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Three Befane with their brooms.

In the Italian folklore, Befana is an old woman who delivers gifts to children throughout Italy on Epiphany Eve (the night of January 5) in a similar way to Saint Nicholas or Santa Claus.^[1]

The character may have originated in central Italy, then spread as a tradition to the rest of Italy.^{[citation needed]}

A popular belief is that her name derives from the Feast of Epiphany or in Italian, "La Festa dell'Epifania". Epifania (Epiphany in English) is a Latin word with Greek origins. Epiphany means either the Feast of the Epiphany (January 6) or “manifestation (of the divinity)."^[2][3]

There is evidence to suggest that Befana is descended from the Sabine/Roman goddess named Strina. In the book Vestiges of Ancient Manners and Customs, Discoverable in Modern Italy and Sicily by Rev. John J. Blunt (John Murray, 1823), the author says:

"This Befana appears to be heir at law of a certain heathen goddess called Strenia, who presided over the new-year's gifts, 'Strenae,' from which, indeed, she derived her name.^[4] Her presents were of the same description as those of the Befana—figs, dates, and honey.^[5] Moreover her solemnities were vigorously opposed by the early Christians on account of their noisy, riotous, and licentious character".^[6]

In popular folklore Befana visits all the children of Italy on the eve of the Feast of the Epiphany to fill their socks with candy and presents if they are good or a lump of coal or dark candy if they are bad. Being a good housekeeper, many say she will sweep the floor before she leaves. The child's family typically leaves a small glass of wine and a plate with a few morsels of food, often regional or local, for the Befana.^[3]

She is usually portrayed as an old lady riding a broomstick through the air wearing a black shawl and is covered in soot because she enters the children's houses through the chimney. She is often smiling and carries a bag or hamper filled with candy, gifts, or both.^{[citation needed]}

Legend[link]

Christian legend had it that Befana was approached by the biblical magi, also known as the Three Wise Men (or the three kings) a few days before the birth of the Infant Jesus. They asked for directions to where the Son of God was, as they had seen his star in the sky, but she did not know. She provided them with shelter for a night, as she was considered the best housekeeper in the village, with the most pleasant home. The magi invited her to join them on the journey to find the baby Jesus, but she declined, stating she was too busy with her housework. Later, La Befana had a change of heart, and tried to search out the astrologers and Jesus. That night she was not able to find them, so to this day, La Befana is searching for the little baby. She leaves all the good children toys and candy (“caramelle”) or fruit, while the bad children get coal (“carbone”), onions or garlic.^[3]

Another Christian legend takes a slightly darker tone as La Befana was an ordinary woman with a child whom she greatly loved. However, her child died, and her resulting grief maddened her. Upon hearing news of Jesus being born, she set out to see him, delusional that he was her son. She eventually met Jesus and presented him with gifts to make him happy. The infant Jesus was delighted, and he gave La Befana a gift in return; she would be the mother of every child in Italy.

Also, popular tradition tells that if one sees La Befana one will receive a thump from her broomstick, as she doesn't wish to be seen. This aspect of the tradition may be designed to keep children in their beds while parents are distributing candy (or coal) and sweeping the floor on Epiphany Eve.

Also, another commonly heard Christian legend of la Befana starts at the time of the birth of baby Jesus.^[7] Befana spends her days cleaning and sweeping. One day the magi, also known as the three wise men, came to her door in search of baby Jesus. Befana turned them away because she was too busy cleaning. Befana notices a bright light in the sky; she thinks this is the way to baby Jesus. She brought some baked goods and gifts for baby Jesus in her bag and took her broom to help the new mother clean and began her search for baby Jesus. She searched and searched for Baby Jesus, but never found him. Befana still searches today, after all these centuries. On the eve of the Epiphany, Befana comes to a house where there is a child and leaves a gift. Although she has been unsuccessful in her search, she still leaves gifts for good young children because the Christ Child can be found in all children ^[8]

History[link]

Many people believe that the name Befana is derived from the Italians' mispronunciation of the Greek word epifania or epiphaneia (Greek, επιφάνεια = appearance, surface, English: epiphany). Others point to the name being a derivative of Bastrina, the gifts associated with the goddess Strina. In the book Domestic Life in Palestine, by Mary E. Rogers (Poe & Hitchcock, 1865) the author notes:

"But an 'Essay on the Fine Arts,' by E. L. Tarbuck, led me to believe that this custom is a relic of pagan worship, and that the word "Bastrina" refers to the offerings which used to be made to the goddess Strenia. We could hardly expect that the pagans who embraced Christianity could altogether abandon their former creeds and customs. Macaulay says, "Christianity conquered paganism, but paganism infected Christianity; the rites of the Pantheon passed into her 'worship, and the subtilties of the Academy into her creed.' Many pagan customs were adopted by the new Church. T. Hope, in his 'Essay on Architecture,' says: 'The Saturnalia were continued in the Carnival, and the festival with offerings to the goddess Strenia was continued in that of the New Year…'" – page 408

An interesting theory connects the tradition of exchanging gifts to an ancient Roman festivity in honour of Ianus and Strenia (in Italian a Christmas gift is called strenna), celebrated at the beginning of the year, when Romans used to give each other presents.

The tradition of Befana appears to incorporate other pre-Christian popular elements as well, adapted to Christian culture and related to the celebration of the New Year. Historian Carlo Ginzburg relates her to Nicevenn. The old lady character should then represent the old year just passed, ready to be burned in order to give place to the new one. In many European countries the tradition still exists of burning a puppet of an old lady at the beginning of the New Year, called Giubiana in Northern Italy, with clear Celtic origins. Italian anthropologists Claudia and Luigi Manciocco, in their book Una Casa Senza Porte (House without a Door) trace Befana's origins back to Neolithic beliefs and practices. The team of anthropologists also write about Befana as a figure that evolved into a goddess associated with fertility and agriculture.

