Albano Antonio Carrisi (; born 20 May 1943), better known as Al Bano, is an Italian

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

, and winemaker. He is one of the most recognisable Italian singers in the world whose career spans 7 decades. He has gained notability due to his vocal capabilities as well as mésalliance with Romina Power, daughter of

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

star

Tyrone Power Tyrone Edmund Power III (May 5, 1914 – November 15, 1958) was an American actor. From the 1930s to the 1950s, Power appeared in dozens of films, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads. His better-known films include '' Jesse James'', ...

. In 2016, he was awarded

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

n citizenship due to his close ties with the country.

Biography

He was born in the town of

Cellino San Marco Celino San Marco ( Leccese: ) is a ''comune'' in the province of Brindisi in Apulia, on the south-east coast of Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is ...

( province of Brindisi,

Puglia it, Pugliese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographic ...

in Southern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

), where he still lives. His mother Iolanda Ottino named him Albano because, when he was born, his father Carmelo Carrisi was fighting in

for the

Royal Italian Army The Royal Italian Army ( it, Regio Esercito, , Royal Army) was the land force of the Kingdom of Italy, established with the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy. During the 19th century Italy started to unify into one country, and in 1861 Manfre ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He has one brother, Franco Carrisi (Kocis). He made his debut in 1966 both as a singer, at the Festival delle Rose, and on television. He won the Disco per l'Estate, an Italian song contest, with "Pensando a te" in 1968. He recorded some major hits such as "La siepe" and "Nel sole" at that time. "Nel sole" sold 600,000 copies in Italy within three months of release in 1967, and eventually over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc in July 1968. Eurovision Song Contest 1976 - Italy - Al Bano & Romina Power 2

Eurovision Song Contest 1976 - Italy - Al Bano & Romina Power 2

Soon afterwards, he started a musical collaboration with Romina Power (daughter of the American actor

), whom he married in 1970. After their marriage, they recorded "Storia di due innamorati". They sang as the duo

Al Bano & Romina Power Al Bano and Romina Power are an Italian-American pop music duo formed in 1975 by then-married couple Italian tenor Albano Carrisi and American singer Romina Power, the daughter of Hollywood actor Tyrone Power. They have recorded over 22 albums, ...

for almost thirty years; their work has been especially popular in Italy, Austria, France, Spain, Bulgaria,

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

, Greece and Germany. They released "Dialogo" in 1975 and took part in the

Eurovision Song Contest 1976 The Eurovision Song Contest 1976 was the 21st edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in The Hague, Netherlands, following the country's victory at the with the song "Ding-a-dong" by Teach-In. Organised by the European Broad ...

with the song "

We'll Live It All Again "We'll Live It All Again" was the entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1976, performed in Italian and English by Al Bano and Romina Power. This was the country's first entry not to be sung entirely in Italian, and one of only three (alongside 1984 ...

" ("Noi lo rivivremo di nuovo"). They sang "

Sharazan "Sharazan" is a song by Italian duo Al Bano and Romina Power, released in 1981. It was an international commercial success and remains one of their best-known hits. Meaning of the word They are told to say that Sharazan means "Dreamland", what w ...

" in 1981 and the following year they took part in the

Sanremo Music Festival The Sanremo Music Festival, officially the Italian Song Festival () and commonly known as just (), is the most popular Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo, Liguria. It is the longest-running annual ...

with the song "

Felicità "Felicità" (; Italian for "Happiness") is a song by Italian-American duo Al Bano and Romina Power, released in 1982. It was an international commercial success and remains arguably their best-known song. Song information The duo participated w ...

", which came second. They won first prize in 1984 singing " Ci sarà" and again took part in the Eurovision Song Contest 1985 with " Magic Oh Magic". Both their Eurovision entries placed 7th. Other hits of 1987 include: "Nostalgia canaglia" (awarded 3rd prize at Festival di Sanremo '87) and "Libertà". Those successful songs were followed by "Cara terra mia", which came in third once more at the 1989 Sanremo Music Festival, and "Oggi sposi" which placed 8th at the 1991 Sanremo Music Festival. Al Bano returned to his solo career in 1996 with "È la mia vita" which was followed by "Verso il sole" in 1997 and "Ancora in volo" in 1999 (that year, his duo – and his marriage – with Romina broke up). He also played in "Herşeye Rağmen" ("Nonetheless" in Turkish) music video of Sima (full name was Sima Sarıkaya), a Turkish singer in 1997. In 2000, Al Bano returned to the Eurovision stage, providing backing vocals for the Swiss entry (performed in Italian) "

La vita cos'è? Switzerland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2000 in Stockholm, Sweden. Jane Bogaert represented Switzerland with the song "La vita cos'è?" after winning the national final ''Concours Eurovision 2000''. Before Eurovision Concour ...

