Sonia Gabriella Milan Patton

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SINGING AND PERFORMING DIFFERENT STYLES OF MUSIC

My passion for singing began early. When I was 12 years old I used to listen to operas on the record player, starting with LA CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA by Pietro Mascagni, followed by LA TRAVIATA by Giuseppe Verdi and then discovering my great love: Giacomo Puccini.
With LA BOHEME and TOSCA I immersed myself in the characters of these late 19th century heroines and dreamed of singing those wonderful melodies.
Then the total falling in love came with MADAMA BUTTERFLY.

I studied opera singing for 10 years with Mary Lindsey in Milan, a great singer originally from Detroit, Michigan and settled in Milan for years. We are still in touch and I owe to her my vocal technique in singing. It was with her that I discovered I had a voice classified as an agility mezzo-soprano and therefore I could not sing the arias of Madama Butterfly aka Ciociosan, or Tosca, much less Violetta.

So, once I got over the shock and realized that my voice offered me a variety of warm and beautiful timbres in the arias of Mozart and Rossini and in the Belcanto of the 1500's, I adopted the nick name of Ciociosan on the CatStevens website, where I had signed up to be able to speak in English with friends all over the world and where I met my great love with whom I still share my life and career today. His meeting sparked a world of creativity in me and I wrote songs, one after another and so did he. I also started making videos about our songs.
We released an album on iTunes called "LIKE FREE BUTTERFLIES" and it's still available.

With him I consolidated my other passion, which is that of American music, folk, pop, country and only a few years ago the Broadway style.

I am available for public or private evenings, alone or in pairs with my husband Greg, with whom I form the duo AMERITALIAN. We have been performing for 10 years on large cruise ships, in the USA, Caribbean and Mediterranean.

Below are some examples of various styles.

THE SONG STARTS AUTOMATICALLY.

TO STOP IT, CLICK ON THE ICON

"IF I ONLY COULD"

ONE OF MY ORIGINAL SONG

I AM PLAYING ALL THE INSTRUMENTS

DIFFERENT STYLES OF SINGING

ORIGINAL SONGS

This song was born from a chance meeting on Fiverr. Roberto Tiby was looking for a voice to produce his audiobook "Gestione delle obiezioni" now available on AMAZON* and as it happens between passionate people who make their work a continuous emotion, he proposed me this text, which I then also translated into English and adapted. It also resulted in two video versions that you can watch by clicking on the links below!

"QUI E ORA"

lyrics by Roberto Tiby

music, singing and arrangement

by Sonia Gabriella Milan Patton

"HERE AND NOW"

lyrics by Roberto Tiby

translation, music, singing, arrangement and adaptation Sonia Gabriella Milan Patton

All my children are involved with music, each in his own way. Thomas, since the age of 12, has been dedicated to RAP and HIP HOP, writing the lyrics and performing them, with the help of Luca Poletto who collaborates with him on the backing tracks. I wondered how I could communicate my life experience, which has often been expressed through protest, popular, art music such as Fabrizio De Andrè, Bob Dyla, Joan Baez, Leonard Cohen. How could I make them understand my emotions? I did it by writing this STRANGE RAP. Below, the translation.

"STRANGE RAP"