Befana also maintains many similarities with Perchta and her Pre-Christian Alpine traditions.

The Befana today[link]

Befana of Campomarino di Maruggio (Italy)

The Befana is celebrated throughout all of Italy,^[9] and has become a national icon. In the regions of Marche, Umbria and Lazio, her figure is associated with the Papal States, where the Epiphany held the most importance. Urbania is thought to be her official home. Every year there is a big festival held to celebrate the holiday. About 30,000-50,000 people attend the festivities. Hundreds of Befana’s are present, swinging from the main tower. They juggle, dance and greet all the children.^[10] Traditionally, all Italian children may expect to find a lump of "coal" in their stockings (actually rock candy made black with caramel coloring), as every child has been at least occasionally bad during the year.

Two places in Italy are nowadays associated with the Befana tradition:

• Piazza Navona in central Rome is the site of a popular market each year between Christmas and the Epiphany, where toys, sugar charcoal and other candies are on sale. The feast of the Befana in Rome was immortalized in four famous sonnets in the Roman dialect by the 19th century Roman poet Giuseppe Gioacchino Belli. In Ottorino Respighi's 1928 Feste Romane (“Roman Festivals”), the fourth movement, titled La Befana, is an orchestral portrayal of this Piazza Navona festival. Romans believe that at the midnight January 6 the Befana shows herself from a window of Piazza Navona, and they always go there to watch her (it's a joke everybody tells while going to the feast to buy candies, toys and sweets).

• The town of Urbania in the Province of Pesaro e Urbino within the Marche region, where the national Befana festival is held each year, usually between January 2 and 6. A "house of the Befana" is scheduled to be built and the post office has a mailbox reserved for letters addressed to the Befana, mirroring what happens with Santa Claus in Rovaniemi.

In other parts of the world where a vibrant Italian community exists, traditions involving Befana may be observed and shared or celebrated with the wider community. In Toronto, Canada for example, a Befana Choir shows up on Winter Solstice each December to sing in the Kensington Market Festival of Lights parade. Women, men, and children dressed in La Befana costume and nose sing love songs to serenade the sun to beckon its return. The singing hags gather in the street to give candy to children, to cackle and screech to accordion music, and to sing in every key imaginable as delighted parade participants join in the cacophony. Sometimes, the Befanas dance with parade goers and dust down the willing as parade goers walk by.

[edit] Poems & Songs^[11]

There are poems about Befana, which are known in slightly different versions throughout Italy. Here is one of the versions:

La Befana vien di notte
Con le scarpe tutte rotte
Col vestito alla romana
Viva, Viva La Befana!

The English translation is:

The Befana comes by night
With her shoes all tattered and torn
She comes dressed in the Roman way
Long life to the Befana!

Another version is given in a poem by Giovanni Pascoli ^[12]:

Viene, viene la Befana
Vien dai monti a notte fonda
Come è stanca! la circonda
Neve e gelo e tramontana!
Viene, viene la Befana

The English translation is:

Here comes, here comes the Befana
She comes from the mountains in the deep of the night
Look how tired she is! All wrapped up
In snow and frost and the north wind!
Here comes, here comes the Befana!

Tramontana: English - Tramontane: "a classical name for a northern wind." OR from "tra i monti" = "from the mountains" = cold wind, typically from the north.

Another song, this one by Italian pop singer and entertainer Gianni Morandi:

Trullalà Trullalà Trullalà.
La Befana vien di notte
Con le scarpe tutte rotte,
Con la calza appesa al collo,
Col carbone, col ferro e l’ottone.
Sulla scopa per volare.
Lei viene dal mare.
Lei viene dal mare.

E la neve scenderà
Sui deserti del Maragià,
Dall’Alaska al Canadà.
E partire lei dovrà
E cantando partirà
Da ciociara si vestirà,
Con il sacco arriverà,
La bufera vincerà.
E cantando trullalà,
La Befana arriverà.
Trulalla’ Trullalà Trullalà.

Un bambino, grande come un topolino,
Si è infilato nel camino,
Per guardarla da vicino.
Quando arriva la Befana
Senza denti
Salta, balla, beve il vino.
Poi di nascosto s’allontana
Con la notte appiccicata alla sottana.

E un vento caldo soffierà
Sui deserti del Maragià,
Dall’Alaska al Canadà.
Solo una stella brillerà
E seguirla lei dovrà,
Per volare verso il nord
E la strada è lunga
Ma la bufera vincerà.
E cantando Trullalà,
La Befana se ne va.
E cantando Trullalà
Truallalero Trullalà
Trullalà Trullalà Trullalà

See also[link]

• Epiphany (holiday)
• Perchta

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: La Befana

• Roots of Befana Legend
• Befana, an academic view
• The story of the befana and letters and pictures by children

File:Respighi Trittico Botticelliano.png

Use of the Phrygian mode on A in Respighi's Trittico Botticelliano (Botticelli Triptych, 1927).^[1]  Play (help·info)

Ottorino Respighi (Italian pronunciation: [ottoˈriːno resˈpiːɡi]; 9 July 1879 – 18 April 1936) was an Italian composer, musicologist and conductor. He is best known for his orchestral "Roman trilogy": Fountains of Rome (Le fontane di Roma); Pines of Rome (I pini di Roma); and Roman Festivals (Feste romane). His musicological interest in 16th-, 17th- and 18th-century music led him to also compose pieces based on the music of this period. He also wrote a number of operas, the best known being La fiamma.

