‘O sole mio – Oh my sun! New appointment with CantaNapoli, the column dedicated to the Neapolitan song.
This morning we all woke up in a gray Naples. So to raise the spirits of the meteoropaths, we will talk about ‘O Sole mio, the best known Neapolitan song in the world.
Written in 1898 by the journalist Giovanni Capurro and set to music by the master Eduardo Di Capua, who was in Odessa, part of the Russian Empire. The master took inspiration from a sunrise seen on the Black Sea and from Anna Maria Vignati-Mazza called “Nina” winner (in Naples) of the first beauty contest of the city. ‘O sole mio was presented at the Piedigrotta Festival of that year by participating in a competition organized by the Bideri publishing house, ranking second. Despite only the second place, the composition became famous throughout the world.
Despite the fame, the authors Capurro and Di Capua died in poverty and Bideri became the owner of the copyright. Even if the royalties end after 100 years, in 2002 Alfredo Mazzucchi was recognized as the musical co-author of ‘ O Sole mio and therefore the song will be covered until 2042.
The interpretations are manifold, ranging from the lyric to pop and the most famous is that of Caruso. Other lyrical performances of this famous song are certainly that of Pavarotti, Placido and Bocelli. The wonderful Arabic version of the Tunisian M’Barka Ben Taleb, the American version of Elvis –“It’s Now or Never” which achieved a lot of success in the USA.
Gianna Nannini, Mina, Gianni Morandi, Tony Bennett, Roberto Murolo and many others have given voice to this wonderful composition, and also used as a hymn of Italy to the Olympics. Despite more than a century has passed, the song is still known by all the people of the world today.
In partnership with Tourist in Naples
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