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.
Chi Mai
Milva Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Quello che ti davo?
Un amore così puro...
Dimmi, chi?
Chi mai, chi t'amerà
Come ti amo?
Solo io, solo io, solo io t'amo...
Solo io, solo io, solo io... chi?
Chi mai, chi ti darà
Quello che ti davo?
Un amore cosi puro...
Dimmi, chi?
Chi mai, chi t'amerà
Come ti amo?
Solo io, solo io, solo io t'amo...
E solo io, solo io, solo io ti do, sì...
Solo io, solo io, solo io...
Chi? Chi? Chi mai? Chi?
Idiota!
The lyrics of Milva's song "Chi Mai" speak of an inconsolable lover who is mourning the loss of a pure and unconditional love. The song is a series of rhetorical questions directed at the lover's departed partner, asking who will give them what the singer was able to offer, who will love them as the singer did, and ultimately, who will fill the void left in the singer's heart. The repetition of "solo io" (only me) emphasizes the uniqueness of their love, and the despair of losing something that cannot be replaced.
The song's poignant lyrics are matched by its haunting melody, which was composed by Italian composer Ennio Morricone for the 1971 film "Maddalena". Milva's rendition of the song, which was recorded in 1981, became a major hit in Europe, and has since been covered by numerous artists. It has been used in several films and TV shows, including the popular British TV series "The Life and Times of David Lloyd George", as well as the Quentin Tarantino films "Kill Bill Vol. 1" and "Inglourious Basterds".
Line by Line Meaning
Chi mai, chi mi darà
Who will ever give you what I used to give you?
Un amore così puro...
A love so pure...
Dimmi, chi?
Tell me, who?
Chi mai, chi t'amerà
Who will ever love you like I do?
Solo io, solo io, solo io t'amo...
Only I, only I, only I love you...
E solo io, solo io, solo io ti do, sì...
And only I, only I, only I give you, yes...
Solo io, solo io, solo io...
Only I, only I, only I...
Chi? Chi? Chi mai? Chi?
Who? Who? Who ever? Who?
Idiota!
Idiot!
Writer(s): carlo nistri
Contributed by Jason M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Ibrido di risonanza
Chi mai, chi ti darà
Quello che ti davo?
Un amore così puro
Dimmi, chi?
Chi mai, chi t'amerà
Come ti amo?
Solo io, solo io, solo io t'amo
E solo io, solo io, solo io ti do, sì
Solo io, solo io, solo io, chi?
Chi mai, chi ti darà
Quello che ti davo?
Un amore cosi puro
Dimmi, chi?
Chi mai, chi t'amerà
Come ti amo?
Solo io, solo io, solo io t'amo
E solo io, solo io, solo io ti do, sì
Solo io, solo io, solo io
Chi? Chi? Chi mai? Chi?
Idiota
Ibrido di risonanza
Chi mai, chi ti darà
Quello che ti davo?
Un amore così puro
Dimmi, chi?
Chi mai, chi t'amerà
Come ti amo?
Solo io, solo io, solo io t'amo
E solo io, solo io, solo io ti do, sì
Solo io, solo io, solo io, chi?
Chi mai, chi ti darà
Quello che ti davo?
Un amore cosi puro
Dimmi, chi?
Chi mai, chi t'amerà
Come ti amo?
Solo io, solo io, solo io t'amo
E solo io, solo io, solo io ti do, sì
Solo io, solo io, solo io
Chi? Chi? Chi mai? Chi?
Idiota
Luis Santana
Magnífica composición de Ennio Morricone.
Espléndida voz de Milva.
Inacio Sodré
A incomparável beleza na tristeza, numa bela interpretação. Quem, nunca?
Christina Peponi
Absolutely beautiful song! Amazing Milva!
Cinzia Vidali
Si percepisce l'impronta di Ennio Morricone. Straordinaria l'interpretazione di Milva, fusa con la bellezza della base musicale.
damiano consoli
Amazing undervalued talented Milva... thanks for this interpretation ❤
gaetanche
Superb interpretation by Milva!
nik mihin
великолепно, изящно и изыскано, трепетно и утонченно !!!!!! б р а в о !!!!!
Martim Anttinari
Splendida!!! Bella, bella interpretazione...
Marina Scaffidi
ABBIAMO PERSO IL PIÙ GRANDE COMPOSITORE DI MUSICA MODERNA UN VUOTO INCOLMABILE UN GENIO ASSOLUTO NELLA SUA SEMPLICITÀ. CI MANCHERÀ