Biography[link]

Ottorino Respighi was born in Bologna, Italy. He was taught piano and violin by his father, who was a local piano teacher. He went on to study violin and viola with Federico Sarti at the Liceo Musicale in Bologna, composition with Giuseppe Martucci, and historical studies with Luigi Torchi, a scholar of early music. A year after receiving his diploma in violin in 1899, Respighi went to Russia to be principal violist in the orchestra of the Russian Imperial Theatre in St Petersburg during its season of Italian opera. While there he studied composition for five months with Rimsky-Korsakov. He then returned to Bologna, where he earned a second diploma in composition. Until 1908 his principal activity was as first violin in the Mugellini Quintet. In 1908-09 he spent some time performing in Germany before returning to Italy and turning his attention entirely to composition. Many sources indicate that while he was in Germany he studied briefly with Max Bruch, but in her biography of the composer, Respighi's wife asserts that this is not the case.^[2]

During the second decade of the twentieth century Respighi was active as a performer and composer. His compositions began to draw attention, and in 1913 he was appointed as teacher of composition at the Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia in Rome, where he lived for the rest of his life. In 1917 his international fame began to spread through multiple performances of the first of his Roman orchestral tone poems, Fountains of Rome. In 1919 he married a former pupil, the singer Elsa Olivieri-Sangiacomo. From 1923 to 1926 he was director of the Conservatorio. In 1925 he collaborated with Sebastiano Arturo Luciani on an elementary textbook entitled Orpheus. He was elected to the Royal Academy of Italy in 1932.

A visit to Brazil resulted in the composition Impressioni brasiliane (Brazilian Impressions). He had intended to write a sequence of five pieces, but by 1928 he had completed only three, and decided to present what he had. Its first performance was in 1928 in Rio de Janeiro. The first piece is a nocturne, "Tropical Night", with fragments of dance rhythms suggested by the sensuous textures. The second piece is a sinister picture of a snake research institute, Instituto Butantan, that Respighi visited in São Paulo, with hints of birdsong (as in Pines of Rome). The final movement is a vigorous and colorful Brazilian dance.

On the ship back home from Brazil, Respighi met up by chance with Italian physicist Enrico Fermi. During their long conversation Fermi tried to get Respighi to explain music in terms of physics, which Respighi was unable to do. They remained close friends until Respighi's death in 1936.^[3]

Apolitical in nature, Respighi attempted to steer a neutral course after Benito Mussolini came to power in 1922. His established international fame allowed him some level of freedom but at the same time encouraged the regime to exploit his music for political purposes. Respighi vouched for more outspoken critics such as Arturo Toscanini, allowing them to continue to work under the regime.^[4]

Feste Romane, the third part of his Roman trilogy, was premiered by Toscanini and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra in 1929; Toscanini recorded the music twice for RCA Victor, first with the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1942 and then with the NBC Symphony Orchestra in 1949. Respighi's music had considerable success in the USA: the Toccata for piano and orchestra was premiered (with Respighi as soloist) under Willem Mengelberg with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra at Carnegie Hall in November 1928, and the large-scale theme and variations entitled Metamorphoseon was a commission for the fiftieth anniversary of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Respighi was an enthusiastic scholar of Italian music of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. He published editions of the music of Claudio Monteverdi and Antonio Vivaldi, and of Benedetto Marcello's Didone. Respighi generally kept clear of the musical idiom of the classical period. He preferred combining pre-classical melodic styles and musical forms (like dance suites) with typical late 19th century romantic harmonies and textures.

He continued to compose and tour until January 1936, after which he became increasingly ill. A cardiac infection led to his death by heart failure on 18 April that year at the age of 56. A year after his burial, his remains were moved to his birthplace Bologna and reinterred at the city's expense.

Works[link]

Opera[link]

• Re Enzo (1905)
• Semirâma (1909)
• Marie Victoire (completed in 1913, but not produced until 2004)
• La bella dormente nel bosco (1922)
• Belfagor (1923)
• La campana sommersa (1927)
• Maria egiziaca (1932)
• La fiamma (1934)
• Lucrezia (1937) (completed posthumously by his wife, Elsa, and his pupil Ennio Porrino)

Ballet[link]

• La Boutique fantasque (1918), which borrows tunes from the 19th century composer Rossini. Premiered in London on 5 June 1919.
• Sèvres de la vieille France (1920)
• La Pentola magica (1920)
• Le astuzie de Columbina (1920)
• Belkis, Regina di Saba (1930), his last work for ballet

Orchestral[link]

• Symphonic Variations (1900)
• Preludio, corale e fuga (1901)
• Aria for strings (1901)
• Suite for strings (1902)
• Suite in E major (Sinfonia) (1901 rev. 1903)
• Burlesca (1906)
• Ouverture carnevalesca (1913)
• Sinfonia Drammatica (1913–14)
• The Roman trilogy (three symphonic poems evoking Roman places and times of day)
  • Fountains of Rome (1915–1916)
  • Pines of Rome (1923–1924)
  • Roman Festivals (1928)
• Ancient Airs and Dances
  • Suite No. 1 (1917), based on Renaissance lute pieces by Simone Molinaro, Vincenzo Galilei (father of Galileo Galilei), and additional anonymous composers.
  • Suite No. 2 (1923), based on pieces for lute, archlute, and viol by Fabrizio Caroso, Jean-Baptiste Besard, Bernardo Gianoncelli, and an anonymous composer. It also interpolates an aria attributed to Marin Mersenne.
  • Suite No. 3 (1932), arranged for strings only and somewhat melancholy in overall mood. It is based on lute songs by Besard, a piece for baroque guitar by Ludovico Roncalli, lute pieces by Santino Garsi da Parma and additional anonymous composers.
• Ballata delle Gnomidi (Dance of the Gnomes) (1920), based on a poem by Claudio Clausetti
• Rossiniana (1925) - free transcriptions from Rossini's Quelques riens (from Péchés de vieillesse)
• Vetrate di chiesa (Church Windows) (1925), four movements of which three are based on Tre Preludi sopra melodie gregoriane for piano (1919)
• The Birds (1927), based on Baroque pieces imitating birds. It comprises Introduzione (Bernardo Pasquini), La Colomba (Jacques de Callot), La Gallina (Rameau), L'Usignolo (anonymous English composer of the seventeenth century) and Il Cucu (Pasquini)
• Trittico Botticelliano (1927)
• Impressioni brasiliane (Brazilian Impressions) (1928)
• Metamorphoseon Modi XII: Tema e Variazioni (1930)

