Roberto Murolo (19 January 1912 – 13 March 2003) was an Italian musician.
Roberto Murolo | |
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| Born | 19 January 1912 Naples, Italy |
| Died | 13 March 2003 (aged 91) Naples, Italy |
| Nationality | Italian |
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| Musical career | |
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| Years active | 1936–1997 |
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| Sports career | |
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Career
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Born in Naples, Italy as the son of poet Ernesto Murolo and Lia Cavalli, Murolo showed a passion for music at a young age and began singing and playing the guitar as a child. Murolo won the Italian high diving championship in 1937, and attributed his remarkable lung capacity to the long practice of water sports.[1] At the age of 24 he founded with three friends the "Midas Quartet" (Quartetto Mida), a jazz quartet, with which he performed away from Italy from 1939 through 1946.
His solo career, focused almost exclusively on Neapolitan song, traditional and popular songs, began with his return to Italy in 1946. In addition to establishing himself as a concert artist and a popular figure on radio, with a romantic, sentimental sound, he also did some acting in movies, appearing in the 1953 crime drama The Counterfeiters, made in Italy by director Franco Rossi.
Murolo's collection of twelve LPs of Neapolitan song, called Napoletana. Antologia cronologica della canzone partenopea and released between 1963 and 1965, is an annotated compendium of Neapolitan song dating back to the 12th century.[1] Later he published four monographic albums called I grandi della canzone napoletana, dedicated to Neapolitan poets Salvatore Di Giacomo, Ernesto Murolo, Libero Bovio and E. A. Mario. Murolo's recordings and performances helped popularize Neapolitan song globally. Afterwards he stopped recording, but continued to give concerts.[1] He made a comeback in the 1990s.[1]
He died at his home in Via Cimarosa 25, Naples, which continues to be the headquarters of the "Roberto Murolo Foundation" (Fondazione Roberto Murolo).[1]
Discography
edit- Na voce, 'na chitarra (1990)
- Ottantavoglia di cantare (1992), includes a duet with Mia Martini
- L'Italia è bbella (1993)
- Tu si' 'na cosa grande (1994)
- Anema e core (1995)
- Roberto Murolo and friends (1995)
- Ho sognato di cantare (2002)
Filmography
edit- Chains (Catene), directed by Raffaello Matarazzo (1949)
- Il voto, directed by Mario Bonnard (1950)
- Paolo e Francesca, directed by Raffaello Matarazzo (1950)
- Torment (Tormento), directed by Raffaello Matarazzo (1950)
- Three Steps North (Tre passi a nord), directed by W. Lee Wilder (1951)
- Milano miliardaria, directed by Marino Girolami, Marcello Marchesi and Vittorio Metz (1951)
- Falsehood (Menzogna), directed by Ubaldo Maria Del Colle (1952)
- Saluti e baci by Maurice Labro and Giorgio Simonelli (1953)
- I falsari, directed by Franco Rossi (1953)[4]
Awards
edit- Premio ufficiale della critica discografica (1982)[5]
- Premio Tenco per operatore culturale (1982)[5]
- Grand Officer of the Republic (1995)[1]
- Knight Grand Cross (2002)[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g "Roberto Murolo".
- ^ Discography on discogs
- ^ "Author Search Results".
- ^ Pino Farinotti, Dizionario degli attori, tutti gli attori e i loro film, Varese, Sugarco Edizioni, 1993
- ^ a b Enrico Deregibus (8 October 2010). Dizionario completo della Canzone Italiana [The Complete Dictionary of Italian Song] (in Italian). p. 321. ISBN 9788809756250.
