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Ornella Vanoni

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Ornella Vanoni
Vanoni in concert in 1973
Vanoni in concert in 1973
Background information
Born(1934-09-22)22 September 1934
Milan, Italy
Died21 November 2025(2025-11-21) (aged 91)
Milan, Italy
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • actress
WorksOrnella Vanoni discography
Years active1956–2025[1]
Labels
Spouse
Lucio Ardenzi
​
​
(m. 1960; sep. 1965)​

Ornella Vanoni OMRI (Italian pronunciation: [orˈnɛlla vaˈnoːni]; 22 September 1934 – 21 November 2025) was an Italian singer and songwriter. With a career spanning almost seventy years, she was one of the Italy's longest-standing musical artists. During her long career, she released about 121 works between LPs, EPs and greatest hits albums, and sold over 65 million records, being considered one of the most popular interpreters of Italian pop music.[2]

Artistic career

[edit]

Vanoni started her artistic career in 1960 as a theatre actress. She mostly performed in Bertolt Brecht works, under the direction of Giorgio Strehler at his Piccolo Teatro in her native city of Milan. At the same time, she started a music career. The folklore and popular songs she explored in her early records, especially the ones about the criminal underworld in Milan (Canzoni della Mala), resulted in her receiving the nickname cantante della mala ("Underworld Singer") for singing Milanese dialect songs on that genre.[3]

Vanoni scored two major hits in 1963 with "Senza fine" and "Che cosa c'è", both written for her by Gino Paoli. In 1964 she won the Festival of Neapolitan song with "Tu si na cosa grande". In the following years, she took part in a series of Festivals of Italian song in Sanremo with the songs "Abbracciami forte" (1965), "Io ti darò di più" (1966), "La musica è finita" (1967), "Casa Bianca" (1968), and "Eternità" (1970). "Casa Bianca", which finished second in 1968, was the subject of a copyright dispute between the composer of the song, Don Backy, and the Clan Celentano label.[citation needed]

In the late 1960s, Vanoni recorded "Una ragione di più", "Un'ora sola ti vorrei", "L'appuntamento" (a cover of the Brazilian song "Sentado à beira do caminho" by Erasmo Carlos and Roberto Carlos)[4] and "Non dirmi niente", a cover of Burt Bacharach's "Don't Make Me Over". In 1972 she sang "Quei giorni insieme a te", the theme from Lucio Fulci's critically acclaimed mystery thriller film Don't Torture a Duckling.[citation needed]

Ornella Vanoni in 2007

In 1976, Vanoni collaborated with Vinicius de Moraes and Toquinho on the album La voglia, la pazzia, l'incoscienza, l'allegria, best remembered for its title track "La voglia, la pazzia". During the 1980s, she released "Ricetta di donna", "Uomini", and "Ti lascio una canzone" (with Gino Paoli). In 1989, she returned to the Sanremo Music Festival with the song "Io come farò". In 1999, she recorded "Alberi", a duet with Enzo Gragnaniello. In 2004 she released an album of duets with Paoli to celebrate her 70th birthday.[5]

In addition to her music career, Vanoni was active in other creative fields, starring in stage and in television shows and movies. In January 1977 she posed nude for the Italian edition of Playboy magazine and requested a statuette by her long time friend the artist Arnaldo Pomodoro as payment.[6] The inclusion of her song "L'appuntamento" (1970) on the soundtrack of Steven Soderbergh's Ocean's Twelve in 2004 sparked a worldwide renewal of interest in her music. The soundtrack of the Danish film Toscana (2022, Netflix) also featured the song.[7]

Personal life and death

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Vanoni had several relationships with other artists, the most important of which were with Giorgio Strehler and Gino Paoli.[8] Between 1960 and 1965, she was married to Lucio Ardenzi (it), from whom she had one son, Cristiano, in 1962. Due to Vanoni's busy professional life, the child was mainly raised by her parents.[8][9]

Vanoni was a Christian, and for a period she spent time with Protestants.[10] She was a supporter of the AC Milan association football club.[11] In June 2025, she received an honorary degree in "Music, Culture, Media and Performance" from the University of Milan.[12]

Vanoni died of a heart attack at her home in Milan on 21 November 2025, at the age of 91.[13][14] Her casket lay in repose at the Piccolo Teatro, where she began her career. Her funeral was held at the Church of San Marco in the Brera district of Milan on 24 November 2025.[3][14][15] Before her death, she requested that her remains be cremated and the ashes dispersed in the Venice Lagoon.[14]

