When Il Volo is in Mexico it is a jubilation, a party for everyone.
Every person has their own way of showing affection towards their favorites, and the Mexican people certainly do not lack a voice.
There is really a lot of enthusiasm and participation, as demonstrated by the sound check that you can see in these short videos.
Il Volo is the guest of honor at the final of FICH2023, the Festival Internacional Chihuahua. The event took place in Plaza De Angel in Chihuahua, a beautiful, completely free concert.
Here is the song list:
And here’s what the Festival Internacional Chihuahua published.
Majestic closing of the Festival Internacional Chihuahua and the FICUU with a concert by Il Volo.
Over 20 thousand people applauded the performance of the Italian trio who delighted the audience in Plaza de Angel.
From midday the followers of the famous group met in the square to reach the best sites and admire their idols, managing to exceed the figure of 20 thousand attendees at the event.
The musicians of the Orquesta Filarmónica del Estado de Chihuahua arrived on stage at 8.30 pm where, directed by maestro César Velázquez Hernández, they would accompany “Il Volo” in his interpretations.
The chords of “Ecstasy of Gold” were played when Gianluca Ginoble, Ignazio Boschetto and Piero Barone, members of the internationally renowned group, appeared on stage showing off their great vocal talent.
In front of the excited cries of the audience, at 9.40pm the music of mariachis resounded as they took to the stage singing the well-known theme song by José Alfredo Jimenez “Ella” followed by “Si ci dejan”, both melodies interpreted in perfect Spanish by the singers.
The concert closed with his greatest success “Grande Amore”, in front of a unison ovation from the audience who applauded such a wonderful interpretation standing up. Thanks Chihuahua, see you next year!
There are many videos, but I have chosen some which, although not very clear, make us hear the beautiful and numerous songs in Spanish that were performed.
The moment in which a fan expecting a baby asks to read the letter in which the sex of the unborn child will be discovered… a little girl!!
Truly a beautiful event, furthermore it is certainly a positive recharge for Ignazio, Gianluca and Piero to have had the affection of so many people again and it confirms that their songs and their way of singing are really liked.
Before leaving for Mexico, Il Volo was also the protagonist of a private event in Taormina.
Do you remember a year ago, Il Volo in Japan had a performance at the Kiyomizu Temple behind closed doors. Now that event is a film and will be shown in 15 Japanese cinemas in January. 🥰
Dates for 4 concerts in Japan have also been published.
April 25 NAGOYA April 28 OSAKA April 30 TOKYO May 2 SAPPORO
Ignazio has started broadcasting FlokiBar live again on Twitch bosky_tv. In the first live broadcast the topic concerned commenting on videos sent by “new singers” and Bruno Farinelli, drummer of Il Volo, was also present. 😁
Then there was the publication of “explosive” news given by three journalists, namely that IL VOLO will be present at Sanremo 2024 as competitors…….oh my God!! 😱
I honestly think it’s good news, but also very fearful, first of all I hope that the votes take quality into account and that there aren’t the usual prejudices about our young men, who will surely now be able to respond properly, they’re no longer kids of the past, they are mature men and have certainly thought carefully about their possible participation, but I must tell you that the news is not official yet, so let’s see what happens. 🤔
Here is the video that gives the news of Il Volo’s participation in Sanremo.
LATEST NEWS, the new IL Volo per Natale EP was released today, Friday 3 November.
Our three loved ones dressed in red are beautiful. ❤️❤️❤️
There are only 4 songs:
HAPPY XMAS (War is over)
AMAZING GRACE
O TANNENBAUM
FELIZ NAVIDAD
We will listen to these 4 Christmas songs with joy, and at a continuous pace! 🥰
……and let’s not forget that Piero, to rest a little, will participate in the New York Marathon on Sunday 5 November. Seems he will have the number 38750.
We wish Piero GOOD LUCK!!💪👍 😘
What do I have to say?
So much beautiful and new news, there isn’t a moment’s pause as there is immediately something new and I’m sure that our men will have more surprises coming!!
Passions are the stuff men are made of! Gianluca is all about passion. I sometimes find it so difficult to write about Gianluca because he really doesn’t share words! He shares passions. Gianluca talks in passions, not words.
I know I’ve written about his passions before but that is who Gianluca is and that’s how I need to present him. Even when he describes Montepagano, he describes it with passion. Think about how he can make you feel the crow in flight and visualize the sea below ….
*To be precise, I grew up, in Montepagano, on a hill two hundred meters as the crow flies and ten minutes by road from the sea, and Roseto degli Abruzzi.
This is a beautiful vision that can only be expressed through passion, Gianluca’s Passion!
Where does this passion come from? We need to look back on Gianluca’s childhood and feel what he felt as a child. Gianluca lived a very simple life. He had a calm and peaceful childhood. He didn’t have the challenges that Ignazio had or the intense classical education that Piero had.
There were no great demands on him. Just beautiful childhood days.
From a very young age he sang but his songs were for his own pleasure. He just enjoyed singing and he sang when and where he pleased without a thought for anyone around him. Ironically, when he was called upon to sing, he was very shy and would turn his face to the wall and sing.
So, we can certainly understand how music is a passion for Gianluca, but he has other passions and all these passions combined make up the person we know as Gianluca Ginoble.
My name is Gianluca Ginoble. I was born on February 11, 1995, at the Atri hospital….
The accents are beautiful, the dialects are beautiful, but I can say that what I prefer is the Abruzzese? I am very proud to be from Abruzzo. I love everything about this region. And I like to bring Abruzzo around the world and keep it high.
I am right at the sea. I’m relaxing, I’m calm! There is a sea breeze and nothing else. It’s Thursday and I am practically alone on the beach. I’m fine, from God! I’m fine because I’m home.
So, we introduce another passion. Passion for his Abruzzo. Gianluca describes his home his country as a place where he is at peace….
When I come home, I relax and I am calm, as I cannot be anywhere else in the world. And now, I can say I’ve seen a lot of places in the world. Coming home to Abruzzo, I feel like I am on vacation. Montepagano is right on top of the hill facing the sea, it seems to look like a postcard. It is here that I can get away from everything and everyone and stay in peace.
Gianluca certainly has a great passion for Abruzzo but how does he see Abruzzo in the future….
Montepagano is a perfect place, a kind of paradise, but what concerns me is I see Abruzzo “emptying.” The boys achieve a diploma and go to study in Bologna or farther. This is not new this is something that I have seen since I was a child.
