She was born in Goro, province of Ferrara.
In 1959 Milva won a contest for new voices, and was named the overall winner from more than seven thousand 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 competed many times at the Festival (14 times in total, the last time in 1993). The highest position she has reached is second place in 1962, but she has never won to date.
In 1965, a fortunate meeting led to a definitiive change in her career: Italo-German actor, dramatist and director Giorgo 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 Italian resistance movement, songs from Bertold Brecht's pieces, etc.). In the following years she alternated success in singing (especially in Germany where she won platinum and gold records for top sales) and success in theatre, where a remarkable 1973 edition of The Threepenny Opera met with success all over Europe.
In 1962 Milva was the first singer to successfully sing Édith Piaf's repertoire at the prestigious Olympia theatre in Paris. In 1983 she performed again and again received a real ovation by the public and the French press, very surprised how a non-French artist could interpret with such a feeling and energy the songs of their most beloved French singer.
She was a highly eclectic artist, performing everything from pop music to opera (with Luciano Berio), from comedy theatre to committed theatre (she is the first non-German actress to achieve a huge success in Bertold Brecht plays, putting in a shadow the former actresses of the same roles), TV shows (Al Paradise in 1981 won the Rose d'Or at the Montreaux Festival) and musicals. She also occasionally appeared in some Italian movies of the 1960s, like The beautiful Ippolita with Gina Lollobrigida.
Her singing career has become more complex and various year by year, thanks to the collaboration with some of the most talented composers and musician in European scene: Ennio Morricone in 1965, Francis Lai in 1973, Mikis Theodorakis in 1978 (Was ich denke best selling album in Germany), Enzo Jannacci in 1980, Vangelis in 1981 and 1986, Franco Battiato in 1982 and 1986.
Her theatre career has also gone from success to success, touring the world's most prestigious theatres with Bertold Brecht's recitals and Luciano Berio's operas. She has performed in La Scala in Milan, in the Deutsche Oper in Berlin, in Paris Opera, in Royal Albert Hall in London, at the Los Angeles Olympic Games, at the Edinburgh Festival, and many others.
In 1984 she performed (with Ástor Piazzolla) the show El tango in the Les Bouffes du Nort Theatre in Paris. This was just the beginning of an important new collaboration, interpreting the tangos of revolutionary Piazzolla all over the world.
In the 1990s her mentor Giorgio Strehler died. She temporarily reduced her theatre activity and focused on music only. She received new inspiration collaborating with Thanos Mikroutsikos, James Last and Shinji Tanimura. She performed her tour number 14 in Japan.
In 2004 her last CD and tour was dedicated to set to music of the poetry of Milan poetress Alda Merini.
She had a relationship with actor Luigi Pistilli the ending of which contributed to his suicide.
She had a daughter named Martina, born after the marriage with Maurizio Corgnati in the early 1960s.
Bella ciao
Milva Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao
Alla mattina appena alzata
In risaia mi tocca andar
E fra gli insetti e le zanzare
O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao
E fra gli insetti e le zanzare
Il capo in piedi col suo bastone
O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao
E il capo in piedi col suo bastone
E noi curve a lavorar
E noi curve a lavorar
Il capo in piedi col suo bastone
O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao
E il capo in piedi col suo bastone
E noi curve a lavorar
La la la la da
La la la la da
O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao
O mamma mia, o che tormento
O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao
O mamma mia o che tormento
Io t'invoco ogni doman
Ed ogni ora, che qui passiamo
O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao
Ed ogni ora, che qui passiamo
Noi perdiam la gioventù
Ma verrà un giorno che tutte quante
O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao
Ma verrà un giorno che tutte quante
Lavoreremo in libertà
Ma verrà un giorno che tutte quante
Lavoreremo in libertà
Ma verrà un giorno che tutte quante
Lavoreremo in libertà
"Bella Ciao" is an Italian partisan song that has been popular since the World War II era. It is a song of struggle and workers' rights, an anthem of resistance against oppression. The song's lyrics depict a young woman who has to wake up early and head to the rice paddies to work, despite having to deal with insects and mosquitoes. The song's protagonist is a factory worker who is forced to work under the oppression of a wealthy boss who is bossing her around with his cane. The song speaks of the struggle and hardships of the working class, and how despite the difficulties, they still hold on to hope that one day they will be free.
In addition to the theme of workers' rights, the song is also a call for freedom and resistance against oppression. The lyrics talk about the hope of freedom and liberation from the oppressive bosses who are holding them down. The song is a powerful reminder of the struggle of the oppressed and the significance of solidarity in fighting against tyranny.
Line by Line Meaning
Alla mattina appena alzata
As soon as I wake up in the morning
O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao
Oh beautiful goodbye, beautiful goodbye, beautiful goodbye goodbye goodbye
In risaia mi tocca andar
I have to go to the rice fields
E fra gli insetti e le zanzare
And among the insects and mosquitoes
Duro lavoro mi tocca far
I have to do hard work
Il capo in piedi col suo bastone
The boss standing with his stick
E noi curve a lavorar
And we are bent over working
La la la la da
La la la la da
O mamma mia, o che tormento
Oh my mother, what torment
Io t'invoco ogni doman
I call on you every day
Ed ogni ora, che qui passiamo
And every hour that we spend here
Noi perdiam la gioventù
We lose our youth
Ma verrà un giorno che tutte quante
But there will come a day when all of us
Lavoreremo in libertà
Will work in liberty
Lyrics © Public Domain
Written by: Traditional
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