lyrics, music, singing and arrangement

by Sonia Gabriella Milan Patton

STRANO RAP

STRANGE RAP

I would just like to try to make you understand

through a song that I will try to rap

how it's sublime, sublime to listen

to what you keep inside and that makes you move

turn into verses and then melody

turn into rhythm that slips away

everything seems more exciting

Especially if you do it and believe it and are constant

I'm very different from you who are born

With rap in your veins and it reflects who you are

What you are looking for in your life

truths sometimes obscure, a little undefined

and it makes me tender to see you passionate

with rhymes in your heart, inveterate poets

who garland in the corners of the suburbs

or in big cities their poetry

I SING THIS RAP A LITTLE STRANGE

THIS DEDICATED RAP THIS PASSIONATE RAP

THIS IMPROVISED RAP

I SING IT WITH THE VOICE THAT HAS ALWAYS ACCOMPANIED

THE STORY OF MY LIFE ENGRAVED ON A DIAMOND

I SING IT THIS WAY LOOKING AT MY GUITAR

MY DEAREST FRIEND, WITH HER SHOULDER STRAP

THAT ACCOMPANIES ME THROUGH THE STREETS OF MILAN

OR THOSE OF NEW YORK OR WHEREVER DESTINY WILL HAVE IT

Music has taken me, has taken me by the hand

Bob Dylan's and De André's music first

and then the ballads of Joan Baez were

the most beautiful songs I have ever sung

and here I am, still faithful, with so much new music

and many new ideas

that I would like to sing for you, for the people

when the rhyme goes from mind to mind

And here I am writing songs

to make every day a special day

a new day that will bring me

another song to rap in freedom

THIS IS HOW I SING THIS WEIRD RAP

THIS WINTER RAP THAT IS BORN AND DOESN'T DIE

THAT FLIES ON THE WINGS OF RHYMES AND VERSES

AND IT WILL GAIN STRENGTH FROM THE CONSENT OF ALL

OF ALL THOSE GUYS WHO LIKE MINE

LIVE OF MUSIC AND LOOK FOR A GOD

LOST IN THIS TIME OF WAR

LET'S HOPE THEY CAN SAVE THIS EARTH

Try to understand you who listen

You who rhythm and judge

is the rap of a woman who’s a cancer surviver,

who has become strong who wants to testify

who has started again, who has rediscovered

how important it is to be present

to look to the future with a big smile

and say I don't give a shit about the beatings I've taken

I'm not afraid of anyone or anything anymore

it's the rap of a woman of a mother of a lover

it's a heavy rap it's a powerful rap

Flying on the wings of this incessant rhythm

THIS IS HOW I SING THIS STRANGE RAP

THIS RAP WITH THE COLORS OF THE RAINBOW

I SING IT "ALLA STESA" LIKE A MONDINA

WITH THE MEMORY OF WHAT THERE WAS BEFORE

THAT TAUGHT ME TO APPRECIATE

WHAT FREEDOM IS AND THAT I CAN GIVE IT RHYTHM

I CAN SEE IT, I CAN DREAM OF IT

TOGETHER WITH THOSE WHO KNOW HOW TO UNDERSTAND IT

THAT'S HOW I SING THIS STRANGE RAP

THIS RAP WITH THE COLORS OF THE RAINBOW

I SING IT AT HOME LIKE A MONDINA

WITH THE MEMORY OF WHAT WAS THERE BEFORE

THAT TAUGHT ME TO APPRECIATE

WHAT FREEDOM IS AND THAT I CAN GIVE IT RHYTHM

I CAN SEE IT, I CAN DREAM OF IT

TOGETHER WITH THOSE WHO KNOW HOW TO UNDERSTAND IT

lyrics and music by Sonia Milan

STRANO RAP

Vorrei solo cercare di fare capire

attraverso una canzone che cercherò di rappare

come sia sublime, sublime ascoltare

quello che tieni dentro e che ti fa emozionare

diventare versi e poi melodia

diventare ritmo che scivola via

tutto quanto sembra più emozionante

specialmente se lo fai e ci credi e sei costante

Sono molto diversa da voi che nascete

col rap nelle vene e rispecchia ciò che siete

ciò che cercate nella vostra vita

verità a volte oscure, un pò indefinite

e mi fa tenerezza vedervi appassionati

con le rime nel cuore, poeti incalliti

che garland negli angoli di periferia

o nelle grandi città la loro poesia

LO CANTO COSI QUESTO RAP UN PO’STRANO

QUESTO RAP DEDICATO QUESTO RAP APPASSIONATO

QUESTO RAP IMPROVVISATO

LO CANTO CON LA VOCE CHE ACCOMPAGNA DA SEMPRE

LA STORIA DELLA MIA VITA INCISA SU UN DIAMANTE

LO CANTO COSì GUARDANDO LA CHITARRA

LA MIA PIU’ CARA AMICA, CON LA SUA TRACOLLA

CHE MI ACCOMPAGNA PER LE STRADE DI MILANO

O QUELLE DI NEW YORK O DOVE VORRA IL DESTINO

La musica mi ha preso, mi ha preso per mano

quella di Bob Dylan e di De André per primo

e poi le ballate di Joan Baez sono state

le più belle canzoni che abbia mai cantate

ed eccomi qui, ancora fedele, con tanta nuova musica

e tante nuove idee

che vorrei cantare per voi, per la gente

quando la rima vale passa di mente in mente

ed eccomi qui a scrivere canzoni

a fare di ogni giorno un giorno speciale

un giorno nuovo che mi porterà

un’altra canzone da rappare in libertà

LO CANTO COSI’ QUESTO RAP UN PO STRANO

QUESTO RAP INVERNALE CHE NASCE E NON MUORE

CHE VOLA SULLE ALI DELLE RIME E DEI VERSI

E SI FARA’ FORTE DEL CONSENSO DI TUTTI

DI TUTTI QUEI RAGAZZI CHE COME IL MIO

VIVONO DI MUSICA E CERCANO UN DIO

SPERDUTI IN QUESTA EPOCA DI GUERRA

SPERIAMO CHE SAPPIAN SALVARE ‘STA TERRA

Cercate di capire voi che ascoltate

voi che ritmate e che giudicate

è il rap di una donna che ha battuto un tumore,

che è diventata forte che vuol testimoniare

che ha ricominciato, che ha riscoperto

quanto sia importante essere presente

guardare al futuro con un grande sorriso

e dire me ne fotto delle batoste che ho preso

non ho più paura di nessuno di niente

è il rap di una donna di una madre di un amante

è un rap pesante è un rap potente

che vola sulle ali di questo ritmo incessante

LO CANTO COSI’QUESTO RAP UN PO’ STRANO

QUESTO RAP COI COLORI DELL’ARCOBALENO

LO CANTO "ALLA STESA" COME UNA MONDINA

CON LA MEMORIA DI CIO’CHE C’ERA PRIMA

CHE MI HA INSEGNATO AD APPREZZARE

COS’E’ LA LIBERTA’ E CHE LA POSSO RITMARE

LA POSSO VEDERE, LA POSSO SOGNARE

INSIEME A CHI LA SAPRA’ CAPIRE