Singers From Italy

"I love Adriano very much. I love and respect him. And he still makes me laugh. No one can speak ill of Adriano. He is deeply good, honest and consistent."

"I would abolish all those fake, phoney do-gooder programmes that are mainly broadcast in the afternoon. I would work to bring back children's television. Then I would eliminate those programmes where you can win lots of money just by opening a package or making a phone call."

"Sanremo is never completely independent. Otherwise, certain appearances and certain exclusions cannot be justified. And it does not represent Italian music."

"(About Rino Gaetano) His biography is emblematic, beautiful, interesting to tell. Everything about him deserves attention. Even the car accident that caused his death."

"It's easy to crucify people. We all know that drugs are bad. Even those who use them know it. But since so many people take drugs, we have to ask ourselves whether it is society that is creating the problem. Apart from what he said about cocaine, which I don't agree with even if it refers to the past, I appreciated Morgan's comments about hypocritical and evil society. I don't take drugs and I agree with him. And you can't condemn someone who said something in a moment of weakness. I don't think there are more drug addicts in this world than in others. However, the world of artists is easier to target. Artists have no power. In fact, they have the power to hurt themselves."

"(About the song Ma il cielo è sempre più blu) I had had this subject in mind for some time. I knew Rino Gaetano well because, as a young girl, I was friends with his sister Anna, and we used to hang out together in Rome. I liked his music and I liked him, a deeply intelligent young man. His is the story of a modern-day hero, as relevant today as his songs are. Stories about young people are rarely told on television: this one aims to be just that."

"If the Choice is to repudiate the brunt, no storm in the world can stop us. The graph varies generation and culture-wise. For Gen Z and millennial females, the school of thought lies in Women Empowerment."

"The popularity is shocking, as was the [Sanremo] festival with its circus."

"I sang with the simplicity of a sixteen-year-old girl whose mind is uncluttered by prejudices. I never had any, I'm not a conformist."

"[On Domenico Modugno] He got really angry when I won [the Sanremo Festival] with "Non ho l'età" in 1964. He went there to win, not to participate. When he wrote "Dio, come ti amo" (Dio, come ti amo), he thought about pairing with me ("that way I'd neutralize her"). It worked, despite the sabotage from the record companies."

"[On joining the Radical Party] I joined not so much out of organic membership, but in response to a plea from the Radical Party, which was struggling to survive. I did it out of gratitude. I didn't vote for them; I was a socialist. I did it so that a party that had brought divorce and abortion to Italians wouldn't die."

"Music has always been an integral part since childhood. I’d love engaging with anything belonging to that genre of art, and especially with singing."

"[On her mother's influence] She (Lorna Castelino) has played a pivotal role in every developmental phase that I’ve ever been through. Educational, emotional, psycho-social, and in every sense. I can keep enumerating only to add more. My father (Joseph Castelino) and she have been my pillars of support and guidance, throughout."

"Operatic music is a dominant component, but there’s a broader musical spectrum in Italy. There’s so much you can learn from everybody (it shouldn’t necessarily be a celebrity musician), that I find it really difficult to name someone in particular and overshadow the rest."

"My ancestors have kept our cultural and religious traditions alive over the generations."

"Cultural descent plays a vital role in the display of every art form. Music is one such element that cannot escape this embodiment."

"Be the ambassador of your art and take pride in your work. Women today are at the forefront of their craft, the trend is changing across every sector and that’s indeed so inspiring."

"My cultural roots have played a crucial role on my comprehensive perspective, not just artistic-wise. Since we’re talking about the influence of roots on music here, I’d like to mention Sicilian melodies that are hauntingly beautiful and its folk music delivering raw emotions stemming from everyday experiences. My inclination for it is quite obvious as it is innate. Religious music in the form of hymns, chants and a capellas have built the foundation of my music sense as a child. Heritage will be apparent in my English-language recordings that are scheduled for future release."

"I eat less meat now, also out of respect for animals. Let's say I eat the essentials. Because, after all, we can't just eat fruit and vegetables; we need meat too, if we want to stay healthy."

"I was the ye ye girl with the miniskirt, at 22 I was already famous, but I wanted to change and I transformed myself into a fifty-year-old woman to sing the authors I loved, like Brel who later became my friend, or Ferré who was like a brother."

