He has not yet turned seven but Massimiliano Peralta is ready to face the stage of the Zecchino d'Oro, 65th edition . Son of Giovanni, who emigrated to Poland from Padria , in the Sassari area, and of Martyna Kasprzyk, opera singer from Warsaw, he will represent Sardinia in the most famous singing competition for children in Italy.
"The sweater", this is the title, is the song with lyrics by Filippo Pascuzzi and music by Filippo Pascuzzi and Davide Civaschi in Cesareo art (by Elio and the tense stories), which Massimiliano will sing for the public in November, on Rai 1 under the artistic direction of Carlo Conti.
He will therefore be the 44th little soloist from 1959 to today to have a bond with Sardinia, a very strong bond because since he was very young his parents sang him lullabies in Sardinian.
His father Giovanni, one of the founders of the Sardinian "Shardana" club in the Polish capital, teaches Physics in English at a school in Warsaw, while his wife met her in London, where he was specializing and she was studying at the Royal Academy. “In our relationship - he tells L'Unione Sarda - we immediately began to speak in Italian, now at home we also use Polish and I often use Sardinian with Massimiliano . I attended Polish courses, both out of respect for my wife, who speaks Italian very well, and because it is necessary in the management of children, between teachers and schools ”.
Padria is the fixed stop every year, where the family returns, together with their other younger son, Leonardo, for the holidays. “We feel part of this community”, Giovanni and Martyna confirm.
How many languages does Maximilian speak?
“Polish, Italian, a little Sardinian because he knows several songs like 'Duru duru' or the verses of 'Trallallera', now he is starting to take his first steps with English. He will soon go to school, because in Poland they start at 7, but in Sardinia we found some books, with characters from comics and cartoons, written in Sardinian, so we read them to him ”.
When was your passion for singing born?
“When he was two and a half years old he sang his first song, as a child he often attended his mother's concerts, he is used to music, he hears it every day. Martyna gave him the love for this art ”.
How did the idea of enrolling him in the selections for the Zecchino d'Oro come about?
“We had already rehearsed two years ago, because he had learned, listening to a CD, some of the most famous songs of all time, 'I wanted a black cat' and 'The waltz of the gnat', but it was not chosen. This year we tried again, sending a video. We were contacted in June and then called up for the final selections. Obviously, being older, he too understood the song and the lyrics much more ”.
How will he prepare for the race?
“Speaking of the text, it is certainly difficult for a child who lives in Poland, it is all in Italian, yet with the help of his mother he learned it in one day, it was a bit like a game. Now they advised us not to let him exercise during the holidays, in September they will send us some material to resume the exercises ”.
Will he get excited on stage?
“I don't think so, first of all because all the staff make the children feel at ease, they are very good at this. And then Massimiliano has already sung in public, also in Sardinian, and this propensity for the artistic field is a constant in his life and in his growth ".
Does he like the song "The Sweater"?
“A lot, initially it seemed difficult and then he started in fourth gear”.
How do you find it when you go to Padria?
“He likes it to say the least: he has discovered that you can play on the street after dinner, it is a reality more on a human and child scale than the great Warsaw. There are so many friends, so many new things to discover ”.
What child is Maximilian?
“He describes himself as 'a bit of a brat'. He has an outgoing character, very open to everyone, he likes dance, and in general everything that has to do with art ”.
Have you already decided what you want to do when you grow up?
“Not for now, says the footballer. In Milan, but it's a choice dictated by my influence, I admit it ".
Are you thinking of moving to Sardinia?
“It would be very nice, unfortunately for now it is impossible to reproduce there the conditions we have in Poland, between my teaching and my wife's career. We are content to go to Padria a couple of times a year and immerse ourselves for a few weeks in that unique reality for us ”.