I have a recurring dream: my father is back.
In reality, I increasingly realize that Tito Schipa, 'the greatest tenor who captured and radiated the warm elegance of Lecce's walls, transporting it lightly on the wings of his voice,' has never truly left.
His 'gentle and beautiful' Lecce remembers its 'nightingale' in every corner. A square has been dedicated to him, and a bust has been erected in the gardens of the Villa Comunale. The Conservatory of Music, the former Liceo Musicale, and a hall in the Circolo Cittadino have been named after him.
His sublime art is commemorated in theaters, cinemas, bars, and throughout the streets of Salento, like an enchanting melody intertwined with the colors of his native land. Undoubtedly, my father will live forever in the hearts and memories of the Salento people, who will keep his legend alive through time.
When I wrote my book about his life and music, I never expected it to inspire a graphic novel. Authors Marcello Durante and Francesca Maiorano chose to introduce Tito Schipa to new generations. They accomplished this through a contemporary, vibrant narrative art form that perfectly resonates with young people and beyond. It's also an act of love toward my research and reconstruction, undertaken to create a complete document on the life and work of a truly unique artist.
In my father's mind and heart resided the key to secrets that, thanks to the dedication of those who came to love him, will never be lost. This included an amazing "conservation in music" interlude, a superior elegance on stage, and an ability to fully embody a character. He had a remarkable talent for hypnotizing and mesmerizing the audience with a sound or even a non-sound—a pause, a silence, a gesture. His secret also lay, and above all, in an unmatched, natural, and spontaneous vocal emission in every detail. It was an emission even sublime precisely where the composer entrusts their message to a damnably difficult note to master, and therefore, more charged with expressive impact.
My father was a "never out of breath" marathon runner, a "never bruised" boxer. This was the hallmark of his uniqueness. This man was an innovator at all level, an artist decidedly counter-current to the conventions and trends of his genre and era. He managed to break through all resistance, rapidly establishing himself as a first-rate star, a true living legend, and from his youth, garnered the acclaim that great innovators rarely achieve in their lifetime. He reconciled audiences and critics alike: fervent opera lovers, refined aesthetes, phonologists, and "loggionisti" (gallery regulars). Everyone found themselves united in a compact judgment that came straight from the heart. This ability to unite minds and hearts in unconditional applause is the other great mark of Tito Schipa's unique artistry.
The confirmation of this enduring appeal is precisely this graphic novel, which retraces his story through the gaze and experience of a young artist in crisis. The support of her teacher, friends, or family isn't enough for her; she needs a point of reference, a Master, an unparalleled talent capable of speaking to her on a deeply personal level, someone more similar to her than she might imagine.
That Master is Tito Schipa, the Nightingale of "Lecce beddha."
