Torna a Surriento

"Torna a Surriento" is a Neapolitan song composed in 1894 by Italian musician Ernesto De Curtis to words by his brother, the poet and painter Giambattista De Curtis. The song was copyrighted officially in 1905, and has become one of the most popular of this traditional genre; others include "'O sole mio", "Funiculì funiculà", and "Santa Lucia".

History
Tradition holds that the origin of the song dates to 1902, when Guglielmo Tramontano, mayor of Sorrento, asked his friend Giambattista De Curtis to write the song for the Prime Minister Giuseppe Zanardelli, then vacationing at his seaside hotel, the Imperial Hotel Tramontano; it was claimed that the piece was meant to celebrate Zanardelli's stay.

Some claim the song is a plea to Zanardelli to keep his promise to help the impoverished city of Sorrento, which was especially in need of a sewage system. The song reflects the beauty of the city's great surroundings and the love and passion of its citizens.

More recent research indicates that the song may merely have been reworked for the occasion; family papers indicate that the brothers deposited a copy with the Italian Society of Authors and Editors in 1894, eight years before they claimed to have written it.

English translation ("Come Back to Sorrento")
Claude Aveling wrote the English-language lyrics, which are titled "Come Back to Sorrento".

Recordings
"Torna a Surriento" has been sung by performers as diverse as:


 * Ahmad Zahir
 * Alfie Boe
 * Anatoliy Solovianenko
 * Anna Calvi
 * Anna German
 * Beniamino Gigli
 * Bing Crosby recorded a version titled "The Story of Sorrento" on December 11, 1947, with Victor Young and His Orchestra.
 * A comedic version by Billy Connolly entitled "Saltcoats at the Fair".
 * Bono
 * Connie Francis
 * Dean Martin recorded a version adapted by Joseph J. Lilley entitled "Take Me In Your Arms" on his album Dino: Italian Love Songs (1962).
 * Elīna Garanča
 * Elvis Presley released a version re-arranged and with new English lyrics by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman entitled "Surrender" in 1961.
 * Enrico Caruso
 * Francesco Albanese
 * Franco Corelli
 * Frank Sinatra


 * Giuseppe Di Stefano
 * Il Volo
 * Jerry Adriani
 * Jerry Vale
 * José Carreras
 * Karel Gott
 * Katherine Jenkins and Norton Buffalo with George Kahumoku Jr.
 * Luciano Pavarotti
 * Mario Lanza
 * Meat Loaf
 * Muslim Magomayev
 * Nino Martini
 * Plácido Domingo


 * Richard Tucker
 * Robertino Loreti
 * Roberto Alagna
 * Roberto Carlos
 * Ruggero Raimondi
 * Sergio Franchi covered the song for his 1962 RCA Victor Red Seal debut album (Romantic Italian Songs), which peaked at No. 17 on the Billboard Top 200.
 * Zhanna Aguzarova

Popular culture

 * In the television show The Honeymooners, Ralph Kramden identifies the song in preparing for his appearance on a quiz show called The $99,000 Answer. He mistakenly identifies it as "Take Me Back to Sorrento" and says it was written by "Ernesto Dequista", which his friend Ed Norton says is "absolutely correct".
 * The song was featured throughout the 1954 film Seagulls Over Sorrento where it was played by actor David Orr on the concertina.