Preparing to close an extensive tour in “unique” Malta this evening, Italian singer Gianna Nannini said she feels fitter and more energetic than ever at 62 years of age.
“I feel younger than I ever have,” she told the Times of Malta. “My body is stronger now; I’ve worked years to be strong and healthy. I do Pilates every day, and it’s important to eat well before a concert, as if you’re an athlete – and yesterday I had some good red wine.”
Nannini, found international fame in 1984 with the release of her sixth album, is closing her Hitstory tour at the MFCC in Ta’ Qali this evening.
The tour, which kicked off last March in Fermo, took the 62-year-old artist to various cities incuding Rome, Milan, Naples and Verona, where she performed some of her best-selling tracks: Fotoromanza, Bello e impossibile and Un’estate italiana.
The singer said her sizeable fan base can look forward to one of the most rock-and-roll shows she has ever given, backed by a full band in what she promises will be a spectacular send off for her tour.
This is Nannini’s second visit to Malta, although her first time performing, having travelled here years ago to film a TV show. She said she was looking forward to a bit of exploring in the hours before her concert, but was already impressed by what she had seen.
“The atmosphere is special here,” she said. “Malta is Malta; you can’t copy it. There’s a combination of different elements here that makes it unique.”
Nannini studied piano and composition in Milan in the late 1970s and obtained a degree in Philosophy from the University of Siena in 1994.
In August 2010, at the age of 56, she announced that she was pregnant and was subsequently featured on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine, wearing a T-shirt with the inscription ‘God is a Woman’.
“People think it’s less rock-and-roll, but I think being a mother is something more, something you add to yourself as a human being,” she said of how her life has changed.
“I feel better than before: I wasn’t complete like I am now. To give life, to give birth, is one of the most beautiful experiences for a woman.”