Canzone napoletana (), sometimes referred to as Neapolitan song ( nap, canzona napulitana ), is a generic term for a traditional form of music sung in the

Neapolitan language , altname = , states = Italy , region = Abruzzo, Apulia, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Lazio, Marche, Molise , ethnicity = '' Mezzogiorno'' Ethnic Italians , speakers = 5.7 million , d ...

, ordinarily for the male voice singing solo, although well represented by female soloists as well, and expressed in familiar genres such as the love song and serenade. Many of the songs are about the nostalgic longing for Naples as it once was. The genre consists of a large body of composed popular music—such songs as "

’O sole mio "O sole mio" () is a well-known Neapolitan song written in 1898. Its Neapolitan language lyrics were written by Giovanni Capurro and the music was composed by Eduardo di Capua (1865–1917) and Alfredo Mazzucchi (1878–1972).. The title tra ...

"; " Torna a Surriento"; "

Funiculì, Funiculà "Funiculì, Funiculà" (, en, "Funicular Up, Funicular Down") is a Neapolitan song composed in 1880 by Luigi Denza to lyrics by Peppino Turco. It was written to commemorate the opening of the first funicular railway on Mount Vesuvius. It was pr ...

"; "

Santa Lucia Santa Lucia and similar terms may refer to: Architecture * Abbey of Santa Lucia, a medieval abbey in the comune of Rocca di Cambio, Abruzzo, central Italy * Monastero di Santa Lucia, Adrano, a former Benedictine monastery in Catania, Italy * S ...

" and others. The Neapolitan song became a formal institution in the 1830s due to an annual song-writing competition for the Festival of Piedigrotta, dedicated to the Madonna of Piedigrotta, a well-known church in the Mergellina area of Naples. The winner of the first festival was a song entitled "Te voglio bene assaie"; it is traditionally attributed to the prominent opera composer Gaetano Donizetti, although an article published in 1984 by Marcello Sorce Keller shows there is no historical evidence in support of the attribution. The festival ran regularly until 1950, when it was abandoned. A subsequent Festival of Neapolitan Song on Italian state radio enjoyed some success in the 1950s but was eventually abandoned as well. The period since 1950 has produced such songs as " Malafemmena" by Totò, "" by Renato Carosone, "Indifferentemente" by Mario Trevi and "Carmela" by

Sergio Bruni Sergio Bruni (stage name of Guglielmo Chianese, 15 September 1921 – 22 June 2003) was a popular Italian singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He was often called "The Voice of Naples". He was born in the commune of Villaricca, near Naples, Italy ...

. Although separated by some decades from the earlier classics of this genre, they have now become Neapolitan "classics" in their own right.

History

Many of the Neapolitan songs are world-famous because they were taken abroad by emigrants from Naples and southern Italy, roughly between 1880 and 1920. The music also was popularized abroad by performers such as Enrico Caruso, who took to singing the popular music of his native city as encores at the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...

in New York in the early 1900s. Caruso also recorded many of these songs, which subsequently became part of the standard repertoire for operatic tenors, and which were performed and recorded by such notable singers as Beniamino Gigli, Francesco Albanese, Franco Corelli, Mario Del Monaco, Giuseppe Di Stefano, and Tito Schipa.

The Three Tenors The Three Tenors were an operatic singing trio, active during the 1990s and early 2000s, and termed as a supergroup (a title normally reserved for rock and pop groups) consisting of Italian Luciano Pavarotti and Spaniards Plácido Domingo an ...

also performed popular songs from Naples. Plácido Domingo recorded a full CD '' Italia ti amo'' of traditional and some more modern Neapolitan and Italian songs. Luciano Pavarotti recorded three albums of Neapolitan and Italian songs: ''The Best: Disc 2'', (2005), ''Pavarotti Songbook'', (1991), and '' Romantica'', (2002). Mario Lanza recorded an acclaimed selection of 12 Neapolitan songs on his 1959 album, '' Mario! Lanza At His Best''. Opera/pop crossover tenor, Sergio Franchi recorded his very popular '' Billboard'' Top 25 RCA debut album, ''Romantic Italian Songs'' in 1962, and continued to record Neapolitan songs on most of his albums throughout his career.

Andrea Bocelli Andrea Bocelli (; born 22 September 1958) is an Italian tenor and multi-instrumentalist. He was born visually impaired, with congenital glaucoma, and at the age of 12, Bocelli became completely blind, following a brain hemorrhage resulting fro ...

recorded an album in 2009 dedicated to the style, entitled '' Incanto''. The most important native Neapolitan performers of Neapolitan songs in the last few decades include

Roberto Murolo Roberto Murolo (19 January 1912 – 13 March 2003) was an Italian musician. Career Born in Naples, Italy as the son of poet Ernesto Murolo and Lia Cavalli, Murolo showed a began singing and playing the guitar as a child. Murolo won the Ital ...

