‘In love with all good music’

Soprano Susanna Rigacci, known for her collaboration with Morricone, lends her powerful voice to a variety of pieces, adding a touch of emotional depth and authenticity.

You're renowned for being "Morricone's soprano," having lent your voice to some of his most powerful soundtracks. What was it like collaborating so closely with him, and how did he guide or shape your interpretation of his music?

I have to say that being called "Morricone's voice" is one of the phrases that has filled me with joy and pride. It was an incredible honor for me to work with Maestro Morricone. And so, to be considered his "voice" at concerts is something that always moves me, both in the period when I worked with Maestro Morricone, and now that he is no longer with us. When I am introduced at concerts as "Morricone's voice," it's a phrase that always moves me and touches my heart deeply.

Morricone's music often has a cinematic, almost spiritual quality. When you perform these pieces live, what do you draw on emotionally to bring the same intensity to the stage without the visuals of the films?

Having spent all these years with Maestro Morricone, I realized that the most important thing for interpreting what he wrote was truly to follow the musical thought, as often happens when performing the works of great composers.

Generally, if you interpret the music well, you automatically succeed in reproducing the emotions one feels while watching the film. So it's true that while I'm singing some of the Maestro's pieces, I also think about the film, but mainly, I let myself be guided by the extraordinary music, and the action of the film automatically comes to mind.

You are performing for the first time in Malta with the Le Muse Orchestra. How does entering a new cultural context influence how you connect with the audience? Do you adapt your performance in any way?

I am very happy to come to Malta. It's my very first time, not only as a performer or musician, but also as a tourist who comes to this extraordinary island and is curious to get to know it. I have to say that this makes me extremely happy.

I must admit that I don't let myself be influenced by the places where I perform the music, whether it's Morricone's music or music in general. This is because the world is made up of many countries and many different languages and cultures, and I am fully convinced that music is a true universal language that should be interpreted with all the richness that each of us has inside. This is a concept that the Maestro also shared: the absolute theme of a universal music as a sort of language that can penetrate the souls of all people indiscriminately.

Many of the compositions you perform were written decades ago, but they remain timeless. Why do you think Morricone's music continues to resonate so strongly with new generations of listeners?

I think that music, when it is well-written – as the music wonderfully written by Maestro Ennio Morricone is – becomes absolutely eternal.

I recently performed a piece from the 1500s that can truly be an extremely current piece. Music has no age; it only has feelings, and feelings never change over the centuries. They always remain very real and pure.

Besides Morricone, are there other composers or artistic projects that particularly attract you at the moment?

It's difficult to answer because there is so much music, so many musical genres, so many composers, and so many styles that excite me from an artistic point of view and that I enjoy interpreting.

I am certainly extremely connected to Ennio Morricone's music, also for an emotional reason, because I spent twenty years following him around the world, and his music has truly entered my veins.

But I am also in love with different styles and different periods. I love ancient music very much, and here I think I agree with Maestro Morricone, who adored the composers of the 1550s-1600s, Baroque music, not to mention Italian operatic melodrama.

Personally, I am also very fascinated by different cultures; they really interest me, and I also like to enter musical worlds that are very different from my own.

In other words, I am truly in love with all good music.

Soprano Susanna Rigacci performing in Bucharest.

If you had to choose one song that best describes you, both personally and artistically, what would it be and why?

Choosing one song that represents me is a bit difficult because I could make a very long list. I can say what I listen to, to relax, which is Baroque music that I love very much, but at the same time, I also really like sacred music.

I also like French music, and sometimes I have the chance to listen to jazz, which is a genre totally different from my world but that opens different doors of the mind.

Speaking of singing, I also like to perform useful pieces using the ‘crossover’ style, which is this mix between the classical and less classical voice, and is an interesting bridge from a technical, interpretive, and expressive point of view.

As you prepare to visit Malta for the first time, what makes you happiest, both on stage and off?

By nature, I am very curious and enthusiastic about traveling. I like to get to know different places and different languages, and so I accepted this invitation to come to Malta with great joy.

I know it's a wonderful island, so I am coming with great curiosity and great enthusiasm.

I am really happy to come as a singer, but I hope to have the time to visit it a bit because I know it's a truly magnificent place, so... see you soon.