The Italian Cultural Institute organized an event inviting Renzo Arbore as one of the most famous showmen of the Italian Television and an icon of the improvisation. [photo Renzo Arbore by Cinzia Cerbino]
During the evening the audience stepped back in time watching videos from his celebrated TV shows that between the end of the Seventies onward introduced to the public actors and other talents like Roberto Benigni , director of “Life is Beautiful” or Isabella Rossellini, daughter of Ingrid Bergman and Roberto Rossellini, who became a famous supermodel, just to name a few.
Journalist Antonio Caprarica hosted this event asking questions to Arbore and the eclectic showmen answered talking about his love for Italian music, especially from Naples. He went back over his beginning with his radio show together with his friend Gianni Boncompagni where their shows have been followed by many and they are still remembered with their catchphrases and characters invented during the broadcasting. Renzo Arbore has been the first DJ in the Italian radio. Before, the musicgone on the air was played without interruptions allowing anyone with a small tape recorder to copy the song. Renzo Arbore and his mate started to talk over the song and stop it before it was finished, taking example from overseas radio presenters. Another change in the radio broadcasting has been the improvisation, talking on the microphone with no script at all. All these innovations have been very popular and the new radio was born.
[photo Antonio Caprarica journalist – Renzo Arbore by Cinzia Cerbino]
As Renzo Arbore said in this evening, when success comes, the best thing is move to another thing altogether, so he left the radio shows and started TV shows with a twist. It was not the usual show with a definite schedule, but just a “container” where actors, singers, stand up comedians were introducing themselves to the audience. In this period Renzo Arbore starts composing songs that became famous and sang everywhere. Still not tired, he starts moving his first steps in the cinema business with two films one dedicated to the Pope John Paul II and the other one to Federico Fellini, both funny comedies, huge successes at the box offices. Between the end of the 20th century to date, Renzo Arbore dedicated his skills to rediscover the Neapolitan songs with his Orchestra playing a successful selection of classical songs and taking this music all over the world.
Scenes from a video screened during the event at the Italian Cultural Institute show excited audience dancing and clapping hands during his concerts, and not only Italians living abroad, but in some places like in China or Russia, the audience formed only by natives have been seen enjoying themselves with this enthralling music. Renzo Arbore loves jazz and a great conversation about it took place during the evening with Arbore saying the Italian jazz players are the best in the world and as President of the Umbria jazz festival he has seen a fair share of talents to make this statement.
We hope to see Renzo Arbore and his Orchestra Italiana in concert here in London, given that his last performance has been in 1995 at the Royal Albert Hall and surely the ambassador of the Neapolitan Song is required for a great show in United Kingdom.
[photo Antonio Caprarica journalist – Renzo Arbore by Cinzia Cerbino]