, Bruno Venturini, Mario Trevi,

Mario Abbate Mario Abbate (Naples, 8 August 1927 – Naples, 6 August 1981) was an Italian singer and actor, famous as an exponent of Neapolitan songs. He appeared in three Italian movies: ''Naples Sings'' (1953), ''It Happened at the Police Station'' (1954), ...

, Mario Merola, Giulietta Sacco,

Franco Ricci Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" Prefix * Franco, a prefix used when ref ...

, Renato Carosone, and

Mario Maglione is a character (arts), character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario (franchise), Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in ...

. Murolo is known not only as a singer and guitarist, but also as a composer, scholar and collector of the music; his collection of twelve LPs, released in the 1960s, is an annotated compendium of Neapolitan song dating back to the twelfth century. Representatives of different veins, but nevertheless leading the continuing tradition of song in Neapolitan, are the jazz-rock singer-songwriter

Pino Daniele Giuseppe Daniele (19 March 1955 – 4 January 2015), known as Pino Daniele, was an Italian singer, songwriter and musician. His influences covered a wide number of genres, including pop, blues, jazz, and Italian and Middle Eastern music. Biograp ...

and the folkloric group

Nuova Compagnia di Canto Popolare The Nuova Compagnia di Canto Popolare (literally "New Company of Folk Song"), also known by the acronym NCCP, is an Italian folk group, founded in Naples in 1969. History The musical project was founded by musicians Eugenio Bennato, Carlo D’An ...

. :it:Nuova Compagnia di Canto Popolare An important factor in defining what makes a Neapolitan song is the matter of language. All these songs are written and performed in the

. Although the music is sung by many non-Neapolitan singers, it is difficult to sing correctly without knowledge of the Neapolitan dialect, which is crucial in obtaining the correct inflection. The matter of dialect has not prevented a few non-Neapolitans from writing dialect versions of Neapolitan songs. The most famous examples of this are ''

’A vucchella "A vucchella" is a Neapolitan song composed by Paolo Tosti. The poet who wrote the words of this song was the 19th century lyric poet, Gabriele D'Annunzio. He was not from Naples, but from a city in the region of Abruzzo. With the Neapolitan melo ...

'' by Gabriele D'Annunzio and '' Tu sì 'na cosa grande'' by Domenico Modugno.

List of songs

'A vucchella "A vucchella" is a Neapolitan song composed by Paolo Tosti. The poet who wrote the words of this song was the 19th century lyric poet, Gabriele D'Annunzio. He was not from Naples, but from a city in the region of Abruzzo. With the Neapolitan melod ...

* Accarezzame *

Canzone amalfitana Literally "song" in Italian, a '' canzone'' (, plural: ''canzoni''; cognate with English ''to chant'') is an Italian or Provençal song or ballad. It is also used to describe a type of lyric which resembles a madrigal. Sometimes a compositio ...

* Caruso * C'è la luna mezz'o mare * Cerasella *

Comme facette mammeta "Comme facette mammeta" is a song published in 1906 by Salvatore Gambardella and Giuseppe Capaldo, whose title may be translated as "How your mother made you". Recordings * Mario Lanza in 1961 (see Mario Lanza discography) * Sergio Franchi (see L ...

Core 'ngrato "Core 'ngrato" (; "Ungrateful Heart"), also known by the first words "Catarì, Catarì" (short and dialectal form for ''Caterina'', a female first name), is a 1911 Neapolitan song by emigrant American composer Salvatore Cardillo with lyrics by R ...

Cu 'mmé CU or cu, may refer to: * Close-up, in film making * Cuba (ISO 3166, FIPS Pub 10-4 and obsolete NATO digram) ** .cu, Cuba's top-level domain country code * Old Church Slavonic (ISO 639 alpha-2 language code) * "See you", in e-mail shorthand * Cu ...

* Dicitencello vuje *

Era de maggio An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Compa ...

Fenesta vascia Fenesta Vascia (low window) is a popular and ancient Neapolitan song, from 1500, at the time when Naples was part of the Spanish Empire. Its description as "Calascionata" indicates it was to be accompanied by a calascione, a large lute. The lyrics ...

* Guaglione *'

I te vurria vasa I, or i, is the ninth letter and the third vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''i'' (pronounced ), plur ...

' * Indifferentemente * Lacreme napulitane *

Lazzarella "Lazzarella" is a song composed by Domenico Modugno and Riccardo Pazzaglia. The song, with a performance by Aurelio Fierro, ranked second at the fifth edition of the Festival di Napoli. It also got an immediate commercial success, peaking at sec ...

Luna caprese Luna commonly refers to: * Earth's Moon, named "Luna" in Latin * Luna (goddess), the ancient Roman personification of the Moon Luna may also refer to: Places Philippines * Luna, Apayao * Luna, Isabela * Luna, La Union * Luna, San Jose Romania * ...

* Luna rossa * Malafemmena *

Mamma mia che vo sapé Mama(s) or Mamma or Momma may refer to: Roles *Mother, a female parent *Mama-san, in Japan and East Asia, a woman in a position of authority *Mamas, a name for female associates of the Hells Angels Places * Mama, Russia, an urban-type settlemen ...

