Name	Fiorella Mannoia
Height
Naionality	Italy
Date of Birth	April 4, 1954
Place of Birth	Rome, Lazio, Italy
Famous for

Who is Fiorella Mannoia (Rome, 4/02/1954), this performer who moves with such self-assurance in a world of male musicians and poets; who has sung with Fossati, with Bertoli, with Barbarossa and with Bindi; who has shared the stage with Ruggeri, Dalla and Ron; whom we have applauded for her splendid renditions of masterpieces by Chico Buarque De Hollanda and Caetano Veloso? Who is this red-haired prima donna who fills the most prestigious concert halls in Italy and enjoys chart-topping success with such casual confidence? First and foremost she has always been an adventurous rebel. Even when she was just a girl, she was already working at Cinecittà in a high-risk career as a stunt-girl. She made her debut as a singer in Castrocaro in 1967 and at the Disco per l'estate in 1969. For several years she continued to make a living as a stunt girl for the cinema during the era of Spaghetti Westerns and later as Monica Vitti and Candice Bergen's double. But in 1972 she returned to singing, recording two singles and an album with singer-songwriter Memmo Foresi. She embarked upon a long-term musical career a few years later when she formed a team (consisting of Antonio Coggio, Roberto Davini and Mimmo Cavallo) that produced the song Caffè nero bollente. It was this tomboyish rock number that Fiorella sang at the Sanremo Festival in 1981 and became her first major hit. She made a follow-up that summer called E muoviti un po' (Festivalbar). In 1982 she caught the attention of Mario Lavezzi, who produced her first album, entitled Fiorella Mannoia. Her musical style now underwent a major transformation, allowing her to display her exceptional expressive versatility. Her angry style became mellower, adapting to such varied songs as Il posto delle viole, Non si possono correre rischi and Torneranno gli angeli. At the Sanremo Festival in 1984 she sang Come si cambia, a beautiful song that won her a place in the audience's heart, then sealed her popularity in St. Vincent with Ogni volta che vedo il mare. The year 1985 marked a turning point in her career. She recorded Momento delicato, which fully demonstrates her expressive versatility. Songs like Quand'eri tu la musica, Canto e vivo and L'aiuola (sung as the finale at Festivalbar) marked her out as one of the most original performers in contemporary Italian music. In the meantime she moved to Milan, made her first tour, and won the TV competition Premiatissima with her rendition of Riccardo Cocciante's splendid song Margherita. She immediately recorded an album (Premiatissima) containing this piece together with covers of some of the finest songs by De Gregori, Baglioni, Lauzi, Dalla and De André. It was a great success. In 1986 she released a new LP (Basta innamorarsi) in collaboration with guitarist Piero Fabrizi and with lyrics by Mogol. The following year, at the 1987 Sanremo Festival, Fiorella Mannoia underwent yet another transformation, singing Quello che le donne non dicono (written by Ruggeri and Schiavone). It brought her the critics' prize, eighth place in the contest and a chart entry. In 1988 she repeated this success with her rendition of Fossati's elegant Le notti di maggio, which captured the hearts of both the public and the critics. In another fine album (Canzoni per parlare) arranged by Piero Fabrizi, she sang songs by Ruggeri, Cocciante and Ron that brought out the most subtle nuances of her voice and were a far cry from the tomboyishness of her old days. After the single I dubbi dell'amore, she again achieved success at St. Vincent with another song from the album Il tempo non torna più. Thus began a period that brought her numerous awards. The first was the Tenco Prize, which she won in 1988 as best performer and in 1990 for the album Di terra di vento. The songs on the album (which reached Number 3 in the charts) were by songwriters of the calibre of Fossati, Ruggeri, Schiavone, Cocciante, and Chico Buarque de Hollanda. Fiorella was the ideal singer for them, capable of expertly balancing the changes in tone, modulating the phrasing, and giving the perfect emphasis to the pauses in the tales that unfold. Her 1989-90 tour brought her success in Germany and established her as one of Europe's finest performers. In the 1990s, her circle of singer-songwriter friends widened to embrace the youngest generation (from Daniele Silvestri to Gianmaria Testa and the group Avion Travel). There followed a further five albums, all of which have been highly successful: I treni a vapore (1992), an anthology album entitled Le Canzoni (1993), Gente Comune (1994), Belle Speranze (1996) and the recent Certe piccole voci, the first live album of her career.