11/29/13
Hi Everyone,
It’s the day after Thanksgiving and all through Il Vololand everyone is still stuffed from yesterday’s great meals. We visited families or ate with friends and ushered in another holiday season!! We are thankful for each other and especially thankful for Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca and their amazing gift that they share with us!!
Il Volo is on the move! They have landed in Minneapolis and Piero tweeted this photo, Now that’s cold!! Quite a shock after leaving LA. I know it’s self serving, but I’d be glad to host them In Miami. 🙂
Il Volo is appearing today at The Mall of America for a signing and a few songs. The exciting news is that our three ladies, Mary B, Jane and Allene are meeting and going together. Marie e-mailed Barbara to see if they could have a few moments with “The Boys”. Barbara responded and said to have the ladies see her at the signing and she would arrange it. You can imagine the excitement!! We are dying to hear how it went. Stay tuned for the news of the meeting!
Twitter, Tweets and Keeks:
Gianluca, ” About to take off for Minneapolis”, “When you listen a wonderful melody that reminds you of all the most beautiful moments.” “No one can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.” “@Il_Volo Guat, Il volo is forever” 
“Time goes by slower when you miss someone you love”
Piero, “Happy #Thanksgiving”. “New #Beats” “Thank you Beatsbydre” “Minneapolis”
Ignazio, “#Happy Thanksgiving everyone!! love you all.” “Ready againy to travel like crazy” “Minneapolis, just got here” Check out Ignazio’s Keek on Mundial of him driving in LA!
Did You Know? Did you know that Marie’s 3 candid photos taken in Detroit and posted on Mundial, have received over 700 LIKES?
Remember! Remember, in most of the country, Streisand’s special is on tonight on PBS, Il Volo are her guests. Tune in!! Check your local listings.
Did you all enjoy Il Volo’s performance on “Home and Family Holiday Special“? Check your local listings for any re-runs.
See Kelly’s post on airing of the LA tree lighting appearance of Il Volo.
For those of you in the Greater Washington DC area, Il Volo will make an in studio appearance for the 8PM airing of the WETA PBS “Buon Natale” broadcast on Dec 3rd.
Piero, Gianluca and Ignazio, enjoy your appearance at The Mall of America today, be on the lookout for the 3 ladies from The Flight Crew!! Most importantly be careful of all those crazy Black Friday shoppers!!! 
Linda
How very exciting for the gals to be in touch with Barbara…and having her arrange (hopefully) a meeting with the boys…I’d be all a twitter for sure. Sounds as if Barbara is a down-to-earth lady. Can’t wait to see and hear all about it…love Il Volo Flight Crew and being linked up with all of you….Thank you for everything you do. Gramma fan xxoo
Barbara is a very down to earth lady but she also has to (sort-of) protect the guys from a lot fan disruptions. It is a hard thing to judge. I think what worked here is that our ladies and this organization are known to her and that helps a lot. Good for them.
I have the Home and Holiday Special on my DVR and I can”t stop watching it !!!!The boys were so charming (what’s new !!!) and for once Gianluca was up front and center most of the time and adorable and VERY Handsome !!!! It was fun to see them in that setting instead of on stage. They were all incredible !!! I hope the girls got to see our special guys up close and personal at The Mall Of America . Hope I can someday !!!
Linda, I don’t think the temperature matters. Those three ladies are going to be plenty warm. Can’t wait to hear from them!
Don’t forget our Guys tonight with Ms. Streisand. Love her too.
Michele, Get to the WETA PBS station. If you don’t go you’ll be sorry!
Thanks Linda you are always on top of things. Buon Natale is starting to air on some PBS stations around the country. Check the following and put in your zip code.
http://t.co/5Pit0lCjln
Thankyou lijoy, you are a blessing. And thank goodness we just switched to Comcast cable!
Glad I could help. I want everyone to see The Boys!