But what about Gianluca’s other passions. His passion for family and soccer. Let’s listen to what Gianluca has to say about his childhood and how all his passions combined make Gianluca who he is….
My life as a child seems so far away. I remember, very, little of my childhood! It’s like twenty years have passed but, only five have passed. I’m not like Ignazio. I was born and raised in Montepagano. I was traveling only with dreams. What made me dream? Music naturally.
I had a radio with a knob that turned to find the radio station. What am I looking for? The songs of Andrea Bocelli, my absolute idol. Or Domenico Modugno, or others of this kind. In the summer, I would take the radio along when I went with my friends in what we call la pinetina (the small pine forest), that is a park with wooden games and tables and with lots of green space. Like today I was looking for music, for songs that inspired me and made me dream. My friends would listen to my music but, they liked Eiffel 65 and music from the early 2000s, and so they would tell me, come on, change…! What is this? I liked modern genres, I listened to everything, but what I loved was something else.
In November 2000, when Gianluca was five and a half years old, his brother Ernesto was born. Gianluca tells us how he shared his dreams with his brother, Ernesto and how he became Gianluca’s closest friend and confidant….
I was five and a half years old when I started to hum. A year later I started to get interested in Bocelli and Modugno.
So, Ernesto’s is in his cradle and he’s listening to me sing these melodies. The most beautiful thing I remember, and it is a memory that I have printed in my head is when Ernesto was big enough to come to the small pine forest too, I made him listen to these songs that my friends did not appreciate. We sat close together on the ground, and I placed the radio on my legs, or I sat on the swing with the radio resting on the ground and we listened to music that was so unusual for our age. I told him my dreams. I do not think I’ve ever had this confidence with anyone, and even today, it’s like that with my brother. The result is Ernesto has a natural talent for music. He has something “musically speaking,” both when he strums the piano in the living room, and when he sings. Who knows…studying? Today I trust him as I do not trust anyone else. After an exhibition I go to him for his opinion. Ernesto, how did I sing? Did you like the performance? He answers, well, yes, maybe you’ve been a little waning there. Ernesto always understands and gives me his opinion. He has never studied music, he has never studied singing, but he always knows how to give me the right advice, the right vision. It’s like when we sing together: I play the melody and he immediately makes harmony. At his age, I did not do that. I think the radio did well by him.
As I grew older, I became more passionate about singing, including the great American classics, first of all Frank Sinatra.
I’ve never studied music, if I have to tell the truth, but the music at home has always been there. My grandfather Ernesto has been a musician since he was a boy. He played the contralto flugelhorn in the band of the town, he toured all of Abruzzo doing performances with the band and has always been a lover of the opera.
My father Ercole, studied music, played drums and sometimes he still does. Let’s say he’s more rock than grandfather!
Dad and mom realized that I had something special in my voice when I started to sing at the age of three or four years. But, as it has always been, they let things take their way without ever forcing me.
Gianluca’s grandfather was the first to think of bringing him closer to music. He had a classic taste, more “popular” to say, he is one of those gentlemen who fifty years ago listened to Luciano Tajoli, but he is also an opera lover.
So, around the age of eight or ten, I began to listen to classical music, opera, especially Luciano Pavarotti, and some genre of music from the Fifties to the Sixties.
I took the tape recorder and put the cassettes in, my parents told me, it seemed like I was immersing myself in those notes.
They tell me that, when I was three years old, I sang ‘O Sole Mio’ in the town square in front of all the elderly gentlemen friends of my grandfather who, sitting around the bar table, were listening to this little boy with such a particular voice.
This was my first audience but, of course I don’t remember it. My grandfather wanted me to study music, he always told me: ‘Gianluca, study the piano, study an instrument.’ I’ve never done it. It would be a dream to sit down on the piano and startlaying and singing. Let’s say it’s one of my next goals: learning to play the piano.
As we know, since then Gianluca has studied piano.
While my grandfather made me listen to classical music, Pavarotti and music from the Fifties-Sixties, my father made me feel Fabrizio De Andrè, Francesco De Gregori, Giorgio Gaber, and Antonello Venditti.
So, let’s say that as a child I had a beautiful musical culture. What was left of that period? The classical opera no, because today I do not listen to it, it is not part of me and, I do not feel it particularly mine. The only opera singer I keep listening to is Andrea Bocelli, but I have come to him by another road.
So, we begin to understand how Gianluca’s grandfather and father were very instrumental in Gianluca’s musical education. Though he never had a music lesson in his life he lived with two men who shared all their musical expertise with him, and this was the greatest foundation for Gianluca’s musical journey which would lead him to the stage of Ti Lascio Una Canzone!
What about Gianluca’s education? It’s seems he really wasn’t all that crazy about school but he in fact he had a great knack for languages something that would come in handy when he began to tour….
I never liked school. I was a lazy man and I’ve never been a great scholar. But in spite of it, I had good grades. I liked algebra in middle school. But most of all I had always been fascinated by languages: Spanish, French, English. I did not have a hard time studying them, I am naturally inclined to study languages. I remember that when we sang the first songs in English and Spanish, I was the one who took the least time to do the right phrase, with the right pronunciation, because I immediately feel the musicality of foreign languages. I contribute this to listening to Sinatra who had perfect pronunciation and I understood every single word of what he sang. It was a great way to learn pronunciation and even the songs.
After middle school I did not choose to go to linguistic high school, it was only because I thought that with my work I would travel, and I would learn the languages directly.
In 2009, I enrolled in a classical high school as a privatist to study Greek, Latin and French translations. This is also difficult. I liked Greek more than Latin. Then unfortunately I had to stop in the second year, I could no longer continue because the work was too demanding.
If I have any regrets about my school years, it’s that I never studied music when I was ten or eleven. But there is still time.
Between the age of eleven and thirteen, Gianluca enjoyed playing soccer, long games with Pokemon cards and, and always music!
So now we come to Gianluca’s great passion for soccer. Not only did he have a passion for it, he excelled at it. Listen to how Gianluca talks about soccer. There is passion in his words….
Football has always been a great passion of mine. This too, like music, is a family passion.
