Giuseppa Romeo - aka Giuni Russo - was officially born 10 September 1951 i… Read Full Bio ↴Giuseppa Romeo - aka Giuni Russo - was officially born 10 September 1951 in Sicily, Italy. More likely, her real birthday was 7 September 1951.
Renowed for her amazing vocal range covering almost five octaves, she would blend musical and composing skills with an unique vocal interpretation. The mix of all of these qualities makes Giuni Russo one of the most interesting and unique artists ever in the Italian and international musical scene.
Giuni's family took lyrical music into the utmost consideration. Her mother was a natural soprano,as Giuni herself was. At a very young age, Giuni had her first singing and composing lessons, quickly developing her great natural talents.
In 1967, under the name of Giusy Romeo she won the Castrocaro Festival with the song "A Chi" (an italian cover version of Hurt by Timi Yuro). She was awarded the right to participate to Sanremo Festival, Italy's most important musical event, to be held the following year.
In 1968 she sang "No Amore" - her first single - at the 18th Sanremo Festival. On the same year were released two more singles, including L'onda and I Primi Minuti, the italian cover of Aretha Franklin's "I Say a Little Prayer".
In 1969 Giuni moved to Milan were she was to spend most of her life. There she met Maria Antonietta Sisini, a musician who would share with Giuni the ups and downs of a 36-year rare artistic union and friendship.
In the seventies, Giuni changed her name in Junie Russo and recorded a few tracks for some minor labels.
Her first album, Love is a Woman - with English lyrics - was released in 1975. All the tracks are signed by Giuni and Maria Antonietta Sisini.
In 1978 - for the first time with the name of Giuni Russo - she got good exposure with the single "Soli noi/La chiave", hitting the French market, too.
In the early eighties Giuni's lifelong collaboration with Franco Battiato begins. In a recent interview Franco recalled: "... a natural talent. Amazing! Yes, the first time I heard Giuni sing it was in my home. I was struck with wonder by her vocal strength (...) matched with her musical sensibility. An uncommon feature since if one has a powerful voice often lacks subtlety. She mastered the most refined nuances."
In 1981 Giuni released the fine album Energie, but the big hit came the following year with the single "Un'estate al mare". The song won Giuni the 1982 Festivalbar contest and a huge popularity. The single stayed on the top ten charts for months. On the wave of this success Energie was reissued.
On one hand, the large success brought by "Un'estate al mare" gave Giuni a great popularity, but on the other hand biases the artist's career. It isn't easy to keep a balance between popularity and the musical research and experimentation that are the unvarying elements of Giuni's artistic journey.
The albums released in the following years - Vox (1983), Mediterranea (1984), Giuni (1986) and Album (1987) - display a constant artistic evolution. Giuni was able to blend the easy melodic strike of her many hits (Good good bye, Sere d'agosto, Limonata cha cha cha, Mediterranea, Alghero, Adrenalina) with a truly unique vocal experimentation.
In 1988 the album A casa di Ida Rubinstein marks the end of Giuni's easy pop phase. With uncommon and stunning influences, she performs popular arias and romances by Bellini, Donizetti and Verdi, a repertoire confirming her natural talent for an innovative musical approach. This album made Giuni the first and only representative of borderline music.
The release of A casa di Ida Rubinstein led the artist to tour with important lyrical and cultural associations. In contrast, recording companies look upon Giuni's experimentalism suspiciously and the relationship between them soon grew more and more precarious.
In 1992 Giuni released Amala, an album of greatest hits with two previously unreleased singles - "Amala" and "Alla spiaggia dell’amore".
In 1994 the new album Se fossi più simpatica sarei meno antipatica reached the shop shelves. Based on an imaginative interpretation of a writing of Ettore Petrolini, the album features the single "Fortunello".
Giuni followed an increasingly personal path that led her to collaborate with writers and poets. She read ancient holy texts, while touring a lot and writing new songs. It is during this period of her life that Giuni came in contact with Carmelite spirituality and began to study and appreciate Saint Teresa of Avila, Edith Stain and St. John of the Cross. The writings by these exalted personalities proved to be a constant source of inspiration for her.
In 1997 Giuni was called to work with Giorgio Albertazzi (one of the most popular and renewed italian actors) for the theatrical show Verba Tango. She sang lyrics by Jorges Luis Borges. On the same year the single "Gabbiano" was released, to be followed in the intentions by Gelsomini d'Arabia, a discographic project that never came to be.
In 1998 Giuni releases her first live album Voce Prigioniera.
In 2002, after four years of absence from the recording market and of an intense schedule of live performances, Giuni released Signorina Romeo live. The album is a selection of songs performed live in the preceding years.