Discography

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Main article: Ornella Vanoni discography
Studio albums
  • Ornella Vanoni (1961)
  • Le canzoni di Ornella Vanoni (1963)
  • Caldo (1965)
  • Ornella (1966)
  • Ornella Vanoni (1967)
  • Ai miei amici cantautori (1968)
  • Io sì – Ai miei amici cantautori n.2 (1970)
  • Appuntamento con Ornella Vanoni (1970)
  • Un gioco senza età (1972)
  • Dettagli (1973)
  • Ornella Vanoni e altre storie (1973)
  • Quei giorni insieme a te (1974)
  • A un certo punto... (1974)
  • La voglia di sognare (1974)
  • Uomo mio, bambino mio (1975)
  • La voglia, la pazzia, l'incoscienza, l'allegria (1976)
  • Più (1976)
  • Io dentro (1977)
  • Io fuori (1977)
  • Vanoni (1978)
  • Ricetta di donna (1980)
  • Duemilatrecentouno parole (1981)
  • Uomini (1983)
  • Ornella &... (1986)
  • O (1987)
  • Il giro del mio mondo (1989)
  • Quante storie (1990)
  • Stella nascente (1992)
  • Sheherazade (1995)
  • Argilla (1997)
  • Un panino una birra e poi... (2001)
  • ...E poi la tua bocca da baciare (2001)
  • Sogni proibiti: Ornella e le canzoni di Bacharach (2002)
  • Noi, le donne noi (2003)
  • Ti ricordi? No non mi ricordo (2004)
  • Più di me (2008)
  • Più di te (2009)
  • Meticci (Io mi fermo qui) (2013)
  • Unica (2021)
  • Diverse (2024)

Filmography

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Film

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Title Year Role(s) Director Notes
Ragazzi del Juke-Box 1959 Barmaid Lucio Fulci Cameo appearance
Duel of the Titans 1961 Tarpeia Sergio Corbucci
Invasion 1700 1962 Woman Fernando Cerchio Uncredited
Canzoni in bikini 1963 Herself Giuseppe Vari
Amori pericolosi 1964 The Prostitute Carlo Lizzani Segment: "La ronda"
I ragazzi dell'Hully Gully Herself Marcello Giannini Cameo appearance
Per un pugno di canzoni 1966 Singer José Luis Merino Cameo appearance
Story of a Woman 1970 Ornella's Singing Voice Leonardo Bercovici Voice only
I viaggiatori della sera 1979 Nicki Banti Ugo Tognazzi
Ornella Vanoni: Ricetta di una donna 2013 Herself Alexandra Della Porta Documentary
What a Beautiful Surprise 2015 Carla Alessandro Genovesi
Senza fine 2021 Herself Elisa Fuksas Documentary
7 Women and a Murder Rachele Alessandro Genovesi
Toquinho: Encontros e um Violão 2024 Herself Erica Bernardini Documentary

