Riccardo Cocciante

Riccardo Cocciante
Riccardo Cocciante in 1975
Background information
Born	(1946-02-20) 20 February 1946 Saigon, Vietnam
Genres	Pop
Occupation(s)	singer, composer
Instrument(s)	Piano
Years active	1968 — present
Labels	RCA Talent, Delta, RCA Italiana, Virgin Dischi, 20th Century
Website	Official website

Riccardo Cocciante
Born	Riccardo Cocciante
Occupation(s)	singer, songwriter
Height	1.67 m (5 ft 6 in)

Riccardo Cocciante (Italian: [rikˈkardo kotˈtʃante]; born 20 February 1946), also known in French-speaking countries and the U.S. as Richard Cocciante (French: [ʁiʃaʁ kɔʃjɑ̃t]), is an Italian singer, composer, theatre man and musician.

Personal life

Cocciante was born on 20 February 1946 in Saigon, French Indochina, now Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, to an Italian father from Rocca di Mezzo (provincia dell'Aquila) and a French mother. At the age of 11, he moved to Rome, Italy, where he attended school. He also lived in the United States and Ireland.

Career

Cocciante began achieving success as a musician around 1972. In 1976, he covered the Beatles song "Michelle" for the musical documentary All This and World War II. That same year, he released his sole English album in the US, with the single "When Love Has Gone Away" peaking at #41 on the Billboard Hot 100.

In 1991, he won the Sanremo Festival with the song "Se stiamo insieme", and for Christmas 1997, his friend Plácido Domingo invited him to sing at Domingo's annual Christmas in Vienna concert, together with Sarah Brightman and Helmut Lotti.

As of 2008, Cocciante has three musicals running, with Notre-Dame de Paris being the most known.

His oeuvre includes recordings in Italian, French, English, and Spanish; he has recorded some of his songs in all four languages, including "Pour Elle" recorded as "Per Lei" in Italian, "Para Ella" in Spanish, and "I'd Fly" in English.

Discography

• Mu (1972)
• Poesia (1973)
• Anima (1974)
• L'alba (1975)
• Richard Cocciante [English version of Anima] (1976)
• Concerto per Margherita (1976)
• Riccardo Cocciante (1978)
• ...E io canto (1979)
• Cervo a primavera (1980)
• Q Concert (1981)
• Cocciante (1982)
• Sincerità (1983)
• Il mare dei papaveri (1985)
• Quando si vuole bene (1986)
• La grande avventura (1988)
• Viva! (1988)
• Cocciante (also known as Se stiamo insieme; 1991)
• Eventi e mutamenti (1993)
• Il mio nome è Riccardo (1994)
• Un uomo felice (1994)
• Je Chante (1995)
• Innamorato (1997)
• Istantanea (1998)
• Notre-dame de Paris live Arena di Verona (2002)
• Songs (2005)

Musicals

• Notre-Dame de Paris (1997; lyrics by Luc Plamondon)
• Le Petit Prince (2002; lyrics by Elizabeth Anais)
• Giulietta e Romeo (2007; lyrics by Pasquale Panella)

References

• Asinari, Pierguido. Riccardo Cocciante. 1971–2007. Dalla forma canzone al melodramma. Rome: 2007.

External links

• RICCARDO COCCIANTE Official Web Site
• Biography of Richard Cocciante, from Radio France Internationale
• Biography of Riccardo Cocciante, from RAI International
• AyerHoy.com (Cada día un perfil de un artista del ayer)