Maria Ilva Biolcati, (; 17 July 1939 – 23 April 2021), known as Milva (), was an Italian singer, stage and film actress, and television personality. She was also known as La Rossa (Italian for "The Redhead"), due to the characteristic colour of her hair, and additionally as La Pantera di Goro ("The Panther of Goro"), which stemmed from the Italian press having nicknamed the three most popular Italian female singers of the 1960s, combining the names of animals and the singers' birthplaces. The colour also characterised her leftist political beliefs, claimed in numerous statements. Popular in Italy and abroad, she performed on musical and theatrical stages the world over, and received popular acclaim in her native Italy, and particularly in Germany and Japan, where she often participated in musical events and televised musical programmes. She released numerous albums in France, Japan, Korea, Greece, Spain, and South America.
She collaborated with European composers and musicians including Ennio Morricone in 1965, Francis Lai in 1973, Mikis Theodorakis in 1978 (Was ich denke became a best selling album in Germany), Enzo Jannacci in 1980, Vangelis in 1981 and 1986, and Franco Battiato in 1982, 1986 and 2010.
Her stage productions of Bertolt Brecht's recitals and Luciano Berio's operas toured the world's theatres. She performed at La Scala in Milan, at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin, at the Paris Opera, in the Royal Albert Hall in London and at the Edinburgh Festival, amongst others.
Having had success both in Italy and internationally, she remained one of the most popular Italian personalities in the fields of music and theatre. Her artistic stature was officially recognised by the Italian, German and French Republics, each of which bestowed her with the highest honours. She was the only Italian artist in contemporary times who was simultaneously: Chevalier of the National Order of the Legion of Honour of the French Republic (Paris, 11 September 2009), Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (Rome, 2 June 2007), Officer of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (Berlin, 2006), and Officier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Paris, 1995).
Life and career
Early life and career beginnings
Maria Ilva Biolcati was born in Goro, Province of Ferrara, Italy, on 17 July 1939. In 1959, when she was twenty, she won a contest for new voices, and was named the overall winner from more than seven thousand six hundred participants. In 1960 she recorded her first 7" single with Cetra Records: Édith Piaf's song "Milord". Her live debut was on the stage of the Sanremo Music Festival in 1961, where she took third place.
1960s
In 1962 Milva was the first singer to sing Édith Piaf's repertoire at the prestigious Olympia theatre in Paris. In 1983 she performed the repertoire at the venue again, receiving an ovation from the audience and the French press, very surprised how a non-French artist could interpret the songs of Piaf with such feeling and energy. Music critics named her singer of the year.
Shortly afterwards, Milva released her second LP record, Milva canta per voi, a studio album that compiled several songs previously published as singles, in addition to covers of Édith Piaf songs, such as Non, je ne regrette rien, translated to Italian as Nulla rimpiangerò, and Et maintenant, written by composer Gilbert Bécaud and lyricist Pierre Delanoë (a song which, in English, would later become known as What Now, My Love?").
In 1962 Milva co-starred in the Italian film La bellezza di Ippolita alongside Gina Lollobrigida and Enrico Maria Salerno a comedy film directed by Giancarlo Zagni, playing the role of Adriana. The film was entered into the 12th Berlin International Film Festival. In the same year, she also appeared in the film Canzoni a tempo di twist, an Italian film directed by Stefano Canzio.
In February, Milva participated in the Sanremo Musical Festival of 1962, competing with Tango italiano, a jazz-infused song written by Bruno Pallesi and Walter Malgoni. Her performance earned her second place in the competition and the single that followed reached number one on the Italian charts.
From 30 April to 4 May 1963, Milva was a television presenter on the Italian variety show Il Cantatutto.
Shortly after, Milva released her third LP record Da Il Cantatutto con Milva e Villa, in which she performed studio versions of the songs she had sung on Il Cantatutto. In the album, she performed Quattro Vestiti, composed by Ennio Morricone, a song which would be released on an EP by the same name. Milva also recorded an EP for the Spanish market: Milva canta en español.