ARRRGH the Streisand show is not listed on my local PBS!!! DRAT! Oh well,, I will at least comfort myself with the wonderful prospect that some of our Flight CRew got to see IL VOLO and maybe even got to meet them afterwards. God bless Barbara! I can’t wait to hear all the details. It might take some of the sting out of missing them perform with Barbra Streisand ( and not recording it)
Hi, Connie, I just made it back home, and on PBS here (Portland, Oregon) this is what’s airing:
Sunday Dec. 1 – IL VOLO Buon Natale 9-10:30am
Sunday Dec. 1 – IL VOLO Buon Natale 10:30pm-midnight
Monday Dec. 2 – Barbra Streisand 8pm
Here’s the link to Barbra’s other times (Dec. 5, 7, Jan. 1) in PORTLAND, OR.
http://www.opb.org/television/programs/great-performances/episodes/3812/
If you search PBS listings, be sure to spell Barbra Streisand’s first name correctly to find what’s playing in your area.
So… another something to celebrate! (; >)
And thanks, Myron, for letting us know about the PBS editing on Streisand’s special. They did a fun job with Smile and with Make Your Garden Grow, so I’m glad they were part of those. Sorry to miss 2 such glorious songs!
~ Jeanine DuBois, Compassion’s Doorway
Ahhh Jeanine, you are a doll! Thank you so much for that information which I hadn’t found at all. Its so nice to be part of a group that supports our love of IL VOLO. Now I won’t have to miss out…I just have to wait a little bit longer. That I can do!
You’re welcome, Connie!
I wish we could view the entire uncut concert, but let’s see what they show us here in Portland.
Enjoy, and don’t forget IL VOLO tomorrow / Sunday Dec. 1 in Portland
9-10:30am and 10:30-midnight.
Yes, it’s great to share our IL VOLO love!
~ Jeanine D.
A word about the Streisand PBS show that was on tonight in a lot of cities. This was from the tour last year that featured our boys singing four songs: two with Streisand and two with her – Smile and the finale – Make Our Garden Grow.
I am sad to report that in the editing for the TV show they cut anything that did not have Streisand singing with them. So Two of Il Volo’s songs – “O Sole Mio” and “Un Amore Cosi Grande” were cut from the video of the tour show. So, in other words, our boys sang ” Smile ” and magically they left. Then came back at the end for the finale.
In all fairness they did this to Jason (her son) and to Chris Botti, trumpet player as well. Frankly, I don’t care about them. It is Il Volo that needed the audience exposure. So I am disappointed to say the least (considering that I am a Streisand fan, as well)
Hey Myron, thank you for sharing your special knowledge and comments with us about our fav subject, Il Volo. In Pittsburgh, the PBS channel sent more time with their in studio fundraising than the concert. It was very annoying. Also, there is no sheduled Il Volo Buon Natale program listed for the next 10 days. so disappointing! Anyway, I hope everyone is recovering from Black Friday and can’t wait to here the reports from MOA. Besy wishes to all who visit here.
Stephanie Cassidy
Stephanie do you have Comcast? It is on channel 199 tomorrow at 4pm. Click on the link in my earlier post to find listings.
follow-up on this topic: I just was advised that when you look up the Streisand album from this PBS concert even “SMILE” with our boys is cut leaving them on only one song – Make our Garden grow – at the end. I checked it out on Amazon and that info is correct. All that frustration and all that work to have Il Volo on there for 4 minutes. I know it is supposed to be Streisand’s concert but she shined very brightly when she was working with them and having fun with them on “Smile”
Compared to the beginning of the tour in Philadelphia and Brooklyn where the banter and dialog parts were very stiff and in Philadelphia the boys forgot some of the dialog (can you imagine how nervous those guys must have been – singing with Streisand for the first time and in front of 20,000. people ! !) On PBS they showed very little of that cute “banter”.
By the time that concert got here to Las Vegas, they had worked that “banter” dialog to the point where it was really funny. They even loosen up on Smile a little more and had fun with it.
Oh, I guess the saying is true: “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas,”
Sorry for Typos: spent; scheduled; best
There is so much going on for the past few days that I almost forget about Buon Natale concert will air today (11/30) at 10:00am on KQED Plus for the SF Bay Area. I better get some sleep soon. Good night everyone and my sweet Gianluca, Piero, and Ignazio.
