Elisa: “At almost 50 years old I no longer want to hide”
It was September 1997 when “Pipes & flowers”, Elisa’s debut album, was released: to celebrate 30 years of her career, the singer thought of ‘Soundtrack ’97-’27’, a concert defined as halfway between a party and a festival – which will see her as the first woman to perform as a soloist on the stage of the RCF Arena in Reggio Emilia, the historic Campovolo. The appointment is set for 11 September 2027: Elisa told the story of the appointment by calling the press during a picnic at the Reggio Emilia Arena, under umbrellas that protected from the very hot pre-summer day. “It’s all surreal – he tells journalists – it still doesn’t seem real to me. This idea had been in our minds for years, we touched on it a few times without ever landing and today we are really here. Campovolo means lots of people, lots of energy, lots of celebration and an enormous shared love for music”.
Campovolo’s choice
Today the stage that for years represented the highest point of a career seems to have transformed almost into an obligatory passage, if not even into a launching pad, with the risk, at times, of forging ahead. Elisa, on the other hand, arrived at San Siro after a thirty-year career, and today she says she wants to differentiate herself and imagine something different. “Fortunately – she says – in recent years there have been many Italian artists performing in stadiums, much more than in the past. To celebrate this anniversary we wanted to create a unique and unrepeatable event”. Campovolo, according to the artist, lends itself to hosting a more immersive experience that will start from 9 in the morning and continue until late at night, with different activities to tell Elisa’s world. From the well-being of body, mind, soul and spirit to the spaces dedicated to families – with a family ticket which provides a discounted price for those under 18 -, from the karaoke and tattoo areas to meetings and debates. And even listening and cinema corners where you can listen to remastered songs or demos that have not yet been released and where historic live shows and unreleased frames will be screened.
Up to the topic of sustainability. “In the wake of the experiment carried out at San Siro which allowed us to reduce emissions by up to 70%, everything will be designed to be as sustainable as possible”. A plastic free event, a vast area for bicycles and campers, sustainable mobility and all the measures that respond to the sustainability protocol published by the Polytechnic of Milan based on the data collected during Elisa’s 2022 tour and which today is available to those who want to commit to the construction of sustainable events.
The guests
“It’s even more surreal that I was here in 2005, for the first time, because Luciano Ligabue had allowed me to be part of his party. A beautiful baptism of fire”, says Elisa. At that point it was impossible not to talk about guests. “It would be strange not to have any, also because historically I have been among the artists who have had the most guests during various celebrations and anniversaries. I haven’t invited them yet, but I hope to have the people who have been part of my history, as I have been part of theirs. I also foresee a space for artists of the new generation who I like and who I would like to invite to sing during the day”. He doesn’t go too far in naming names, but it’s impossible not to think of Ligabue, just to close that circle, or of friends like Giorgia, okgiorgio and Dardust, who produced “Amore è”, one of the pieces that anticipates the new album coming out this year.
The new album
Details, title and release date are still missing but he anticipates “It is a concept album that talks about pain, reconstruction and rebirth and with which I am fulfilling wishes and making secret dreams come true, first of all that of exploiting the language of dance and bodily expression taking the work of Kate Bush and Pina Bausch as a point of reference. I have always danced for myself, but at almost 50 years of age I am no longer interested in hiding”. “It’s liberating to publish it four years after the last work, I didn’t want to wait until 2027 and that’s why I included some songs in the concerts”. Among these ‘Fomo 2’, a snapshot of the moment we are living in and a provocation to a current system made up of algorithms, social media and AI that wants us to be ‘fragile and malleable’.
De Gregori’s political commitment
And speaking of leaving their mark, to those who ask her what she thinks of her friend Francesco De Gregori’s statement on the fact that ‘entertainment men’ like Springsteen are increasingly taking a political position she responds like this: “For me Francesco is a philosopher and a great point of reference, but perhaps it’s better that I don’t tell him at this point – she jokes -. For once perhaps I don’t agree, also because in reality her generation experienced a moment in which music was the supporting voice of one of the movements most revolutionary youth of all time, the beat generation, ’68, the summer of love, Woodstock. It’s true that today there is a risk of doing everything, but we are responsible for what we say and we cannot ignore what surrounds us. If we use the microphone to say rubbish it is a problem”.
Elisa, on the other hand, also uses the microphone and social media to carry on her battles. Like the one in support of the Flotilla, for which it was criticized. “I responded to the criticism with music,” he explains, citing the diss track in ‘Fomo 2’ where he recites ‘I really cry, you say I’m pretending, I care even if he’s not my son’. I have a 16 year old daughter and if she comes home with broken ribs after a demonstration it means we did something wrong. I am proud of my grandfather’s commitment as a partisan, the freedom to demonstrate must be defended. When I demonstrated for the Flotilla in Trieste there were 10,000 of us, I was in the front row with some kids singing and in front of us were the police in riot gear, it was impressive. Those who commit acts of vandalism on these occasions are only a small part, we cannot divert attention from the rest.”
