Roberto Loreti (born 22 October 1947 in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

), also known by stage name Robertino (a

diminutive A diminutive is a root word that has been modified to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment. A (abbreviated ) is a word-formati ...

of ''Roberto''), is an Italian singer, known mostly for songs he performed as a teenager.

Early years

He was born to a large family with eight other children. His family was poor, and when he was 10, his father fell sick and Robertino helped the family by delivering bakery products to restaurants. He enjoyed singing folk songs on his way and was noticed by people for his singing voice. After a request to perform at a wedding in a restaurant, Robertino was sought after by other restaurants who competed for his service. Robertino was singing at Cafe Grand Italia where

Neapolitan Neapolitan means of or pertaining to Naples, a city in Italy; or to: Geography and history * Province of Naples, a province in the Campania region of southern Italy that includes the city * Duchy of Naples, in existence during the Early and Hig ...

actor

Totò Antonio Griffo Focas Flavio Angelo Ducas Comneno Porfirogenito Gagliardi de Curtis di Bisanzio (15 February 1898 – 15 April 1967), best known by his stage name Totò (), or simply as Antonio de Curtis, and nicknamed ''il Principe della risata ...

and

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

TV producer Volmer Sørensen noticed him. Sørensen was vacationing in Rome with his wife, singer Grethe Sønck, who noticed the boy. Sørensen persuaded his father to sign a contract, which stated that the boy would sing till age 17, and became his producer. That led to performances on

TV shows, tours of Scandinavia and Europe. Robertino would spend months on tour, singing up to three concerts a day, until his voice started to change. He recorded an album while 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 ...

, and later published several albums and appeared in movies.Enzo Giannelli. "Robertino". Gino Castaldo (edited by). ''Dizionario della canzone italiana''. Curcio Editore, 1990. pp. 1475-8. Robertino e Mario Trevi

Later

His voice eventually changed and became a

baritenor Baritenor (also rendered in English language sources as bari-tenor or baritenore) is a portmanteau (blend) of the words "baritone" and "tenor." It is used to describe both baritone and tenor voices. In ''Webster's Third New International Dictionar ...

. Loreti still travels through Europe, the US and Russia performing in concerts. In post-Soviet countries, he became friends with singers Muslim Magomayev (died in 2008),

Tamara Sinyavskaya Tamara Ilyinichna Sinyavskaya (russian: Тамара Ильинична Синявская; born 6 July 1943, in Moscow) is a Russian mezzo-soprano from the Bolshoi Theatre. She was awarded the title of People's Artist of the USSR in 1982. I ...

and

Joseph Kobzon Iosif (Joseph) Davydovich Kobzon (russian: link=no, Ио́сиф Давы́дович Кобзо́н; 11 September 1937 – 30 August 2018) was a Russian singer, known for his crooner style. Early life Kobzon was born to Jewish parents in the ...

. Cosmonaut

Valentina Tereshkova Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova ( rus, Валентина Владимировна Терешкова, links=no, p=vɐlʲɪnʲˈtʲinə vlɐˈdʲimʲɪrəvnə tʲɪrʲɪʂˈkovə, a=Valentina Tereshkova.ogg; born 6 March 1937) is an engine ...

requested his records played while she was in space. Russian poet

Yevgeny Yevtushenko Yevgeny Aleksandrovich Yevtushenko ( rus, links=no, 1=Евге́ний Алекса́ндрович Евтуше́нко; 18 July 1933 – 1 April 2017) was a Soviet and Russian poet. He was also a novelist, essayist, dramatist, screenwriter, ...

wrote a poem titled "Robertino Loreti".Russian Theatre

Alleged conspiracy to murder Loreti

Pietro Castelluzzo, 58, was arrested Thursday, February 25, 2010, by members of the Organized Crime Enforcement unit of the

Toronto Police Service The Toronto Police Service (TPS) is a municipal police force in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and the primary agency responsible for providing law enforcement and policing services in Toronto. Established in 1834, it was the first local police ser ...

, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and charged with four counts of counselling to commit three murders, the target of one of which was Roberto Loreti. The suspect had known the singer for decades, and Loreti had stayed at Castelluzo family home in Toronto in the 1980s. It was at that time that Castelluzzo believed Loreti had slept with his wife. The murder was to take place while Loreti had an engagement at the

Fallsview Casino The Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort (commonly known as ''Fallsview Casino'') is a resort casino in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. It opened publicly on June 10, 2004. The $1 billion complex overlooks the Horseshoe Falls and is one of the most ...

, Niagara Falls, Ontario, the following weekend

References

External links

* * at

Torna a Surriento "Torna a Surriento" () is a Neapolitan song composed in 1894 by Italian musician Ernesto De Curtis to words by his brother, the poet and painter Giambattista De Curtis. The song was copyrighted officially in 1905, and has become one of the most ...

italian fan-clubMemorabilia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Loretti, Robertino 1947 births Italian child singers Living people Italian male singers