" performed by Jane Bogaert. This song placed 20th out of 24 in the contest. On 16 October 2001, Carrisi was nominated Goodwill Ambassador of the

Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...

of the United Nations (FAO). In 2005, he starred in the Italian

reality show Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

'' L'isola dei Famosi'' (Italian version of ''

Celebrity Survivor The second season of ''Australian Survivor'', also known as ''Australian Celebrity Survivor'' and ''Celebrity Survivor: Vanuatu'', is a television series based on the international reality game show franchise '' Survivor''. The season featured 1 ...

'') with his daughter, Romina Carrisi. Al Bano returned to

in 2007, where he sang "Nel perdono" which came in second place. Al Bano still tours all over the world. He is a constant on Italian television and has a large number of fans who follow his career very closely. To date Al Bano has sold 165 million albums around the world. Al Bano has visited Albania a number of times. He was there for a concert in 1989 and has been enjoying great popularity there. In June 2016 Al Bano was granted the

n citizenship due to his close ties with the country and career successes in Albania. In March 2019 Al Bano was included in the blacklist of the Ukrainian website "

Myrotvorets Myrotvorets or Mirotvorets ( uk, Миротворець, lit=Peacemaker ), is a Ukrainian Kyiv-based website that publishes a running list, and sometimes personal information, of people who are considered by authors of the website to be "enemies ...

" and the Ukrainian government banned him from entering

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

because of his support of the

2014 Russian annexation of Crimea In February and March 2014, Russia invaded and subsequently annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine. This event took place in the aftermath of the Revolution of Dignity and is part of the wider Russo-Ukrainian War. The events in Kyiv th ...

. In April 2020 Al Bano released a dual-language song in Italian and English praising the natural beauty of Latvia
Terra d'Ambra e di Emozioni / Land of Amber
was written and composed by Charles Goodger with Italian lyrics by Alberto Zeppieri. The Latvian Tourist Board used it in a promotional video.

Opera

Al Bano grew up listening to

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

for which he had a great passion. He has released several opera albums and is a tenor. In 1997, he released an opera solo album 1997 entitled ''Concerto Classico'', which went double platinum in a short time. Songs he sang on that album include " Una furtiva lagrima", " Va, pensiero", "La nostra serenata", "

E lucevan le stelle "" ("And the stars were shining") is a romantic aria from the third act of Giacomo Puccini's opera ''Tosca'' from 1900, composed to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is sung in act 3 by Mario Cavaradossi (tenor), a pain ...

", and "Ave Maria"

Filmography

Personal life

On 26 July 1970, Al Bano married Romina Power (daughter of the American actor

), who had already started to share her musical career with him, and remained his stage partner for about 30 years. Carrisi and Power separated in 1999. Their divorce was finalized in 2012. They have a son, Yari (1973), and three daughters: Ylenia Maria (1970) (who went missing in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

in 1994), Cristel Chiara (1985) (starred in the

Reality TV Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

show ''La Fattoria'', an Italian version of '' The Farm'') and Romina Iolanda (1987). He has one daughter and one son from girlfriend and showgirl Loredana Lecciso, Jasmine Caterina (2001) and Albano Giovanni (2002). In the summer of 2013, Al Bano and Romina Power reunited, reportedly only on a professional basis and for one final time, for a concert performance in Moscow. They later performed as guests at the Sanremo Festival 2015. They also performed together in Atlantic City, USA, in April 2015, and following that, in Los Angeles. On 30 May 2015, Al Bano produced a show at the Arena di Verona, before a sold-out audience of 11,000, in which he starred with Romina Power. The show, featuring Tyrone Power Jr. and other special guests was transmitted by the Italian national TV network RAI, and was watched in over eight countries by 51,000,000 viewers around the globe, a 37 ratings share.Romina Power – A Message Now Available from
Creative and Dreams Music Network (30 May 2015). Retrieved on 2015-07-26.

Notes

References

External links

Official Website

Official YouTube ChannelOfficial Facebook PageOfficial Twitter Profile
*
Al Bano & Romina Power Russian Fansite
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carrisi, Albano 1943 births Living people Italian male actors Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Italy Italian winemakers Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1976 Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1985 People from the Province of Brindisi Sanremo Music Festival winners Survivor (franchise) contestants Participants in Italian reality television series Power family 20th-century Italian male singers 21st-century Italian male singers