Lucio Dalla live at Ta' Qali in May

Italian living-legend artiste Lucio Dalla will be performing live at the Malta Fairs and Convention Centre in Ta' Qali on May 23.

Lucio Dalla, accompanied by his band and vocalists, will be interpreting some of his greatest hits of all times, including Attenti Al Lupo, Gesu Bambino, Caro Amico Ti Scrivo, and the record-breaking song Caruso, which, alone, has sold over nine million copies around the world.

Lucio Dalla's first public appearance was at the Sanremo Festival and he has launched 28 albums since his career debut in 1971. The album Cambio, released in 1990, still holds the record of album sales in Italy, with over 1.4 million copies sold. A close second in terms of record sales is his album Canzoni, classified as the best-selling album throughout the 1990s. His latest album, released in January, Lucio Dalla Live - La Neve E La Luna, received rave reviews from fans and critics alike.

Despite being on the musical scene for over 35 years, his popularity and cult personality seem to have no boundaries as audiences keep flocking to his live performances and he is known to be the epitome of Italy's famed cantautori artists.

He has also composed a number of movie scores for some of Italy's leading film directors and is renowned for co-starring in variety shows on Italian TV, most notably with the glamorous Sabrina Ferrilli in Raiuno's Saturday night show La Bella E La Bestia, which attracted TV audiences of nearly 10 million viewers.

Evidence of his versatile career is further reflected in his composition of a new opera, Tosca: Amore Disperato, in 2003, inspired by Giacomo Puccini's own Tosca. The mega production has been touring Italian theatres ever since its debut, attracting hundreds of thousands of spectators. Moreover, Lucio Dalla played the part of Sancho Panza in the movie Quijote, directed by Mimmo Palladino.

The concert at Ta' Qali will be presented by Renaissance Productions Ltd, which has planned the seating arrangements to create an intimate environment between the public and the stage performers.

"We are confident this concert will turn out to be yet another truly magical evening of top-quality entertainment", RPL directors Anton Tabone and Amabile Zammit said.

Tickets are on sale from Agenda Bookshops, BookEnds Bookshops, NewsKiosk and Exotique at €60 (Lm25.76) [VIP Gold Section], €45 (Lm19.32) [Silver Section] and €35 (Lm15) [Bronze Section]. The VIP Gold Section ticket holders are entitled to reserved parking facilities and to an exclusive post-concert function, with Lucio Dalla in attendance.

The concert will be sponsored by Go, while supporting sponsors are Jaguar, the Malta Tourism Authority, Air Malta, The Palace Hotel, Credal Network, Arkadia and Coca Cola.