Note: 8/31/14 ~ New addition. See concert order list on bottom of post!
I had not planned to write a review of this concert originally because it was to be mostly a repeat of the tour concert that they did in the USA. However, after watching this concert on DVD several times now, I feel I need to point out some reasons why this is a very, very special concert. In the past two years Il Volo may have done more singing in the Americas than their home country, but 2014 is providing more quality time for the boys to share their music with their home land. Of all the 2014 concerts so far (in Europe or the USA/Canada) the most exciting has turned out to be this concert in Taormina in Sicily. This ancient and historic site has been used for concerts many times down through the years but I don’t think any has been more elegant and done with more class. Once again, I did not see the concert live which means I am left to using a DVD of the concert for this review. The problem with this is that sometimes I am reacting to situations due to the camera work and not the live concert.
Click Here → http://youtu.be/dkRXNM9106A
STAGING AND TECHNICAL
Since Il Volo is using a larger than usual orchestra (hooray ! ! ) the boys have to work in a different way with the stage space they have. Most of the time it works; but once in while they have a traffic jam on stage including Ignazio being occupied doing drums while Piero and Gianluca start “Beautiful Day” by themselves. But the guys have become such good showmen that they are able to gracefully move through those short jams. Based upon the video, Gianluca and Piero covered it just fine. These guys have so much natural charm that they don’t have to pretend. A little jam on stage comes off as cute and funny.
The lighting seemed to be very effective and the follow-spots were on target 95% of the time (better than L.A. on June 7th). My pet peeve: my favorite guys should not be singing in the dark! Judging from this video the sound system seemed to be balanced pretty well except a couple of times when the percussion sound was diminished too much.
As part of the staging of this particular concert the natural setting is the most important part and rather than try to describe it, I invite you to just look at pictures presented earlier on this site or just google it. It is an OUTSTANDING location and it just seems perfect for three great-looking young men in tuxes. A classy place with classy men.
THE MUSIC
The repertoire was mostly the music from the June tour in the USA/Canada which they, themselves described as “an evening of Il Volo favorites” from over the past three years. For this program a few of those songs were dropped and some new ones added.
I am selecting “Caruso” from this (July 20 ) performance as the most passionate and emotional singing of the whole concert. Watch this if you have not seen it. Ignazio and Gianluca weep their hearts out for this song and Piero holds it together. You must see this with a box of tissue.
“Anema e Core” – sung by Gianluca
composer Salvatore d’Esposito and Italian lyrics by Tito Manlio from the early 1950s Perry Como had a big hit with this song in 1966 with the English text “My heart and soul “. Friends: I went back and listened to Dean Martin’s version, Perry Como’s version, Andrea Bocelli’s version, Michael Buble’s version and none of them is as good as this. This was, for me, one of the highlights of the concert. Gianluca, as usual you give me tears and I must borrow a phrase I used in the June review: This was “Painfully Beautiful”. Good Lord ! What a performance.
“Io Che non Vivo piu di un ‘ora” – ( sung by all three)
composed by Pino Donaggio & Vito Pallavicini, an Italian song in the early 1960s; then recorded by Dusty Springfield in English in the UK and later by Elvis known as “You Don’t have to say you love me” – This ended up being an audience sing-along and very fine indeed ! It was a lot of fun. Even as they sang it in Italian we found ourselves singing it in English.
I was delighted to see that they brought some local musicians to the show. A guest guitar player; (used beautifully with Ignazio’s version of “Memories”) a guest accordion player; (used wonderfully to duet with Gianluca in “Anema e Core” and a Sicilian folkloric group. This was a way to show off the Sicilian heritage and cultural influence of the area by using authentic instruments and a certain unique vocal style that is part of their history. Since Piero and Ignazio live in Sicily it was wonderful to have them join in.
I hinted earlier about a negative comment: The orchestra was rather good but sometimes it was evident that they had not tuned carefully. This was a problem for the strings and mid-range brass primarily and it really only showed up in a few exposed places. Given that small item, I was really happy to see an orchestra almost twice a large as usual used here.
