Vinicio Capossela (born 14 December 1965) is an Italian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. Capossela is renowned for the highly original and poetic lyrics of his songs. Many of them draw from traditions of Italian folk music, especially those of his parents' native

Irpinia Irpinia (Modern Latin ''Hirpinia'') is a geographical and cultural region of Southern Italy. It was the inland territory of the ancient ''Hirpini'' tribe, and its extent matches approximately today's province of Avellino. Geography The territor ...

, part of the

Campania Campania (, also , , , ) is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islands and the i ...

province. Some of his songs — especially in the album ''Marinai, profeti e balene'' ("Sailors, Prophets and Whales") — are inspired on world themes and legends (''Canzone a manovella'', ''Medusa'') and world literature, such as

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

(''Calypso'', ''La lancia del pellide''),

Samuel Taylor Coleridge Samuel Taylor Coleridge (; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poe ...

(''Santissima dei naufragati''),

Joseph Conrad Joseph Conrad (born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski, ; 3 December 1857 – 3 August 1924) was a Poles in the United Kingdom#19th century, Polish-British novelist and short story writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest writers in t ...

(''Lord Jim''),

Herman Melville Herman Melville (Name change, born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American people, American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance (literature), American Renaissance period. Among his bes ...

(''Billy Budd'', ''La Bianchezza della Balena''),

John Fante John Fante (April 8, 1909 – May 8, 1983) was an American novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter. He is best known for his semi-autobiographical novel ''Ask the Dust'' (1939) about the life of Arturo Bandini, a struggling writer in Depre ...

(''Accolita dei rancorosi''),

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

(''Con una rosa''),

Alfred Jarry Alfred Jarry (; 8 September 1873 – 1 November 1907) was a French symbolist writer who is best known for his play ''Ubu Roi'' (1896). He also coined the term and philosophical concept of 'pataphysics. Jarry was born in Laval, Mayenne, France, ...

(''Decervellamento'') and

Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for ''The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He wa ...

(''Corvo torvo''). His musical style has been compared to that of

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...

He also published translations of original songs by other authors, including

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

(''La nave sta arrivando''),

Vladimir Vysotsky Vladimir Semyonovich Vysotsky ( rus, links=no, Владимир Семёнович Высоцкий, p=vlɐˈdʲimʲɪr sʲɪˈmʲɵnəvʲɪtɕ vɨˈsotskʲɪj; 25 January 1938 – 25 July 1980), was a Soviet singer-songwriter, poet, and actor ...

(''Il pugile sentimentale'') and

Markos Vamvakaris Márkos Vamvakáris ( el, Μάρκος Βαμβακάρης; 10 May 1905 – 8 February 1972), was a ''rebetiko'' musician. He is universally referred to by ''rebetiko'' writers and fans simply by his first name, Márkos. The great significance ...

(''Contratto per Karelias'').

Biography

Capossela was born in

Hannover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German States of Germany, state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germa ...

(Germany) to Italian parents. His father Vito was from

Calitri Calitri ( la, Caletrium or ; Irpino: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Avellino, Campania, Italy. Overview Calitri is in Campania near the borders of the regions of Apulia and Basilicata. It is approximately above sea level so on ...

and his mother from

Andretta Andretta is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Avellino, Campania, Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Medi ...

, both towns in the

region of

. The name "Vinicio" was an homage to a famous

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

player admired by his father. At an early age he returned to Italy with the family, that settled in the

province of Reggio Emilia The Province of Reggio Emilia ( it, Provincia di Reggio nell'Emilia, Emilian: ''pruvînsa ed Rèz'') is one of the nine provinces of the Italian Region of Emilia-Romagna. The capital city, which is the most densely populated comune in the provin ...

. Growing up, Capossela became popular in the underground musical scene of the

Emilia-Romagna egl, Emigliàn (man) egl, Emiglièna (woman) rgn, Rumagnòl (man) rgn, Rumagnòla (woman) it, Emiliano (man) it, Emiliana (woman) or it, Romagnolo (man) it, Romagnola (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title ...

region. There he attracted the attention of

Francesco Guccini Francesco Guccini (, born 14 June 1940) is an Italian singer-songwriter, considered one of the most important '' cantautori'' of his time. During the five decades of his music career he has recorded 16 studio albums and collections, and 6 live a ...

, who introduced him to

Club Tenco Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a '' Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album '' kelsea'' Brands and enterprise ...

, an organization founded in 1972 to promote emerging songwriters. Capossela published his first album (''All'una e trentacinque circa'') in 1990. It was followed by ''Modì'' (1991) and ''Camera a Sud'' (1994). Capossela's big breakthrough happened in 1996 with the album ''Il ballo di San Vito''.

Private life

Capossela always refused to discuss his private life. In 1994 he married an American model but the couple divorced after about two years.http://temi.repubblica.it/iniziative-capossela/2012/02/24/lintervista-di-e-assante-parte-2/ Intervista di Ernesto Assante - La Repubblica

Discography

*''All'una e trentacinque circa'' - 1990 *''Modì'' - 1991 *''Camera a sud'' - 1994 *''Il ballo di San Vito'' - 1996 *''Liveinvolvo'' - 1998 - (Live Album) *''Canzoni a manovella'' - 2000 *''L'indispensabile'' - 2003 *''Ovunque proteggi'' - 2006 *''Nel niente sotto il sole - Grand tour 2006'' - 2007 - (Live Album) *''Da solo'' - 2008 - (ITA Platinum 90,000+) *''Solo Show Alive'' - 2009 - (Live Album) *''The Story-Faced Man'' - 2010 *''La nave sta arrivando'' - 2011 - (EP) *''Marinai, profeti e balene'' - 2011 *''Rebetiko Gymnastas'' - 2012 *''Canzoni della cupa'' - 2016 *''Ballate per uomini e bestie'' - 2019

Bibliography

Books by Vinicio Capossela

*Vinicio Capossela, ''Non si muore tutte le mattine'', , Feltrinelli, Milan (2004) *Vinicio Capossela, Vincenzo Costantino Cinaski, ''In clandestinità'', , Feltrinelli, Milan (2009) *Vinicio Capossela, ''Tefteri - Il libro dei conti in sospeso'', , Il Saggiatore, Milan (2013)

Books about Vinicio Capossela

*Elisabetta Cucco, ''Vinicio Capossela. Rabdomante senza requie'', , Auditorium, Milan (2005) *Vincenzo Mollica, ''Niente canzoni d'amore'' + DVD '' Parole e canzoni'', , Einaudi, Turin (2006) *Massimo Padalino, ''Il ballo di San Vinicio'', , Arcana (2009)

References

External links

Official Site
1965 births Living people People from Avellino Italian singer-songwriters Italian composers Italian male composers People of Campanian descent Rebetiko musicians People from Hanover {{Italy-singer-stub