Rosa Balistreri (21 March 1927 – 20 September 1990) was an Italian singer and musician. Her hoarse voice charged with melancholy and strong personality made her a Sicilian icon of the twentieth century, much like the writer

Leonardo Sciascia Leonardo Sciascia (; 8 January 1921 – 20 November 1989) was an Italian writer, novelist, essayist, playwright, and politician. Some of his works have been made into films, including '' Porte Aperte'' (1990; ''Open Doors''), '' Cadaveri Eccellen ...

, the poet

Ignazio Buttitta Ignazio Buttitta (19 September 1899 – 5 April 1997) was an Italian poet who wrote predominantly in Sicilian. Biography Born at Bagheria, Italy into a merchant's family, after having taken part in World War I Buttitta joined the Italian Social ...

and the painter

Renato Guttuso Renato Guttuso (26 December 1911 – 18 January 1987) was an Italian painter and politician. His best-known works include ''Flight from Etna'' (1938–39), ''Crucifixion'' (1941) and ''La Vucciria'' (1974). Guttuso also designed for the theatre ( ...

, who counted all three among her admirers.

Biography

Rosa Balistreri was born in

Licata Licata (, ; grc, Φιντίας, whence la, Phintias or ''Plintis''), formerly also Alicata (), is a city and ''comune'' located on the south coast of Sicily, at the mouth of the Salso River (the ancient ''Himera''), about midway between Agr ...

, a town in the

province of Agrigento The Province of Agrigento ( it, Provincia di Agrigento; scn, Pruvincia di Girgenti; officially ''Libero consorzio comunale di Agrigento'') is a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily in Italy, situated on its south-western coast. Follo ...

, in western declined Sicily, in the late 1920s. Her father was an alcoholic carpenter and Rosa was forced to do menial jobs, instead of going to school. In 1951, after experiencing the Sicily of

's ''Candido'', Rosa left her village at the age of 24 for

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

, settling in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

, where she worked as a domestic servant. Uprooted from her native land, she started her artistic career at 39, through

Dario Fo Dario Luigi Angelo Fo (; 24 March 1926 – 13 October 2016) was an Italian playwright, actor, theatre director, stage designer, songwriter, political campaigner for the Italian left wing and the recipient of the 1997 Nobel Prize in Literature. I ...

who made her star in one of his shows, ''Ci ragiono e canto''. Rosa recorded her first two albums the following year, in 1967, and performed at

Teatro Carignano The Teatro Carignano (Carignano Theatre) is a theatre in Turin and one of the oldest and most important theatres in Italy. Designed by Benedetto Alfieri, it is located opposite the Palazzo Carignano. Building commenced in 1752 and the theatre was ...

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

, at

Teatro Manzoni The Teatro Manzoni is a theatre in the northern Italian city of Milan, located on the Via Manzoni. Opened in 1870 it was originally called the ''Teatro sociale di Milano'', before being renamed after Alessandro Manzoni following his death in 187 ...

in Milan and at Teatro Metastasio in Prato. In 1971, now renowned Rosa Balistreri returned after twenty years in Sicily, where she would sing until her death. Often composed in dramatic style, her songs depict Sicily, as her friend Leonardo Sciascia describes, as "violent, tender, bitter, sweet, full of ambiguities". The "Soprano of the South", as

nicknamed her, related the misfortunes but also the beauties and mysteries of the three-pointed island. She also embodied, as her friends

Amalia Rodrigues Amalia may refer to: People *Amalia (given name), feminine given name (includes a list of people so named) *Princess Amalia (disambiguation), several princesses with this name Films and television series * ''Amalia'' (1914 film), the first ...

and Leonardo Sciascia, a generation of artists joining the

communist ideology Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

. Rosa Balistreri died in Palermo in 1990 at the age of 63, but her work survives and is modernized through the interpretations of Serena Rispoli,

Carmen Consoli Carmen Consoli (; born 4 September 1974 in Catania) is an Italian singer-songwriter. She has released 11 studio albums, one greatest hits, one soundtrack album, two live albums, four video album and 33 singles, selling 2 million copies in Ital ...

, and especially

Etta Scollo Etta Scollo (born 27 May 1958) is an Italian singer and songwriter. Her music combines traditional Sicilian music, pop and jazz. Biography Born in Catania, Italy, she moved to Turin to study Architecture. She abandoned her studies to devote he ...

who, accompanied by the Sicilian Symphony Orchestra, performs her most iconic songs, such as "'U cunigghiu", "I pirati a Palermu" or "Cu ti lu dissi".

Discography

*''La voce della Sicilia'' (1967, Tauro Record) *''Un matrimonio infelice'' (1967, Tauro Record) *''La cantatrice del Sud'' (1973, RCA reissue of La voce della Sicilia) *''Amore tu lo sai la vita è amara'' (1971, Cetra Folk) *''Terra che non-senti'' (1973, Cetra Folk) *''Noi siamo nell'inferno carcerati'' (1974, Cetra Folk) *''Amuri senza amuri'' (1974, Cetra Folk) *''La Ballata del Prefetto Mori'' (1977, Il prefetto di ferro) *''Vinni a cantari all'ariu scuvertu'' (1978, Cetra Folk) *''Concerto di Natale'' (1985, PDR)

Posthumous discography

*''Rosa Balistreri'' (1996, Teatro del Sole, CD reissue of ''La voce della Sicilia'') *''Un matrimonio infelice'' (1997, Teatro del Sole, CD reissue) *''Amore tu lo sai la vita è amara'' (2000, Teatro del Sole, CD reissue) *''Terra che non-senti'' (2000, Teatro del Sole, CD reissue) *''Noi siamo nell'inferno carcerati'' (2000, Teatro del Sole, CD reissue) *''Vinni a cantari all'ariu scuvertu'' (2000, Teatro del Sole, CD reissue) *''Rari e Inediti'' (1997, Teatro del Sole) *''Collection… la raggia, lu duluru, la passione'' (2004, Lucky Planets), CD 1 et 2 *''Rosa canta e cunta. Rari e inediti'' (2007, Teatro del Sole, Graham & Associati) *''Amuri senza amuri'' (2007, Lucky Planets, CD reissue)

Awards and Recognitions

*Premio ufficiale della critica discografica * Premio Tenco per operatore culturale (1982)

References

External links