Popular Italian entertainer Gianni Morandi said he was “very excited” about his first live concert in Malta on Friday.
Mr Morandi told Times of Malta he was also thrilled about being in Malta, an island close to Italy with which it has “amazingly close ties”.
“I am very excited to be here to perform alone for the first time after a previous show many years ago when I sang with others. I love Malta. I would love to come here on holiday one day and bring my wife who, unfortunately, is indisposed and could not join me on this trip,” he said.
The famous Italian singer, songwriter and actor will be performing live at the Malta Fairs and Conventions Centre in Ta’ Qali.
The two-hour show, which will surely be music to the ears of the so many fans he has in Malta, will feature more than 40 tracks from Mr Morandi’s repertoire forming a playlist that would retrace the fundamental stages of his 60-year career.
They include Occhi di ragazza, Scende la pioggia, La fisarmonica, Non son degno di te, Uno su mille, Dobbiamo fare luce, and Una vita che ti sogno. These last two tracks are part of Mr Morandi’s 40th album D’Amore e D’Autore, in which he interprets songs of love.
Asked how he remembers the lyrics of his more than 600 songs, Mr Morandi admitted he did not.
“Well, I don’t remember all of them. There are the 100 or so which I sing all the time so those come automatically, but there are others which I need to study before a performance. And I’m not getting any younger you know,” he said.
Asked what his plans were for the near future, Mr Morandi said it all depended on his health.
“I will now spend the next three or four months on an island in Sardinia shooting L’Isola di Pietro [The fiction in which he plays the paediatrician which last season had great success on Canale 5]. After that, I hope to continue with concerts because music is my life,” he said.
Mr Morandi made his debut in 1958 when, at the age of 13, he sang with the orchestra Scaglioni di Bologna. Four years later, he won the Bellaria festival and released his first song Andavo a 100 all’ora, and that was when his music career exploded.
Mr Morandi last came to Malta in the late 1960s.
He took part in the most prestigious festivals in his country and has given unforgettable shows in major theatres and arenas, not only in Italy but worldwide, including Japan, Australia, Canada, China, Argentina and Russia.
Fatti Mandare dalla Mamma, Scende la Pioggia, Uno su Mille and La Fisarmonica are known by all, especially those who grew up listening to his songs in the 1970s and 1980s.
He sold 53 million records, has a total of 608 songs with 230 collaborations and held more than 4,200 concerts in Italy alone.
The concert in Malta is being organised by the Giuseppe Rapisarda Management.