My father is a big fan of Pescara, as is my grandfather. They were also big fans of Vialli, no matter which team he played on because he was a myth for my father. And because Gianluca Vialli also had a name that appealed to both my father and mother, when I was born, they named me Gianluca. Let’s say that name aside, my father gave me a piece of football culture. I am a big fan of Roma football, before Il Volo, more so. I watched all the games, I did not miss one, and every time Totti beat a penalty, I covered my head with my arms and, if I heard the scream from the television, I screamed from home. But now there are work commitments and that prevents me from following my favorite team. Even now, despite the commitments, I continue to play football as soon as I can.
When I go back to Montepagano I always try to organize a game with old friends with whom I trained in the youth teams of Roseto.
How did I play soccer? I was good, come on, I did not like losing, I wanted to score goals by force, I never passed the ball, and when I had the ball, I scored. Let’s say that I was a bit “instinctive” even on the football field.
Once when I was playing in Pescara there was a score of 4 to 4. I had already scored two goals, but the draw was not enough for me, I wanted the win. Only the field was difficult, it had rained, so there was a lot of mud. What happened? I pull, huge slide and I fill myself with mud, from head to toe. What do I do? I start shouting, ‘I got dirty!’ In all this, it must be said that the game was true, even if we were very young. There was the championship, with the ranking and everything else, it’s not that you could take and do what was going on in your head. The referee shouts, ‘Get up, what are you playing ball.’ ‘No,’ I said, ‘I’m leaving, I’m all dirty!’ He shouts, ‘get up and go to the locker room.’ Not for nothing, they don’t call me the ‘little Cassano’ (famous Italian soccer player) for nothing. Cassano was so good and, he was so restless!’
Another time we were at the Borghesiana in Rome, at a national tournament. The Roseto was also in series C2 and even in the very young there were good coaches, competent, good, that when they told you one thing, that was that, because they knew what they were talking about. In that game at the Borghesiana, I do not even remember, against who we were, I did not score goals, the coach took me away from the game. At the beginning I came back on the bench nice quiet, but after a moment they did everything to restrain me. “I want to go in! I want to score!” I was shouting. I kicked the coach. Now obviously, I would not do it again, even if football is still my passion.
Want to know how good Gianluca is, watch this video of the guys playing soccer for charity.
Let’s listen to what Gianluca had to say about the match. This is one of my favorite videos. The guys gave it their all. Gianluca proved that he never gives up until he gets his goal! Ignazio was also a great soccer player as a child, but he had to give it up when he started studying music. Piero never played soccer but his performance in this match was superb….
You cannot imagine the happiness of playing in the ‘Partita del Cuore,’ (Match of the Heart) a Telethon for Charity on June 2, 2015, at Juventus Stadium. The stadium, in fact, made Ignazio happy more than anyone, because he is a huge Juventino (a big fan of Juventus). I was more excited about having been called up for the first time in the National singers and even more for being able to score. The match was against the team of Champions for research, all great sports champions and big names in the show, from Alex Del Piero to Pavel Nedved, from Jorge Lorenzo to Liam Gallagher of Oasis. What a dream it was! The stadium was full of people cheering crazy. My team was losing, when I came in, we were 3 to 4 and not being able to do anything, apart from shouting directions to my team-mates on the pitch, it made me feel even more strained. It’s like, I know how to play football, you see the others, think about what you would do for them and tell them. No, you scream it, otherwise they will not hear you. Ignazio and I shrieked like crazy to Piero, and then Piero and I shrieked like crazy to Ignazio, but ‘my legs are trembling’, I had to run, enter the pitch, I wanted to score.
The coach made me enter in the 83rd minute.
We were, as I said, under a goal, but I do not like losing football. So, I took the ball and I scored. What magic! The stadium was screaming, the guys ran to hug me, it was almost like winning the Sanremo Festival again.
So, Gianluca has scored not just in soccer but in music. An amazing young man with a tremendous voice.
We’ve come to the end of Gianluca’s story for today but let’s think about this for a moment. If Gianluca hadn’t become a singer, would he have become a soccer player? He was really good as is evident in the video!
Gianluca’s story today was really about his passion for family, country, music and soccer. All the things that make Gianluca who he is. If we take all those passions and roll them into one big ball we find the romantic Gianluca. Isn’t romance about passion? I think Gianluca’s Passion explains why he is so romantic!
How do I relate to this story? For one thing, my paternal grandparents were from Abruzzo. Their town of Introdacqua is about an hour from Montepagano.
The other thing we have in common is I had the same feeling for music that Gianluca did as a child. Every day I woke up singing! I, like Gianluca, loved to sing for myself. I didn’t need an audience. It was only later that I began to sing with friends of mine. My great teenage years. And yes, I still wake up singing every day.
*What I have written here are excerpts from the book the guys wrote about their lives. “Il Volo, Un’avventura Straordinario, La Nostra Storia.” (An Extraordinary Adventure, Our Story) This is just a small piece of each mans’ story. The book is written in Italian. If you can read Italian, I would highly recommend that you read it. It’s wonderful! If not, I can only hope that someday it will be translated into English. Or you can use Google Translate to translate it.
I also recommend you read their second book “IL Volo: Quello Che Porto Nel Cuore” (What I Carry in My Heart).
And let’s not forget the new album. “Tres Voces Un Alma.”
Available on Spotify, Amazon, and other music media!
Join me next week as I go back Through the Fields of My Mind and open the door to a new adventure! Next week we return to Naro and continue our journey with Piero.
If you would like to share a story with me, please email: susan.flightcrew@yahoo.com
To read more Il Volo stories visit us at www.ilvoloflightcrw.com
Immediately after returning from the European tour, our young men returned to their homes, but they certainly didn’t sit idle. First there was Piero’s lecture at the University of Enna, immediately afterwards Gianluca was present at an event.
The “T. ACERBO” Technical Institute of Pescara turned 100 years old and promoted a special day dedicated to the ERASMUS + project in which Gianluca Ginoble was the guest of honor.
This newspaper reports a beautiful article of the event:
THE ACERBO MAKES 100 YEARS, GINOBLE TO STUDENTS:
“OPEN YOURSELF TO THE WORLD”
The tenor of Il Volo launches an appeal to the children of Pescara:
“You have to sacrifice to achieve great results.”
“Parents must be able to believe in their children and support their passions, just as mine did with me and today I can say that music is and has been my salvation.”