VOCAL WORK
The video I was watching was taken rather close up and it gave great chances to watch these wonderful singers doing their work. This close you can see that each of them was a little nervous to do the best work and that is a good thing. When you see just a little nervous look then you can tell it is going to be a careful program. For each of the boys vocal tone has gotten better and better as each matures and it was on beautiful display here. Pitch is right on the money (I wish the orchestra strings had the true sense of pitch that our guys have) . If I had to pick on a small thing it would be that with a couple of the easier songs the vowels got just a little tired or lazy but for 99% of the time the vowels were fantastic. These guys (especially Gianluca) are setting the highest standards for gorgeous vowel sounds. Vocal tone projection was very strong without the “blasting” of so many modern singers. The softer sections were done with great care. Soft singing has always been one of the strong points of Gianluca, Ignazio and Piero – they do it so well you get chills up and down your back from the artistry. I only wish that the audience would stop the rude noise (talking, singing along out of tune or starting applause too soon ! ! ) and let us hear those beautiful soft sounds. Beautiful, rich and dark head tone – this only happens after years of private voice work and a great vocal coach. If only other modern-day singers could open their minds up and understand that.
A cultural look at this from an American perspective
I wish that Il Volo would release the DVD of this program for America. True fans would love it and find it especially interesting if you remember a few things. We have watched and I have reviewed on this site concerts that Il Volo has done here in the USA/Canada. Even though there were different languages involved in the music of those concerts, the boys still nurtured and shaped the show toward an American audience in the way they drew on common American concepts and cultural ideas. But here, even though there were a number of Americans and Canadians in the audience, the whole thrust of the mood was Italian culture and drew on that huge influence. The same songs as our tour in June took on a different color. You don’t need to speak Italian in order to follow some of the banter the boys did between songs. Most of the time you could get it and it was delightful and warm-hearted and funny.
For me this was a curious circle: I saw them in June in Los Angeles at the “Greek” Theater which is a modern pretend version of the ancient Greek theaters of Italy and Greece. Now it was exciting to see the boys at a true Greek Theater. I only wish I could have been there in person.
One last thing for this program: We have been used to our boys working their heads off to please the American/Canadian audience. This time it was soooo good to see them really excited about performing for their homeland. Yes, they have given other concerts in Italy this year and there are more to come but this was very special. The excitement was visable. Even though they have sung “Mama” many times watching them do it this time – with Gianluca running out to the 12th row where his mother was sitting and hugging her non-stop while singing – was very, very much more meaningful. By the way, the other mamas were there too but this one really struck me. Later, he ran out to his Grandpa and gave him a big hug. Love abounds all over the place. This concert was very important for the boys of Il Volo vis-a-vis the Italian people and so as their fans, it should be special for us as well.
~~Myron
Taormina – Sicily, Italy – Concert on July 20, 2014.
concert order:
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Un Amore Cosi Grande (2:00)
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Granada (5:30)
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Tous Les Visages de l’Amour (10:10)
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We are Love (13:38)
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No Puede Ser – Piero’s solo (18:37)
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Caruso (23:33) – (all three ) (magnificent ! )
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Quando l’Amore Diventa Poesia (29:14) – Ignazio’s solo
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Io Che Non Vivo Senza Te / You don’t have to say you love me (33:43) – in Italian ( and an old Elvis song)
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Can’t Help Falling in Love with You (36:34) – Gianluca’s solo
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E Piu Ti Penso (41:19)
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E La Mia Vita (46:34)
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Mattinata (51:00)
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Memory (53:53) – Ignazio’s solo with special guitar solo
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>>> special guest group – “Sicilia in Folk” (59:50) (Piero and Ignazio)
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>>>Special guest Sicilian Folklorico group- “Sicilia in Folk” (1:04:31)
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Il Canto (1:06:12)
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Smile (1:11:34)
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Mamma (1:16:34)
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Anema e Core (1:20:33) – Gianluca’s solo with accordion solo
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Maria (1:26:00)
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> > > Intro’s including Gianluca’s Grandpa (1:30:27)
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Non Ti Scordar Di Me (1:35:39) – Piero’s solo
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Beautiful Day (1:39:33)
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Surrender (1:43:03) ( usually the official end of concert )
( encores )
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Il Mondo (1:47:53)
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O Sole Mio (1:52:18)
(Addition thanks to Myron and Jeanine)