Anita Traversi (25 July 1937 – 25 September 1991) was a Swiss singer, best known for her participation in the
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...
s of 1960 and 1964.
Early career
Born in
Giubiasco
Giubiasco is a former municipality in the district of Bellinzona in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.
On 2 April 2017 the former municipalities of Camorino, Claro, Gnosca, Gorduno, Gudo, Moleno, Monte Carasso, Pianezzo, Preonzo, Sant' ...
, Traversi was encouraged by her father, a musician, and started singing with an orchestra in the mid-1950s, including with the orchestra of the Italian language Swiss radio channel. In 1956, she took part in the Swiss selection for the first
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...
, but "Bandanelle Ticinese" was not chosen. That year she was part of the Quintetta Radiosa the backingvocals for Eurovision winner Lys Assia. In 1959, Traversi obtained a recording contract in Italy, and went on to record a number of songs with
Adriano Celentano
Adriano Celentano (; born 6 January 1938) is an Italian musician, singer, composer, actor, and filmmaker. He is dubbed "''il Molleggiato''" (the springy one) because of his dancing.
Celentano's many albums frequently enjoyed both commercial and ...
, including the top 10 hit "Piccola". Anita Traversi represented Switzerland at several Song Festivals in the world with great success, as the
Sopot International Song Festival
The Sopot International Song Festival or Sopot Festival (later called ''Sopot Music Festival Grand Prix'', ''Sopot Top of the Top Festival'' from 2012–13 and ''Polsat Sopot Festival'' in 2014) is an annual international song contest held in So ...
(Poland), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), "
Golden Orpheus
The Golden Orpheus ( bg, Златният Орфей, ''Zlatniyat Orfey'') was an international song contest, held annually from 1965 to 1999 in Sunny Beach, Bulgaria. Alongside its Bulgarian pop song competition, the festival’s rules and regul ...
" (Bulgaria). She appeared to the Song Festival in Sopot twice, first in 1962 with a song "Una certa sera" (A.Scotti) and with a Polish song "Jesienna rozłąka" ("Dis-moi, dis-moi") (Gert-Brok). She was awarded with the First Prize for best performance. In 1968, she was in Sopot for the second time singing for Switzerland. In "Polish Day" she performed a Polish song "Odra rzeka" ("Odra") (Pałasz-Fiszer) and this time she was placed second after Annarita Spinaci (Italy). During the festival she performed a fantastic song "Balalaika" which was one of the favourites of that festival. In 1970 she was one of the big stars at "Golden Orpheus" in Bulgaria with a great performance of the Bulgarian song "Edna bylgarska roza" ("One Bulgarian rose"). And in Rio de Janeiro she was among the rewarded singers too.
Eurovision Song Contest
In 1960, Traversi's second attempt at Eurovision was successful when her song "
Cielo e terra" ("Heaven and Earth") was chosen as the Swiss entry for the fifth
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...
, which took place in London on 29 March. A dramatic orchestral ballad, very typical of early Eurovision, "Cielo e terra" finished in eighth place of 13 entries.
Traversi tried again to represent Switzerland in Eurovision in 1961 ("Finalmente") and 1963 (with three songs, including her first attempt in the German language), but did not make it in either year. She finally got her second chance in 1964, with "
I miei pensieri" ("My Thoughts") being selected to go forward to the ninth
Eurovision
The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...
, held on 21 March in
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
. However, this rather plain ballad did not find favour, being one of four songs to finish at the bottom of the scoreboard, having failed to score.
Later career
From the mid-1960s, Traversi's career foundered as her recordings met with little success. In 1967 she featured again, unsuccessfully, in the Swiss Eurovision heat. By the early 1970s she had effectively retired from showbusiness to devote herself to family life. She did however make one final appearance, with two songs, in the Swiss Eurovision selection of 1976, once more without success.
ESC National Finals database 1976
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Death
Traversi died of undisclosed causes in Bellinzona
Bellinzona ( , , Ticinese ; french: Bellinzone ; german: Bellenz ; rm, Blizuna )is a municipality, a historic Swiss town, and the capital of the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. The town is famous for its three castles (Castelgrande, Montebell ...
on 25 September 1991, aged 54.
References
External links
Discography and cover art
(German)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Traversi, Anita
1937 births
1991 deaths
Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1960
Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1964
Italian-language singers
People from Bellinzona District
Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Switzerland
20th-century Swiss women singers