Sanremo 2022: the first evening, under the sign of the Fiorello Show

The orchestra warms up, the curtain rises and Amadeus comes down the stairs of the Ariston with lively emotionas if the sight prevents him from visualizing the steps, stunned by the applause and the warmth of an audience that, fortunately, has returned to occupy the red seats of the theater which in 2021 were either empty or occupied by improbable balloons in the shape of you, you know what. The Sanremo Festival number 72the third led by Amadeus and the second threatened by the shadow of the pandemic, begins with a thread of emotion and a gear that really only engages when Fiorello arrives, “The Mattarella of Entertainment”, the booster capable of revitalizing an audience that needs to be pushed by someone to really let go. In less than ten minutes, Fiorello, in spite of those who have been repeating for years that he is finished and has nothing more to say, hits the mark by citing graphite as the aftermath of the third dose, the Jalisses who use a voodoo doll with the likeness of Amadeus to take revenge for not having been included in the Big squadand rearranging very sad songs in a cheerful key, because if there is one thing we have learned in these two years it is to start laughing again.

Sanremo 2022, in its early stages, offers emotions and moments to remember: Gianni Morandi who, on the occasion of his return to Sanremo 21 years after the last time, is tenderly moved before approaching the microphone; Achille Lauro who, after the crinoline skirt, chooses to go down the stairs without a shirt and with a pretty good body; Matteo Berrettini who arrives in Sanremo arousing the appreciation of the Net for its beauty; the Måneskin welcomed by the stadium roar reserved for international stars; the irrepressible exhibition of the Meduza together with Hozier; the biting and irresistible irony of Nino Frassicaand, of course, the explosive charge of Mahmood and Blanco, bearers of a song that is very difficult to sing, but capable of immediately entering the head for the poetry and pathos of an almost theatrical interpretation that seems, not even remotely, a tribute to Milva’s plastic poses. Something, however, did not go the right way. Like the hasty homage to the master Franco Battiato and, above all, the marginal role reserved for Ornella Mutibased more on the appearance of the beautiful little statue of the valleys of the nineties than on the role of a co-host tout court that the Amadeus Festivals have tried to promote in the last three years.

For the rest, it is clear that the harsh climate of the 2021 edition has been replaced by a community eager to embrace Sanremo not with the skepticism of last year, but with the serenity of those who see the light on the horizon at the end of a tunnel still long to go. Fiorello’s comic interludes are a breath of fresh airand the thought that this is his last visit to the Festival destroys us a little, even if Amadeus certainly knows his stuff: in addition to thanking him for having the Festival closed by 1am (we are sincerely moved), we would like to let him know that the slightly shiny eyes he had at the beginning of the evening were also ours at the thought of finally having regained possession of the Sanremo we knew. There have been many tears this evening: from Morandi’s to those of Damiano, who despite his international success has not lost the sensitivity that made us fall in love with him. There are still four appointments ahead of us, and it is clear that this Sanremo has yet to find its dimension, but the public is on his side and this, right now, is a great achievement.

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