2003 was the year of the great comeback to the mass audience. Giuni performed "Morirò d’amore" at the 53rd Sanremo Festival. This song also gave its name to the new album. Irradiazioni was released on CD the same year. It contains singles like "Gabbiano", "Fonti mobili" and the previously unreleased "Voce che grida", along with new versions of Giuni's greatest hits.
At the end of 2003 Demo De Midi was released, featuring fourteen new unreleased tracks from the '80s and the '90s in demo version.
In 2004 Napoli che canta, a suite for Roberto Leone Roberti's film (1926) was released on CD and DVD.
The night between 13 and 14 September 2004, Giuni Russo died at her home in Milan. Her last wish was to be buried at the Carmelite nuns' cemetery.
Renowed for her amazing vocal range covering almost five octaves, she would blend musical and composing skills with an unique vocal interpretation. The mix of all of these qualities makes Giuni Russo one of the most interesting and unique artists ever in the Italian and international musical scene.
Giuni's family took lyrical music into the utmost consideration. Her mother was a natural soprano,as Giuni herself was. At a very young age, Giuni had her first singing and composing lessons, quickly developing her great natural talents.
In 1967, under the name of Giusy Romeo she won the Castrocaro Festival with the song "A Chi" (an italian cover version of Hurt by Timi Yuro). She was awarded the right to participate to Sanremo Festival, Italy's most important musical event, to be held the following year.
In 1968 she sang "No Amore" - her first single - at the 18th Sanremo Festival. On the same year were released two more singles, including L'onda and I Primi Minuti, the italian cover of Aretha Franklin's "I Say a Little Prayer".
In 1969 Giuni moved to Milan were she was to spend most of her life. There she met Maria Antonietta Sisini, a musician who would share with Giuni the ups and downs of a 36-year rare artistic union and friendship.
In the seventies, Giuni changed her name in Junie Russo and recorded a few tracks for some minor labels.
Her first album, Love is a Woman - with English lyrics - was released in 1975. All the tracks are signed by Giuni and Maria Antonietta Sisini.
In 1978 - for the first time with the name of Giuni Russo - she got good exposure with the single "Soli noi/La chiave", hitting the French market, too.
In the early eighties Giuni's lifelong collaboration with Franco Battiato begins. In a recent interview Franco recalled: "... a natural talent. Amazing! Yes, the first time I heard Giuni sing it was in my home. I was struck with wonder by her vocal strength (...) matched with her musical sensibility. An uncommon feature since if one has a powerful voice often lacks subtlety. She mastered the most refined nuances."
In 1981 Giuni released the fine album Energie, but the big hit came the following year with the single "Un'estate al mare". The song won Giuni the 1982 Festivalbar contest and a huge popularity. The single stayed on the top ten charts for months. On the wave of this success Energie was reissued.
On one hand, the large success brought by "Un'estate al mare" gave Giuni a great popularity, but on the other hand biases the artist's career. It isn't easy to keep a balance between popularity and the musical research and experimentation that are the unvarying elements of Giuni's artistic journey.
The albums released in the following years - Vox (1983), Mediterranea (1984), Giuni (1986) and Album (1987) - display a constant artistic evolution. Giuni was able to blend the easy melodic strike of her many hits (Good good bye, Sere d'agosto, Limonata cha cha cha, Mediterranea, Alghero, Adrenalina) with a truly unique vocal experimentation.
In 1988 the album A casa di Ida Rubinstein marks the end of Giuni's easy pop phase. With uncommon and stunning influences, she performs popular arias and romances by Bellini, Donizetti and Verdi, a repertoire confirming her natural talent for an innovative musical approach. This album made Giuni the first and only representative of borderline music.
The release of A casa di Ida Rubinstein led the artist to tour with important lyrical and cultural associations. In contrast, recording companies look upon Giuni's experimentalism suspiciously and the relationship between them soon grew more and more precarious.
In 1992 Giuni released Amala, an album of greatest hits with two previously unreleased singles - "Amala" and "Alla spiaggia dell’amore".
In 1994 the new album Se fossi più simpatica sarei meno antipatica reached the shop shelves. Based on an imaginative interpretation of a writing of Ettore Petrolini, the album features the single "Fortunello".
Giuni followed an increasingly personal path that led her to collaborate with writers and poets. She read ancient holy texts, while touring a lot and writing new songs. It is during this period of her life that Giuni came in contact with Carmelite spirituality and began to study and appreciate Saint Teresa of Avila, Edith Stain and St. John of the Cross. The writings by these exalted personalities proved to be a constant source of inspiration for her.
