Albano Carrisi

{{Expand Italian|topic=bio|Al Bano|date=May 2023}}

{{Short description|Italian recording artist; singer and actor}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2015}}

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Al Bano

| image = Albano 2014.jpg

| caption = Al Bano in 2014

| birth_name = Albano Antonio Carrisi

| alias = Al Bano

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1943|05|20|df=yes}}

| origin = Cellino San Marco, Italy

| death_date =

| genre = Pop

| occupation = {{flatlist|

  • Singer
  • actor
  • winemaker

}}

| instrument = Tenor

| years_active = 1965–present

| label = {{flatlist|

| associated_acts = {{flatlist|

| website = {{URL|https://www.albanocarrisi.eu/}}

}}

Albano Antonio Carrisi ({{IPA|it|alˈbaːno karˈriːzi|lang}}; born 20 May 1943), better known as Al Bano, is an Italian singer and actor. Having sold over 25 million records globally and career spanning seven decades,{{Cite web|url=https://www.mauxa.com/news/2013-07-30-music-00010099-al-bano-carrisi-lagrono-con-25-milioni-di-dischi-venduti-convola-a-nozze-con-loredana-lecciso|title=Al Bano Carrisi: l'agronomo da 25 milioni di dischi venduti convola a nozze con Loredana Lecciso|date=30 July 2013 |work=mauxa.com}} he is one of the most recognisable Italian singers in the world. He has gained worldwide notability due to his four and a half octave vocal range{{Cite web|url=https://www.melodicamente.com/le-voci-delle-aquile-italiane-la-classifica-delle-voci-italiane-piu-alte-nella-musica/|title=Le Voci Delle Aquile Italiane|work=The Voice of the Italian Eagles|date=28 December 2017 }} as well as his personal and professional association with Romina Power, daughter of Hollywood actor Tyrone Power, lasting until the 1990s. Carrisi is acclaimed for singing with operatic affinity in pop, rock and italo disco repertoires with extensive head voice and minimal usage of falsetto vocal register.{{Cite web|url=https://www.italyonthisday.com/2017/05/albano-carrisi-singer.html|title=Albano Carrisi - singer|work=Italy On This Day}} {{as of|2023|post=,}} he has participated in 15 editions of the Sanremo Music Festival, tying the record for most participations with Anna Oxa, Milva, Peppino di Capri and Toto Cutugno; this includes a victory in 1984 duetting with Power. He additionally took part in the {{lang|it|Sanremo Giovani}} selection in 1965.{{cite web|url=https://www.lagazzettadelmezzogiorno.it/news/editoriali/1381517/al-bano-vi-racconto-i-miei-16-sanremo.amp|title=Al Bano: «Vi racconto i miei 16 Sanremo»|language=it|work=La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno|date=2023-02-07|access-date=2023-08-26}}

In 2016, he was awarded Albanian citizenship due to his close ties with the country and a forename referring to the land.{{Cite web|url=https://top-channel.tv/english/italian-singer-al-bano-receives-albanian-citizenship/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160813013210/http://top-channel.tv/lajme/english/artikull.php?id=17401|title=Italian singer Al Bano receives Albanian citizenship|archive-date=13 August 2016|website=top-channel.tv}}

Biography

He was born in the town of Cellino San Marco (province of Brindisi, Puglia in Southern Italy), where he still lives.

His mother Iolanda Ottino named him Albano because, when he was born, his father Carmelo Carrisi was fighting in Albania for the Royal Italian Army during World War II. He has one brother, Franco Carrisi (Kocis).

He made his debut in 1966 both as a singer, at the Festival delle Rose, and on television.

He won the Disco per l'Estate, an Italian song contest, with "Pensando a te" in 1968. He recorded some major hits such as "La siepe" and "Nel sole" at that time. "Nel sole" sold 600,000 copies in Italy within three months of release in 1967, and eventually over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc in July 1968.

