Vinicio Capossela: listen to “Oltre il bosco”, the first single from the new album “Milk Wood Bar”

Vinicio Capossela returns with “Oltre il bosco”, the first single taken from “Milk Wood Bar”, his new album due out on 22 January 2027 via Bmg. The track, available from today on digital platforms, introduces the poetic and musical universe of a project inspired by “Under Milk Wood”, the celebrated play for voices by Welsh writer Dylan Thomas, which had already been at the heart of the radio drama “Sotto il bosco di latte” and Capossela's first “Ballad Opera”, “And Death Shall Have No Dominion”.
A sleeping village, the salt-laden wind blowing in from the sea, dreams revealing hidden desires, fears and memories: these are the images from which “Oltre il bosco” takes shape. The song immerses itself in the nocturnal atmosphere of Llareggub, the imaginary seaside town in which Thomas sets his poem. In sleep, the inhabitants shed the masks of everyday life and return to an almost innocent, childlike dimension. Listen to “Oltre il bosco” below.

From this microcosm, the perspective gradually widens to encompass the human condition. “Siamo sonnambuli nella vita/ e muoviamo a tentoni/ la parte è scritta/ ma non la sappiamo”, sings Capossela, turning the Welsh village into a metaphor for existence, in which everyone plays a role without ever truly knowing the script.
The song also takes on a more intimate meaning in its closing verses, dedicated to two figures central to the project's genesis: Dylan Thomas and Renato Striglia, a radio DJ and friend of Capossela's who passed away prematurely. Striglia had spent years working on an Italian version of “Under Milk Wood”, and the entire work is dedicated to his memory.

To one of the most famous images in Thomas's poem — a ball thrown into the sky that never comes back down — Capossela juxtaposes the memory of his friend, a keen diver: “Il tuffo che un giorno facesti/ Renato/ quel volo/ non è terminato”. Two images of suspension, two flights destined never to end, which become symbols of memory and absence. It's no coincidence that the single's cover art portrays a young Renato, captured mid-air during a dive.

The album

“Oltre il bosco” thus serves as a kind of narrative introduction to “Milk Wood Bar”, an album that weaves together literature, theatre, music and personal memory. The project stems from an encounter with the poetic world of Dylan Thomas and, in particular, with “Under Milk Wood” (“Sotto il bosco di latte”), the Welsh writer's celebrated radio play for voices, to which the new album's title also explicitly refers.
In “And Death Shall Have No Dominion”, Capossela will share the stage with Pierpaolo Capovilla, weaving together music, spoken word and theatre in a choral narrative inspired by Thomas's poetry and his multifaceted portrayal of existence. The show, produced by Imarts, Fondazione Teatro Due Parma and La Cùpa, thus also becomes the first place where audiences can get a glimpse of Capossela's new record, just months ahead of the release of “Milk Wood Bar”.

The Tour

The tour will continue on 9 and 10 October at the Teatro Due in Parma, on 14 October at the Teatro delle Muse in Ancona, on 21 October at the Teatro Augusteo in Naples and on 24 October at the Teatro Politeama Mario Foglietti in Catanzaro. November will bring dates in Milan (1 and 2), Genoa (4 and 5), Cagliari (8 and 9), Sassari (11), Como (18) and Turin (22 and 23). In December, the show will arrive in Bologna (2 and 3), Assisi (5), Rimini (6), Livorno (19) and Florence (21). The production is signed IMARTS, Fondazione Teatro Due Parma and La Cùpa.
During the tour, attendees will also receive a postcard granting access to a dedicated portal for pre-ordering the album, which comes with two bonus items: an autographed poster featuring a previously unpublished text by Capossela and a “Milk Wood Bar” coaster.

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