Thus begins the speech by Gianluca Ginoble, singer of the famous group Il Volo, addressed to the students of the Acerbo Institute on the occasion of the centenary celebrated yesterday in the main hall in the presence of the school director Carlo di Michele, the president of the Province Ottavio de Martinis and the director for the regional school office Giuliano Bocchia.
On this occasion, the Erasmus project was presented which will allow students to grow through knowledge of different cultures and traditions.
“Travel the world, open your mind, try to learn about different cultures.” declares Ginoble, “and do not remain firm in your beliefs but always cultivate doubt which I believe is the most important element for growth both on a personal and professional level. We have all been young and have asked ourselves questions about who we are, who we want to be and what role we will play within society. We have all been struck by an anguish that is part of life itself, and it is precisely what will lead us to move forward with perseverance and ambition. We live in a society that completely deludes us that maximum results can be achieved with minimum efforts, but in reality”, underlines the singer, “this is not the case, because only through great sacrifices can we achieve great objectives and not be distracted by everything that surrounds, that is, by the aesthetic perfection that we see on social media. In reality, in order to improve ourselves we must learn to know ourselves. Knowing yourself has always been the backbone of my life. I’m 28 years old and I still have a lot to learn and giving advice to young people is always delicate for me, but the message I feel like giving is to never give up, because it’s the only way to feel alive.”
Then a passage about being famous: “Fame is an ephemeral concept, I never looked for it, I simply wanted to do what made me happy. I sing for myself and above all to convey emotions to others because I feed on this. The only way to remain humble and not being overwhelmed by success is to never forget our roots and the education we have received, in particular for me it is the great relationship I have with my grandfather Ernesto which is always there for me. I bring all this to the stage, even if I’m in New York or Sydney and it’s something that helps me a lot to remain myself.”
“Gianluca is an example for our students”, declares Di Michele, “not only because he undertook an important path that allowed him to travel the world, thus becoming an international star, but also because he managed to do all this while maintaining its simplicity.”
The Erasmus project led by Professor Marilia De Dominicis, thanks to the support of the former head teacher Annateresa Rocchi, will allow the pursuit of teaching open to cultural diversity.
And the president of the Province De Martinis comments: “The project aims to raise awareness of the various European realities and thus come into contact with important topics such as the environment, sustainability and above all active citizenship.
These are topics that will allow children to grow in an important way both from a personal and academic point of view. I too was a scholar in this school and was part of its hundred years, and today I am here to tell you students to commit to education to give us a better world.”
In this video 8 broadcast by TG8, you can see a short interview with Gianluca.
VOICE= Guest of honor Gianluca Ginoble from Il Volo, who told the kids about his personal relationship with the school.
GIANLUCA= For me it is wonderful to be among young people first and foremost. I’m young, but I’m no longer 17, I’m 11 years older than them, so time has passed for me too, but I still feel like that child who has the great dream of wanting to achieve that goal of being a singer, of having that ambition of being able to know oneself and one’s vocation and this I believe is the most important message for young people, to work for themselves on a personal level, but above all to try to build a future, to have a purpose to have a role in life.
Another video broadcast on TG Abruzzo.
PRESENTER= The celebrations for the 100 years of the ACERBO Institute, guest of honor this morning was the singer Gianluca Ginoble of the group Il Volo, who closed the meeting on the notes of enthusiasm. The students, in the external spaces of the school, were the protagonists of a themed choreography inspired by the new ERASMUS+ as a symbol of union and collaboration between the different European countries. Erasmus was the central topic of the morning with stories and testimonies from students and professors who have completed courses abroad.
The ERASMUS+ project involves and promotes studies abroad, students have already been present in Spain, Germany and France.
The event was titled: “L’ ACERBO VOLA”, a clear reference to Il Volo and the recently concluded European tour.
At the end, in the courtyard of the institute, the students carried the flags of Spain, Germany, France, England , as well as Italy, then they formed a big E (Erasmus) and they all sang Grande Amore.
GIANLUCA= I always tell guys not to stop working for their future.
Furthermore, on October 22nd, in Atri (the town where Gianluca was born) there will be the “ATRI AWARD” journalism event, and Gianluca will be awarded as better explained by the Instagram stories published by Ercole Ginoble and which I will translate for you.
During they awarded a special prize to the Abruzzo singer of IL VOLO, Gianluca Ginoble with the following motivation: “A very successful artist in the musical field, with his unmistakable voice, his elegant features, he contributed to giving prestige to Abruzzo and to the people of Abruzzo in the world.”
The award was presented to the artist on Sunday 22 October 2023 at 6:00 pm in the municipal theater of Atri during the awards ceremony in the presence of the Minister of Culture Gennaro Sangiuliano and leading names in Italian journalism, television and sport, including the President of the FIGC Gabriele Gavina.
And here is the moment of the awards ceremony.
PRESENTER= I ask the President of the Atri for Atri association, Andrea Spada, to join me here, for the delivery of a special recognition.
The Adranus award to a great artist in the musical field with his unmistakable voice and his elegant features has contributed to giving prestige to Abruzzo and to the people of Abruzzo in the world. Special recognition to the singer of Il Volo, but our ambassador in the world : Gianluca Ginoble.
(Gianluca goes on stage, greets those present and hugs the presenter) Sorry, but I’ve known him since he was like this (little one) and he has maintained the same humility, the same generosity, he has only become an international star, but he has remained himself and this is the most beautiful thing.
GIANLUCA= So you really move me. Thank you, I’m happy to be here, thanks to all of you, by the way, I was born in Atri, so (cheers). I want to thank you because it is never a given to receive an award, I am not a journalist, because like journalists I give voice to words, to emotions through my voice,and at my age being here among all of you is truly a great privilege and I don’t take it for granted.
I have always tried not to be overwhelmed by what fame and success can be, which is a truly ephemeral concept that can sometimes change the essence of a person, therefore simplicity and education, values, are the most important things to move forward, to remain who you are, appreciate the affection of the public which is never taken for granted and always move forward. What I am doing with my colleagues is to bring with humility, but with great ambition, our music which is the history of bel canto which is in our culture. We also try to bring it to the new generations because I believe it is really important to never forget the roots, without being too nostalgic, but always with an ambitious look towards the future, and that is what we are trying to do. (applause)
PREFECT= As prefect I am trying to publicize the many excellences of the province of Teramo, now let’s pay homage to a person who is bringing the name of Italy to the world, with the historical Italian arts, that is, bel canto. By a curious coincidence, he is a musician, more or less also like me, so congratulations indeed.
