Deprived of concerts because of the health crisis, Roberto Alagna nevertheless published a new album, "The singer".

On this occasion, the tenor looks back on his career on Anne Roumanoff's show and explains how he discovered his voice.

INTERVIEW

How do you realize that you have an extraordinary voice?

For singer Roberto Alagna, confirmation came at 15, after several years of doubts.

This episode, which obviously marked the rest of his life, allowed him to rediscover his family history, as he explained to Anne Roumanoff in the show 

It feels good

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>> Find all of Anne Roumanoff's shows in replay and podcast here

A revelation born of a reproach

Roberto Alagna was singing before he knew he had a voice out of the ordinary.

But when he was 15, his playmates reproached him for singing too loudly and sent him to Raphaël Ruiz, a singing teacher.

"When I got to his house, I sang a song to him. And then he said 'Wait, put your guitar down'. He started playing scales for me on the piano and I started singing," he remembers.

The voice teacher's response is then immediate: "You are a tenor."

A revelation for Roberto Alagna, and the start of a career that will change his life.

"He told me that, it was paradise that was opening up to me," he explains.

The singer compares himself until then to the tenors already present in his family.

"I felt like I was the last voice car. I thought I was the least talented, but it was normal since I was 15-16 years old," he explains.

You can't still have a tenor voice formed at that age, that only happens two or three years later. "

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An ancestor protected thanks to his voice

Roberto Alagna already had tenors in his maternal family, notably his great-uncle.

But upon learning of his gift, he also rediscovered the story of his great-grandfather.

"He was in New York, he had a leather business in Little Italy. At the time, you had to pay the protection of his business to the Mafia," he recalls.

"My great-grandfather sang in mafia meetings, and so he didn't have to pay for this protection."

Unlike him, however, his grandfather did not make a career.

"He was friends with the Caruso [famous Italian tenor], who wanted to present him at the Metropolitan Opera in New York", says Roberto Alagna.

"But he declined the offer, saying he preferred to stay with his family and his store."

Proof that the donation runs in the blood of the Alagna family, the son of his great-grandfather also had a tenor career.