Vision

Vision for me is imagination. It's the faces of my son and grandchildren. When I close my eyes I can see what I want.

Choices

I went from acting into music by singing the Songs of the Mala (a repertoire of invented folk songs about the Malavita or organised crime, written by members and friends of Milan's Piccolo Theatre) I don't know if I did the right thing or not. It was a sliding door situation. At first I couldn't sing into the microphone, and that took a while. For years I was unpopular because I was too elegant, spoke too little and was very shy. That didn't help me. It made me look snobbish but really I was incredibly fragile, like blown glass.
Until I sang The Date.

Empathy

The Date changed everything because it captured Italian hearts. It's strange but the first song of mine everyone thinks of is The Date. Obviously those opening words "I've been wrong so many times now" must be fatal for everyone. And when the first sentence is strong you've nailed the song.

Character

Slowly but surely I freed myself of the shyness. But I've always had a complex character. Excessive, unashamed, ironic and melancholy… Melancholy follows me everywhere, but it's nice. Today I am calmer and more peaceful but I still have an iron will.

Freedom

I did something important once. Venice was holding the International Exhibition of Light Music and I signed up for the Golden Gondola. I went solo with a piano and sang Tenco's I fell in love with you. I was breaking the mould of female lyrics because it still wasn't possible to think a woman might have nothing else to do and could go out at night looking for the person she loved.

The Stage

I love the stage. I really do like it. I can be dead tired, but if I go on stage the adrenaline flows and off we go.

Edra

I was leafing through a newspaper and the Margherita armchair was a strike of lightning. It looked to me as if it were made of light and I wanted it, I wanted to add some richness to the stage set for the Women and Music tour. The stage felt empty before that. The Margherita chair really “made a scene”.

Beauty

Beauty is everywhere, in nature, in a beautiful dress, in a painting… in a person's voice. Everything is full of beauty, you just need to know how to see it.

Dreams

I would love to sing with Sting. But even the fact of thinking about it... well anyway, if it happens good.

Ornella Vanoni At the end of the 1950s Ornella Vanoni made her debut at the Piccolo Teatro in Milan as an actress. Giorgio Strehler then invented the Mala songs for her. In the 1960s she encountered the school of Genoese singer-songwriting, collaborating with Fabrizio De André, Luigi Tenco, Paolo Conte and Gino Paoli. She has acted in films, musical comedies, TV and participated in several Sanremo Festivals. She has worked with international artists such as Vinícius de Moraes and Toquinho and the greatest American jazz musicians including Herbie Hancock and George Benson. She is a refined interpreter of songs such as “L’appuntamento”, “Eternità”, “La voglia la pazzia l’incoscienza l’allegria”, “Senza fine”, “Domani è un altro giorno” and many other hits. She has been awarded the Tenco Prize three times.