Mia Martini (born Domenica Rita Adriana Bertè; 20 September 1947 – 12 May 1995) was an Italian singer, songwriter and musician. She is considered, by many experts, one of the most important and expressive female voices of Italian music, characterised by her interpretative intensity and her soulful performance.

Her debut album, Oltre la collina with the song "Padre davvero" is regarded as one of the best Italian albums made by a female artist. Hit songs like "Piccolo uomo", "Donna sola", "Minuetto", "Inno", "Al mondo", "Che vuoi che sia se t'ho aspettato tanto", "Per amarti" and "La costruzione di un amore" made her one of the most popular artists of Italian music in the 1970s, both nationally and internationally. She is the only female artist to have won two Festivalbar consecutively, respectively in 1972 and in 1973.

In 1977, two important encounters occurred in Martini's life: the first with Charles Aznavour, with whom she began a musical collaboration, and the second with singer-songwriter Ivano Fossati, with whom she started an artistic and sentimental partnership.

She returned to the music scene in 1981, after she underwent two vocal-cord surgeries that changed her vocal timbre and extension.

In 1982, she sang "E non finisce mica il cielo", written by Fossati, at Sanremo Music Festival, where she received the Critics Award, which was created specifically for her interpretation and which was named after her as "Mia Martini" Critics Awards from 1996, the year after her death.

In 1983, she was forced to leave the music industry and quit her career, as the music sector and colleagues considered her a person bringing bad luck and barred her from participating in any music and TV events, radio shows and concerts. This kept her away from the music scene for seven years. Only in 1989 was she able to reprise her career, when she returned to perform at Sanremo Music Festival, singing "Almeno tu nell'universo", which brought her a new success.

Martini's later hits included "Gli uomini non cambiano", "La nevicata del '56" and "Cu' mme", the latter with Roberto Murolo. She represented Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest twice, in 1977 with the song Libera and in 1992 with the song Rapsodia.

She died on 12 May 1995 in Cardano al Campo at the age of 47.

Domenica Rita Adriana Bertè was born in Bagnara Calabra, (Reggio Calabria), in southern Italy, on 20 September 1947, the second of four daughters: the oldest, Leda (born in 1946), Loredana (born in 1950) and the youngest Olivia (born in 1958). Martini's father, Giuseppe Radames Bertè (1921-2017), was a teacher of Latin and Greek. He was born in Villa San Giovanni, he moved to Marche with his family, first working as a professor and later becoming High School headmaster in Ancona. Martini's mother, Maria Salvina Dato (1925-2003), born in Bagnara Calabra, was an elementary school teacher.

"Mimì" (Martini's nickname) spent her childhood in Porto Recanati, in Marche region, where she showed early an interest in music. She began to perform at parties and dance halls, and entered some song contests for new voices. In 1962 she convinced her mother to take her to Milan for an audition, with the hope to get a record deal. ...

Source: Article "Mia Martini" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Mia Martini, de son vrai nom Domenica Bertè, est une chanteuse italienne née le 20 septembre 1947 à Bagnara Calabra, en Calabre, et morte le 12 mai 1995 à Cardano al Campo, dans la province de Varèse.

Elle était la sœur de la chanteuse Loredana Bertè.

Mia Martini fut surtout connue dans les années soixante, sous le pseudonyme Mimi Bertè. Les premiers succès arrivent cependant dans les années 1970, lorsqu'elle interprète Padre davvero et Gesù è mio fratello.

En 1972, elle gagne au 'Festivalbar' avec Piccolo uomo, l'année suivante avec Minuetto et en 1975, avec Donna sola.

En 1977, elle représente l'Italie, à Wembley (Londres), au Concours Eurovision de la chanson avec la chanson Libera, qu'elle enregistrera en italien, français, anglais et espagnol. Plus tard, en 1982, elle remporte le premier prix de la critique au Festival de Sanremo, avec E non finisce mica il cielo, écrit par Ivano Fossati.

Les années 1980 marquent une des périodes les plus difficiles dans la carrière de Mia Martini. Sa maison d'édition, DDD (La Drogueria de Drugolo), après avoir sorti l'album Mimi en 1981 et Quante volte ho contato le stelle en 1982, tente d'envoyer la chanteuse au Festival de Sanremo avec un texte de Paolo Conte, Spaccami il cuore, qui est écarté aux sélections en devenant un simple 45 tours («Spaccami il cuore» et «Lucy»), en édition limitée.

Elle mûrit le projet de se retirer de la scène, mais vient l'idée d'organiser un concert. Ce répertoire est enregistré en studio et vidéo et deviendra l'album Miei compagni di viaggio (Mes copains de voyage), comprenant les reprises de quelques chansons d'auteurs chers à Mia Martini: Leonard Cohen, John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, Joni Mitchell, Randy Newman, Kate Bush, Luigi Tenco, Fabrizio De André, Francesco De Gregori, Chico Buarque de Holanda, Vinícius de Moraes, Joan Manuel Serrat. Beaucoup sont ses amis, qui la saluent parfois en participant parmi les choristes dans ses concerts: Claudio Pascoli, Maurizio Preti, Shel Shapiro, Carlo Siliotto, Shel Shapiro, Giulio Capiozzo, Loredana Bertè (sa sœur), Ivano Fossati, Cristiano De André, Guido Harari, Ezio de Rosa, Aida Cooper, Riccardo Zappa, Antonio Panarello, Gilberto Martellieri, Franco Cesaretto, Mimi Gates, Ralf Gewald, Mark Harris, Piero Mannucci, Peter Brandt, George Cocilovo et Jurgen Kramer. Le concert se terminera avec le significatif Ed ora dico sul serio de Chico Buarque de Holanda.

Son grand retour sera en 1989, avec Almeno tu nell'universo écrit par Bruno Lauzi, avec lequel elle remporte une nouvelle fois le Prix de la critique, et sa carrière reprend avec d'autres albums et participations au Festival de Sanremo, comme La nevicata del '56 de Franco Califano en 1990.

En 1992, elle est deuxième au Festival de Sanremo avec Gli uomini non cambiano de Giancarlo Bigazzi. La même année, elle participe à nouveau au Concours Eurovision de la chanson, avec Rapsodia, se classant quatrième sur vingt-trois participants.

Sa dernière participation au Festival de Sanremo remonte à 1993, en duo avec sa sœur Loredana Bertè, en interprétant Stiamo come stiamo. Sa chanson E la vita racconta n'est pas sélectionnée pour l'année suivante. Parmi ses dernières chansons, Viva l'amore et Tutto sbagliato baby. ...

Source: Article "Mia Martini" de Wikipédia en français, soumis à la licence CC-BY-SA 3.0.