Concerto[link]

Piano

• Piano Concerto in A minor (1902)
• Fantasia Slava (1903)
• Concerto in modo misolidio (Concerto in the Mixolydian mode) (1925)
• Toccata for Piano and Orchestra (1928)

Violin

• Leggenda for Violin and Orchestra P 36 (1902) ^[5]
• Humoreske for Violin and Orchestra P 45 (1903) ^[6]
• Concerto in la maggiore for Violin and Orchestra (1903), completed by Salvatore Di Vittorio (2009)
• Concerto all'antica for Violin and Orchestra (1908)
• Poema autunnale (Autumn Poem) for Violin and Orchestra(1920-5)
• Concerto gregoriano for Violin and Orchestra (1921)

Miscellaneous

• Suite in G major for Organ and Strings (1905)
• Adagio con variazioni (1920), for Cello and Orchestra
• Concerto a cinque (Concerto for Five) (1933), for Oboe, Trumpet, Piano, Viola d'amore, Double-bass, and Strings

Vocal/Choral[link]

• Christus (text by Respighi) (1898–99), Biblical cantata for soloists, chorus and orchestra
• Nebbie (1906), voice and piano
• Stornellatrice (1906?), voice and piano
• Cinque canti all'antica (1906), voice and piano
• Aretusa (text by Shelley) (1910–11), cantata for mezzo-soprano and orchestra
• La Sensitiva (The Sensitive Plant, text by Shelley) (1914), for mezzo-soprano and orchestra
• Il Tramonto (The sunset, text by Shelley) (1914), for mezzo-soprano and string quartet (or string orchestra)
• Deità silvane (Woodland Deities, texts by Antonio Rubino) (1917), song-cycle for soprano and small orchestra
• Cinque liriche (1917), voice and piano
• Quattro liriche (Gabriele d'Annunzio) (1920), voice and piano
• La Primavera (The Spring, texts by Constant Zarian) (1922) lyric poem for soli, chorus and orchestra
• Lauda per la Natività del Signore (Laud to the Nativity, text attributed to Jacopone da Todi) (1930), a cantata for three soloists (soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor), mixed chorus (including substantial sections for 8-part mixed and TTBB male chorus), and chamber ensemble (woodwinds and piano 4-hands)

Chamber/Instrumental[link]

• String Quartet in D major in one movement (undated)
• String Quartet No. 1 in D major (1892–98)
• String Quartet No. 2 in B flat major (1898)
• String Quartet in D major (1907)
• String Quartet in D minor (1909) subtitled by composer "Ernst is das Leben, heiter ist die Kunst"
• Quartetto Dorico or Doric String Quartet (1924)
• Tre Preludi sopra melodie gregoriane, for piano (1921)
• Violin Sonata in B minor
• Piano Sonata in F minor
• Variazioni, for guitar
• Double Quartet in D minor (1901)
• Piano Quintet in F minor (1902)
• Six Pieces for Violin and Piano (1901–06)
• Quartet in D major for 4 Viols (1906)
• Huntingtower: Ballad for Band (1932)
• Several instrumental sonatas
• String Quintet for 2 Violins, 1 Viola & 2 Violoncellos in G minor (1901, incomplete)
• Organ works

Note: The bulk of these chamber compositions have not been published and are in manuscript at the conservatories in Bologna and Rome. Three string quartets (1907, 1909 and 1924), the Huntingtower Ballad, and the Piano Quintet have been published.

Biographical sources[link]

• Respighi, Elsa (1955) Fifty Years of a Life in Music
• Respighi, Elsa (1962) Ottorino Respighi, London: Ricordi
• Nupen, Christopher (director) (1983) Ottorino Respighi: A Dream of Italy, Allegro Films
• Barrow, Lee G (2004) Ottorino Respighi (1879–1936): An Annotated Bibliography, Scarecrow Press
• Viagrande, Riccardo, La generazione dell'Ottanta, Casa Musicale Eco, Monza, 2007
• Daniele Gambaro, Ottorino Respighi. Un'idea di modernità nel Novecento, pp. XII+246, illustrato con esempi musicali, novembre 2011, Zecchini Editore, ISBN 978-88-6540-017-3

References[link]

External links[link]

• OttorinoRespighi.it (Italian)
• Amici di Respighi (Italian)
• Fondo Ottorino Respighi (Italian)
• Chamber Orchestra of New York "Ottorino Respighi"
• Free scores by Ottorino Respighi in the Werner Icking Music Archive (WIMA)
• Ottorino Respighi String Quartet in D Major (1907) Sound-bites and discussion
• Free scores by Respighi at the International Music Score Library Project
• Ottorino Respighi at Find a Grave

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (March 2010)

Gianni Morandi.

Gianni Morandi (born December 11, 1944) is an Italian pop singer and entertainer.

He made his debut in 1962 and quickly placed high at or won a number of Italian popular song festivals, including the Canzonissima festival in 1969. In 1970, he represented Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest with "Occhi di ragazza". His career went into a decline in the 1970s but underwent a revival in the 1980s. He won the Festival of Sanremo in 1987, placed second in 1995 and third in 2000.

