Dai, Ciccio! is an Italian language ensemble that celebrates the people and places of Bella Italia and the music that tells their story. Led by opera singer Cristina Russo (Victorian Opera, Opera Australia), the group has a long list of performance credits including The National Museum of Australia, The Melbourne Italian Festa, and Paris Cat Jazz Club. The ensemble is thrilled to make their debut at Yandoit Cultural, a venue with acoustics befitting of such beautiful music, in a region with a deep connection with Italian culture.

Dai Ciccio comprises of Cristina Russo, Tom Flenady and Adam Russo.

 Cristina Russo  is an Opera Singer (Victorian Opera, Opera Australia) and a second generation Australian with grandparents from Sicily and Veneto. She missed the old days of her family reunions, where her nonno would whip out the piano accordion and get the party started with Neapolitan arias.

Bored of the stiff and conservative opera scene, joked to her friend, jazz double bassist Tom Flenady, “I just want to sing songs about pizza and mozzarella!”

Tom heeded this request and the next morning, Cristina opened her inbox to find it full of transcriptions of songs from the golden era of Italian music.

Tom recruited jazz guitarist and fellow paisan Adam Russo, who shared their love of Italian music and good food, and Dai, Ciccio! was born. The gigs started small, serenading the regulars at our namesake pizzeria, Ciccio Pizza.

Dai, Ciccio! (translation: come on, man!), has since been bringing the music of Bella Italia to events across Melbourne and Australia from the National Museum of Australia  in Canberra,  Melbourne Italian Festa, Queen Victoria Market, the Spring Racing Carnival, Paris Cat, and many more.

Dai, Ciccio! delve deep into the catalogues of Neapolitan Aria, New York Italian Swing, Operetta, and 60s Italian Pop to mine the rich musical traditions that have brought joy to so many and for so long.  They will present a program of early 20th century aria, accompanied by classics from the golden age of Italian cinema and popular song. Of course, the night wouldn’t be complete without some English language sing-alongs from the catalogue of Dean Martin and associates—this surely will be a night to remember!

When: Saturday April 18th at 5.00pm
Where: Yandoit Cultural- the old church in the bush, Uniting Church Rd, off High St, Yandoit
Suggested donation: $ 20/ 15
Bookings: https://events.humanitix.com/dai-ciccio-plays-at-yandoit-cultural

For more information about Dai Ciccio go to: https://daiciccio.com/about or
https://www.facebook.com/daiciccio or https://www.instagram.com/daiciccio