• L: Lelio Luttazzi and Alberto Lupo at Teatro 10

  In this episode, we’re focusing on one particular varietà and on its two hosts: musician and composer Lelio Luttazzi and actor Alberto Lupo. The variety series in question is Teatro 10, directed by Antonello Falqui and broadcast in 1964 and again in 1971 and 1972. According to Radiocorriere in 1964, Teatro 10 is a different…

• K: Kessler twins, ‘two pairs of legs with one head’

  In January 1961, the cover of television and radio listings Radiocorriere featured two stars who would during the decade become important figures for variety television in Italy, coming to represent the golden age of television from the 1960s. The cover is described thus: In Francia le chiamano ormai, semplicemente, le “gemelle di Parigi”. Sono Alice…

• J: Johnny Dorelli – Love in Portofino and beyond

  Johnny Dorelli, “il Frank Sinatra d’Italia” according to the press on the occasion of Johnny’s 80th birthday in February 2017. The newspaper L’Avvenire explained: “ancor oggi il suo è  l’unico nome da farsi in risposta al quesito «Chi è il più grande entertainer dello spettacolo italiano?». Il primo in questa classifica resta lui, Dorelli: sin dall’esordio italiano, è stato…

• I: Io, Agata e tu… Introducing Raffaella Carrà

  On 5 July 2021, Raffaella Carrà passed away at the age of 78 after an unspecified illness. The story was front page news, given Raffaella’s status in contemporary Italy. RAI explained ‘È morta all’età di 78 anni Raffaella Carrà, definita la Regina della tv italiana. Showgirl, cantante, ballerina, attrice, conduttrice televisiva, radiofonica e autrice televisiva.…

• H: Hai visto come ballano? Dancing and the dance troupe in variety television

  In this episode, we’re talking about dancing and the varietà, focusing in particular on the balletto, the dance troupe, but also on the hosts and guest stars who dance as part of their performances on variety shows. And whilst I’m a bit outside my comfort zone talking about dancing, I’m going to describe the different routines that…

• G: Gran Festival del varietà and others – variety shows of the 1950s

  In this episode, we’re focusing on where it all began for the varietà televisivo and looking in particular at the series from the 1950s that helped establish the genre and its primary characteristics. With the help of the listings magazine Radiocorriere we’ll look at the different series that debuted at the start of regular television broadcasts in January 1954…

• F: Franca Valeri – more than just La Signorina Snob

  ‘Con un lampo unico di creatività, è stata proprio lei ad aver letteralmente rivoluzionato la comicità e l’immagine femminile dal secondo dopoguerra con l’invenzione di personaggi simbolo come La Signorina Snob, la sora Cecioni, Cesira la manicure. L’ironia scorrettissima, il tratto rapido, il soprassalto linguistico e surreale sono i suoi strumenti per raccontare le tante…

• E: E che cosa guardavamo alle 9?

  In this episode, we’re exploring the impact of all of the popular variety shows that audiences were watching on television at (approximately) 9pm in the evenings in Italy. With help from the novels of Elena Ferrante, Francesca Melandri, and Marco Vichi alongside extracts from diaries of viewers from the 1950s, we’ll get a sense of…

• D: Directors – going behind the camera of the varietà

  Antonello Falqui and Vito Molinari are the two directors who are main focus of this episode that goes behind the camera of the varietà. We find out more about Falqui’s inspiration and influences, looking at how his work in television drew on his love of theatre, cinema, and the American musical. His significant varietà included Il musichiere, Studio Uno, Teatro 10,…

• C: Canzonissima

  Today’s episode focuses on just one varietà but it’s an important one: Canzonissima. This series featured on Italian television screens throughout the 1950s, 60s, and 70s (even if it did undergo occasional changes in title) and helped to launch and establish many famous faces in this period. The premise of the show was a song…

• B: Buone vacanze – Pop music and the varietà

  Music is such a fundamental element of the varietà and this episode explores some of the most popular types of songs and most successful singers and programmes in Italy during the 50s, 60s, and 70s. We’ll think about the canzone all’italiana alongside urlo and international stars as examples of songs that were on the small…

• A: Allegria! Mike Bongiorno, Corrado, and Italian variety television

  When Italian television launched with regular national broadcasts in 1954, what was it like? What was RAI and what was its mission? And who were the famous faces and voices that Italians were watching and listening to? In this episode, we’ll think about the aim of Italian television between 1954 and 1976, when there was…

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