It is estimated that Morandi has sold 49 million recordings^[1].

His songs "In ginocchio da te", "Non son degno di te" and "Scende la pioggia" were certified as having each sold over one million copies, and were awarded gold discs.^[2] He has written a number of autobiographical books and appeared in 18 films. In TV he played Claude Jade's husband Davide in the 1984 TV series Voglia di volare.

Biography[link]

Gianluigi Morandi was born in a little village called Monghidoro on the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines. His father Renato was active within the Italian Communist Party and Gianni used to help him sell the party newspapers. At an early age Morandi worked as a shoe-shiner, cobbler and as a candy vendor in the village's only cinema. His vocal abilities led him to a number of small gigs, some of which were during the Communist Party’s activities.

In 1962 he was signed by RCA Italiana and achieved national stardom with the song "Fatti mandare dalla mamma", and remained Italy’s darling throughout that decade. During the 1970s he experienced a period of decline; however, he regained popularity during the 1980s and won the Sanremo Music Festival in 1987 with "Si può dare di più" together with Enrico Ruggeri and Umberto Tozzi.

He also played as actor in several TV series, as well as the host in popular Italian television shows.

Morandi was chosen to be the presenter of Sanremo Music Festival 2011, together with Belén Rodriguez and Elisabetta Canalis. They were joined by comedians Luca Bizzarri and Paolo Kessisoglu from Italia 1's satire show Le Iene.^[3] In October 2011, he was confirmed as the presenter of the Sanremo Music Festival 2012.^[4]

References[link]

This article on a pop singer is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Mario Trevi
Background information
Birth name	Agostino Capozzi
Born	(1941-11-02) 2 November 1941 (age 70) Melito di Napoli
Origin	Naples, Campania, Italy
Genres	Pop, Canzone Napoletana, Turbo-folk
Occupations	Singer, Actor
Years active	1956–present
Labels	Durium, Royal, King Universal, Zeus Record
Website	MarioTrevi.com

Mario Trevi,stage name of Agostino Capozzi (born November 2, 1941 in Melito di Napoli) is an Italian singer, film actor and theater actor.

Biography[link]

Mario Trevi was born in Melito di Napoli, Italy, November 2, 1941. He is the son of Domenico and Maddalena Capozzi Ciletti and the first of nine children. Mario is the head of a family set in the melodic song in the heart of Naples, Italy. He is the brother of Lino Capozzi, Stefano Fany, and Franco Moreno. He is also the uncle of Salvatore Capozzi and Mimmo Moreno and grandfather of Tony Mariano.^[1] Mario Trevi spent his childhood in poverty during Italy’s post-war. At a young age he began working as a bricklayer, and some evenings he sang for free in the basement of a local puppet theatre where he entratained small audiences.^[2] Agostino, in art known as Mario Trevi, soon changed job from a bricklayer to a fabric cutter in a fabric shop at Piazza Nicola Amore in Naples, but did not give up singing. Instead his passion for singing grew, and he soon became a fan of Sergio Bruni, a well-known Neapolitan singer. At the age 14, he took on singing lessons with Maestro Attilio Staffelli, a professor at the Conservatory of San Pietro a Majella. Soon, Mario’s voice was heard in one of Galleria Umberto I, thanks to one of his uncles. At that event, Vincenzo Acampora noticed Mario’s talent and proposed him to sing at the Piedigrotta Festival, a well-known local show. Mario started his career at the age of 17, when he sang Nuvole D’Ammore. That night, he shared the stage with famous artists such as Giacomo Rondinella, Tecla Scarano and Nicla Di Bruno. Soon, his fame started to build as he performed with famous singers Gennaro Pasquariello and Claudio Villa in Porta Capuana. In 1961, Mario Trevi was invited to Totò's house, a well-known comedian, in Rome, who asked him to sing Malafemmena, a famous song written by Totò himself. In that same year Trevi married Titina Spagnolo, the daughter of a Neapolitan record dealer. In 1965, two days after the birth of their second child, Titina died of aneurism. Among many who honored her at her funeral was Sergio Bruni. In 1967, despite family opposition, Trevi married Titina’s younger sister, Teresa, with whom he had two more daughters.^[3]

Career[link]

During his career, Mario Trevi has recorded more than eight hundred songs and has participated in ten Festival of Naples. In 1959, he recorded the first series of 78's with the Royal records. Among Mario Trevi’s famous songs several have become classics, such as Indifferentemente (1963), Mare Verde (1961, written by Giuseppe Marotta), Me Parlano 'e Te (1964, written by the poet Salvatore Palomba and music by Antonio Vian), Settembre Cu' Mme' (1962, written by Renato flowers and music by Antonio Vian), and Cara Busciarda (1969, directed by Eduardo Alfieri). Because of his successful career, Mario Trevi was appointed to the Encyclopedia of the Neapolitan song by Ettore De Mura.

Salvatore Mazzocco - Milva - Mario Trevi (1961)

Bruno Sammartino and Mario Trevi

Robertino Loreti - Mario Trevi (1964)

Mario Trevi - Claudio Villa (1962)

Mario Trevi - Mario Abbate (1963)

Nino D'Angelo - Alberto Amato - Mario Trevi (1992)

