Albano Antonio Carrisi (; born 20 May 1943), better known as Al Bano, is an Italian singer and actor. Having sold over 25 million records globally and career spanning seven decades, he is one of the most recognisable Italian singers in the world. He has gained worldwide notability due to his four and a half octave

vocal range Vocal range is the range of pitches that a human voice can phonate. A common application is within the context of singing, where it is used as a defining characteristic for classifying singing voices into voice types. It is also a topic of stud ...

as well as his personal and

professional association A professional association (also called a professional body, professional organization, or professional society) is a group that usually seeks to advocacy, further a particular profession, the interests of individuals and organisations engaged in ...

with

Romina Power Romina Francesca Power (born October 2, 1951) is an American and naturalized Italian actress and singer. She is the daughter of actor Tyrone Power and actress Linda Christian. With ex-husband Albano Carrisi, she formed the music duo Al Ban ...

, daughter of Hollywood actor

Tyrone Power Tyrone Edmund Power III (May 5, 1914 – November 15, 1958) was an American actor. From the 1930s to the 1950s, Power appeared in dozens of films, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads. His better-known films include ''Jesse James (193 ...

, lasting until the 1990s. Carrisi is acclaimed for singing with operatic affinity in

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

and

italo disco Italo disco (variously capitalized, and sometimes hyphenated as Italo-disco) is a music genre which originated in Italy in the late 1970s and was mainly produced in the 1980s. Italo disco evolved from the then-current underground dance, pop, ...

repertoires with extensive head voice and minimal usage of

falsetto Falsetto ( , ; Italian language, Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ...

vocal register A vocal register is a range of tones in the human voice produced by a particular vibratory pattern of the vocal folds. These registers include modal voice (or normal voice), vocal fry, falsetto, and the whistle register. Registers originate in lar ...

. he has participated in 15 editions of the

Sanremo Music Festival The Sanremo Music Festival ( ), officially the Italian Song Festival (), is the most popular Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo, Liguria, organized and broadcast by (RAI). It is the longest-running ...

, tying the record for most participations with

Anna Oxa Iliriana Hoxha (; born 28 April 1961), known professionally as Anna Oxa (), is an Italian singer of Albanian origins (from father side), actress and television presenter. She has received mainstream popularity and recognition within Italy due to ...

Milva Maria Ilva Biolcati, (; 17 July 1939 – 23 April 2021), known as Milva (), was an Italian singer, stage and film actress, and television personality. She was also known as ''La Rossa'' (Italian for "The Redhead"), due to the characteristic co ...

, Peppino di Capri and

Toto Cutugno Salvatore "Toto" Cutugno (; 7 July 1943 – 22 August 2023) was an Italian Italian popular music, pop singer-songwriter, musician, and television presenter. He was best known for his worldwide hit song, "", released on his 1983 album of the sam ...

; this includes a victory in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

duetting with Power. He additionally took part in the selection in

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

. In 2016, he was awarded Albanian citizenship due to his close ties with the country and a forename referring to the land.

Biography

He was born in the town of

Cellino San Marco Celino San Marco ( Leccese: ) is a ''comune'' in the province of Brindisi in Apulia, on the south-east coast of Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It ...

(

province of Brindisi The province of Brindisi () is a province in the Apulia region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Brindisi. It has an area of and a total population of 401,652 (2013). Geography The Province of Brindisi is situated in southeastern Italy, exte ...

Puglia Apulia ( ), also known by its Italian language, Italian name Puglia (), is a Regions of Italy, region of Italy, located in the Southern Italy, southern peninsular section of the country, bordering the Adriatic Sea to the east, the Strait of Ot ...

in Southern

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

), where he still lives. His mother Iolanda Ottino named him Albano because, when he was born, his father Carmelo Carrisi was fighting in Albania for the

