In 1978, with Carla Fracci at the height of her fame, a book was produced with a collection of photographs by Dino Jarach. Fracci in the piazza, Fracci on stage, Fracci in the studio, Fracci on the beach… that sort of thing. In these photos she is in fact over forty though, like now, she looks much younger.
In these photos – Fracci at home with friend – there is a singer, ten years younger than Fracci, who had become a household name in Italy during the sixties: Caterina Caselli. At this point of her life she was moving behind the microphone and becoming a talent scout. She helped to build the career of Paolo Conti among others, and her agency blossomed when she discovered the young Andrea Bocelli. Since being signed by Caselli, Bocelli has gone on to sell more than 65 million albums.
In these photos however, that was still to come, and it is amusing to watch her expression as she looks adoringly at Fracci's feet!
Graham Spicer is a writer, director and photographer in Milan, blogging (under the name ‘Gramilano') about dance, opera, music and photography for people “who are a bit like me and like some of the things I like”. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy.
His scribblings have appeared in various publications from Woman's Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the ‘Danza in Italia' column for Dancing Times magazine.