Television

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Title Year Role(s) Notes
Giosafatte Talarico 1961 Caterina Longoni Television film
Sanremo Music Festival 1965 1965 Herself / Contestant Competing with "Abbracciami forte" – 2nd place
Sanremo Music Festival 1966 1966 Herself / Contestant Competing with "Io ti darò di più" – 6th place
Studio Uno Herself / Co-host Variety show (season 4)
Sanremo Music Festival 1967 1967 Herself / Contestant Competing with "La musica è finita" – 4th place
Sanremo Music Festival 1968 1968 Herself / Contestant Competing with "Casa Bianca" – 2nd place
Addio giovinezza Elena Television film
Senza rete 1968–1972 Herself / Co-host Variety show (season 1, 3 and 5)
Sanremo Music Festival 1970 1970 Herself / Contestant Competing with "Eternità" – 4th place
Il mulino del Po 1971 La Sniza 2 episodes
L'appuntamento 1973 Herself / Host Variety show
Fatti e fattacci 1975 Herself / Co-host Variety show
Ritratto di Ornella 1977 Herself Special
Due come noi 1979 Herself / Co-host Variety show
Lady Magic 1982 Herself / Co-host Variety show
Risatissima 1984 Herself / Regular guest Variety show (season 1)
Insieme Vanoni Paoli 1985 Herself / Performer Special
Sanremo Music Festival 1989 1989 Herself / Contestant Competing with "Io come farò" – 10th place
Ornella Vanoni in concerto 1991 Herself / Performer Special
Sanremo Music Festival 1999 1999 Herself / Contestant Competing with "Alberi (with Enzo Gragnaniello) – 4th place
Ornella: Ancora più di me 2008 Herself / Host and performer Special
Sanremo Music Festival 2009 2009 Herself / Guest performer Performing a medley of "Egocentrica" and "Una ragione in più" with Simona Molinari in the duets night
Star Academy 2011 Herself / Judge Talent show (season 2)
Sanremo Music Festival 2018 2018 Herself / Contestant Competing with "Imparare ad amarsi" (with Bungaro and Pacifico) – 5th place
Sanremo Music Festival 2019 2019 Herself / Guest performer Performing "La gente e me"
Amici Celebrities Herself / Judge Celebrity version of Amici di Maria De Filippi
Sanremo Music Festival 2020 2020 Herself / Guest performer Performing "La voce del silenzio" with Alberto Urso in the duets night
Sanremo Music Festival 2021 2021 Herself / Guest performer Performing a medley of her greatest hits in the final night
La Compagnia del Cigno Herself Episode: "In guerra e in amore"
Sanremo Music Festival 2023 2023 Herself / Guest performer Performing a medley of "Vai, Valentina", "L'appuntamento" and "Eternità" in the final night
Ornella Vanoni: Senza fine 2024 Herself / Host and performer Special
Che tempo che fa 2024–2025 Herself / Recurring guest Talk show

References

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  1. ^ "Ornella Vanoni: l'eleganza senza età di una voce inconfondibile". Rockol (in Italian). 13 February 2018.
  2. ^ "Chi è Ornella Vanoni: Età, altezza, canzoni, figli, dove abita e quei ritocchi che l'hanno cambiata". Il Giornale d'Italia (in Italian). 16 November 2021.
  3. ^ a b M., Max (22 November 2025). "Ornella Vanoni e le 'canzoni della mala': il legame con la sua Milano". MilanoToday (in Italian). Retrieved 22 November 2025.
  4. ^ "Comparison page". WhoSampled.
  5. ^ Moretti, Carlo (24 August 2004). "Vanoni-Paoli, la festa a Roma". la Repubblica (in Italian).
  6. ^ "Senza fine Vanoni". la Repubblica (in Italian). 11 March 2013.
  7. ^ "Soundtracks of Cinema: 'Toscana'". vaguevisages.com. 18 May 2022.
  8. ^ a b Costabile, Ilaria (22 November 2025). "Ornella Vanoni e il figlio Cristiano dal matrimonio con Lucio Ardenzi: prima Strehler e la storia con Gino Paoli". Fanpage.it (in Italian). Retrieved 23 November 2025.
  9. ^ "Ornella Vanoni, chi è e cosa fa il figlio Cristiano Ardenzi: lavoro e vita privata". Today (in Italian). 22 November 2025. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
  10. ^ Cazzullo, Aldo (21 November 2025). "L'intervista al Corriere di Ornella Vanoni: «Quando Paoli si sparò, andai da lui di notte. Ho avuto tanti uomini ma ne ho amati 4. E voglio decidere io quando andarmene»". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Retrieved 24 November 2025.
  11. ^ Sarsini, Davide (22 November 2025). "Il tifo per il Milan e la conversione all'Inter dopo l'incontro con Bonny, anche il calcio piange la regina della musica". AGI (in Italian). Retrieved 24 November 2025.
  12. ^ "Ornella Vanoni, laurea honoris causa dalla Statale: 'Voce inconfondibile, simbolo di Milano'". la Repubblica (in Italian). 15 April 2025. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
  13. ^ "E' morta Ornella Vanoni, mito della musica italiana. Aveva 91 anni. Malore nella sua casa di Milano". FQ Magazine (in Italian). 21 November 2025. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
  14. ^ a b c Casarini, Enrico (2 December 2025). "Quell'incanto che rimarrà senza fine". TV Sorrisi e Canzoni (in Italian). pp. 31–32.
  15. ^ Dowlatshahi, Alessandro; Dazzi, Zita (24 November 2025). "L'addio a Vanoni: l'omaggio di Fresu con 'L'appuntamento'. La nipote Camilla intona 'Senza fine'". la Repubblica (in Italian). Retrieved 24 November 2025.
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