 THE “’O SOLE MIO” STORY |
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| The glorious history of a song |
In 1898, Giovanni Capurro wrote the words to “’O sole mio!” and asked Eduardo Di Capua (who at the time was in The Ukraine, in Odessa, with his orchestra violinist father) to set them to music. The song was later presented at Piedigrotta 1898, organized by the “Round Table” promoted by the publisher Bideri, and came second to “Napule Bello!”, but the result was soon overturned, as “’O sole mio!”became the most famous song of all time, even if – normal for the period – it made little money for its composers Di Capua and Capurro, who died in poverty.
The song was translated into countless languages and was one of Enrico Caruso’s fortes, subsequently entering every opera singer’s repertoire. One of the most famous versions is still Elvis Presley’s “It’s Now or Never”, which won the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll a gold disc from Edizioni Bideri. If the truth be known, in 1957, Bill Haley and The Cornets had also recorded a version, called “Come Rock With Me”. In the Sixties, a single by Robertino sold two million copies in the Soviet Union. The song was back in the Italian hit parade as recently as 2005, with a version by Pino Daniele. It was the only song liked by the poet Sandro Penna, it is mentioned by Proust in his Recherche, hummed by heads of state and popes alike. During the inaugural ceremony of the 1920 Antwerp Olympics, as the national representatives filed past King Albert of Belgium, the band lost the score of the “Royal March” so to cover the blunder struck up “’O sole mio!”, with spectators immediately and loudly joining in. After a long legal battle, the Courts of Turin decreed that Maestro Alfredo Mazzocchi was the co-author of the song: the musician, who claimed he had assisted in the composition of the piece, died in 1972, aged 94, but his heirs successfully pursued the case. |
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