PRESENTER= The ATRI award for the show goes to Gianluca. (final greetings)
VOICE= Gianluca Ginoble, born in Adri, as you remembered, awarded in Adri, what satisfaction is it?
GIANLUCA= When Abruzzo calls I am always very happy to be able to somehow bring values higher and higher through music which is my greatest passion, around the world. I love my land and I am very happy to be here.
VOICE= This was a journalistic award, but there is a lot of communication in some way, let’s face it, even in music.
GIANLUCA= Well of course, music is also communication, it communicates emotions, so from this point of view we try to do our best to give people comfort, happiness and to accompany it as the soundtrack of their lives.
VOICE= You travel the world so successfully, but does your heart always stay here?
GIANLUCA= Obviously, never forget your roots which are the most important things and keeping them firmly helps you always remain yourself.
Many congratulations to Gianluca for this recognition. The people of Abruzzo adore you and recognize your merits.
We are very proud of the way you carry yourself in your private life as well as your public one!!
This week we will explore Ignazio’s flight through childhood. Let me start by saying each one of the guys is unique in how he presents his story in this book, “Il Volo, Un’avventura Straordinario, La Nostra Storia.” Ignazio chose to write his story. He comes in and out of the story speaking to the reader and asking questions. He is an excellent writer. He articulates very well in English and Italian and that is why it was so easy for me to write his story.
(Listen to this video! Ignazio is thirteen years old and totally amazing! Mr. Perfection!)
All the Italics in this story are Ignazio’s own words. I did not change the thoughts or feelings of Ignazio or any of the guys in any of their stories. It’s all in their own words. As I said in Piero’s story, I’m relating the story as seen through my eyes. In My Flight, as the narrator, Ignazio gives us the facts and I follow him by giving you information that is important to the story and makes for a better narrative.
As I said before, when I write about the guys I always tell you how I relate to each guy in his story. At the end of Ignazio’s story, I will tell you how I related to him in this story!
This is a very sensitive and sincere story! Ignazio is a very sensitive and sincere person and his kindness and compassion come through in his words and feelings in his account of his life. At times it can be a very emotional journey and you will find yourself full of emotions as you follow along! Grab those tissues, fasten your seat belts and let us embark on Ignazio’s Flight….
If life is a story and if every story needs someone to tell it, here I am to tell you mine, all of it from the beginning.
My story is not a fictional story even if it seems to be one of those dreams that you never want to wake up from. My story is sincere. It is the story of my life just as I experienced it before Il Volo and inside Il Volo.
My Flight (every reference is purely coincidental) starts with a Christmas Letter.
It seems Ignazio’s mother, Caterina, and his father, Vito, were thinking about expanding their family. It is Christmas time 1993. Ignazio’s sister Antonia, who everyone calls Nina, is at school and the children are told to write a letter to Santa and the Baby Jesus. What Nina writes is a miracle and the beginning of one of the most beautiful and sincere relationships between a brother and sister. Nina, 7 years old, writes:
Dear Santa and Baby Jesus,
I do not want any presents for Christmas. Give my gifts to poor children. I want a baby brother for Christmas.
Nina
Ignazio continues, Said and done!
Shortly after New Year’s Caterina discovers she is pregnant. When Nina is told she wants to confirm that her request has come true. Nina asks her mother if she can join her for her first ultrasound. During the checkup, Nina asks the doctor, “May I know what it is?”
“What do you want, honey?” the doctor asks.
“I want a little brother.”
“Then come, I’ll show you the string bean.”
Nina’s first wish is granted but her second wish, not exactly! Nina wants her brother to be born on October 1st, her birthday. It seems Ignazio had another idea.
My name is Ignazio Boschetto. I was born on October 4, 1994, in Bologna, Italy.
No, I didn’t make it for Nina’s birthday. I was wrong. What can I tell you? When they brought me home, I was better than any doll to Nina. Everyone was happy but soon, there were some worries. During the first visit, the doctor found that I had a strange kidney malfunction. After several checkups, they found I was born with a single kidney, but the one kidney I had was larger than normal and it works as if it were two kidneys.
And, as if that wasn’t enough, I was born with the squint of Venus, but I was fine, a Bolognese, brand new. The truth is, I could have been born Sicilian – Sienese. How would you see me with a Tuscan accent?
Is it the same if the images that I will never forget are … the memories of my parents? It’s not that I’m crazy or strange, it’s right that my story would never have existed without my parents.
I needed to put this break in the story to present something amazing!
He had it then, he has it now….and forever!
I really wanted to present 2008 alongside 2023. If ever there was a phenomenal collaboration this was it! Two of the greatest tenors in the world are interwoven to present Allegri’s Miserere. They say heavenly voices are needed to properly present this Hymn. Well, these certainly are heavenly voices! They are the voices of men who are legends in their own time! They call Miserere “the stuff of legends.” Ignazio and Piero were brought together for a unique presentation of Miserere. Their presentation is very unique, very touching, very emotional and always brings down the house. It brought me to tears in Athens! Totally amazing!
Back to the story….
In 1990 when Nina was four years old and before Ignazio was born, his parents made the decision to leave Marsala. They left with the hope of a better life for their family. As Ignazio says…. The family they had only begun to create. Things were not going well in Marsala, and it was difficult to make a living for a family. They decided to go to Siena because a good friend of Ignazio’s maternal grandfather, who was a building contractor, offered Mr. Boschetto a job. Ignazio’s parents would do anything to make the family’s life better.
Ignazio says…. Of the sacrifices they have made, there were many and big for me and for my sister, I do not spend a day when I do not think about how proud I am of them.
When they went to Buoncovento, Mr. Boschetto worked as a mason. Mrs. Boschetto did many different jobs.
By 1992 the Boschetto’s realized they didn’t earn enough to keep going. During a visit to a cousin’s house, Mr. Boschetto met an old friend who made him aware of a job opportunity in San Martino on Agrine near Bologna. So, the decision was made to move to San Martine on Agrine. And Ignazio would say….That’s why I was born in Bologna.
Upon arrival, Mr. Boschetto, being a mason, immediately found a job. Mrs. Boschetto. was always a determined person who had a great desire to keep busy. She reinvented herself. She was a good cook and she found herself a job as a chef in a restaurant not far from home.