Yes I was very disappointed that Il Volo’s songs were cut. As much as I like Barbra Streisand I was disappointed that the fellow who played the horn got more playing time that our boys.
And Buon Natale is not playing here today or tomorrow on PBS, bummer.
On that PBS station they have 20 minutes of video & 20 minutes of talking. I know they want donations but is annoying.
This was a Barbara Streisand PBS special. So I understand why ll Volo did not perform their two songs without Barbara. I would have loved to have had them sing without her. But, PBS was pushing Barbara’s concert not ll Volo’s concert.
Yes, that was true here as well – less time on Buon Natale promos than Streisand. Too bad they were so close together.
Boys are, according to Corriere dell’ Umbria online newspaper, due to perform on 14 December, at the Christmas Concert in the Basilica of Assisi, the concert that see the participation of other artists, should then be broadcasted on national TV on Dec. 25th at 12.15 local time.
cheers!
I can’t believe it but for a while back in Oct. it was once again between Assisi and Las Vegas – this time the Palms Hotel at the Pearl Theatre for Dec. 14 (it happened earlier this fall again) So we lost to St. Francis. I guess I can’t blame them at Christmas.
Hi, Myron and all,
I’m sorry for Las Vegas missing out, but I know the Vegas day will come. Meanwhile, since they’re performing in Assisi, that means they get to go home on Dec. 10th, and it feels to me like that makes it worth it.
I hope the Assisi experience is so precious to everyone. St. Francis certainly had the gentle spirit of Our Boys.
Knowing all will unfold in perfect timing,
~ Jeanine DuBois, Compassion’s Doorway
Myron et All , Yr and others little disappointment for the confused dates announcement is perfectly understandable but, as you also have rightly pointed out several time, they like and need to be home for Christmas after the long tour.
As GG just expressed in his very recent note which I will try to render here he says “Today I feel so happy because after 4 months of a magical life, beautiful experiences and great satisfactions that I will never forget I shall soon go home”
He adds he hopes to be allowed to continue to live this dream forever, but he also acknowledge his roots and simple life i.e. family and old friends. GG go down to memory lane and recalls the simple days playing soccer with his friends or when he was smaller and his grampa would take him out for an ice-cream during those long summer days and knows he will never forget those memories as well.
He concludes that as the date is approaching he is now really looking forward to be with his family.
————-
Make sense to me, sure they will be back on the road recharged to give everyone more Positive Energy, that is what I believe gives to the voices, the music and the looks, that very extra quid.
Cheers!
mlla, thanks for sharing Gianluca’s letter. I found it on facebook, and it’s beautiful. Your synopsis was very helpful.
Just this week (first time ever) I had 2 friends who didn’t understand Gianluca, who saw how suave he is and felt concerned that he is too much that way. I told them a bit more about him to try to help them know him, and now I was able to send them his letter and ask them to pray for him if they have concerns. To think of Gianluca being in the limelight since 14 years old and getting comfortable with singing to huge crowds… “is incredible”, as Gian would say!
I know we all pray that Our Boys won’t be tainted by L.A. or fame, that they will be the dear souls that they are. Gian’s letter helped me reinforce this with my friends.
Wishing you always, Gianluca, to feel good just being you. We couldn’t ask for more!
Grace and love to all,
~ Jeanine DuBois, Compassion’s Doorway
Thank you for the info, mlla. It’s been added to the calendar.
K, u welcome.
Thank you Mila for this info. This will be an amazing performance to witness. They and their voices will fit this venue perfectly.
thank you Mlla I hope I remember to see it on Christmas & that we can get in Canada.
I found out from Bell I can see Buon Natale on Monday. YIPPEE
Loretta
I went to the Buffalo PBS station website and found out that Buon Natale is scheduled to be shown on Sunday, Dec 8 at 11 PM, Tuesday Dec 10 at 8 PM and Monday Dec 16 at 9:30.
So we can see it more than once if we want!
I don’t get Bell so I have to wait for next week.
Mila: Thanks for the info about “our boys” performing in the Basilica of Assisi. Wish I could be there. Was there in May, and want to go back! Keep the info coming from Italy. Look forward to hearing from you.
