Italian Variety Shows Part 1: From Canzonissima to Stryx

We examine the theme songs, the innovations, and the leading players of this entertainment format.

A large part of our writing about disco and synth music overlaps with extensive discussions of TV shows. For any artist seeking mainstream appeal, variety shows were the ideal soundstages. Many leading figures in Italian disco, including Raffaella Carrà and Heather Parisi, were also leading ladies of variety shows, as were singers with less of a disco background, such as Mina and Milva.

So what is a variety show? Originally a lowbrow theatrical showcase associated with the Belle Époque, a variety show typically contained song–monologue hybrids, caricatures, ballet, magician acts, illusionism, and the like. It originated in Paris in the late 18th century, but by the mid-1800s it had developed a three-part structure: part one featured clowns, light songs, and comedians; act two showcased acrobats and international acts; part three was vaudevillian.

We can trace the arrival of variété in Italy to 1891, when the Salone Margherita in Naples opened its doors. That same year, Milan’s Salone Ca…