In 1973 Trevi devoted himself to a new musical genre known as "songs of the underworld," and to the sceneggiata. Among many of his plays, 'A Paggella, brought so much success that was filmed in 1978 and directed by Ninì Grassia, starring Mario Trevi, Marc Porel, Rosalia Maggio, Beniamino Maggio, Marzio Onorato, Marisa Laurito. In 1981 he was schedule to play in another movie, 'O Carabiniere, but he ended up turning down the opportunity and his character was played by Fabio Testi. In 1978, Mario Trevi took on tours to the U.S. and Canada. In New York, he sang at the Madison Square Garden, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and at the Kenkiol Theatre. He also participated in a tour in Europe and worked side by side with other Italian artists such as, Luciano Tajoli, Nilla Pizzi, and Claudio Villa. In 1995 he recorded an album with Zeus Record, a record making company, where he sung Pino Daniele’s songs. In 1997 he was invited by Paolo Limiti in the show Ci vediamo in Tv^[4] and in 2001, Piero Chiambretti and Fabio Fazio invited him to the Festival della canzone italiana to represent the Neapolitan song genre. Mario Trevi also participated in television shows such as Canzonissima, Napoli Contro Tutti, Scala Reale,^[5] Canzoni alla Finestra, 4 Passi Tra Le Note, Il Paroliere, Questo Sconosciuto, 15 Minuti Con ..., La Fiera dei Sogni, Senza Rete, Napoli Prima e Dopo,^[6] Viva Napoli, Domenica In,^[7] Mezzogiorno In Famiglia,^[8] La vita in diretta.^[9]

On November 26, 2005 Mario Trevi was appointed, Knight of Malta, together with Bruno Venturini and Mario Merola.^[10]

Mario Trevi (2005)

On September 22, 2009 Mario Trevi inaugurated its official website and entered the world of YouTube.^[11] On September 24, 2009 he participated in the Premio Carosone 2009, held at the Arena Flegrea, Mostra d'Oltremare in Naples, where he sang Indifferentemente, Scalinatella and Giacca Rossa ‘e Russetto.^[12] On November 4, Mario participated in the show Omaggio a Sergio Bruni (Tribute to Sergio Bruni)^[13] where he sang the songs Lusingame^[14] and Carmela,^[15] and paired with Enzo Gragnaniello in singing Indifferentemente.^[16] On April 17, 2010 Mario Trevi starred a new beginning with Luna Bianca,^[17] a live concert created to tour Italy. In Luna Bianca, Trevi is accompanied by six young members of the Orchestra Luna Bianca and two young voices, performing the revisiting classic Neapolitan songs with new music arrangements consisting of accelerated rhythms combined with the folklore of the Neapolitan song, a remake Turbo-folk genre.^[18][19][20]

MARIO TREVI Luna Bianca in concerto (MARIO TREVI White Moon in concert)

Festival[link]

• 1960
  • Canzone all'antica (S.Gaetani - A.Minervini) con Franca Raimondi, 8º Festival della canzone Napoletana
  • 'O sfaticato (Riccardi-Acampora), Piedigrotta Acampora.

• 1961
  • Mare verde (G.Marotta - S.Mazzocco) con Milva, Giugno della Canzone Napoletana
  • É napulitana (M. Di Luito - G.Cioffi) con Giuseppe Negroni, Giugno della Canzone Napoletana
  • Cunto 'e llampare (L.Bonagura - Recca) con Claudio Villa, 9° Festival della canzone Napoletana
  • Settembre cu mme (R.Fiore - A.Vian) con Johnny Dorelli, 9º Festival della canzone Napoletana

• 1962
  • Mandulinata blu (U.Martucci - S.Mazzocco) con Emilio Pericoli, Gran Festival di Piedigrotta
  • Era Settembre (L.Cioffi - Gaiano) con Claudio Villa, Gran Festival di Piedigrotta
  • Brigantella (Mennillo - Di Paola - Fanciulli) con Alberto Berri, Gran Festival di Piedigrotta

• 1963
  • Indifferentemente (U.Martucci - S.Mazzocco) con Mario Abbate, 11º Festival della canzone Napoletana
  • Catene d'ammore (U.Martucci - S.Mazzocco) con Nunzio Gallo, 11º Festival della canzone Napoletana
  • Bella busciarda con Mario Abbate, 2° Festival Città di Ercolano.
  • Te ne vaie con Wanda Prima, 2° Festival Città di Ercolano.
  • 'O ritratto 'e bersagliera con Gina Armani, 2° Festival Città di Ercolano.

• 1964
  • Me parlano e te (S.Palomba - A.Vian) con Robertino, 12º Festival della canzone Napoletana
  • Sole 'e Luglio (De Gregorio - Scuotto - Acampora) con Arturo Testa, 12º Festival della canzone Napoletana
• 1965
  • É frennesia! (G.Pisano - F.Albano) con Maria Paris, 13º Festival della canzone Napoletana
  • Niente cchiù (C.Della Gatta - E.Alfieri) con Mimmo Rocco, 13º Festival della canzone Napoletana

• 1966
  • Che chiagne a ffà! (Annona - Acampora - Donadio) con Tony Astarita, 14º Festival della canzone Napoletana
  • Rose d' 'o mese e Maggio (Ippolito - S.Mazzocco) con Mirna Doris, 14º Festival della canzone Napoletana
  • Tutti vanno via (T.Cucchiara - E.Alfieri) con Beppe Cardile, Festival delle Rose 1966

• 1967
  • Casarella 'e piscatore (L.Cioffi - Marigliano - Buonafede) con Gloria Christian, 15º Festival della canzone Napoletana
  • Biancaneve (Annona - Acampora - Manetta) con Tony Astarita, 15º Festival della canzone Napoletana

• 1968
  • Lacrema (S.Palomba - E.Alfieri) con Mario Abbate, 16º Festival della canzone Napoletana
  • Comm' 'a 'nu sciummo (Barrucci - Gregoretti - CEsposito) con Mario Merola, 16º Festival della canzone Napoletana

• 1969
  • Cara busciarda (Fiore - Festa) con Nino Fiore, 17º Festival della canzone Napoletana
  • L'ultima sera (Barile - Pisano) con Nunzia Greton, 17º Festival della Canzone Napoletana

• 1970
  • Ricordo 'e 'nnammurate (Annona - Campassi) con Nino Fiore, 18º Festival della canzone Napoletana
  • Malacatena (Fiore - Festa - T.Iglio) con Nino Fiore, 18º Festival della canzone Napoletana
  • Sulitario (Di Domenico - Marigliano) con Giulietta Sacco, 18º Festival della canzone Napoletana

• 1971
  • Serenata ammartenata(Frelotti – Moxedano - Colucci), Napoli ieri e oggi.

