So are the legendary Italian schlager/pop stars, Albano Carissi and Romina Power reigniting their old flame some 14 years after their reportedly acrimonious divorce?

Romina Power and Albano Carissi during their sultry heyday

Well, it depends on who you listen to.

Peter Wilde, our UK correspondent in Middlesex, England, sent us this interesting report from the October 30th edition of the German entertainment tabloid, Neue Post. Here is Peter's verbatim translation:

"What nobody thought possible has come to pass: Albano (70) and Romina Power (61) celebrate a reconciliation after a feud of almost 20 years!

In front of their fans! The one time dream couple now stand hand in hand on the stage in Moscow and reignite the feelings with their hits 'Felicita' and 'Sharazan'...

It was the big love story when the couple married in 1970. Four children crowned their happiness - until 1994 when daughter Ylenia (23) disappeared without trace.

The marriage did not withstand the sadness and the couple separated in 1999. Apart, they made bitter accusations: Romina claimed 'Al Bano beat me', he countered 'She had a drug problem'.
Now, 14 years after their separation, the sensation: Al Bano and Romina have rediscovered each other and she asked him 'Don't wait another 20 years before you invite me again', to which he responded 'You left...'.

No doubt, Romina was overjoyed and later raved 'What a feeling! It seemed to me like we were only apart for 20 minutes - not 20 years!' She added 'I have often received roses in my dressing room with no details of the sender. 

Perhaps they were from Albano.' He also feels more than just sympathy for her and admitted 'I have professionally and personally spent a large part of my life with Romina. Now we're getting offers from all over the world. Time will tell how it goes...'

Really Albano had intended to marry his partner Loredana Lecciso (41), with who he had two further children. But when the singer was asked about the wedding date he only said irritably 'When the time is right!'

It sounds like Albano is in no hurry. Is he hoping for a happy end with his ex-wife Romina?"

But one of our Chicago Schlager Music Review readers from Arizona lived in Italy for some time during the 80s and 90s. He became a huge Albano/Romina fan, while there, and he wrote in to tell us that they gave an interview to a Russian news source during their October 17th and 18th reunion concerts in Moscow in which they were anything but lovey-dovey.

In fact, our American reader said they were downright "acrimonious" toward each other on the Russian TV interview.

So who can really tell? Perhaps they're just exhibiting a, not altogether unknown, Italian tempestuousness in their on again-off again love affair.

At any rate, their reunion concert in Russia was a huge success with sold-out crowds on each night and the usual Russian black market ticket scalpers doing a brisk business.

And, irrespective of the outcome of their personal relationship, it was certainly nice to see the Italian superstar duet at last back together on-stage.


Here from their mid-October reunion concert in Moscow, Russia, Albano Carissi and Romina Power perform their 1991 hit 'Sharazan'. The only disappointing thing about it is the rather tawdry production values of the Russian staging. Superstars of their caliber deserve better but perhaps that's the best that the Russians can manage:



You can get the full story on the career of Albano Carissi and Romina Power at our earlier in-depth profile: http://chicagoschlager.blogspot.com/2011/10/italian-schlager-stars-albano-carrisi.html And be sure to follow Peter Wilde's incisive schlager insights on Twitter @wildecat or our very own @Chicagoschlager.