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.
Immagini Del Tempo
Milva Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ritornano col sole
Bambini che si amano
In quel cortile:
Io e te
Nel gioco tu eri il re
Nel vento io l'eco tua
Il tempo già, già tesseva l'amore per noi
Ricordo ancora la voce
La maglia tua a colori
La pausa dei sogni
La realtà senza di te
Non muoiono mai stelle
Nel cuore c'è verità
Non scorderò mai, giuro
L'amore che mi davi
The lyrics of Milva's song "Immagini del Tempo" evoke memories of childhood play and love, and the bittersweet feelings that come with growing up and losing the innocence of those early experiences. The sun brings back images of two children in love, playing in a courtyard together, creating a world of their own. The singer remembers how in their games the other person was always the king while they were the echo in the wind. Still, they both shared in the growth of love between them, much like a rose blossoming before their very eyes.
The singer recalls the colorful image of the other person's sweater and the magical moments where they ceased to dream and faced reality together. However, things changed, and separation occurred. The realities of life without the other person descended upon them, and the memories of their love could never be taken away. The songwriter describes their love as an ever-burning flame, an unbreakable bond of affection that remained embedded in their heart.
The imagery in the song celebrates childhood innocence as well as the changes that occur in our lives due to time and the influence of external factors. The song tries to capture the bittersweet emotions of revisiting those vivid memories, through the clarity of the images perceived through time, and to relive those moments once again. This nostalgic theme is fundamental and makes Milva's "Immagini del Tempo" a relatable song, with its message that shines out like a beacon of hope, no matter one's stage in life.
Line by Line Meaning
Immagini del tempo
Images of time
Ritornano col sole
They return with the sun
Bambini che si amano
Children who love each other
In quel cortile: Io e te
In that courtyard: you and me
Nel gioco tu eri il re
In the game, you were the king
Nel vento io l'eco tua
In the wind, I was your echo
Sbocciava in noi la rosa
The rose blossomed in us
Il tempo già, già tesseva l'amore per noi
Time was already weaving love for us
Ricordo ancora la voce
I still remember the voice
La maglia tua a colori
Your colorful sweater
La pausa dei sogni
The pause of dreams
La realtà senza di te
Reality without you
Non muoiono mai stelle
Stars never die
Nel cuore c'è verità
In the heart, there is truth
Non scorderò mai, giuro
I will never forget, I swear
L'amore che mi davi
The love you gave me
Writer(s): ennio morricone
Contributed by Penelope V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@ewat4753
Moved to tears!
@strassenbahnfilmguy9306
Outstanding