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 born on 20 February 1946 in Saigon,

French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China),; vi, Đông Dương thuộc Pháp, , lit. 'East Ocean under French Control; km, ឥណ្ឌូចិនបារាំង, ; th, อินโดจีนฝรั่งเศส, ...

, now Ho Chi Minh City,

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making ...

, to an Italian father from Rocca di Mezzo, L'Aquila, and a French mother. At the age of 11, he moved to Rome, Italy, where he attended the Lycée français Chateaubriand. 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 song " Michelle" for the musical documentary '' All This and World War II''. 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'' Hot 100. In 1983, Cocciante signed to Virgin Records as their first Italian artist. In 1991, he won 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 the song "Se stiamo insieme", and for Christmas 1997, his friend

Plácido Domingo José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French ...

invited him to sing at Domingo's annual Christmas in Vienna concert, together with Sarah Brightman 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), Le Petit Prince, and '' Notre-Dame de Paris''. 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 Elhaida Dani (; born 17 February 1993) is an Albanian singer, songwriter, composer and actress. Born and raised in Shkodër, Dani performed in diverse singing competitions and started to play piano as a child. She rose to national recognition in ...

, 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 " Michelle", featuring the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

. 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.

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 ty ...

'' (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 muni ...

'' (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

*'' Notre-Dame de Paris'' (1997; lyrics by Luc Plamondon) *'' Le Petit Prince'' (2002; lyrics by Elizabeth Anais) *'' Giulietta e Romeo'' (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 s ...

)

References

External links

RICCARDO COCCIANTE Official Web Site

Biography of Richard Cocciante
from

Radio France Internationale Radio France Internationale, usually referred to as RFI, is the state-owned international radio broadcaster of France. With 37.2 million listeners in 2014, it is one of the most-listened-to international radio stations in the world, along with ...

Biography of Riccardo Cocciante
from RAI International
''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