In 1997 Giuni was called to work with Giorgio Albertazzi (one of the most popular and renewed italian actors) for the theatrical show Verba Tango. She sang lyrics by Jorges Luis Borges. On the same year the single "Gabbiano" was released, to be followed in the intentions by Gelsomini d'Arabia, a discographic project that never came to be.
In 1998 Giuni releases her first live album Voce Prigioniera.
In 2002, after four years of absence from the recording market and of an intense schedule of live performances, Giuni released Signorina Romeo live. The album is a selection of songs performed live in the preceding years.
2003 was the year of the great comeback to the mass audience. Giuni performed "Morirò d’amore" at the 53rd Sanremo Festival. This song also gave its name to the new album. Irradiazioni was released on CD the same year. It contains singles like "Gabbiano", "Fonti mobili" and the previously unreleased "Voce che grida", along with new versions of Giuni's greatest hits.
At the end of 2003 Demo De Midi was released, featuring fourteen new unreleased tracks from the '80s and the '90s in demo version.
In 2004 Napoli che canta, a suite for Roberto Leone Roberti's film (1926) was released on CD and DVD.
The night between 13 and 14 September 2004, Giuni Russo died at her home in Milan. Her last wish was to be buried at the Carmelite nuns' cemetery.
O vos omnes
Giuni Russo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
O vos omnes qui transitis per viam
Attendite et videte
Si est dolor
Sicut dolor meus
Attendite et videte
Si est dolor
Sicut dolor meus
O voi tutti che passate per la via
Considerate e vedete
Se c'è un dolore
Simile al mio dolore
Attendite et videte
Si est dolor
Sicut dolor meus
Attendite et videte
Si est dolor
Sicut dolor meus
Attendite et videte
Si est dolor
Sicut dolor meus
O voi tutti che passate per la via
Se c'è un dolore
Simile al mio dolore
Attendite et videte
Si est dolor
Sicut dolor meus
Giuni Russo's song "O vos omnes" is a hauntingly beautiful rendition of the Gospel passage from Lamentations 1:12. The lyrics, primarily written in Latin, prays to passers-by to look and consider if there is any pain comparable to the sorrow expressed in the song. This is repeated twice to emphasise the agony and suffering of the singer. The sombre and melancholic melody of the song complements the lyrics, creating a pensive and sorrowful atmosphere.
The plea of the singer to those passing by is an invitation to empathise with their pain and suffering. The repetition of the lyrics signifies the urgency and depth of the pain that the singer is experiencing. The line "O vos omnes" suggests that the pain of the singer is not limited to one individual, but shared by all humanity. The song's sombre tone, coupled with the sorrowful lyrics, aims to move the hearts of the listeners and raise their awareness of the pain and suffering that exists in the world.
Line by Line Meaning
O vos omnes qui transitis per viam
Oh, all of you who pass by the road
Attendite et videte
Pay attention and see
Si est dolor
If there is pain
Sicut dolor meus
Like my pain
Attendite et videte
Pay attention and see
Si est dolor
If there is pain
Sicut dolor meus
Like my pain
O voi tutti che passate per la via
Oh, all of you who pass by the road
Considerate e vedete
Consider and see
Contributed by Brody O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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Davide Fichera
I diamanti ineguagliabili prendono posto nell'Empireo del ricordo. Brillano di luce propria. Ma non sono da soli. Sfavillanti ma non accecano. Io vedo così la voce di questo dono umano.
Valerio
La più grande cantante di sempre.
Sante Zanco
Senza alcun dubbio la più grande nella storia della musica leggera (si fa per dire ) italiana e forse non solo, nel Novecento e sino ai nostri giorni
Anna Maria Spanò
Il tuo canto lo hai portato in Cielo per rendere gloria al Signore.
Grazie per aver cantato anche per noi
' piccoli della Terra' .
Silvana Pantano
Sono senza parole mi sono scese le lacrime in una commozzione unica al solo sentire la piu bella voce di sempre. Giuni rimarrai per sempre nel mio cuore ed è un peccato averti perso così presto pensado a cosa potevi regalarci ancora!
Marino Barbugian
Per sempre grandissima - ma quanto manca alla musica !!
macete? cui?
Giuni Giuni vederti e ascoltarti e un piacere quasi maligno xche so che non ci sei più, e questo insieme al brano che ascolto mortifica il mio cuore ma........ sono felice xche c'eri, ci sei e ci sarai sempre ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Maria Di Febo
Che onore per me aver visto per prima questo bellissimo video 🌸🌸💗💗
Angelina Meo
Tutto l.amore di Dio in te ,dolce e meravigliosa Giuni 🌹
desk danj
Giuni sei stata la cantante più brava in assoluto. ❤️