U all welcome. Whenever I come across a piece of info I pass onto you.
Thank you Mlla you have been our own Italian Angel!!!
Glad to hear that they are performing at the Basilica of Assisi Mila, I hadn’t heart anything more, so thought it was scrapped. I hope Pope Francis will be there to hear them. I think He will fall in love with them just as we have??
I agree completely with you Stephanie, the Streisand Special was spoilt by all that fundraising jargon. it is just TOO MUCH!!!!
What’s the matter don’t you like being told 240 times that you can donate $150. and become a member plus get the CD ? and that is even in the same ad – over and over. Oh, I forgot to say: over and over.
That was funny, Myron! 😉😉👍👏 my feelings exactly!
My feet are not quite back down on the ground yet! We went…we saw…we MET THEM!!! Totally A-M-A-Z-I-N-G day! Marie is putting together our reports and photos that you will be seeing soon. Mary B., Allene and I had the time of our lives. Warm hugs…kind words…heavenly singing…just to name a few of the special moments the day brought us! I wish we ALL from this site could have been there together! They are so ready to go home and enjoy Christmas with their families. but are true professionals that continue to entertain their fans with perfection at every event! Thank you IL VOLO and Barbara for a day we will never forget.
I am still on cloud 9 from last week so I totally understand your excitement. Sounds like you all have the time of your lives. Can’t wait for your story and I am sure Marie will come up with the most beautiful post just like how she did with mine.
Yes, Elaine…I know how you feel! Your post and videos are wonderful. Something about seeing them In person AND meeting them is just so wonderful it’s hard to describe. 🙂
Yes, all of the above. maryjane has said it so well. We will tell it all in the report that Marie is putting together from our reports to her.
Did you see the item on Mundial and Good Morning America about the money dropped from the balcony at the Mall of America? We were standing right by the stage during this event–money falling around, including the stage. Piero picked up $100 bill and gave it to a little girl standing next to me. He was so sweet during our visit with him…autographed a picture of me with him taken in Detroit, signing With love at the top. No wonder I adore him.
As irritating as those promos are on PBS, it is a fundraiser. Without the funding, we would never get to see an ll Volo concert like PBS funds and produces. I have a DVR, so I can just fast forward through the commericals. PBS has funded 3 ll Volo performances for which I am very grateful! As disappointed as I was, I have to remember that this was a Barbra Streisand PBS special not an ll Volo special. In a couple of days, I will have the pleasure watching ll Volo’s Christmas concert.
As far as the IL VOLO PBS Special, as aired here in Portland, Oregon, I was very comfortable with it. They played 15 minutes straight of the show, cutting very little compared to the DVD (like an intro to 1 or 2 songs), then 5-10 minutes of pledge break, which included a bit of the boys, then 15 minutes of the show, and so on. So we got the full hour of The Boys performing and maybe 30 minutes of breaks, but they were not at all obnoxious.
Elaine, I think it’s the same as what you are seeing on KQED. I hope you found it acceptable, too.
My main wish was that they would have ended with a song rather than pledge break.
After my friend and I watched the PBS Special, we watched the documentary from the DVD. Nice to share both.
Looking forward to hearing good news from Barbara D.
Healing sleep to all,
~ Jeanine DuBois, Compassion’s Doorway
Jeanine, I got to see the PBS show tonight and I agree with you about the amount of IL VOLO versus pledge breaks. Frankly, I am just so happy to see them perform without it being Youtube. Someday I hope to make it to a live performance but for now, everything is taped. I am grateful to any bit of IL VOLO I can get! Now I will have sweet dreams of their handsome selves singing Christmas music to me as I fall asleep.
Hi JDB,
thanks. ref yr note up higher, I understand your and others concern about fame at young age or, I better say fame in general, I think we all shared such worry. Artists, generally speaking are such because are individual with high sensibility and feelings, luckily their parents have been with them most of the time and, so far, they seem to realize and acknowledge the importance of having someone with them, besides Barbara of course, that they can fully trust to protect them while keeping them down to earth, someone that they can totally rely on. Hopefully they will continue to do so.
