Nilla Pizzi | Italian singer, 91
Nilla Pizzi, 91, an Italian singer whose voice was deemed too sensual for radio during the fascist regime of Benito Mussolini, died Saturday at a clinic in Milan.
Nilla Pizzi, 91, an Italian singer whose voice was deemed too sensual for radio during the fascist regime of Benito Mussolini, died Saturday at a clinic in Milan.
Italian President Giorgio Napolitano hailed Ms. Pizzi as a sensitive interpreter of Italy's tradition of melodic song.
During fascist rule in the years before World War II, Ms. Pizzi was kept away from radio work because her voice was deemed too "modern, exotic, and sensual," according to the Italian news agency ANSA.
Ms. Pizzi triumphed at the 1951 inaugural edition of San Remo, the star-studded festival that promotes Italian song. She also won at San Remo the second year, in 1952, sweeping the festival's top three prizes.
When she was 90, she sang at San Remo to mark 60 years of the festival and delighted the audience with a still strong and lovely voice. - AP