"Stai cercando d’immaginarti la donna che canta?"

La voce e il corpo di Patty Pravo

Abstract

The article explores the early years of Patty Pravo's career by focusing on the relationship between voice, body, performance and the construction of artistic identity. Grounded in the field of Italian popular music studies and inspired by the work of semiotician Luca Marconi, the essay aims to fill a gap in Italian musicological literature, which has traditionally been oriented toward singer-songwriters and pays little attention to the role of female performers.

In the context of the Italian beat and so-called “musica nostra” of the mid-1960s, Pravo emerges as an emblematic figure of a new youth, embodying models of transgression, emancipation and modernity. Through the analysis of songs such as Ragazzo triste, Se perdo te and La bambola, the article investigates the strategies through which the singer delineates her vocal identity, and reflects on the relationship between gender, the body and the construction of authenticity, which also concerns - in our culture - the recognition of aesthetic value.