Milva

Milva OMRI
Milva at a theatre presentation of La variante di Lüneburg (2009)
Background information
Birth name	Maria Ilva Biolcati
Also known as	Milva La Rossa, Grande Milva, La Pantera di Goro
Born	(1949-07-17) July 17, 1949 Goro, Emilia–Romagna, Italy
Genres	Pop, schlager, tango, nuevo tango, chanson, easy listening, opera, rock
Occupations	Singer, actress, TV personality
Years active	1959–present
Labels	Fonit Cetra, Ricordi, Metronome, BMG Ricordi, BMG Ariola, BMG
Associated acts	Ástor Piazzolla, Ennio Morricone, Thanos Mikroutsikos, Mikis Theodorakis, James Last, Enzo Jannacci, Luciano Berio, Franco Battiato, Francis Lai, Shinji Tanimura, Vangelis
Website	www.MilvaLaRossa.com

Maria Ilva Biolcati Commander OMRI (Italian pronunciation: [maˈriːa ilˈva bjolˈkaːti]; born July 17, 1949), known as Milva, is an Italian singer, stage, and film actress and television personality. She is also known as 'La Rossa', (Italian for 'The Red'), due to the colour of her hair, and additionally as the 'Panther of Goro', which stems from the Italian press having nicknamed the three most popular Italian female singers of the 1960s, combining the names of animals and the singers' birth places. Popular in Italy and abroad, she has triumphed on musical and theatrical stages the world over, and has received popular acclaim in her native Italy, and particularly in Germany where she has often participated in musical events and televised musical programmes. She has also released numerous successful albums in France, Japan, Korea, Greece, Spain and South America. ^{[citation needed]}

Having received enormous success both in Italy and internationally, she remains to this day one of the most popular Italian personalities in the fields of music and theatre. Her artistic stature has been officially recognised by the Italian, German and French republics, each of which have bestowed her with the highest honours. She is the only Italian artist in contemporary times, in fact, who is simultaneously: Chevalier of the National Order of the Legion of Honour of the French Republic (Paris, 11 September 2009), Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (Rome, 2 June 2007), Officer of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Berlin, 2006 and Officier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Paris, 1995).

Biography

Early life and career beginnings

Maria Ilva Biolcati was born in Goro, province of Ferrara, Italy. In 1959, she won a contest for new voices, and was named the overall winner from more than seven thousand six hundred participants. In 1960 she recorded her first 7" single with Cetra Records: Édith Piaf's song "Milord". Her real debut was on the stage of the Sanremo Music Festival in 1961, where she took third place. She has competed at the Festival a total of 15 times, the last time of which was in 2007. The highest position she has reached is second place in 1962, but she has never won to date. ^{[citation needed]}

In 1965, a fortunate meeting led to a definitive change in her career: Italian director Giorgio Strehler helped to develop her skills in staging and singing in Italian theatres (especially the Piccolo Teatro in Milan) and she began to perform a more committed repertoire (songs of the Italian resistance movement, songs from Bertolt Brecht's pieces, etc.). In the following years she starred in Giorgio Strehler's production of Brecht's The Threepenny Opera which was performed in several cities of Western Europe. Milva's albums were certificated gold and platinum in West Germany. In 2006 she was awarded with the First Class of the Bundesverdienstkreuz^[1]

In 1962 Milva was the first singer to sing Édith Piaf's repertoire at the prestigious Olympia theatre in Paris. In 1983 she performed the repertoire at the venue again and again received an ovation from the audience and the French press, very surprised how a non-French artist could interpret with such a feeling and energy the songs of Piaf.

A highly eclectic artist, she performs pop music, opera (in duet with Luciano Berio), comedy, drama, TV shows (Al Paradise in 1983 won the Rose d'Or of the Montreux Film Festival) and musicals. She also occasionally appeared in some Italian movies of the 1960s, like La bellezza di Ippolita with Gina Lollobrigida. From 1973 to 1980, Milva is on tour (Italy, USA, Greece, France, Germany, Canada, Russia and Japan) with the band "I Milvi" composed by Neno Vinciguerra on piano, Franco Paganelli on guitar, Claudio Barontini on bass, Giovanni Martelli on drums and Marco Gasperetti on flute. The entire band becomes Livorno "Black and Withe" when in concert joins the gospels of the New Folkstudio Singer composed Lois Cantor, Hazel Rogers Nat Bush, Eddie and Jesse Hawkins. ^{[citation needed]}

She has collaborated with such European composers and musicians as Ennio Morricone in 1965, Francis Lai in 1973, Mikis Theodorakis in 1978 (Was ich denke became a best selling album in Germany), Enzo Jannacci in 1980, Vangelis in 1981 and 1986, Franco Battiato in 1982 and 1986.

