amore e niente più ripercorre la sua carriera come una pellicola che scorre lungo le pareti del tempo. «La mia storia professionale – confessa con un pizzico d’orgoglio – è sempre stata guidata dalla passione. Ancora oggi non passa una giornata senza che mi inventi qualcosa di nuovo, che mi venga in mente una melodia o un’idea da realizzare. L’Italia purtroppo è un Paese che quando esci fuori dal giro fa di tutto per renderti difficile il rientro. E spesso si rischia di rimanere falcidiati e al di fuori di tutto. La bravura di un artista è anche rimanere in contatto con la realtà musicale che lo circonda. A questo si deve poi aggiungere l’impegno a guardare anche al di fuori dei confini nazionali, alle novità artistiche – e sono molte – che arrivano da altre parti del mondo». Perché quando si guarda con gli occhi di un musicista anche il mondo può assomigliare a un grande palcoscenico. Un palcoscenico sconfinato e inebriante, ma che non riesce mai a bastare a se stesso. «Molto spesso, quando sono lontano, mi capita di ritornare con il pensiero alla mia residenza caprese al Castiglione – ripete sorridendo Peppino di <strong>Capri</strong> mentre si gode l’ennesimo tramonto dall’isola azzurra –. Lo faccio per ritemprarmi e ritrovare le atmosfere giuste. Soprattutto quando sono lontano da casa, il suo ricordo diventa ancora più importante». times, and selling 20 million records. The secret of Peppino’s success was his ability to acquaint young audiences with the magic of classic Neapolitan songs, but the roots of his worldwide popularity were to be found in the scenery and the pace of life on the <strong>Capri</strong> of his youth. Today, as Peppino turns 70, the island that inspired the opening lines of all his songs is still the same. “My <strong>Capri</strong> is not the one the passing tourist sees in a day or two,” he readily admits. “It’s the island that exists in my imagination like a dream or a fairy tale. I used to paint landscapes of the island from memory, imaginary ones: what would emerge was a more intimate island with less traffic, an island that revealed all its beauty to the eye of the beholder who really loved her. This is why even now I see <strong>Capri</strong> as a kind of dream dimension; its every nook and cranny yields a painting, something that stays in my mind, that I can say belongs to me.” Indeed, it was his native <strong>Capri</strong> that launched Peppino in 1970, when he triumphed at the Naples Festival with the song Me chiamme ammore, which he recorded for Splash, the label he founded himself. This victory was followed by another win at the Sanremo Festival, and several years later the song Champagne placed Peppino firmly in the Italian popular music Hall of Fame. A career in the form of a long road, going wherever the notes took him, up and down, as if his life were a piece of sheet music to be played. Up to now, that is, as he is about to enter his eighth decade. “Seventy is an important number, and if you make it to this age, it’s best not to call attention to it. Anyway, what matters is not the physical but the spiritual age you feel. This is why I keep in close contact with my children and young people in general.” That Peppino di <strong>Capri</strong> is young at heart is undeniable, and his latest project, the one he has been working on for some time, proves it. “What I’m developing,” he explains, “is a musical about my life, set in <strong>Capri</strong>, with the stage sets to go along. Obviously, the score will be made up of my own songs.” With this new project, as with Peppino’s other artistic commitments, <strong>Capri</strong>’s celebrated silhouette is much more than a faint shadow on o the horizon: it describes d the source of his h inspiration. Peppino loves to seek haven on the island and rediscover its other face. “<strong>Capri</strong> needs to be experienced in its most real dimension,” states Peppino emphatically, “in early spring or late autumn. It doesn’t reveal itself to everyone in the same way; to experience it intensely, it takes the right moment, the right places, and the right people. To me, the island represents a place for contemplation and total relaxation.” If you ask him to share his favourite snapshot of <strong>Capri</strong> with you, Peppino immediately replies, “The eastern side of the island, facing the Amalfi Coast, when you walk down to the Natural Arch at sunset, stop to get a bite to eat at the Grottelle, and then resume your walk out to Tragara.” In 1998, Peppino elected <strong>Capri</strong> as the perfect venue to celebrate his forty years in music with a show called “Champagne! Di <strong>Capri</strong>, di più.” And now that Peppino’s career has stretched to half a century, the man who sang Un amore e niente più retraces the steps of a lifetime in music as if it were a film flickering across the walls of time. “My professional history,” he admits with a touch of pride, “has always been driven by my passion for music. Even now, not a day goes by that I don’t make up something new, or hear a melody in my head, or get an idea for a project. Unfortunately, if you exit the scene for a time, Italy is a country that makes it very difficult for you to stage a comeback. The risk you run is that of being left out in the cold permanently. An artist’s true skill lies partly in staying in touch with the world of music around him or her. In addition, you need to look seriously beyond the national borders to the new trends in music – and there are many – coming from other parts of the world.” Seen through the eyes of a musician, in fact, the world does look like an enormous stage, a dazzling, endless stage, but one that still isn’t ever quite sufficient unto itself. “Often, when I’m far away, I find my mind straying to my house on <strong>Capri</strong>, in Castiglione,” says Peppino di <strong>Capri</strong> with a smile, while he contemplates the latest in an infinite series of sunsets off the ‘isola azzurra’. It helps me recharge my batteries and find the right atmosphere. It’s when I’m far away from home, actually, that those memories of <strong>Capri</strong> become even more important.” 91
92 [Shopping] Il gusto della tradizione Beppe Massa nella boutique caprese. Beppe Massa at his <strong>Capri</strong> boutique. MASSA • via Vittorio Emanuele, 36 tel. 081.837.0621
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