{{cite book

| first= Joseph

| last= Murrells

| year= 1978

| title= The Book of Golden Discs

| edition= 2nd

| publisher= Barrie and Jenkins Ltd

| location= London

| page= [https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/215 215]

| isbn= 978-0-214-20512-5

| url-access= registration

| url= https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/215

}}

File:Eurovision Song Contest 1976 - Italy - Al Bano & Romina Power 2.jpg in 1976]]Soon afterwards, he started a musical collaboration with Romina Power (daughter of the American actor Tyrone Power), whom he married in 1970. After their marriage, they recorded "Storia di due innamorati". They sang as the duo Al Bano & Romina Power for almost thirty years; their work has been especially popular in Italy, Austria, France, Spain, Bulgaria, Romania, Greece and Germany. They released "Dialogo" in 1975 and took part in the Eurovision Song Contest 1976 with the song "We'll Live It All Again" ("Noi lo rivivremo di nuovo"). They sang "Sharazan" in 1981 and the following year they took part in the Sanremo Music Festival with the song "Felicità", which came second.{{cite web |url=http://www.sorrisi.com/musica/festival-di-sanremo-1982/ |title=Festival di Sanremo 1982 |date=27 January 2015 |publisher=www.sorrisi.com |access-date=2015-08-24 |language=it}} They won first prize in 1984 singing "Ci sarà" and again took part in the Eurovision Song Contest 1985 with "Magic Oh Magic". Both their Eurovision entries placed 7th.{{cite web |url=http://www.eurovision.tv/page/history/by-year/contest?event=292 |title=Eurovision Song Contest 1976 Year page |publisher=www.eurovision.tv |access-date=2015-08-10}}{{cite web |url=http://www.eurovision.tv/page/history/by-year/contest?event=301 |title=Eurovision Song Contest 1985 Year page |publisher=www.eurovision.tv |access-date=2015-08-10}} Other hits of 1987 include: "Nostalgia canaglia" (awarded 3rd prize at Festival di Sanremo '87) and "Libertà". Those successful songs were followed by "Cara terra mia", which came in third once more at the 1989 Sanremo Music Festival, and "Oggi sposi" which placed 8th at the 1991 Sanremo Music Festival.

Al Bano returned to his solo career in 1996 with "È la mia vita" which was followed by "Verso il sole" in 1997 and "Ancora in volo" in 1999 (that year, his duo – and his marriage – with Romina broke up). He also played in "Herşeye Rağmen" ("Nonetheless" in Turkish) music video of Sima (full name was Sima Sarıkaya), a Turkish singer in 1997.[http://www.izlesene.com/video/sima-herseye-ragmenekoc/524878 Music video of Sima] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110828151137/http://www.izlesene.com/video/sima-herseye-ragmenekoc/524878 |date=28 August 2011 }}. Izlesene.com. Retrieved on 26 July 2015. In 2000, Al Bano returned to the Eurovision stage, providing backing vocals for the Swiss entry (performed in Italian) "La vita cos'è?" performed by Jane Bogaert. This song placed 20th out of 24 in the contest. On 16 October 2001, Carrisi was nominated Goodwill Ambassador of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).{{cite web |url=http://www.fao.org/getinvolved/ambassadors/ambassadors/ambassadors-albanocarrisi/en/ |title=Al Bano Carrisi |date=16 October 2001 |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization |access-date=16 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091022140640/http://www.fao.org/getinvolved/ambassadors/ambassadors/ambassadors-albanocarrisi/en/ |archive-date=22 October 2009 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}

In 2005, he starred in the Italian reality show L'isola dei Famosi (Italian version of Celebrity Survivor) with his daughter, Romina Carrisi. Al Bano returned to Sanremo Music Festival in 2007, where he sang "Nel perdono" which came in second place.

Al Bano still tours all over the world. He is a constant on Italian television and has a large number of fans who follow his career very closely. To date Al Bano has sold 165 million albums around the world. Al Bano has visited Albania a number of times. He was there for a concert in 1989 and has been enjoying great popularity there.{{citation needed|date=September 2008}}

In June 2016 Al Bano was granted Albanian citizenship due to his close ties with the country and career successes in Albania.

In March 2019 Al Bano was included in the blacklist of the Ukrainian website "Myrotvorets" and the Ukrainian government banned him from entering Ukraine because of his support of the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea.{{Cite web|url=https://rep.repubblica.it/pwa/generale/2019/03/11/news/ucraina_mette_al_bando_al_bano_e_un_pericolo_pubblico_-221295826/|title=L'Ucraina mette al bando Al Bano: una "minaccia per la sicurezza nazionale"|date=2019-03-11|website=rep.repubblica.it}}[https://www.unian.info/politics/10475352-ukraine-blacklists-singer-al-bano-as-national-security-threat.html Ukraine blacklists singer Al Bano as national security threat], UNIAN (11 March 2019)

In April 2020 Al Bano released a dual-language song in Italian and English praising the natural beauty of Latvia. [https://open.spotify.com/album/62B8lHcbguQx4oP3HmaTO7?si=SpPHCwzzTPqLJEg4driFgw Terra d'Ambra e di Emozioni / Land of Amber] was written and composed by Charles Goodger with Italian lyrics by Alberto Zeppieri. The Latvian Tourist Board used it in a promotional video.

