Mario Merola, 72, Dramatic Neapolitan Singer
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Mario Merola, whose dramatic renditions of traditional songs from his native Naples made him wildly popular with Neapolitans for decades, died Sunday in a hospital near the city after suffering a heart attack. He was 72.
Merola mixed dialogue and singing in stage and TV performances. His voice, melodramatic, sometimes verging on wailing and ripe with passion, reflected the vibrant, emotional personality of Naples and its rich tradition of songs, many of them in Neapolitan dialect.
Born in Naples in 1934, he began helping his family by taking a variety of jobs when he was young, including longshoreman, and his humble origins endeared him to fellow natives of the hardscrabble southern port city.
He influenced many Italian singers, including Massimo Ranieri and, more recently, Gigi D’Alessio, and was considered an excellent talent scout. Merola liked to perform wearing elegant jackets and was nicknamed “the last of the singers in a jacket.” Merola also was the voice of cartoon characters in animated films.