Royal Italian Army The Royal Italian Army () (RE) was the land force of the Kingdom of Italy, established with the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy. During the 19th century Italy started to unify into one country, and in 1861 Manfredo Fanti signed a decree c ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He has one brother, Franco Carrisi (Kocis). He made his debut in 1966 both as a singer, at the Festival delle Rose, and on television. He won the Disco per l'Estate, an Italian song contest, with "Pensando a te" in 1968. He recorded some major hits such as "La siepe" and "Nel sole" at that time. "Nel sole" sold 600,000 copies in Italy within three months of release in 1967, and eventually over one million copies, and was awarded a

gold disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

in July 1968. Soon afterwards, he started a musical collaboration with

(daughter of the American actor

), whom he married in 1970. After their marriage, they recorded "Storia di due innamorati". They sang as the duo Al Bano & Romina Power for almost thirty years; their work has been especially popular in Italy, Austria, France, Spain, Bulgaria,

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, Greece and Germany. They released "Dialogo" in 1975 and took part in the

Eurovision Song Contest 1976 The Eurovision Song Contest 1976 was the 21st edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in The Hague, Netherlands, following the country's victory at the with the song "Ding-a-dong" by Teach-In (band), Teach-In. Organised by the Euro ...

with the song " We'll Live It All Again" ("Noi lo rivivremo di nuovo"). They sang "

Sharazan "Sharazan" is a song by Italian duo Al Bano and Romina Power, released in 1981. It was an international commercial success and remains one of their best-known hits. Meaning of the word They are told to say that Sharazan means "Dreamland", what w ...

" in 1981 and the following year they took part in the

with the song "

Felicità "Felicità" (; Italian for "Happiness") is a song by Italian-American duo Al Bano and Romina Power, released in 1982. It was an international commercial success and remains arguably their best-known song. Song information The duo participated wi ...

", which came second. They won first prize in 1984 singing "

Ci sarà CI or Ci may refer to: Business terminology * Commercial invoice * Competitive intelligence * Confidential information * Continual improvement * Corporate identity * Customer intelligence, a discipline in marketing Businesses and organisations ...

" and again took part in the

Eurovision Song Contest 1985 The Eurovision Song Contest 1985 was the 30th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 4 May 1985 in the in Gothenburg, Sweden. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster (SVT), it was presented by Lill Li ...

with "

Magic Oh Magic The Eurovision Song Contest 1985 was the 30th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 4 May 1985 in the in Gothenburg, Sweden. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster (SVT), it was presented by Lill Li ...

". Both their Eurovision entries placed 7th. Other hits of 1987 include: "Nostalgia canaglia" (awarded 3rd prize at Festival di Sanremo '87) and "Libertà". Those successful songs were followed by "Cara terra mia", which came in third once more at the 1989 Sanremo Music Festival, and "Oggi sposi" which placed 8th at the 1991 Sanremo Music Festival. Al Bano returned to his solo career in 1996 with "È la mia vita" which was followed by "Verso il sole" in 1997 and "Ancora in volo" in 1999 (that year, his duo – and his marriage – with Romina broke up). He also played in "Herşeye Rağmen" ("Nonetheless" in Turkish) music video of Sima (full name was Sima Sarıkaya), a Turkish singer in 1997. In 2000, Al Bano returned to the Eurovision stage, providing backing vocals for the Swiss entry (performed in Italian) " La vita cos'è?" performed by Jane Bogaert. This song placed 20th out of 24 in the contest. On 16 October 2001, Carrisi was nominated Goodwill Ambassador of the

Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; . (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security. Its Latin motto, , translates ...

of the United Nations (FAO). In 2005, he starred in the Italian

reality show Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

L'isola dei Famosi ''L'isola dei famosi'' (; Italian for ''The Celebrity Island'' or ''The island of the famous'') is an Italian Reality television, reality show, first aired on Rai 2 in 2003, before moving to Canale 5 in 2015. This program is the Italian ''Survivor ...

'' (Italian version of ''

Celebrity Survivor The second season of '' Australian Survivor'', also known as ''Australian Celebrity Survivor'' and ''Celebrity Survivor: Vanuatu'', is a television series based on the international reality competition franchise ''Survivor''. The season featured ...

