Yesterday, soprano Katia Ricciarelli celebrated her 80th birthday. Although her international singing career ended many years ago, she is a well-known personality in Italy, her fame travelling far from the opera houses. She married celebrated Italian television presenter Pippo Baudo on 18 January 1986, her 40th birthday, but it was a union that ended in acrimony in 2004 – Baudo died last year.
On the eve of her birthday, she talked to the Corriere della Sera newspaper.
It is logical to associate my birthday with my marriage to Pippo. We shared an 18-year marriage, which is quite an accomplishment… Getting married that day was like giving each other a gift. He was a very important figure, one of those who are sorely missed, because there was no one like him. But for birthday wishes, sometimes they arrived, and sometimes they didn’t in recent years. Even if we didn’t talk much, when he died I felt someone was missing. He will always remain a fundamental part of my life.
I would love to receive birthday wishes from José Carreras – it would mean that those thirteen years spent together were not wasted. I continue to talk about him often, and the thoughts amuse me and make me happy – despite the ups and downs and a few slaps, I feel that we still love each other… the affection remains. Receiving a message from him would be important. It would mean that the deep affection I feel is still reciprocated.
[Carreras and I] were travelling minstrels – we sang together, we toured the world, we didn’t even have a permanent home as a couple. When he met me, he had been married for six months, but evidently he and his wife were not made for each other. I would have liked him to leave her and marry me, because I no longer wanted to be the eternal girlfriend.
Frequenting that world, it was inevitable [that I would fall in love with artists]. I haven’t hung out with many people from other environments. If you live 24 hours a day in showbusiness, it is clear that you find love there. Today, however, my only love is Ciuffi, a seven-year-old Maltese. He is the only male I have ever let myself be commanded by. He controls my life and decides everything. He has a crazy character, a bit like all the men I’ve met.
[I regret] I got married late and had no children. Though having a career like mine, something had to be sacrificed, but I don’t make a tragedy out of it. I always tell young people that if you don’t want it with all your heart, you won’t be able to cope with this life, because it’s a job that requires sacrifice, even in your private life.
I could only have been a singer. I always wanted to be a singer. I felt that the voice was there, and I was born for this job – there was no choice. Of course, I did everything I could to make it… I worked in a turntable factory and I worked as a saleswoman at an Upim store to be able to pay for my studies at the Venice Conservatory. My family was very poor, so there was no money. But I have always been convinced that this was my path, I was determined, and I succeeded.
I did everything really, though recently I turned down a TV programme which I’m now sorry about. [TV presenter] Milly Carlucci had wanted me for Dancing with the Stars, but I said no. The reason is simple – if I decide to do something, I have to be able to do it well, otherwise I prefer to let it go. I have always had a problem with standing too long, and dancing requires a physical commitment that I could not have seriously guaranteed. I’m not the type to do it just to be there, and I don’t want to make a bad impression – if you can’t give your best on the track, it’s better to stay at home.
Now, I would just like to continue as I am, with my International Academy of Opera Singing in Bardolino [near Verona]. I want to teach young people what I have learned, because we need new generations in this field. I teach them everything I know, but I am also very honest, so if I see that the “raw material” is not there, I tell the truth. It is useless to make parents spend money if they do not have what it takes.
Graham Spicer, aka ‘Gramilano’, is a writer, director and photographer based in Milan. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy. His articles have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the Danza in Italia column for Dancing Times magazine. Graham was the historical advisor on Codice Carla, the 2023 documentary on Carla Fracci.
Graham also works as a dance photographer, and his photos have appeared in many books, theatre programmes, and magazines, including Dancing Times, Dance Spirit and Ballet2000, as well as all the major Italian newspapers.
He is a member of the Dance Section of The Critics’ Circle.