Iskra Menarini is an Italian singer, known for video and vocal interpretation of The Big Bad Wolf, single from the album Change of Lucio Dalla 1990, and participation in the Sanremo Festival 2009 with the song Quasi amore.
Biography
Iskra Menarini was born in San Felice sul Panaro 5 May 1946, by her father Cesare of French nationality but the son of an Italian mother and Anna Polloni. She also has a brother named Sergio, four years older than her. Here she spent his childhood, studying to become an expert land surveyor. In 1962, at the age of sixteen she moved with his family in the town of Sanremo, where she remained for six years. Here she began her long artistic career thanks to the passion for the theater, dance and music which led her to learn classical guitar lessons, dance and acting. She participated at the Castrocaro Festival in 1963, failing to qualify for the final round; However, this experience allows her to get a record deal with MRC, Milano Record Company in Milan, who made her debut the following year with her first 45 record, That / Tomorrow night. At twenty-two she moved alone to Bologna to study opera singing where she met Andrea Mingardi, but the meeting that definitely changes her way of singing and listening to music was the meeting with the Tombstones, a Bolognese group that makes discover rock music, with which she recorded a 45 rpm for Cobra Records, I think back / Hair to the wind, and with which it participates in the Festival of avant-garde music and new trends in 1971. She remained in this group ten years, participating in various festivals. In this context, she met and Red Ronnie knows with whom begins a friendship, singing around and debuting at Piper Club of Rome. Then sings in the rock opera Giulio Cesare written by Jimmy Villotti and approaches to jazz, more experimental, to soul and blues; in 1978 she took part in the recording of Vasco Rossi's debut album,... But what do you want it to be a song..., as a chorister. The meeting with Lucio Dalla led her to a long collaboration as its vocalist for 24 years and joined him on tour, on television shows and in several music videos, such as Hello, The Big Bad Wolf, Monday and Tosca – Desperate Love. She also cooperates with other singers, such as Stadium, Luca Carboni, Samuele Bersani. At the same time singing on tour and on television even with Gianni Morandi and Paola Perego guest starring on Channel 5. At 63 years, he participated in the Sanremo Festival 2009, between New Proposals, singing Almost love, of Lucio Dalla and Marco Alemanno text and music by Roberto Costa. She also participated as a teacher for a period in the Amici di Maria De Filippi, but left the role after a short time to continue to be freeer in her musical career. In 2009 she took part at the last album Lucio Dalla Angoli nel cielo. For charity she performed in a rally with several artists for the restoration of seven churches in Bologna and I Jails for fundraising for L'Aquila. In 2013 with Alberto Zeppieri she produced the album Ossigeno: A journey into the soul, at the SanLucaSound studies. The album is a journey in her musical life with new songs composed by her and a few covers in memory of Lucio Dalla. Disk collaborated Renato Zero, Gianni Morandi, Gigi D'Alessio, Andrea Mingardi, Sabrina Ferilli, Lino Banfi, Stefano di Battista, the children's choir of Antoniano, Gergo Morales and Marialuce Monari.
Other
In October 2015 she taught at Artist Academy Talent Reality, the Television Academy for singers conceived and directed by Michael Zurino master. She is married to Alfredo Parmeggiani, a former boxer. From their union was born Cristiano Parmeggiani.