'') with his daughter, Romina Carrisi. Al Bano returned to

in 2007, where he sang "Nel perdono" which came in second place. Al Bano still tours all over the world. He is a constant on Italian television and has a large number of fans who follow his career very closely. To date Al Bano has sold 165 million albums around the world. Al Bano has visited Albania a number of times. He was there for a concert in 1989 and has been enjoying great popularity there. In June 2016 Al Bano was granted

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

n citizenship due to his close ties with the country and career successes in Albania. In March 2019 Al Bano was included in the blacklist of the Ukrainian website "

Myrotvorets Myrotvorets or Mirotvorets (, ; ) is a Ukrainian Kyiv-based website that publishes a running list, and sometimes personal information, of people who are considered by authors of the website to be "enemies of Ukraine", or, as the website itself ...

" and the

Ukrainian government The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (), commonly referred to as the Government of Ukraine (), is the highest body of state executive power in Ukraine. As the Cabinet of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR, it was formed on 18 April 1991, by the Law ...

banned him from entering

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

because of his support of the

2014 Russian annexation of Crimea In February and March 2014, Russia invaded the Crimean Peninsula, part of Ukraine, and then annexed it. This took place in the relative power vacuum immediately following the Revolution of Dignity. It marked the beginning of the Russo-Ukrain ...

. In April 2020 Al Bano released a dual-language song in Italian and English praising the natural beauty of Latvia
Terra d'Ambra e di Emozioni / Land of Amber
was written and composed by Charles Goodger with Italian lyrics by Alberto Zeppieri. The Latvian Tourist Board used it in a promotional video.

Opera

Al Bano grew up listening to

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

for which he had a great passion. He has released several opera albums and is a tenor. In 1997, he released an opera solo album 1997 entitled ''Concerto Classico'', which went double platinum in a short time. Songs he sang on that album include " Una furtiva lagrima", "

Va, pensiero "" (), also known as the "Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves", is a chorus from the opera ''Nabucco'' (1842) by Giuseppe Verdi. It recollects the period of Babylonian captivity after the destruction of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem in 586 BC. The libre ...

", "La nostra serenata", " E lucevan le stelle", and "Ave Maria".

Filmography

Personal life

On 26 July 1970, Al Bano married

(daughter of the American actor

), who had already started to share her musical career with him, and remained his stage partner for about 30 years. Carrisi and Power separated in 1999. Their divorce was finalized in 2012. They have a son, Yari (1973), and three daughters: Ylenia Maria (1970) (who went missing in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

in 1994), Cristel Chiara (1985) (starred in the

Reality TV Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 199 ...

show ''La Fattoria'', an Italian version of '' The Farm'') and Romina Iolanda (1987). He has one daughter and one son from girlfriend and showgirl Loredana Lecciso, Jasmine Caterina (2001) and Albano Giovanni (2002). In the summer of 2013, Al Bano and Romina Power reunited, reportedly only on a professional basis and for one final time, for a concert performance in Moscow. They later performed as guests at the Sanremo Festival 2015. They also performed together in Atlantic City, USA, in April 2015, and following that, in Los Angeles. On 30 May 2015, Al Bano produced a show at the

Arena di Verona The Verona Arena is a Roman amphitheatre located in the historic center of Verona, an iconic symbol of the Venetian city alongside the figures of Romeo and Juliet. It stands as one of the grand structures that defined Roman architecture and i ...

, before a sold-out audience of 11,000, in which he starred with Romina Power. The show, featuring Tyrone Power Jr. and other special guests was transmitted by the Italian national TV network

RAI (), commercially styled as since 2000 and known until 1954 as (RAI), is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many terrestrial and subscription television channels a ...

, and was watched in over eight countries by 51,000,000 viewers around the globe, a 37 ratings share.Romina Power – A Message Now Available from
Creative and Dreams Music Network (30 May 2015). Retrieved on 2015-07-26.

Notes

References

External links

Official Website

Official YouTube ChannelOfficial Facebook PageOfficial Twitter Profile
*
Al Bano & Romina Power Russian Fansite
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carrisi, Albano 1943 births Living people Italian male actors Italian winemakers People from the Province of Brindisi Male actors from Apulia Sanremo Music Festival winners Eurovision Song Contest entrants Survivor (franchise) contestants Participants in Italian reality television series Power family 20th-century Italian male singers 21st-century Italian male singers Spanish-language singers of Italy