Within a few years they managed to achieve economic stability and decided to move into a house. Finally, a house just for them in Guarda di Molinella. Ignazio says….The house was very small, but it was my first house, the one in which I was born.
By far, Ignazio was the most pampered member of the family. He was a lively child who laughed all the time, Ignazio says….I never stopped laughing. He learned very quickly to talk and walk. He was never silent.
When I was three or four years old, I played with the piano my parents had given Nina. My mother says I was one year old when I played. Nina taught me to play Happy Birthday with one finger. I was a happy child. My mother told me, ‘You’ve never been a child,’ in the sense that I was always quite serious and responsible. I ask you, ‘Would you ever say that?’ In all, I was a happy child. It seemed the situation started getting better. It wasn’t all roses and flowers but in four years it had changed a lot and so the moves were not finished. The moves were always to make a better life for me and Nina. The moves continued even after my birth. When it seemed that we were fine, it was always time to leave.
Of all the houses I lived in, one particular address remains in my mind: Via Marconi 94 in Molinella. It was a big and very beautiful house. We moved there just before I started elementary school.
I do not remember the first day of school, but I certainly did not take long to get noticed. If you’re thinking of scenes of me being put in the middle of the class to sing, forget it. I had a passion for music but, I had an even greater passion for pranks. I tell you, since I started talking and walking, mine was an escalation of agitation. It was official I was not the most mischievous in class that would be my friend Nicholas. I was second. It was always an open challenge, a race to the red crosses. Now the question arises: What are the red crosses? The teachers had a billboard and on it they listed all the students in alphabetical order. If you were good in your school and good in your grades, you got a blue cross, however, if you had taken an insufficiency or if you behaved badly, evil was everywhere! Nicolas and I were the most popular! Our billboard line was a red fire specimen.
With the passage of time, I found something good to do at school, that is, an activity that was able to hold my interest enough to prevent me from slipping into some disaster. I joined the school choir. I always liked to sing, to be ‘in the middle’ of the music. And more and more passionately I began to understand how to make better use of Nina’s famous pianola. I learned how to start the musical bases and flip through them. And that’s when I discovered La Donna È Mobile. I liked it so much that I sang with the bass and invented words. I don’t remember the words but, it certainly was a song about Pavarotti. Having seen Pavarotti on TV, I knew he always had a big handkerchief so I would invent text and sing on the air La Donna È Mobile.
Now I would not want you to get the wrong idea of me as a child. A saint I was not, mind you, but thinking about it now if I was mischievous at school, maybe there was a reason.
Around 1998, when Ignazio was four years old and had just started kindergarten, the climate in the house changed. There was a problem in the family. Ignazio’s mom was diagnosed with cancer. For a child of Ignazio’s age, it was hard to understand what was happening. He realized that something was wrong when he began to see less and less of his mother. She was going back and forth to the hospital for months without finding a solution.
Ignazio said….Mom did something she always did with us, for as long as I can remember, she explained the situation to us, speaking openly. This is a great merit that I must acknowledge about my family, but perhaps a little more to mom, because the fact of speaking clearly with us children and telling us the truth about things that affected our family and life in general taught us to face up to early adult conversations. With mom we always talked about sex, about society, a little bit of everything that life had in store for us as children.
Now, I’m going to step out of the story because there are no words that I can say that will express the emotion and the sensitivity of Ignazio words. So, I chose to have Ignazio talk directly to you
I do not even have to tell you that since my mother’s conversation, my life has changed. I was small, but I could not afford to think like the other children of my age. As for my sister the situation was even more complicated because since 1998, the year of our mother’s first hospitalization, until 2003, the year when all the bad story is over, my mother has become Nina.
For the first two years of elementary school, those dotted with red crosses, I have not often seen mom, a little because I went to school, a little because she had to return frequently to the hospital and stay there for long periods. Dad worked and my sister, despite her twelve years, had to be a housewife. She has become my biggest reference point. We had to grow both of us very quickly, without thinking about toys and different entertainment, and not so to speak, but really. The truth is that we were not interested in anything that usually affects two children of that age, because the only thing we wanted was to have mom at home.
It is difficult to say what the worst moment was because her absence was always felt. For sure, however, I was particularly impressed by a quarrel with my sister. I was four and she was twelve and I was playing with a toy, she was fed up because I made noise, she took the toy, and we had a fight. After responding badly to her, I immediately repented. For me Nina was very important, really like a mother. In the end I did not sleep for a week. But I never told her, at least until now.
After five surgeries and one hundred and fifty points in the face, mom has returned home. Too bad they did not leave me much time to enjoy her. I wanted to sit her on the sofa, and I wanted all the kisses, hugs and everything I hadn’t had in those years. Mom is mine and woe to those who touch her! And instead, a few years earlier, mom had started working in a pizzeria and, not even the time to leave the hospital, she rightly started working again. What could I do?
Most of the time Ignazio stayed with Sabrina, his nanny, who was the girlfriend of the pizza maker who worked with his mom. But there were days when Ignazio was allowed to go to work with his mom. Since Ignazio never wanted to lose sight of his mother again, he would stand by the fridge where the drinks were held and, from there he had a perfect view of the cash desk. At the time, his mother did not work in the kitchen. She was now managing the pizzeria, so most of the time she was at the cash desk or answering the phone. And Ignazio never took his eyes off her. He was so happy that he could talk to her, and he did a good job of selling drinks to the customers.
So, let’s take a look at the situation. Ignazio’s mother is home, the pizzeria has become Ignazio’s second home, he certainly was good at selling drinks and everything seemed to finally be the best it could be.
Ignazio concludes…. at school, then, as I told you, I was part of the choir, and I was more passionate about my music. In short, finally a little tranquility. How long has it lasted? Four years, more or less.
In July 2004 we were on the road again.
So here we are, it’s 2004, Ignazio is 10 years old, and his life is about to take a major turn. La Forza del destino!
So now you understand why I let Ignazio take over this story. He is a brilliant writer, and I couldn’t possibly explain it better than him. My Flight is full of passion and emotion much like Ignazio’s music. My flight, as Ignazio calls it, is one that we can follow through the eyes of four-year-old Ignazio and share a tear with him! This story tells us a lot about how Ignazio was molded into the amazing man he is today!
In Episode Two of Ignazio’s story, we will follow ten-year-old Ignazio to Marsala where he steps on the stage for the first time and embarks on the road to Stardom!
