Rossana Casale (born July 21, 1959) is an Italian singer.

Biography

Casale was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

to an Italian-American father, photographer Giac Casale, and an Italian mother. Shortly after her birth the family moved to

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

, Italy, then to

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, where Casale grew up. Her music career began in the late 1970s as backing vocalist for a band called Albero Motore. She also did session work for many

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded danc ...

productions such as Klein & MBO, Kano,

Mike Francis Francesco Puccioni (26 April 1961 – 30 January 2009), better known under his stage name Mike Francis, was an Italian singer and composer, born in Florence, Italy. Internationally, he was best known for his 1984 hit, "Survivor", and his collabo ...

and Pink Project. Casale enrolled in the Conservatory G. Verdi in Milan where she studied singing and percussion. Casale's first single as a solo artist, "Didin" (1982), was co-written with

Alberto Fortis Alberto Fortis (1741–1803) was a Republic of Venice, Venetian writer, naturalist and cartographer. Life His real name was Giovanni Battista Fortis (his religious name was ''Alberto'') and he was born in Padua on either 9 or 11 of November 1741 ...

, while her first album, ''Rossana Casale'', was released in 1984 and produced by members of

Premiata Forneria Marconi Premiata Forneria Marconi (PFM) (translation: ''Award-winning Marconi Bakery'') is an Italian progressive rock band founded in 1970 which continues to the present day. They were the first Italian group to have success internationally. The group ...

. In 1983 she played a small role in

Pupi Avati Giuseppe Avati, better known as Pupi Avati (born 3 November 1938), is an Italian film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is known to horror film fans for his two giallo masterpieces, ''The House with Laughing Windows'' (1976) and '' Zeder ...

's film ''Una gita scolastica'', and also contributed to the film soundtrack with two songs, ''L'incanto'' and ''A tu per tu''. In 1986 and 1987 she participated to the

Sanremo 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 "Brividi", (written by Maurizio Fabrizio) and "Destino". Also in 1986, she won the

Canale 5 Canale 5 () is an Italian free-to-air television channel of Mediaset, owned by MFE - MediaForEurope. It was the first private television network to have a national coverage in Italy in 1980. On 4 December 2012, Mediaset launched Canale 5 HD, a s ...

television song contest Premiatissima 86, with the song "Nuova vita". In 1987 she released her second album, ''La via dei misteri'' and was invited to perform at

Umbria Jazz Festival The Umbria Jazz Festival is one of the most important jazz festivals in the world and has been held annually since 1973, usually in July, in Perugia, and surrounding cities of the region of Umbria Italy. Furthermore, the Umbria Jazz Winter Festi ...

Perugia Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part o ...

. Casale participated three further times at the Sanremo Festival, in 1989 with "A che servono gli dei" (from the album ''Incoerente Jazz''), in 1991 with "Terra" (album ''Lo stato naturale'') and in 1993 with "Gli amori diversi" (a duet with Italian pop singer

Grazia Di Michele Grazia Di Michele (born 9 October 1955) is an Italian singer-songwriter. Life and career Born Maria Grazia Di Michele in Rome to parents from Abruzzo, at very young age, she founded with Chiara Scotti and Clelia Lamorgese "L'Ape di Vetro" ("T ...

that finished third in the final standing). Following the release of her 1994 album ''Jazz in me'', in 1995 Casale made her theatre debut in an Italian production of ''

An American in Paris ''An American in Paris'' is a jazz-influenced orchestral piece by American composer George Gershwin first performed in 1928. It was inspired by the time that Gershwin had spent in Paris and evokes the sights and energy of the French capital ...

'' with Raffaele Paganini. Casale's performance received positive reviews and she was awarded the "Bob Fosse" Prize for best debuting actress. In 1996 Casale released her 7th album, ''Nella notte un volo'', written and produced by Casale herself and Andrea Zuppini. It was followed by a promotional tour with 50 performances. After the ''Jacques Brel in me'' album (1999), in 1999 she returned to theatre, playing

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

's character Sugar in homonymous movie) alongside

Alessandro Gassman Alessandro Gassmann (born 24 February 1965) is an Italian actor and film director. Early life Gassmann was born in Rome, Italy, the son of Italian actor Vittorio Gassman and French actress Juliette Mayniel. He is of German, Jewish and French ...

and

Gianmarco Tognazzi Gianmarco Tognazzi (born 11 October 1967) is an Italian actor. Life and career Born on 11 October 1967 in Rome, the son of actors Ugo Tognazzi and Franca Bettoia,Giorgio Dell’Arti, Massimo Parrini. ''Catalogo dei viventi''. Marsilio, 2009. . ...

. In 2000 she continued to alternate music and theatre, releasing the album ''Strani frutti'', and playing Audrey in a production of '' Little Shop of Horrors'' directed by

Saverio Marconi Saverio Marconi (born 1 April 1948) is an Italian stage director and actor. Life and career Born in Rome, after his debut as a stage actor, Marconi had his breakout role in 1977 playing Gavino Ledda in the Paolo and Vittorio Taviani's drama fi ...

. In 2002 Casale released ''Riflessi'', and in 2004 she recorded ''Billie Holliday in me'', an album of

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop si ...

's songs who was followed by 250 concerts all over Italy. In 2006 she released ''Circo immaginario'', an album she co-produced with Anderea Zuppini. In 2007 she wrote and performed the musical ''Otto donne ed un mistero'' directed by Claudio Insegno.

Discography

References

External links

Official site – rossanacasale.it
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Casale, Rossana 1959 births Living people American emigrants to Italy Singers from Milan Italian jazz singers Women jazz singers Italian pop singers 20th-century Italian women singers 21st-century Italian women singers