Opera

Al Bano grew up listening to opera for which he had a great passion. He has released several opera albums and is a tenor. In 1997, he released an opera solo album 1997 entitled Concerto Classico, which went double platinum in a short time. Songs he sang on that album include "Una furtiva lagrima", "Va, pensiero", "La nostra serenata", "E lucevan le stelle", and "Ave Maria".{{efn|It is unclear as to which version of "Ave Maria" this was, but the best-known ones are those by Bach/Gounod and by Schubert.}}

Filmography

class="wikitable"
Year

!Title

!Role

!Notes

1967

|Nel sole

|Carlo Carrera

|rowspan=9|Leading role

1968

|L'oro del mondo

|Carlo Carrera

rowspan=3|1969

|Il ragazzo che sorride

|Giorgio

Il suo nome è Donna Rosa

|Andrea

Pensando a te

|Carlo

rowspan=2|1970

|Mezzanotte d'amore

|Andrea

Angeli senza paradiso

|Franz Schubert

1984

|Champagne in paradiso

|Marco Allegri

1985

|I promessi sposi

|Renzo Tramaglino

rowspan=2|2016

|Poveri ma ricchi

|rowspan=2|Himself

|rowspan=2|Cameo appearance

Quo Vado?

Personal life

On 26 July 1970, Al Bano married Romina Power (daughter of the American actor Tyrone Power), who had already started to share her musical career with him, and remained his stage partner for about 30 years.

Carrisi and Power separated in 1999.{{cite web |last1=Celi |first1=Rita |title=Al Bano e Romina si separano |url=https://www.repubblica.it/online/sessi_stili/albano/albano/albano.html |publisher=La Repubblica |access-date=25 August 2021}} Their divorce was finalized in 2012.{{cite web |last1=Venegoni |first1=Arianna |title=Albano e Romina Power se la meritano una timeline con tutte le tappe della loro storia d'amore |date=February 3, 2020 |url=https://www.cosmopolitan.com/it/star/coppie-famose/a30655308/albano-e-romina-tutte-le-tappe-della-storia-damore/ |publisher=Cosmopolitan |access-date=25 August 2021}} They have a son, Yari (1973), and three daughters: Ylenia Maria (1970) (who went missing in New Orleans in 1994), Cristel Chiara (1985) (starred in the Reality TV show La Fattoria, an Italian version of The Farm) and Romina Iolanda (1987). He has one daughter and one son from girlfriend and showgirl Loredana Lecciso, Jasmine Caterina (2001) and Albano Giovanni (2002).

In the summer of 2013, Al Bano and Romina Power reunited, reportedly only on a professional basis and for one final time, for a concert performance in Moscow.[http://www.bild.de/unterhaltung/leute/al-bano/und-romina-power-versoehnung-nach-14-jahren-31405624.bild.html Bild.de: Al Bano and Romina Power: Reunion after 14 Years] (German). Retrieved 12 May 2013.[http://www.express.de/promi-show/-felicit---comeback-al-bano-und-romina-power-singen-wieder-zusammen,2186,23761030.html Express.de: Comeback: Al Bano and Romina Power Singing Together Once More] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212102054/http://www.express.de/promi-show/-felicit---comeback-al-bano-und-romina-power-singen-wieder-zusammen,2186,23761030.html |date=12 December 2013 }} (German). Retrieved 12 May 2013. They later performed as guests at the Sanremo Festival 2015. They also performed together in Atlantic City, USA, in April 2015, and following that, in Los Angeles.

On 30 May 2015, Al Bano produced a show at the Arena di Verona, before a sold-out audience of 11,000, in which he starred with Romina Power. The show, featuring Tyrone Power Jr. and other special guests was transmitted by the Italian national TV network RAI, and was watched in over eight countries by 51,000,000 viewers around the globe, a 37 ratings share.[http://www.creativeanddreamsmusicnetwork.com/romina-power#.VYTczPlViko Romina Power – A Message Now Available from]. Creative and Dreams Music Network (30 May 2015). Retrieved on 2015-07-26.

See also

Notes

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References

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