So how do I relate to this story? When I was five years old my mother had a very serious blood disease and I remember how sick she was. I would be so worried that I would never let her leave my sight. In my tiny mind I thought my mother was going to die and each morning when I woke up, I would run into the kitchen to see if she was there. You can’t begin to imagine how happy I was to see her sitting at the table or washing dishes and she would turn and smile at me! The best smiles of my life! Yes, Ignazio, I get it!
Update on Bosky_TV
Join us today, October 25, 2023, at 2:45 PM New York time 8:45 PM Italy time for a new chapter on Bosky TV.
A new music format will start on my TWITCH channel “BoskyTV.”
At The Floki Bar, we will talk about music in 360’, we will hear new emerging artists, new songs and covers from all over the world. Then with various friends, producers and not, we will go on a creative journey together in the production of live songs! We will see you later today! Don’t miss this!!!!
What I have written here are excerpts from the book the guys wrote about their lives. “Il Volo, Un’avventura Straordinario, La Nostra Storia.” (An Extraordinary Adventure, Our Story) This is just a small piece of each mans’ story. The book is written in Italian. If you can read Italian, I would highly recommend that you read it. It’s wonderful! If not, I can only hope that someday it will be translated into English. Or you can use Google Translate to translate it.
I also recommend you read their second book “IL Volo: Quello Che Porto Nel Cuore” (What I Carry in My Heart).
And let’s not forget their album “Tres Voces Un Alma.” Available on Spotify, Amazon, and other music media!
Join me next week as I go back Through the Fields of My Mind and open the door to a new adventure! Next time we will explore Gianluca’s beginnings!
If you would like to share a story with me, please email: susan.flightcrew@yahoo.com
To read more Il Volo stories visit us at www.ilvoloflightcrw.com
For a few days already, the various Facebook fan pages had announced a seminar in which Piero would participate.
This is a meeting with the students of the KORE University of Enna (Sicilian city) on the topic: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF THE ARTIST AND THE ABILITY OF “KNOWING HOW TO BE”…
I propose to you the complete video of the event, published by Kore University.
I will translate briefly.
After Piero Barone’s university room entry, the speaker, Professor lacolino, explains the title of the seminar, that is, being at the center of visibility but at the same time guaranteeing the essential values of life. He says that he knows Piero and his family because they live in the same town: Naro. He says that he has always followed Piero’s career and one thing that has always amazed him is the simplicity and humility of his being, which is not something to be taken for granted for those who have achieved success. The topic was considered very valid to give motivation to those students who want professional success at all costs and Piero is taken as an example, for the possibility of succeeding, but also of maintaining the fundamental principles, which are not always linked to the economic aspect, which is important, but not as much as the family, emotional, relational and love values that will accompany us throughout our existence.
He also explains that success is ephemeral, because there are often people at the top who then fall into oblivion. Then he thanks Piero and asks the principal to say a few words.
The principal thanks Piero and says that it is their most important seminar.
In such an important moment in the world an artist brings his culture and his message to the world which never more than in this case must be a bringer of peace.
Then he wishes everyone a good listen.
Below Prof. lacolino reads a formal thank you to the entire university and to Piero for having accepted the invitation and for making this event special.
Piero greets everyone and sits down with these words:
“Good morning guys, hello everyone. For this event I have decided not to prepare anything, because I want to be spontaneous and transparent, I talk to guys my age, I will answer all your questions and I want to be the most sincere and talk about the deepest part of myself.”
He goes on to say that his greatest fortune was to have people next to him who always encouraged him, and this is also the task of teachers, to encourage students, because often during the journey there are dark moments and you have to have the right people next to you, who maybe are also the people you have at home. In his case, the family and their advice play a fundamental role, which he considers the cornerstones of his career.
At this point there is one intervention by a teacher who explains the context of the seminar. (She delves into the aspect of the artist in the theme of psychology.)
Before giving the floor to Piero, another teacher reads a tribute that covers all the stages of Il Volo’s career.
At the end of the tribute to Il Volo, Piero thanks her saying that here in University they are very well prepared on Il Volo topic, and that he had many things forgotten also.
Prof. lacolino says that what was read is Piero’s artistic life and now they want to listen to his most hidden life. And now he himself asks a question:
“Who is Piero Barone in life?”
Piero replies that he is a person who questions himself every day, because if you stop questioning yourself, you stop learning. Doubt is the stimulus that keeps you going.
His and his colleagues’ strength is the fact that they always think about the future and do not sleep on the past, however beautiful it may have been. Growth brings different thoughts, different points of view, social, personal, professional.
The most important thing is to recognize your identity and defend it. Maturity brings new consciences and it is important to have good people around you.
Professor lacolino asks Piero what is the hook which allows him to overcome a moment of crisis.
Piero replies that it is as if he lived two separate lives, the Piero of Il Volo who is a public life and the Piero of Naro, where he was born and raised and Naro and his loved ones are his safe haven, in a moment of crisis and doubts and problems, he returns to his “safe haven” with the right people, and in a few days every problem has a solution. For Piero, family and the type of education received are very important, as is respect for grandparents who represent a testimony of life lived. Piero states that his grandparents passed on education to him through demonstration, with small gestures and moments that Piero assimilated, nothing was imposed. This strong identity allows him to travel safely around the world, in contact with different ethnic groups, different traditions, but always having a clear understanding of who he is.
At this point Prof. lacolino greets Gaetano Barone (Piero’s father) and his sister MariaGrazia, confirming the affection that binds this family.
Piero confirms that his results obtained are due to the presence of his family, to the firmness of his father and then talks about the importance of his brother and sister who were “the fundamental and predominant part of my life”, because he explains that in the first years of Il Volo, Francesco and MariaGrazia understood, without jealousy, that the family’s attention was entirely for Piero and he recognizes that if he was able to have success he owes it to them too.
Piero says that when it’s Christmas and gifts are given, he doesn’t want anything from his parents because they have already given him the best gifts, his brother and sister.
The students’ questions begin.
In the first question Piero is asked how the idea of forming Il Volo was born and Piero responds by explaining all the randomness of TI LASCIO UNA CANZONE and then ends by saying that Torpedine is the fourth Volo and that in April they will celebrate 15 years of their career. He also explains that they right away signed a contract and moved to America and he didn’t know anything about English, they learned quickly. He also talks about meeting a woman in an elevator in Nashville who recognized him and told him “Piero remember, being successful is luck, maintaining it is a job.”
