short but focused roles that help make her a familiar face without turning her into a constant presence on the small screen. Participations in the Sanremo Festival, spread along several generations, mark important stages in her career. Although not a podium artist, Vanoni uses the Sanremo stage as a space of continuity with the public, choosing songs that reflect her path rather than chasing the trends of the moment. This consistency becomes over time one of the distinctive elements of her artistic profile.
The 1980s and 1990s are characterized by constant activity but less media exposure than in previous decades. Vanoni releases albums, participates in touring, collaborates with new songwriters and confronts changing musical languages. As the record market moves toward faster consumption models and television profoundly changes the figure of the popular singer, she continues to practice an approach based on interpretation, maintaining a balance between tradition and updating. This period also saw an intensification of her relationship with a cross-section of audiences, consisting of both historic listeners and new generations attracted by her understated presence and established repertoire.
With the arrival of the 2000s Vanoni reorganizes her public image. Onstage activities are joined by a more regular participation in television programs, often characterized by a direct tone and an irony that becomes an integral part of her personal narrative. This spontaneity contributes to further humanizing the figure of the artist and placing her in a media landscape that tends to favor authenticity over the construction of formal roles. At the same time, record production continues, with albums alternating between new songs, reinterpretations and special projects.
The long duration of her career, developed through more than six decades, has not been based on radical reinventions but on progressive adaptability. Vanoni traversed epochs, changes in taste and technological shifts while maintaining an underlying consistency that concerned above all her relationship with the word and with the audience. Her figure, in this sense, represents a particularly significant case in the history of Italian song: not a model of continuous transformation, but an example of interpretive stability.
Today Ornella Vanoni is recognized as one of the historical interpreters of Italian music. Her path, marked by a constant but never invasive presence, has helped define an idea of song in which the voice is not only a musical instrument, but a narrative vehicle. Her artistic longevity, supported by a wide repertoire and a balanced public personality, places her among the figures who have accompanied the evolution of Italian popular culture without yielding to the ephemeral logic of the market. A role consolidated over time, built through a continuity that remains the most recognizable feature of her professional history.
“With the passing of Ornella Vanoni,” said Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli. “Italy loses one of its most original and refined artists. With her unique voice, and unparalleled interpretative ability, she wrote important pages in the history of Italian song, theater and entertainment. On behalf of myself and the Ministry of Culture, I express my condolences and sympathy to her family.”
|
|
| Farewell to Ornella Vanoni. One of Italy's greatest singers passes away at age 91 |
Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.
