Milva at 75

Milva was already an established star at home in Italy before she became a household name in Germany with her 1979 tune "Freiheit in meiner Sprache" (Freedom in My Language).

She had recorded her first LP nearly 20 years earlier in Italy after taking third place at the Sanremo Music Festival. For the young and then unknown artist, the Sanremo performance paved the way to a glittering career.

From Maria-Ilva to Milva

On July 17, 1939, she was born as Maria-Ilva Biolcati in Goro, a small Italian city on the northern Adriatic coast. The vocalist with the striking red hair gave her first performances in the mid-1950s, creating a stage name by combining the two parts of her first name. Audiences quickly fell for Milva's charisma and unusual voice.

In 1965, Italian theater director Giorgio Strehler brought Milva to his Piccolo Teatro in Milan. The singer says she can remember this point in her career very well.

"Giorgio Strehler introduced me to the repertoire of Bert Brecht and Kurt Weill. He gave me the impetus to sing their songs. I got intensely engaged with the songs, and they really excited me," she said, continuing, "I sang and rendered them with a lot of feeling. I love Bert Brecht's poetry, and I like Eisler and Weill's music. I did the 'Threepenny Opera' in Italy and Paris. Theater became my great passion, and I worked often and very closely with Giorgio Strehler together."

Global stardom

In the role of Pirate Jenny from Brecht's famed "Threepenny Opera," Milva won over both fans and critics alike. Her take on Brecht helped make the singer an icon in the world of musical theater. She gave concerts at the Scala in Milan, the Paris Opera, London's Royal Albert Hall and the Deutsche Oper in Berlin.

But it was with her German audience that Milva developed a particularly close and lasting connection. Her 1977 album "Auf den Flügeln bunter Träume" (On the Wings of Colorful Dreams) was the first LP she released with lighter music in German. It included songs by Friedrich Hollaender and Peter Kreuder. Her breakthrough came with the 1978 album "Von Tag zu Tag" (Day to Day), followed a year later by another album, "Was ich denke" (What I Think). The latter included sophisticated songs by Mikis Theodorakis and Ennio Morricone.

The German lyrics came courtesy of the prolific German writer Thomas Witkewitsch, a friend and close advisor to the Italian singer.

"Back then, I had long and intensive talks with Thomas about the selection of the songs because I wanted to be able to identify with them. I've always done that since because I really enjoy talking to the authors of my songs and working together with them," Milva says in retrospect.

Ultimately, the singer sees herself as a performer but not as a songwriter. She has never written her own material.

Career over family

Milva worked tirelessly for five decades, having little time for a family life. Her daughter, Martina, was born in 1963 and often had to do without her famous mom. Milva gave concert after concert, recorded 173 albums in various languages, and often put out releases with brand new ideas or a surprising new repertoire.

She sang with Astor Piazzolla, the Argentinean tango innovator who died in 1992, recorded French chansons and began a long-standing partnership with another eclectic Italian, singer-songwriter Franco Battiato. In 1989, the two recorded the album "Una Storia Inventata" (An Invented Story) together. Four years ago, Milva put out an additional album featuring songs by Battiato.

'Time just flew by'

In recent years, Milva has pulled back increasingly from the public, citing health reasons. Now and again, she'll perform on stage or get in front of the camera. She surprised German fans two years ago with an appearance on a popular evening TV show, but such performances are to be the exception. After a life driven by an ambitious work schedule, she wants to have more time to herself - for a private life that has often suffered along the way.

"I just need more time for me. My whole life, I was under immense pressure - worked too much. I want to travel the world, get to know other kinds of music and other religions. I've visited many countries, but it was always for work. I never had time to really get to know these places," the 75-year-old singer says. "Until now, everything in my life has centered on singing, singing, singing - that was it. The time just flew by, and you scarcely get anything out of it."