In the second question a girl asked what moments he experienced with Il Volo were to remember and Piero replies that one of the moments was having sung in Kyoto at the inauguration of the renovation of the Kiyomizu Dera temple, another moment was the tour with Barbra Streisand and then the more emotional last year on family day singing in front of the pope, because he had promised his mother, who is a very believer, that one day he would bring her in front of the pope and that day, not only was he there with the whole family but he was singing in front of the pope and his mom, a moment that will be difficult for him to forget.
In the third question Piero is asked, “If in a day is Piero’s simple part more dominant or does the artistic part prevail?
He replies that when he leaves home it’s as if he activates a change, he enters the more artistic mode within him. Piero confesses that for him music and Il Volo are his world and that he is giving up many things in his private life for them.
He says that it is difficult to do something personal among his many commitments and that his presence in this seminar was confirmed only 15 days before, instead Prof. lacolino had already requested two years ago. He admits that he doesn’t feel like an “artist” he is just Piero, and he is making his passion his daily life, he states that he has never worked (in the true sense of work) because for him music is a passion.
For Piero, passion, responsibility, identity, are the things that distinguish an artist and he says that Il Volo focuses on identity and spontaneity, proposing a genre that is a little outside the box of the musical genres that are fashionable today, and finally he also remembers that last Saturday Il Volo was supposed to hold a concert in Tel Aviv.
In the fourth question, Piero is asked what the preparation is like before the concerts. Piero replies that there are two preparations, the vocal one and the physical one and they are both important.
Physical preparation serves to increase breathing and endurance to face long journeys. He confirms his stubbornness in pursuing sports and also talks about his physical preparation for the New York marathon.
As regards vocal preparation, Piero says that during the Covid period he discovered that he can do lessons remotely and thanks his teacher Fulvio Massa for his constant availability at any time due to the differences in time zones. Piero has daily singing lessons, and confirms that it is important to discover every day that you can always do better, never set yourself a limit and therefore never stop studying.
He also confirms that a good psychological preparation is needed, because when Il Volo is on tour, there are crowds waiting for them and it is certainly beautiful, everything is exhilarating, you are praised every day, then you arrive home and you are alone, the first years it was difficult, and even now, sometimes you are on the other side of the world, you need to hear someone and you can’t because of different hours they are sleeping at home, so you are alone with yourself and therefore you have to recognize the limits of the moment. When you are on stage you have to learn to enjoy those moments because you have to understand that you are on that stage not because you are omnipotent, but because those people have paid for a ticket, they have left home to come and see you and listen to you so you have to be grateful to them.
Another important thing for Piero is to listen to people and at this point he introduces a woman, Nora (whom he greeted and hugged as soon as he entered the room). They met by chance years ago while they were both waiting in Frankfurt for the flight to Sicily which was heavily delayed. They started talking and continued for hours, since then a beautiful friendship was born with Nora who is 80 years old, speaks five languages and has traveled all over the world, she only understood that Piero was a member of Il Volo upon arriving in Catania. Since then, every now and then, they call each other to have a nice chat. Piero says that dialogue and listening to people is a great fortune that must be exploited.
Piero also talks about the importance that his grandfather had for him, not only for having discovered his voice, but also and above all for having passed on to him this great love for music.
Piero says that as a child he spent summers in the countryside with his grandparents and there was a neighbor in the countryside who had purchased one of the first small cameras with a door. Every evening he came and filmed something, but they were children and didn’t understand what it was. After this man’s death, his house was sold and the one who bought it went to Piero one evening and brought him a CD and told him to watch it. It was the summary of all those videos that he made in the countryside and Piero states that it is the only visual document of his childhood and in those videos, there is not a moment in which his grandfather stops singing, and this is the love for music that his grandfather passed on to him.
Remembering his grandfather, Piero says that his grandfather’s importance was, is and will be fundamental.
In the meantime, the president of the Enna Kore University has arrived and is invited to go on stage.
The president thanks Piero for his availability, knowing how difficult it is to be present given Il Volo’s busy calendar.
He appreciates the fact that Piero said that Il Volo is successful even if the most widespread musical genre is different and this is because when there is quality, when the artistic level is high, and there is determination, as well as the various coincidences of path, you can be successful in life. He says there is only one from Il Volo and the example they are bringing us is also that of friendship, in them there are many positive examples for young people and for this he wants to thank them, and he says Il Volo’s message can be summarized as follows: “if I want I can do it”.
Piero concludes by saying that his greatest goal is to respect his own code of ethics. He has some personal commandments that he always tries to observe and they are important for himself: “To be grateful, to be loyal, but above all to be serious about everything you do.”
The president says that these words must be respected and nothing must be added.
At this point the university seal is given to Piero, followed by final thanks to Piero for his availability. Piero also compliments Prof. lacolino. The president exits.
Prof. lacolino compliments Piero because although personal questions were also asked, he responded with feeling.
Piero replies that if you lose your feeling, for anything, you have finished living.
Then he says that they often ask him to give advice to young people and he says that he is no one to give advice, but he wishes young people to always go in search of their own vocation.
Piero is given the Kore university sweatshirt and then prof. lacolino says that significant things were said and thanks Piero for being a person of substance and not just appearance and wishes all the kids present to find their personal success.
Piero is happy with the discussion he had in the evening and concludes by saying this:
“Do cherry picking, always try to get the best from every person, from every place and from every culture. Talk and ask questions, always be curious. In the end we are the result of what we live and the encounters we have.”
Final applause and greetings from all the young people present.
The day after this meeting at Kore University, Piero published this comment:
“I would like to express my gratitude to the entire academic staff of the Kore University of Enna for the warm welcome given to me. It was a unique experience of its kind. The reflection on the artistic role between psychology and society exposed me to a dialectical comparison and constructiveness with the students. I thank every single person for the questions, curiosities and considerations expressed. I will keep this day among my memories.”
I have no words for what has been said, a very serious topic to which our Piero responded with transparency and great wisdom and which I hope to have translated clearly to you.
I really liked the compliment paid to Piero which confirms that he is a man of substance and not just appearance.
Really very good Piero!!!
You are a great artist, but also a great man and gentleman. ❤️
Daniela 🤗
Credit to owners of all photos and videos.
Come in and share the love of life, friends and Il Volo!