"I wouldn't have even participated in Canzonissima and other similar events if I hadn't been forced by a contract. I don't sing songs destined to win."

"This year, more than the Sanremo Festival, it's a record for the summer because everyone brought songs with choruses, which are very catchy."

"Some trap lyrics are unspeakable, unlistenable, but we have to try to understand why these young people are saying these things."

"Talent? It’s not enough for fame."

"It’s hard to start from yourself and say: ‘Well, this is who I am, and this is my path’... Talent alone is not enough. You need character, reliability, humility, and courage."

"It contains a very important line: 'you die a little in order to live.'"

"When you have faith, you can endure suffering. There are some sufferings that have no name, that you can't describe or justify, but when you believe in God, you no longer ask why me and not someone else. And that is a great achievement."

"To be able to interpret a piece, I have to fall in love with it. First and foremost, it must fill me with emotion so that I may do the same for those listening to it, even when I’m not composing the music or the lyrics, if I accept to sing a piece, it is because it reaches my heart and at that point it becomes a part of me, it’s my own."

"I have always found poetry and beauty in the church attributing central stage to a female presence who works on our behalf. I am a devotee of the Virgin to whom I always dedicate part of my prayers."

"Art possesses the formidable tool of . Take, for instance, theatre. Theatre, by convention, agrees to be fake; thanks to this convention, which is innocuous, it can tell the truth. Art can tell the truth, because it is a transfigured language which doesn’t claim to possess divine truth; with its ability to transform relationships, it can address even the most terrible issues, exploring them without being destroyed by them. But artists have to be conscious of their role."

"I don’t want to stay in a place that calls itself a Jewish community but is the propaganda office of a government. I am against those who want to ‘Israelianize’ Judaism."

"@JimmyBennett love you for life my Jimmy. You know I've been testing 9 years old lately but unfortunately ain't nobody like you sonny."

"I got to know Asia Argento ten months ago. Our commonality is the shared pain of being assaulted by Harvey Weinstein."

"Impressionism is at the root of all modern art, because it was the first movement that managed to free itself from preconceived ideas, and because it changed not only the way life was depicted but the way life was seen."

"Non mancano pretesti quando si vuole."

"Muore per metà chi lascia un' immagine di se stesso nei figli."

"Un viaggiatore prudente non disprezza mai il suo paese."

"Il mondo è un bel libro, ma poco serve a chi non lo sa leggere."

"Chi non esce dal suo paese, vive pieno di pregiudizi."

"Chi parla troppo non può parlar sempre bene."

"Bello è il rossore, ma è incommodo qualche volta."

"Chi ben commincia è alia meta dell' opra."

"I think an important quality that I have is that if you turn on the radio and hear somebody sing, you know it's me. You don't confuse my voice with another voice."

"The whole world will be listening today to his voice on every radio and television station, and that will continue. And that is his legacy. He will never stop,"

"Pavarotti made a profound contribution not only to music and the arts, but also to people in need around the world. His work for children — particularly those affected by armed conflict — stretched from Afghanistan to Liberia and beyond. By staging concerts and marshaling talented friends to help raise funds, he generated millions of dollars for humanitarian aid."

"I had the pleasure of not only performing for him in tribute, but performing in his stead at the Grammy Awards in 1998, singing 'Nessun Dorma.' I had one magnificent and absolute and defining moment when he came to the stage to thank me for my performance. The world has lost one of the greatest voices of all time."

"I always admired the God-given glory of his voice — that unmistakable special timbre from the bottom up to the very top of the tenor range. … I also loved his wonderful sense of humor."

"He was always helpful to me, supporting me in my very difficult moments as well, due also to a severe illness. He was very close to me, he was calling me quite often and giving me a lot of support and putting me in the right spirit."

"Some can sing opera, Luciano Pavarotti was an opera. No one could inhabit those acrobatic melodies and words like him. He lived the songs, his opera was a great mash of joy and sadness; surreal and earthy at the same time; a great volcano of a man who sang fire but spilled over with a love of life in all its complexity, a great and generous friend. … I spoke to him last week... the voice that was louder than any rock band was a whisper. Still he communicated his love. Full of love. That's what people don't understand about Luciano Pavarotti. Even when the voice was dimmed in power, his interpretive skills left him a giant among a few tall men."

"Nothing that has happened has made me feel gloomy or remain depressed. I love my life."