* Mare verde * Marechiare * Marenariello * María, Marí * Munasterio 'e Santa Chiara * Na' sera e' maggio * 'O marenariello * 'O paese d'o Sole * 'O sarracino * 'O sole mio * 'O surdato 'nnammurato * Passione * Pecché? *

Reginella This list of Donald Duck universe characters focuses on Disney cartoon and comics characters who typically appear with Donald Duck and Scrooge McDuck, but are not related to them. For relatives of Donald and Scrooge, see Duck family (Disney) or ...

Rose rosse A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that c ...

* Santa Lucia Luntana *

Tiempe belle "Tiempe belle" is a Neapolitan song written by Vincenzo Valente in 1916; the words are by Aniello Califano Aniello Califano (19 January 1870 in Sorrento – 20 February 1919 in Sant'Egidio del Monte Albino) was an Italian poet and writer. ...

* Torna a Surriento * Tu Vuò Fà L'Americano *

Voce ′e notte Voce (Italian for ''voice'') was a premium Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) using the AT&T GSM network sold by Neiman-Marcus and created by Japanese company Faith Communications. During the month of January 2008, ownership was transferred to ...

Noted figures

Recording artists

* Francesco Albanese * Renzo Arbore *

* Renato Carosone * Enrico Caruso * Franco Corelli * Nino D'Angelo * Gigi D'Alessio * Gabriele D'Annunzio *

* Mario Del Monaco * Giuseppe Di Stefano *

Elvira Donnarumma Elvira is a female given name. First recorded in medieval Spain, it is likely of Germanic (Gothic) origin. Elvira may refer to: People Nobility * Elvira Menéndez (died 921), daughter of Hermenegildo Gutiérrez and wife of Ordoño II of León ...

* Aurelio Fierro *

Gigi Finizio Gigi may refer to: Colette novella-related * ''Gigi'' (novella), a 1944 novella by the French writer Colette ** ''Gigi'' (1949 film), a French adaptation of the novella by Jacqueline Audry ** ''Gigi'' (1958 film), an American musical by Vince ...

* Sergio Franchi *

Natale Galletta Natale is a village in Central District of Botswana. The village is located 30 km west of Francistown, and it has a primary school, a kgotla and a Health post. The population counted 1,117 in the 2001 census. See also *Mathangwane M ...

* Beniamino Gigli * Mario Lanza * Angela Luce *

Mia Martini Mia Martini (; born Domenica Rita Adriana Bertè ; 20 September 1947 – 12 May 1995) was an Italian singer, songwriter and musician.James Christopher MongerMia Martini allmusic.com Joe Masiello Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971 * ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...

* Mario Merola *

Gilda Mignonette Griselda Andreatini, better known by the stage name Gilda Mignonette (28 October 1890 in Naples – 8 June 1953), was a Neapolitan singer of international fame in the early 20th century. She began her career as a singer in theatrical revue sho ...

* Tullio Pane * Maria Paris *

Gennaro Pasquariello Januarius ( ; la, Ianuarius; Neapolitan and it, Gennaro), also known as , was Bishop of Benevento and is a martyr and saint of the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. While no contemporary sources on his life are preserved, later ...

* Luciano Pavarotti * Massimo Ranieri * Giacomo Rondinella * Jimmy Roselli * Giulietta Sacco * Lina Sastri * Tito Schipa * Totò * Mario Trevi *

Roberto Alagna Roberto Alagna (; born 7 June 1963) is a French operatic tenor. He obtained French citizenship in 1981, while also retaining his previous Italian citizenship. Early years Alagna was born in Clichy-sous-Bois, outside the city of Paris, in 1963 t ...

Composers

* Pasquale Mario Costa *

Ernesto De Curtis Ernesto De Curtis (4 October 1875 – 31 December 1937) was an Italian composer.Luigi Denza * Peppino di Capri * Eduardo di Capua * Enzo Gragnaniello *

E. A. Mario Giovanni Gaeta (1884 – 24 June 1961) was the real name of the Italian poet, writer and musician better known as E. A. Mario. He took the ''E'' of his assumed name from the initial letter of the pseudonym Ermes under which he wrote for the ne ...

Salvatore Mazzocco Salvatore may refer to: * Salvatore (name), a given name and surname, including a list of people with the name * "Salvatore" (song), by Lana Del Rey, 2015 * Salvatore (band), a Norwegian instrumental rock band * '' Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams' ...

* Emanuele Nutile * Raffaele Sacco * Francesco Paolo Tosti

References

Bibliography

* Marcello Sorce Keller, “Continuing Opera with Other Means: Opera, Neapolitan Song, and Popular Music among Italian Immigrants Overseas”, ''Forum Italicum'', Vol. XLIX(2015), No 3, 1- 20.

External links

List of texts of several Neapolitan songsSheet music for 30 Neapolitan Songs
* * {{Naples Italian folk music Italian popular music