The new album of the Lombard tenor I hope Bongiolatti,”Naples”, available in all stores and platforms, is dedicated to the city of Partenope and is sung entirely in Neapolitan; among the songs the classics of the Neapolitan tradition: “’O surdato ‘nnammurato”, “’O Paese d’ ‘o sole”, “Comme facette mammata”, “’O marenariello”.
Bongiolatti, why dedicate an album to Naples?
«It was my dream, Naples is synonymous with music. All the great composers were inspired by Naples. Mozart himself fell in love with it. On 5 February 1916 the great Enrico Caruso recorded “’O Sole mio”, from that day on all tenors have always had the classic Neapolitan song in their repertoire which has thus become the Italian symbol of Bel Canto in the world».
How did your passion for the Neapolitan dialect arise?
«In 2001 I was on tour with the musical “Grease” and I always traveled by car from North to South. I had a CD of Neapolitan songs by Beniamino Gigli and I think I wore it out by listening to it. I can’t explain it: it’s a passion I’ve always had since I was little. Watching TV, I was enchanted when Mario Merola performed the drama and I was moved to the point of crying. Some Neapolitan gene must be inside me, even if I was born in Valtellina.”
What preparation was needed to interpret the language?
«I am someone who always tries to be prepared, I study a lot and I am always looking to improve myself. In this case, life has always brought me towards Naples, I have many friends and I have experienced a lot of Neapolitanism. I studied for two years with Paolo Montarsolo, a great funny bass of the 20th century. I learned a lot from him. His facial expression and typical Neapolitan accent, always elegant and gentlemanly. Then in 2016 I played Totò ‘o Scugnizzo in Costa’s operetta “La scugnizza”. Playing a street urchin I completely immersed myself in the role and perfected my speech.”
How is the album structured?
«A very important factor was recording the songs in the same period, so that they could have the same vocal timbre. The choice of songs was very complex. I tried, for example, not to be banal and to place them in a certain order: first the most romantic one, then some more fun ones. And, at the end, “Core ‘ngrato”, the most lyrical and dramatic piece in my opinion of the Neapolitan repertoire. In short, I wanted to give a very specific message: I wanted to take a singing journey from the Amalfi coast to Naples.”
Future projects?
“«Many, always too many… But, staying on topic, I have written an unreleased Neapolitan song and the next step will be to record it. I can’t wait!”.
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