• 1973
  • Astrignete a 'mme (Moxedano - T.Iglio), Piedigrotta: le nuove canzoni di Napoli.

• 1974
  • Quanta rose, Festa di Piedigrotta.

• 1975
  • Astrignete a 'mme (Moxedano - T.Iglio), 1° Festival Pirotecnico del Golfo di Napoli.

• 1981
  • 'O tesoro (Langella - T.Iglio), 2° Festival di Napoli e Nuove Tendenze

• 1984
  • 'O mare d' 'a tranquillità, concorso Dieci big per dieci nuove canzoni.

• 1985
  • 'A vesta 'e sposa, Festival Nazionale della Canzone Napoletana

Filmography[link]

• 1978 – La pagella

Theater[link]

• 1973
  • 'O carabiniere
  • 'A mano nera

• 1974
  • 'O presepio
  • 'O mariuolo
  • 'O metronotte

• 1975
  • 'O cammurrista
  • 'O fuggiasco
  • 'O rre d’è magliare
  • Papà

• 1976
  • 'Nu telegramma
  • 'E candeline
  • 'O carabiniere

• 1977
  • 'O professore
  • Cella 17
  • 'A paggella

• 1978
  • 'A Befana
  • 'O diario

• 1979
  • Sulitario
  • Astrignete 'a 'mme

• 1980
  • Cunfiette 'e sposa

• 1981
  • 'O tesoro

Bibliography[link]

• Ettore De Mura, Enciclopedia della Canzone Napoletana, Naples, Il Torchio, 1963
• Billboard, page 22, 1963
• Billboard, page 41, 1966
• Annuario del cinema italiano, editore: Centro studi di cultura, promozione e diffusione del cinema, 1990
• Pino Farinotti, Dizionario degli attori, tutti gli attori e i loro film, Varese, Sugarco Edizioni, 1993
• Giovanni Alfano, Napule è 'na canzone, Antologia della canzone napoletana, Salerno, Palladio Editrice, 2001
• Tiziano Tarli e Pierpaolo De Iulis, Vesuvio Pop, la nuova canzone melodica napoletana, Roma, Arcana Editore, 2009
• Daniele Magni, Silvio Giobbio e Marco Grassidonio, ancora più... CINICI INFAMI E VIOLENTI, Dizionario dei film polizieschi italiani anni '70, Milano, Bloodbuster, 2010
• Pasquale Scialò, La Sceneggiata, rappresentazione di un genere popolare, Naples, Guida
• Pasquale Scialò, Storie di musica, Naples, Guida
• Lorenza Fruci, Mala femmena: la canzone di Totò, Roma, Donzelli Editore
• Guido Liguori e Antonio Smargiasse, Ciak, si gioca!: calcio e tifo nel cinema italiano, pag. 270, Milano, Baldini e Castoldi Editore

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mario Trevi

• Site officiel (Italian)
• YouTube officiel

References[link]

Mary Ann Esposito is an American chef and television host of Ciao Italia with Mary Ann Esposito, which started in 1989 and is the longest-running television cooking program in America.^[1][2] Esposito has published over a dozen cookbooks^[1].

Personal life[link]

Mary Ann Esposito was raised in Buffalo, New York.^[2] Her mother was a dietician.^[3] Her grandmothers, both professional chefs, moved to the United States from Italy in the 1890s. Her paternal grandmother owned a butcher shop in Fairport, New York and her maternal grandmother lived in Buffalo, where she owned a boarding home. The latter grandmother was from Naples, and continued the traditions of her Italian household within the boarding home. The boarding home was the only house in the neighborhood that had a bathtub, and on Friday nights she would offer neighbors a bath and dinner for a quarter. While her grandmothers provided traditional Italian food, Esposito desired to eat standard foods like other children: Wonderbread and iceberg lettuce.^[2]

Esposito, who never intended on pursuing a career in cooking, learned to cook from her family. Her grandmothers made bread every day, with Esposito helping to make upwards of 20 loaves of bread a day, canning vegetables and fruits, and helping to prepare ingredients for meals. Eventually, Esposito attended college, where she would graduate with a teaching degree and become an elementary school teacher. In 1979, her mother sent her a pasta maker, and despite a lack of interest in cooking as an adult, Esposito taught herself how to make pasta dough. The following year, she and her husband Guy^[1][2] visited Italy for the first time, visiting his cousins. While in Italy, Esposito started attending a cooking class. She began learning the history of Italian cooking, region by region, and traveling to the country twice a year for cooking lessons. At the University of New Hampshire she took classes to learn how to speak Italian. By 1985 she had joined the history master's program at the university, writing her thesis about Italian Renaissance cooking.^[2]

Career[link]

Esposito started teaching cooking through the University of New Hampshire's Division of Continuing Education. In the mid-1980's she submitted a proposal for a cooking show to New Hampshire Public Television. The show was delayed production because of the small size of the television station, however, upon moving to a larger station, a pilot was filmed. The pilot was a test to not only gauge viewer reception, but, to also see how Esposito would be on camera. On the hottest day of the year in the region, the television crew came to Esposito's home in Durham, New Hampshire and the pilot was filmed. Upon airing, the pilot received great reception and the longest running television cooking show was born.^[2]

