SASSUOLO. 40 years after the birth of “Hard-nosed” and 20 years after the passing of Pierangelo Bertoli, Rita Pavoneone of the most esteemed singers in Italy and abroad who, with her 60-year career, has made the history of the musical and television scene, surprisingly returns to the stage. Sunday 12 Januaryat 5pm it will be at Carani theater in Sassuoloafter a long absence with an unpublished musical talk entitled: “Hard-nosed. One foot in the past and one look into the future.”
First the show on Rai Uno
The Sassuolo show was initially scheduled for this evening (Saturday 11 January), but Rita asked to be able to postpone it due to her participation in the television show which debuts in prime time on Rai Uno “Now or never” hosted by Marco Liorni. This is the show in which 8 singers, protagonists of musical successes as intense as they are short, get back into the game to compete for victory in front of a large television audience, supported by as many coaches, chosen from among the protagonists in the history of Italian pop music. The show will be broadcast until March 1st (with a break during the Sanremo week). The eight contestants are: Antonella Buccistage name of Antonietta Buccigrossi; Carlottastage name of Carla Quadraccia; Pierdavide Carone; Loredana Error; Anonymous Italianpseudonym of Roberto Scozzi; Payborn Pacifico Settembre; Matteo Amantia e Valerio Scanu. The eight coaches will be: Alex Britti, Gigliola Cinquetti, Riccardo Fogli, Marco Masini, Rita Pavone, Patty Right, Raf, Donatella Rector.
The show in Sassuolo
A project in which the artist explores the key stages of his career through acoustic reinterpretations of his own songs, curated by Riccardo Bertuzzi on guitar and Fabio Gangi on piano. But accompanying Pavone on stage will also be Carlo Massarini, journalist and music critic, who with his cult programs has made the history of Italian radio and TV.
Rita Pavone once again surprised everyone.
«I love, I love getting involved! I like to surprise the audience, give them songs that they have loved and expect to hear, but alternating them with others that they would never expect to hear me perform.”
Why did you choose a phrase from a song by Pierangelo Bertoli as the title of your new show?
«Thinking about a title to assign to these live shows, the famous song by the great Bertoli flashed through my head which is the synthesis of everything I have in mind to do: “One foot in the past and the gaze straight and open into the future ”. This will happen in my lives. This year I turn 80 but I feel full of energy and on the stage I feel like I still have a lot to say. In part the show will also be a tribute to the great singer-songwriter from Sassuolo.”
By the way, what effect does going on stage in Sassuolo, a few meters from your home, have on you?
«Well, I’m very happy and deeply excited. I never met Pierangelo in person, but I always appreciated him. Instead, I meet his son Alberto, who I can’t wait to hug. I want to thank him and my mother because they allowed me to use the phrase from one of the most famous songs by the Sassuolo singer-songwriter in my show. Then frankly, I am also very happy to return to Emilia, a land that I love and a land where I achieved my first great successes when they invited me to sing in dance halls or at the Unity Festival.”
Tell us a secret: but where do you find all this energy?
«I have always found it within me because I have been doing what I love since the age of 17. When someone says to me “Rita, but who is going towards 80 who makes you still work at this pace”, I laugh, because I still have energy to spare and infinite things to say. After all, I’m not the only one, there are many artists who continue to work despite their age, look at the great Tom Jones for example, he always says that he doesn’t care about age. He only cares about music and continuing to make it.”
For a period of her life, however, she stopped.
«Yes, it’s true. It was Renato Zero who convinced me to go back to singing. I stopped doing it because the songs they offered me weren’t up my alley. He, who had been one of my dancers in the song “Il geghegè”, told me “You have to come back”. I replied: “I haven’t sung for 8 years, I talk about it with my children”. But Renato said that singing is like riding a bicycle. I accepted. I like singing too much, I have fun, it gives me joy.”
What do you think about contemporary music and artists?
«There is music and music. There are very good emerging artists, see Elodie for example or Rose Villain. Then there are established artists like Arisa who I think are wonderful. But don’t tell me about music produced with autotune. That’s not music. Then how can you put those who ultimately speak in the singers category… let them be actors then! Let’s not joke please, music is something else entirely. We need respect for what we define as music.”
So what advice would you give to a young person who wants to pursue a musical career today?
«I would advise him to study but above all to listen to music, of all genres and eras. You can’t make music and not have listened to all of David Bowie or George Michael or the Beatles, for example or… I could stay here for hours listing what you need to have listened to to make music. Starting from classical music. But forget about auto-tune and trap!
Is there anything that new generations of musicians have available that you didn’t have?
«Well, definitely social media. However, without social media I have been lucky enough to climb the charts all over the world. Every now and then I think about what could have happened if there had been social media at that time. Then I say it to myself: “Rita, you’re really a Boomer!” (laughs heartily).”
Future projects?
«Immediately I am a juror in a television program already broadcast from this Saturday entitled “Now or never” which returns to Rai1. I agreed to participate in this program because I find it an excellent format, which sees 8 artists competing who “ended up on the outskirts” such as Valerio Scanu, Carlotta and many others, offering them the opportunity to return to the limelight.”
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