Riccardo Cocciante (; born 20 February 1946), also known in

French-speaking countries French became an international language in the Middle Ages, when the power of the Kingdom of France made it the second international language, alongside Latin. This status continued to grow into the 18th century, by which time French was the l ...

and the U.S. as Richard Cocciante (), is an Italian singer, composer, theatre man and musician. He acquired French citizenship.

Personal life

Cocciante was born on 20 February 1946 in

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, French Indochina, now

Ho Chi Minh City , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

, Vietnam, to an Italian father from Rocca di Mezzo,

L'Aquila L'Aquila ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in central Italy. It is the capital city of both the Abruzzo region and of the Province of L'Aquila. , it has a population of 70,967 inhabitants. Laid out within medieval walls on a hill in the wide valle ...

, and a French mother. At the age of 11, he moved to Rome, Italy, where he attended the

Lycée français Chateaubriand The Lycée français Chateaubriand ( it, Liceo Chateaubriand) is a French international primary and secondary school with two campuses consisting of three buildings in Rome, Italy. Its administration and senior high school/sixth-form college class ...

. He has also lived in France, the United States, and Ireland.

Career

Cocciante began achieving success as a musician around 1972. In 1976, he covered the

Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...

song "

Michelle Michelle may refer to: People * Michelle (name), a given name and surname, the feminine form of Michael * Michelle Courtens, Dutch singer, performing as "Michelle" * Michelle (German singer) * Michelle (Scottish singer) (born 1980), Scottis ...

" for the musical documentary ''

All This and World War II ''All This and World War II'' is a 1976 musical documentary directed by Susan Winslow. It juxtaposes Beatles songs covered by a variety of musicians with World War II newsreel footage and 20th Century Fox films, in a manner meant by the filmmak ...

''. That same year, he released his sole English album in the US, with the single "When Love Has Gone Away" peaking at No. 41 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

. In 1983, Cocciante signed to Virgin Records as their first Italian artist. In 1991, he won the Sanremo Festival with the song "Se stiamo insieme", and for Christmas 1997, his friend Plácido Domingo invited him to sing at Domingo's annual Christmas in Vienna concert, together with

Sarah Brightman Sarah Brightman (born 14 August 1960) is an English classical crossover soprano singer, actress and dancer. Brightman began her career as a member of the dance troupe Hot Gossip and released several disco singles as a solo performer. In 1981, ...

and Helmut Lotti. In 1996, he was chosen as the singer for the Italian versions of the songs in the Toy Story movie, singing "Un Amico in me", "Che Strane Cose" and "Io non-volerò più". As of 2008, Cocciante has had three musicals running, including

Giulietta e Romeo (musical) ''Giulietta e Romeo'' is an Italian-language musical with music by Riccardo Cocciante and lyrics by Pasquale Panella, based on William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet''. Since its world premiere in Verona on June 1, 2007, directed by Serg ...

, Le Petit Prince, and ''

Notre-Dame de Paris Notre-Dame de Paris (; meaning "Our Lady of Paris"), referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the Seine River), in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. The cathedral, dedicated to the ...

''. His most recent project, the Chinese language adoption of Giacomo Puccini's opera Turandot is being directed by Zhang Yimou. In 2013, Cocciante was a coach for The Voice Italy. Elhaida Dani, one of the contestants he coached, won the first season of The Voice Italy.

''Sincerità'' and other foreign-language releases

Cocciante's oeuvre includes recordings in Italian, French, English, and Spanish. In 1976, he released a cover of The Beatles' song "

", featuring the London Symphony Orchestra. Cocciante recorded his hit song "Pour Elle" as a duet with Francesca Bellenis with English lyrics. The song is part of his 1994 album "Un uomo felice". A Spanish version "Por Ella" and an Italian version "Per Lei" were also recorded. In 1983, Cocciante released his album "Sincerità", produced and arranged by the American composer

James Newton Howard James Newton Howard (born June 9, 1951) is an American film composer, music producer and keyboardist. He has scored over 100 films and is the recipient of a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, and nine nominations for Academy Awards. His film scores ...

Discography

* ''Mu'' (1972) *''Poesia'' (1973) *''Anima'' (1974) *''L'alba'' (1975) *''Richard Cocciante'' nglish version of ''Anima''(1976) *''

Concerto per Margherita A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The typi ...

'' (1976) *'' Riccardo Cocciante'' (1978) *''...E io canto'' (1979) *''

Cervo a primavera Cervo may refer to: Places Italy * Cervo, Liguria, a comune in the province of Imperia in the region of Liguria * Cervo (river), a tributary of the River Sesia in the Piedmont region Portugal * Cervo (Ribeira de Pena), a civil parish in the munici ...

'' (1980) *''Q Concert'' (1981) *''Cocciante'' (1982) *'' Sincerità'' (1983) *'' Il mare dei papaveri'' (1985) *''Quando si vuole bene'' (1986) *''La grande avventura'' (1988) *''Viva!'' (1988) *''Cocciante'' (also known as ''Se stiamo insieme''; 1991) *''Empreinte'' (1993) *''Eventi e mutamenti '' (1993) *''Il mio nome è Riccardo'' (1994) *''

Un Uomo Felice Riccardo Cocciante (; born 20 February 1946), also known in French-speaking countries and the U.S. as Richard Cocciante (), is an Italian singer, composer, theatre man and musician. He acquired French citizenship. Personal life Cocciante was b ...

'' (1994) * ''Je Chante'' (1995) *''Innamorato'' (1997) *''Istantanea'' (1998) *''Notre-dame de Paris live Arena di Verona'' (2002) *''Songs'' (2005)

Musicals

*''

'' (1997; lyrics by

Luc Plamondon Luc Plamondon, OC, CQ (b. March 2, 1942 in Saint-Raymond, Quebec), is a French-Canadian lyricist and music executive. He is best known for his work on the musicals ''Starmania'' and ''Notre-Dame de Paris''. He is the brother of Louis Plamondo ...

) *'' Le Petit Prince'' (2002; lyrics by

Elizabeth Anais Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

) *''

Giulietta e Romeo ''Giulietta e Romeo'' is a dramma per musica by composer Niccolò Antonio Zingarelli with an Italian libretto by Giuseppe Maria Foppa after the 1530 novella of the same name by Luigi Da Porto and Shakespeare's ''Romeo and Juliet''. The opera pr ...

'' (2007; lyrics by

Pasquale Panella Pasquale Panella (born 12 January 1950) is an Italian lyricist, playwright, poet and novelist. He sometimes used the pen names Duchesca and Vanera. Life and career Panella was born in Rome. After graduating from the Istituto Magistrale, he sta ...

)

References

External links

RICCARDO COCCIANTE Official Web Site

Biography of Richard Cocciante
from Radio France Internationale
Biography of Riccardo Cocciante
from

RAI International Rai Italia is the international English language television service of Rai Internazionale, a subsidiary of RAI, Italy's public national broadcaster. Rai Italia operates a television network that broadcasts around the world via 3 localized feeds. ...

''AyerHoy.com''
(Cada día un perfil de un artista del ayer) {{DEFAULTSORT:Cocciante, Richard Cocciante, Riccardo Cocciante, Riccardo Cocciante, Riccardo Cocciante, Riccardo French male singers French people of Italian descent Italian people of French descent Sanremo Music Festival winners Italian musical theatre composers French musical theatre composers People from Ho Chi Minh City 20th-century Italian composers 21st-century Italian composers 20th-century French composers 21st-century French composers 20th-century French male musicians 21st-century French male musicians