Her stage productions of Bertolt Brecht's recitals and Luciano Berio's operas have toured the world's theatres. She has performed at La Scala in Milan, at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin, at the Paris Opera, in the Royal Albert Hall in London, at the 1984 Summer Olympics, at the Edinburgh Festival, and others. In 1984 she performed (with Ástor Piazzolla) the show El tango in the Les Bouffes du Nord Theatre in Paris. This was the beginning of a collaboration with Ástor Piazzolla, interpreting the nuevo tango. ^{[citation needed]}

In 1997 her mentor Giorgio Strehler died. She temporarily reduced her theatre activities and focused on music only. She received new inspiration collaborating with Thanos Mikroutsikos, James Last and Shinji Tanimura. Then she performed her fourteenth tour in Japan. In 1998, she sang with Alexia Vassiliou on Alexia's album, Alexia - Mikis Theodorakis, a double album with new approaches to 26 Mikis Theodorakis compositions. ^{[citation needed]}

Personal life

Milva has a daughter, Martina, born during her marriage to Maurizio Corgnati in the early 1960s. Born July 17, 1939

Discography

• See main article List of Milva songs for a complete international listing of all Milva's songs.

Albums

Studio albums

Live albums

• Milva / Villa — Concert in Japan (1968)
• Milva on Stage — Live in Tokyo at Serkey Hall (1970)
• Milva in Seoul (1972)
• Canzoni Tra Le Due Guerre (1978)
• Das Konzert (1982)
• Milva & Ástor Piazzolla — Live at the Bouffes du Nord (1984)
• Das Beste Milva Live (1988)
• Milva Dramatic Recital '92 (Best Live in Japan) (1992)
• Milva Dramatic Recital '92 - Canzoni tra le due guerre (Al Tokyo Metropolitan Art Space) (1992)
• El Tango de Ástor Piazzolla live in Japan (1998)
• Lili Marleen - Best live in Japan (1992)
• Live and More (1988, Milva Collectors' Club, limited edition album)
• Milva & Ástor Piazzolla - Live in Tokyo 1988 (2009)
• Milva canta Brecht (Live) (2010)

Soundtracks and cast recordings

• Angeli in bandiera (1969, with Gino Bramieri)
• Die sieben Todsünden der Kleinbürger (1983)
• The Threepenny Opera (1989) as Pirate Jenny
• La storia di Zaza (1994)
• Hommage à Ástor Piazzolla (with Tangoseís) (2000)

Compilation albums

Videography

VHS video releases

• El tango: Milva and Ástor Piazzolla (Live at the Bouffes du Nord, 1984) (Seven Seas KIVM 242) (1998) (Japan)
• Das beste Milva live - In Concert (Metronome CDV 080534-1) (CDV, 1988) / Metronome VHS 080648-3 (VHS, 1988)
• Canzoni tra le due guerre (Ricordi 800648-3) (1989)
• Video rai Alta Classe Milva (1992)
• Milva canta Brecht BMG Ariola 74321 91723 3 (VHS, 2002)
• Artisti BMG Ariola 74321 91723 3 (VHS, 2002)

DVD video releases

• Artisti - Das Beste von gestern und heute (BMG Ariola 74321 91723 9) (DVD, 2004)
• Milva canta Merini (Live in Milan al Piccolo Teatro) (Nar International NARDV 10205 9) (DVD, 2005)
• El Tango - Live in Barcelona (DVD)
• El Tango de Ástor Piazzolla (& tangoseis, Concierto - Palau de la Musica Junio de 2005 Barcelona) (Unicas NR 005) (DVD, 2006)
• Milva canta Brecht (BMG Ariola 74321 91723 9) (DVD, 2009)

Songs

Sanremo Music Festival

This is a chronologically ordered list of Sanremo Music Festival contests in which Milva has entered. Milva has participated 15 times in the famous music festival, held annually, tying the record for most participations along with Peppino di Capri and Toto Cutugno.

Year	Song	Partner	Composer	Place
1961	"Il mare nel cassetto"	Gino Latilla		3
1962	"Tango italiano"	Sergio Bruni		2
1962	"Stanotte al Luna Park"	Miriam del Mare		5
1963	"Ricorda"	Luciano Tajoli		5
1963	"Non sapevo"	Gianni Lecommare		10
1964	"L'ultimo tram"	Frida Boccara		N.F.
1965	"Vieni con noi"	Bernd Spier		12
1966	"Nessuno di voi"	Richard Anthony		9
1967	"Uno come noi"	Los Bravos		N.F.
1968	"Canzone"	Adriano Celentano		3
1969	"Un sorriso"	Don Backy		3
1972	"Mediterraneo"	—		12
1973	"Da troppo tempo"	—		3
1974	"Monica delle bambole"	—		4 ‡
1990	"Sono felice"	—		4 ‡
1993	"Uomini addosso"	—		N.F.
2007	"The Show Must Go On"	—		16
"—" denotes that Milva entered the contest as a soloist. "‡" Denotes a tie.

NOTE: N.F. signifies that the song did not qualify for the main event.

Filmography

This is a chronologically ordered list of films in which Milva has appeared or provided singing vocals for.

