He wrote the song that made all Naples sing...Toto, prince Antonio De Curtis
Naples's soul is music. It is said that if you are singing a song while you walk along the streets of Naples and you stop singing, someone will finish the song for you! That the city produces great musicians is no secret, Enrico Caruso was born there. Naples is to Italy what New Orleans is to American jazz. The music of Naples reflects influences from Spain, Portugal, North Africa and elsewhere. These songs, those of New Orleans, will carry with them tales of love, betrayal and hardship.
One of these songs, that is always included in the Italian crooner’s list of recorded hits, is one of the most loved of all Italian songs, "Malafemmena", written in 1951 by Antonio De Curtis one of Italy’s most talented and popular entertainers of the 20th century. There are songs that, as Italians we have heard so many times throughout our life, that they become a part of who we are and our memories. Hundreds of singers will make hundreds of recordings of one particular song, so often, as to become an intricate part of our musical history and heritage.
Like most people, I know the song "Malafemmena" very well, but I didn't know much of the man who composed it. Principe Antonio de Curtis - " Totò " wasn’t known as a star here in the States, but quite the opposite in Italy were he was revered as a genius, a star of stage, screen, and radio. A super star in Italy as big as any in Hollywood,.
THE GENIUS of a PRINCE NAMED TOTÒ will be on display at KAIROS ITALY THEATER in New York. It is a celebration of his comic genius. On display will be original film posters, manuscripts, personal photographs and memorabilia coming directly from the De Curtis Family Archive. These works will reveal the entire creative spectrum of a genius. Known as Totò in Italy, he was best known for his acting career, but he was also a poet and a writer of Neapolitan songs. The song "Malafemmena" was made popular by Italian singing star Teddy Reno in the film "Totò, Peppino and the bad woman" an Italian film that starred the comedy duo of Antonio De Curtis ( Totò) and Peppino De Filippo.
Teddy Reno, the singer playing the main character, sings some of his songs and also the Totò's song after which the film is named. It was the top grossing movie of the year in Italy with a 1,751,300 Italian lire. Toto’s song, "Malafemmina" has endured in popularity since it was written in 1951. It is said to be a declaration of love and hate to his first wife Silvia.
Totò was the illegitimate son of an Italian nobleman, who refused to acknowledge Totò as his son or to give him his royal title which was his birthright. Totò fought the battle for his title in court and for many years there after. As he became more famous his father relented and his biological father, Marquis Francesco Gagliardi Foccas in 1933, adopted him. Nicknamed by his fans as “The Prince”, this name was given to the famous star because in truth he was of royal blood.
In 1946 the Court of Naples granted him the titles of Imperial Highness, Prince Don Antonio Focas Flavio Angelo Ducas Comneno de Curtis di Bisanzio Gagliardi, Count Palatine, Knight of the Sacred Roman Empire, Esarca of Ravenna, Duke of Macedonia and Illiria, Prince of Costantinopoli, Cicilia, Tessaglia, Ponte of Moldavia, Dardania, Peloponneso, Count of Cyprus and Epiro, Count and Duke of Drivasto and Durazzo.
Until I saw a video clip from a new film by the creative actor/ director John Turturro I never gave the composer of "Malafemmina" much thought. But after seeing it and hearing Turturro’s background on the composer I found myself fascinated and wanting to know more about the Neapolitan man of music and movies.
The film clip, made by John Turturro and his creative associates, editor Simona Paggi, and cinematographer, Marco Pontecorvo featured a video that told a passionate story of a man and a woman and broken promises and vows.
I recognized the familiar song, “Malafemmina" a song that has been recorded and made a hit by the top singers of our time: Jimmy Roselli recorded "Malafemmina" in 1964 and it climbed up the pop charts to become his second greatest hit. Jerry Vale, (Gennaro Luigi Vitaliano) recorded the song and made it an even bigger hit and later Al Martino and countless others included this song in just about every romantic Italian album ever made.
John Turturro's film "Passione", which debuted at the Venice Film Festival in September, has created a new interest in Totò the Neapolitan comic and composer. Turturro’s film has also brought an interest to the part Neapolitan music has played in the city’s lifestile, and the life and times of this great Neapolitan song writer.
John Turturro’s film has rekindled the music of Naples and the Neapolitan music makers. It has been described as a musical journey through Naples with "over 25 cinematic renderings of songs dating from the thirteenth centu- ry to the present," In the video that depicts the Malafemmina story, we see a woman who comes into her bedroom and finds her husband with another woman. First reaction is to think that the man is a lousy cheater, but there is much more to this story, as told to us at the beginning of the video by director Turturro.
There is always more to a story then meets the eye, and that was to be true of the song "Malafemmina". Totò had gone to Rome to work in local theatres and met Liliana Castagnola, who committed suicide when Totò would not refuse a contract in Padova. In 1931 he met Diana Bandini Rodigliani. They had a daughter and married in 1935. He filed for divorce in Hungary on the grounds of her infidelity and it was finally ruled in Italy in 1940. For the sake of their daughter, they continued their family life by still living together, but free to have other relationships. It was on the set of his first film "47 Morto Chi Parla" that he met the actress Silvana Pampanini.
The media reported this blooming relationship and Diana accepted a marriage proposal from a lawyer. Apparently Toto felt very hurt and when he wrote the song "Malafemmina", it was rumored that he really wrote it for Diana, and not for Silvana as was widely believed. His real true love came in the form of Franca Faldini in 1951 when he was taken aback by her photo on the cover of 'Oggi'. She was only 21- he 53. They secretly wed in Switzerland in 1954 and in October of that year, Franca almost died giving birth to their son Massenzio, who sadly died a few hours later.
For a man who lived in a country that didn’t allow divorce Totò managed to have quite a collection of ex wives, but that was the benefits of fame and wealth. But even a wealthy prince can’t escape his destiny and on April 15 1967, the master of song and comedy passed away in Rome, Italy of a heart attack, but not before leaving this world with a song that touches everyone who has ever lived and loved... "Malafemmina".