Thanks, pirate / Connie! Glad you felt the same about the Portland airing of Buon Natale.
I just watched the first Portland, Oregon showing of Barbra Streisand’s special. While the pledge breaks were repetitive and didn’t include any interviews with Barbra, we DID get to see “Smile” done with Our Boys and, of course, “Make Your Garden Grow” finale, as well as Barbra’s thank you’s to IL VOLO (first), and then Chris Botti (trumpet player), and Barbra’s son Jason Gould.
I was almost in tears when Gianluca and then Piero and Ignazio joined in on “Make Our Garden Grow”. Holy moly, they did us proud! I keep listening! Mundial has it on YouTube. You can search for
Il Volo & Barbra – Make our garden grow – with Chris Botti & Brooklyn Youth Chorus
I want to find a video that has Barbra’s wonderful intro to “Make Our Garden Grow.”
mfa, I look forward to listening to the clip you posted on the Granada page! Right now, I just have to stay with “Make Our Garden Grow.”
Thanks, mlla, for the encouragement. I know Our Boys are surrounded by many loving helpers, seen and unseen. And it helps to be reminded.
The best thing about being away from the computer for several days is spending hours catching up with all the blogs, videos, and photos. I’m swimming in the joy of IL VOLO Land!
~ Jeanine DuBois, Compassion’s Doorway
I would like to send some extra prayers to Barbara Dixon today. Barbara, I know your corneal transplant surgery will go well today. Let us know as soon as you can stand back and see Our Precious Angels. Bless you.
Prayers from me too Barbara. Praying everything goes well!!
Yes. Many prayers and warm thoughts for you today, Barbara.
Thank you, Marie, for reminding us of Barbara’s surgery.
Barbara may God be with you and your surgeon. My prayer is for a swift recovery and many happy days ahead!
Helen B.
My prayers are with Barbara Dixon as well.
Praying you well Barbara and guiding of the surgeon’s hands!
Sent a prayer off for Barbara D too. Just knowing people care can lift spirits and aid in recovery.
My prayers are also with you Barbara and by the end of tomorrow the corneal transplant surgery will be over and you will be well on the way to recovery. I myself have had 8 eye surgeries. Two of them involved donor transplants and were very successful. Thank God for those wonderful people who donate them. You will be fine–you’ll SEE !!!
By the way in Palm Beach County Florida ( for those that have Comcast ) Il Volo Buon Natalie will be aired on PBS at 10:30 pm and 1:30 am on Channels 6 and HD 440. 2 hours and 15 minutes to go !!!I I’m so-o-o excited !!!!Have FUN everyone !!!
Thanks, Joanie. I’m in PB County and had just gotten home from my trip. Put the TV on and there they were! Awesome!
Leelee-I’m glad that the post was helpful.. I would love to meet you sometime . It would be fun to to be able to talk endlessly about Our Boys with another Ilvolover !!!! I loved the PBS concert. I will buy the DVD but until then I recorded it on my DVR so I can watch it over and over again !!!! The boys looked exquisite and sang like angels.
Joanie – they sure looked and sounded great! But when don’t they? Would love to meet up. Can’t imagine what we would talk about but I’m sure we’d find something in common (LOL).
Because I am such a newbie I have no idea where this little bit really belongs on this website but I’m sure anyone can set me straight.
On local news KATU ( Portland, OR) they ran the story of the guy who threw $1,000 during the IL VOLO performance recently. http://www.katu.com/news/national/Man-cited-after-tossing-cash-at-Mall-of-America–234008241.html
Note: they don’t name IL VOLO but call it a “choir” ! Such is the Media.
This has to be one of the nuttiest stories I’ve read this year! First he wants his wife, then he wants his cat!! Maybe they got that wrong also!
I was there and it didn’t “disrupt the concert” as they state it did. I think the guys got just as much of a kick out of it as the audience did. They just kept on singing smiling and letting the money fall around them!
Barbara D, this is the first opportunity for me to write. I hope your surgery went well and that your recovery is swift. My thoughts and prayers are with you!