Year	Title	Character	Director	Notes	Ref
1962	Canzoni a tempo di twist (Italy: Original title)		Stefano Canzio	Film	[2]
1962	La bellezza di Ippolita aka "Die schöne Ippolita" (Austria / Germany: German title) aka "La belleza de Hipólita" (Argentina / Spain: Spanish title) aka "I oraia amartoli" (Greece: Greek title) aka "La beauté d'Hippolyte" (France: French title) aka "O erotas kai i gynaika" (Greece: Greek: reissue title) aka "She Got What She Asked For" (UK: English title) aka "The Beautiful Ippolita" (undefined: English title)	Adriana	Giancarlo Zagni	Film, co-starring with Gina Lollobrigida	[3]
1962	Appuntamento in Riviera (Italy: Original title)	Singing voice	Mario Mattoli	Film	[4]
1972	D'amore si muore (Italy: Original title) aka "For Love One Dies" (International: English title) aka "De amor se muere" (Spain: Spanish title)	Leyla	Carlo Carunchio	Film	[5]
1982	Via degli specchi (Italy: Original title) aka "Die Straße der Spiegel" (Germany: German title) aka "La rue des miroirs" (France: French title) aka "O dromos ton dolofonon" (Greece: Greek title) aka "Street of Mirrors" (English title)	Veronica	Giovanna Gagliardo	Film, co-starring with Claudio Bigagli and Nicole Garcia	[6]
1986	Mon beau-frère a tué ma soeur (France: Original title) aka "My Brother-in-law Killed My Sister" (International: English title) aka "They've Killed Her!" (UK: festival title)	Renata Palozzi	Jacques Rouffio	Film, co-starring with Michel Serrault and Michel Piccoli	[7]
1988	"Wherever You Are..." aka "Au-delà du vertige" (France: French title) aka "Gdzieskolwiek jest, jeslis jest" (Poland: Polish title) aka "Onde Quer que Estejas" (Portugal: Portuguese title) aka "Wo immer du bist" (Germany: German title)	Italian diplomat's wife	Krzysztof Zanussi	Film, starring Julian Sands	[8]
1988	Prisonnières (France: Original title) aka "Women in Prison" (International: English title)	Lucie Germon	Charlotte Silvera	Film	[9]
1991	Amaurose (Germany: Original title)		Dieter Funk	Film	[10]
1995	Celluloid aka "Celluloide" (Italy: Original title) aka "Celuloide" (Argentina: Spanish title)		Carlo Lizzani	Film, starring Giancarlo Giannini and Massimo Ghini	[11]
1995	Tod für fünf Stimmen (Germany: Original title) aka "Death for Five Voices" (International: English title) aka "Gesualdo - Tod für fünf Stimmen" (Germany: long title) aka "Gesualdo ja kuoleman varjot" (Finland: Finnish title) aka "Gesualdo, thanatos gia pente fones" (Greece: festival title) aka "Gesualdo: Death for Five Voices" (International: English title)	Herself	Werner Herzog	Film	[12]

Television

Year(s)	Title	Role	Notes
1983	Al paradise	Television host	[13]

Honours

Chevalier of the National Order of the Legion of Honour of the French Republic — Paris, 11 September 2009

Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic — Rome, 2 June 2007

Officer of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany — Berlin, 2006

Officier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres — Paris, 1995

See also

• List of Milva songs
• List of Italian actresses
• List of Légion d'honneur recipients by name
• List of foreign recipients of the Légion d'Honneur
• List of members of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
• Mononymous person
• The Threepenny Opera
• Sanremo Music Festival

References

1. ↑ "Milva live — Gestern und Heute" (in German). Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe. 29 April 2008. Retrieved 19 September 2008. 
2. ↑ Canzoni a tempo di twist. IMDb. Retrieved 07-08-2010.
3. ↑ La bellezza di Ippolita. IMDb. Retrieved 07-08-2010.
4. ↑ Appuntamento in Riviera. IMDb. Retrieved 07-10-2011.
5. ↑ D'amore si muore. IMDb. Retrieved 07-08-2010.
6. ↑ Via degli specchi. IMDb. Retrieved 07-08-2010.
7. ↑ Mon beau-frère a tué ma sœur. IMDb. Retrieved 07-08-2010.
8. ↑ Wherever You Are.... IMDb. Retrieved 07-08-2010.
9. ↑ Women in Prison. IMDb. Retrieved 07-08-2010.
10. ↑ Amaurose. IMDb. Retrieved 07-08-2010.
11. ↑ Celluloide. IMDb. Retrieved 07-08-2010.
12. ↑ Tod für fünf Stimmen. IMDb. Retrieved 16-03-2012.
13. ↑ Al Paradise. IMDb. Retrieved 15-03-2012.

External links

Find more about Milva at Wikipedia's sister projects
	Media from Commons

Official

• Official website (English) (Italian) (German)

Discography

• Complete international discography
• International mailing list and message board (English)

Biographies

• Milva at AllMusic
• Milva at Last.fm
• Milva at Billboard.com

Filmography

• Milva at the Internet Movie Database
• Milva at AllRovi

Authority control WorldCat VIAF: 10109520 LCCN: n91109323 ISNI: 0000 0001 1487 6255 GND: 13446351X BNF: cb14654666b

Persondata
Name	Milva
Alternative names	Biolcati, Maria Ilva
Short description	Italian opera singer
Date of birth	1939-07-17
Place of birth	Goro, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
Date of death
Place of death