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On September 14, 2004, songwriter Giuni Russo passed away at the age of fifty-three. Just twenty years ago, we lost the best interpreter of Italian music, an experimental and avant-garde artist with a discography characterized by a plurality of sources, as indicated by the pages of her excellent biography. A vocal timbre from another time that left many fans, and not only them, breathless. From jazz to traditional music, with operatic pop and electronic sounds, accompanied by a vocal range that made her the absolute first among Italian singers. Mina? Perhaps Giuni Russo went beyond that for her ability to interpret Neapolitan, Sicilian, and Italian song lyrics better. Lyrics recorded in Spanish, English, French, Hebrew, Japanese, Iraqi Arabic, Greek, and Latin. Professionally linked to artists like Franco Battiato, Cristiano Malgioglio, Alberto Radius, and Maria Antonietta Sisini, who was also her life partner for 36 years. From Castrocaro to Sanremo in 1968 under the name Giusy Romeno, with the song No Amore, she went on to achieve successes still sung today like Un Estate al Mare, the beautiful Alghero, and Morirò d’amore in 2003, performed at Sanremo and written with her life partner Sisini and Vania Magelli. Those who knew her privately describe her as a reserved woman with an intelligence from another time, but her heart had sunshine and blue skies. A voice that can be labeled as a lyric soprano with a soft and recognizable vocal timbre followed by excellent vocal diction. Converted to Catholicism, she was always devoted to St. Teresa of Avila. A singer with a personality that could make great stages fall in love, but still became human when she secluded herself with her great love, Maria Antonietta Sisini, a love of thirty-six years that was great and unique. Perhaps it is time to remember those beautiful words from the lyrics of the song Morirò d’amore: “I will die of love for you, your smile, the joy, how much I miss you.” For all of us, many of us, we miss your presence but above all, the musical calling of your lyrics. Personally, having followed the sweet call during the years, I can say that Mina is a great singer, but Giuni Russo surpassed every thought and imagination. For you, I will die of love.
Oreste Roberto Lanza