Al Bano and Romina Power

Lore & Background

Albano Carrisi met Romina Power, daughter of American actor Tyrone Power, during the filming of the movie Nel sole in 1967. They married in 1970 in Cellino San Marco and released their debut single 'Storia di due innamorati' the same year. In 1975, they released their first album as a duo, Atto I, and represented Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest 1976 with 'We'll Live It All Again', finishing seventh. Their breakthrough international hit 'Sharazan' came in 1981, and in 1982 they had four songs on the Italian hit parade simultaneously. They won the Sanremo Music Festival in 1984 with 'Ci sarà' and participated in Eurovision again in 1985 with 'Magic Oh Magic', again placing seventh.

Reader's Guide

Al Bano and Romina Power were one of the most commercially successful pop duos in Italian music history, with sales of 150 million records over six decades. Their music blended Italian melodic traditions with international pop, and they achieved particular success in German-speaking and Spanish-speaking markets. Their participation in major festivals like Sanremo and Eurovision cemented their visibility, while their personal tragedies, especially the disappearance of their daughter Ylenia, added a poignant dimension to their story. Their professional reunion in 2013 demonstrated the enduring appeal of their partnership, even after personal separation. Their legacy includes a string of beloved hits that remain staples of Italian popular culture.

Did You Know?

• Al Bano and Romina Power won the Sanremo Music Festival in 1984 with the song 'Ci sarà', gathering over 2 million votes.
• They participated twice in the Eurovision Song Contest, in 1976 and 1985, finishing seventh both times.
• The duo shot seven films based on their songs between 1967 and 1984.
• Their daughter Ylenia Carrisi disappeared under mysterious circumstances in 1994 in New Orleans; the case remains unsolved.

From Set to Stage: The Making of a Duo

Albano Carrisi, an Italian tenor who had already released a number of solo recordings, met American singer Romina Power during the filming of the 1967 movie Nel sole, a film named after one of his own songs. She was the daughter of Hollywood actor Tyrone Power and had by then appeared in several Italian films. The professional encounter turned personal: the two married in 1970 in Cellino San Marco, and that same year they issued their debut single as a pair, "Storia di due innamorati," which became a minor hit in Italy. The track appeared on Albano's solo album A cavallo di due stili, while Romina continued building her own profile, releasing three solo albums between 1969 and 1974. Their first album as a duo, Atto I (known in other markets as Dialogo or Arena blanca, mar azul), arrived in 1975 and featured the popular song "Dialogo." Beyond the studio, the couple starred in seven films based on their songs between 1967 and 1984, blending cinema and pop in a way that set them apart from their peers.

Chart-Toppers and Continental Conquests

The duo's commercial momentum surged in the early 1980s. In 1981, "Sharazan" became their breakthrough international hit, and the following year they broke Italian records by having four songs on the national hit parade simultaneously. Their 1982 Sanremo entry "Felicità" finished second but went on to sell over six million copies and receive the German Golden Globe 1982. The song anchored the album Felicità (released as Aria pura in some territories), which was also recorded in Spanish as Felicidad, continuing a tradition of Spanish-language versions that would define their international strategy. In 1984, they won the Sanremo Music Festival with "Ci sarà," gathering over two million votes. They represented Italy at Eurovision twice—1976 with "We'll Live It All Again" and 1985 with "Magic Oh Magic"—finishing seventh both times. Albums such as Sempre sempre (1986) and Libertà! (1987) confirmed their international success, while tracks like "Tu, soltanto tu (Mi hai fatto innamorare)" became enduring staples of Italian pop.

The Unraveling: Loss, Separation, and Solo Paths

The disappearance of their daughter Ylenia in New Orleans in 1994 cast a long shadow over everything that followed. Al Bano and Romina withdrew from touring to dedicate themselves to the search, a case that remains unsolved to this day. The emotional toll proved devastating to their marriage; in an open letter to the weekly magazine Oggi, Albano explained that the reasons for their break-up were related to the disappearance of their daughter. They separated in 1999. Their final studio album as a pair, Emozionale, had appeared in 1995, followed by a video version titled Una vita emozionale. After the split, their paths diverged: in 1996, Albano competed solo at the Sanremo Music Festival with "È la mia vita" while Romina appeared in the television mini-series The Return of Sandokan. He released the solo album Concerto classico in 1997, and she published a book about her father, Cercando mio padre, in 1998. The divorce was finalized in 2012, closing a chapter that had spanned more than four decades.

A Legacy Measured in Millions

Across six decades, Al Bano and Romina Power have recorded over twenty-two albums that have sold 150 million copies worldwide. Their catalogue spans Italian, Spanish, French, and English, with French hits like "Des nuits entières" and "Enlacés sur le sable" finding audiences well beyond the Mediterranean. The couple's art also extended into film, with seven movies based on their songs produced between 1967 and 1984, and their personal lives were woven into their music: their daughter Cristel sang on "Settembre," Ylenia performed a duet with Romina on "Abbi fede," and recordings of Tyrone Power's poetry by Byron were incorporated into "Lord Byron." In 1991, they marked twenty-five years of joint work with two greatest-hits anthologies—Le più belle canzoni in Italy and Vincerai in Europe—along with an autobiography and video both titled Autoritratto dalla A alla R. After sixteen years apart, they reunited on stage in Moscow in 2013 for their first live performance together in that span, and continued performing as a duo through 2015, including a return to the Sanremo stage.

Gallery