Esposito has published over a dozen cooking books about Italian cooking and entertaining. Her 1997 book, What You Knead, about breadmaking, was awarded best in category by the International Cookbook Revue and was named one of Food and Wine Magazine's of 1997.^[4] She makes over 40 public appearances a year nationally^[2] and has appeared on the Today Show, Regis and Kathie Lee, QVC, the Food Network, Martha Stewart Living Radio, and other programs.^[4] She contributed to the Huffington Post^[5] and New Hampshire Home.^[6]

Ciao Italia with Mary Ann Esposito[link]

Ciao Italia with Mary Ann Esposito, is a 30-minute cooking show produced for PBS by Esposito's own Mary Esposito Productions, and taped at New Hampshire Public Teleivsion. The show features Esposito's recipes and cooking tips, and visits from guest chefs. She also explores the history of Italian cooking and food.^[2] Through the show, Esposito seeks to help her viewers learn about new recipes that are "doable, authentic, and good."^[3]

When deciding what to feature on the show, Esposito has four standards: she must like to eat the food, the ingredients should be easy to find, the recipe should be something unique and new to the viewer, and should be manageable by the kitchen staff. Every episode has 20 volunteers who work on the show. An entire season of shows, generally about 32 episodes, can be filmed within two weeks during the summer, with two to three shows being filmed a day. All of food is made from scratch in the studio, with each dish being prepared in numerous batches and at different recipe stages. This allows Esposito to execute an entire recipe in a matter of minutes that might take hours to complete. All of the recipes are planned by Esponite and the kitchen staff. Volunteers gather all the pertinent ingredients from local markets and going to Boston for specialty foods if unavailable locally. Recipes are prepared the day of the show. Ciao Italia is not scripted. The television studio used for filming is loosely based on Esposito's home kitchen. The view out the window of the set is painted to appear as the view of the Oyster River, which is seen from her home kitchen. To prepare for shows, Esposito researches and tests recipes outside the studio.^[2]

Recognitions[link]

A scholarship foundation named after and maintained by Esposito awards scholarships for students seeking financial aid to study culinary arts.^[7] Esposito was awarded an honorary degree from St. Anselm College.^[4] She has received the Lifetime Achievement Award in the Culinary and Cultural Arts of Italy by the Order Sons of Italy in America. She is in the Hall of Fame for the Italian Trade Commission.^[4]

Publications[link]

• Celebrations Italian Style: Recipes and Menus for Special Occasions and Seasons of the Year. Hearst Books: New York (1995). ISBN 0-688-13038-0
• Ciao Italia. Morrow Cookbooks: New York (1991). ISBN 0-688-10317-0
• Ciao Italia--Bringing Italy Home. ISBN 0-312-28058-0
• Ciao Italia Family Classics: More than 200 Treasured Recipes from 3 Generations of Italian Cooks. St. Martin's Press: New York (2011). ISBN 0-312-57121-6
• Ciao Italia Five-Ingredient Favorites: Quick and Delicious Recipes from an Italian Kitchen. St. Martin's Press: New York (2009). ISBN 0-312-37769-X
• Ciao Italia in Tuscany: Traditional Recipes from One of Italy's Most Famous Regions. St. Martin's Press: New York (2003). ISBN 0-312-32174-0
• Ciao Italia in Umbria: Recipes and Reflections from the Heart of Italy. St. Martin's Press: New York (2002). ISBN 0-312-30329-7
• Ciao Italia Pronto!: 30-Minute Recipes from an Italian Kitchen. St. Martin's Press: New York (2005). ISBN 0-312-33908-9
• Ciao Italia Slow and Easy: Casseroles, Braises, Lasagne, and Stews from an Italian Kitchen. St. Martin's Press: New York (2007). ISBN 0-312-36292-7
• Mangia Pasta!: Easy-To-Make Recipes for Company and Every Day. Morrow Cookbooks: New York (1998). ISBN 0-688-16189-8
• Nella Cucina: More Italian Cooking from the Host of Ciao Italia. Morrow Cookbooks: New York (1993). ISBN 0-688-12151-9
• What You Knead. Morrow Cookbooks: New York (1997). ISBN 0-688-15010-1

References[link]

1. ^ ^{a b c} Annie B. Copps (2008). "Dinner with Guy and Mary Ann Esposito". New England is Delicious. Yankee. http://www.yankeemagazine.com/blogs/foodblog/maryannesposito. Retrieved 25 February 2012. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i} Margaret Anne Paine. "A Taste of Italy". Features. University of New Hampshire. http://unhmagazine.unh.edu/sp00/maryannsp00.html. Retrieved 25 February 2012. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "An Interview with Mary Ann Esposito of Ciao Italia". Proud Italian Cook. 2010. http://prouditaliancook.blogspot.com/2010/01/interview-with-mary-ann-esposito-of.html. Retrieved 25 February 2012. 
4. ^ ^{a b c d} Loraine Pavich (2010). "Exclusive Interview: Celebrity Chef Mary Ann Esposito – Host of ‘Ciao Italia’". News & Events. Italia Living. http://www.italialiving.com/articles/food-wine/an-interview-with-celebrity-chef-mary-ann-esposito/. Retrieved 25 February 2012. 
5. ^ "Mary Ann Esposito". Huffington Post. 2012. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mary-ann-esposito. Retrieved 25 February 2012. 
6. ^ Mary Ann Esposito (2010). "Home Cooking with Mary Ann Esposito". New Hampshire Home. http://www.nhhomemagazine.com/home/945184-421/home-cooking-with-mary-ann-esposito-homemade.html. Retrieved 25 February 2012. 
7. ^ "JWU Announces Winner of First Mary Ann Esposito Foundation Scholarship". News & Events. Johnson & Wales University. http://www.jwu.edu/content.aspx?id=37558. Retrieved 25 February 2012. 

External links[link]

• Official website