We have come to the end of our journey. Over the last three and a half months I have been sharing with you An Extraordinary Adventure as Seen through My Eyes. I hope you enjoyed the stories as much as I enjoyed sharing them with you.
I took the original book which consisted of mostly dialogues and short stories between the boys and changed it to a narrative so you could truly appreciate their stories.
And what extraordinary stories they were. I acted as the narrator and lead you from one story to another always allowing the boys to tell the story in their own words. After a while, the boys took over and carried me along on their journey. A very exciting adventure!
What did I find out about the boys in this book? I found out that Piero is an excellent storyteller. When he tells you a story, he includes every little detail so when the story is over you know everything there is to know about that story. I found out that Ignazio is an excellent writer. He is the only one who wrote his story. Ignazio is very articulate. His words just flow off the page. Because of this, his story was the easiest to edit. As to Gianluca I was surprised to find out he was such a romantic. Everything that is important to him is a passion. He invests himself in what he loves and believes in: Family, Music, Country and Soccer!
I have read the book about 10 times over the last three months. Going back and forth from Italian to English to be sure that the facts were correct. I have edited other books but this one was truly an adventure. Maybe because the characters meant something to me.
Before I go any further there are some people who I would like to thank for giving me the opportunity to share this story. First and foremost, Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca. They were aware that I was telling their story yet, never once did they ask me to stop telling it. It’s their story and they could have stopped me at any time. Next, I would like to thank Michele Torpedine for also giving me a free hand to share it!
As to the book Il Volo Un’avventura Straordinaria, La nostra storia, (An Extraordinary Adventure, our story) let me say it is a wonderful book and anyone who can read Italian should read it.
Many people have asked me why I don’t translate the book. It’s not my book to translate. All I can say is I would love to translate and edit the book for the English version.
Before I hand you over for the last time, let me leave you with this thought. This story truly was an extraordinary story about three young boys, child prodigies, who travelled the same path but started in different places: Naro, Bologna and Montepagano. I often think and I have just recently said in one of the stories, how is it possible that three amazing boys, with three extraordinary voices, that complement one another, wound up in the same place, at the same time, in history. My only answer is divine intervention. God had a plan and what a plan it was! He gave us three voices that would stay with us for a long time and certainly for me till the end of my days.
So, before we bid the boys farewell, I’ll let them tell their final story which is about the one disappointment they had. Or as Ignazio put it, “Eurovision… one of those things that I do not like to talk about, but we’re telling the truth, so let’s tell it all.” So, for the last time let’s join Piero as he tells us about what happened at Eurovision….
Piero: Vienna, the 60th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, was a rather strange experience because we came as favorites. So, we were loaded, convinced! From February 14th to May 17th , the day we arrived in Vienna, we sang “Grande Amore” so many times that we convinced ourselves even more that we would make it. I mean, Gianluca and I, convinced ourselves while Ignazio was pessimistic as usual. However, Gian, your presentiment this time is really wrong.
Gianluca: But do you know what happened to Eurovision? Unlike Sanremo, the vote of the public was not as important as the Festival: fifty percent vote from home and fifty percent vote of the jury of journalists. And this put us at a disadvantage. But the public had voted for us, we arrived first for the people at home.
I cried when it was over. Why did I cry? I knew we had lost not because people did not love us, but for other reasons. Mom, I cried….
Ignazio: Do we really have to talk about it? I’m not so happy to talk about Eurovision because I do not have a great memory.
Piero: What a blow that night …
Gianluca: I started crying, then I looked at Piero, he too cried …
Piero: Gianluca in the end had convinced me to say: “We win, we win.” We had taken it in Sanremo, it could be that we would take it in Vienna, right?
Gianluca: Look, I guessed, because we won the televoting, I repeat it.
Ignazio: And I always am the pessimistic one, with my feet on the ground, saying, “No, guys, it’s hard. It does not say that we succeed.” Even though I had believed it myself a bit.
But it happened that we got third, behind the Russian Polina Gagarina, second with A Million Voices, and the Swedish Mans Zelmerlow who won with Heroes.
Gianluca took it very badly, he cried. Piero as well. Everyone took it very bad. What could I say?: “Come on, guys, we got third, not everyone does that, the last one was Modugno.”
Piero: In the end, however, Gianluca and I looked at each other, a look as if to say: “Now what do we do?”, and a moment before we cried and the next moment we laughed. We had lost, what could we do? By now, it had happened.
Gianluca: We could not cry forever. And then, the public’s heart was ours.
Ignazio: Instead, the undersigned, after having done a little shoulder to others, the next morning I felt very bad, but very bad. For two or three days I was very bad, I threw it all out, later.
Piero: In life you cannot always win, that’s what we learned.
Where’s the beauty? Not all women can say yes to you. After that, how do you try to seduce one, if you already know that she will tell you yes?
So, when we came back from Vienna, many people in Italy asked: “Are you sad about the third place?”
Absolutely not, indeed we are very satisfied, but maybe even too satisfied, because our goal of Eurovision was to show us to two hundred and twenty million people. Even in Australia they saw us. But think how many are two hundred and twenty million people? A sea, is, a sea!
And can I tell you something? I have never loved the tricolor flag so much in my life.
Knowing we were there at the Wiener Stadthalle with the roar of sixteen thousand people to hear us sing live and another two hundred million to see us at home, to know that we at that moment represented Italy for all of Europe is a great responsibility, however it is also a great stimulus to do it in the best possible way.
We represent it around the world with singing, with belcanto, and we believe we have done it better in Vienna. We put it all, we worked hard, we really gave our heart for this occasion.
It was a completely different experience from the others because it was not a competition between artists, it was a competition between Countries, it was a competition between origins, and we were there to defend our nation.
It was really very strong!
It would be nice to come back there, but first we should win another Sanremo Festival!
Goodbye for Now
In which the true and only secret of the success of our three lives is told.
When they asked us to write this book, our first thought was, “Finally,” finally we can tell the truth.” In a three-minute interview you cannot tell a life, but in a book yes. And that’s what we tried to do in these pages: tell our true story.
Which is a normal story, of three guys like many who had a great passion and were lucky enough to be able to transform that passion into what today makes them live and makes them famous.
Being successful is beautiful, it would be stupid to say no after we have so dreamed and desired, but you need to quickly understand something, and that is, that it is not only our merit.
The people who follow us have a large part of that merit.
And knowing it is what gratifies us the most.
It is wonderful to know that we have shared our emotions with those who listen to us.
That’s why we work, and that’s why we try to give everything when we sing, we live in a concert or recording studio. And that’s why we do our work always with the maximum of passion, so that we can create what for us is magic, the magic of emotion that passes from our voices to people.
Fans are the reason, the only real explanation of what happened to us from 2009 till today, the records, the tours around the world, the victory at Sanremo, what we are finally living in Italy.
During a concert we would like to embrace all the people before us, one by one, we would like to be able to say: “Thank you!” with our voices to all. And we want to thank them if we are in the studio to record, if we fill the halls in concerts, if we are in the charts, if we go around the world.
Our “fans” are everything!
We do not know what we will decide to do after the new album and the winter tour. We do not know if we will return to Sanremo, if we will take a vacation, if we will immediately start thinking about another album, new songs to fill your emotions and our emotions.
But for sure, for all we have done so far, let’s say thanks to those who have followed us. And we will continue our great adventure together! Goodbye for now!
PIERO, IGNAZIO and GIANLUCA
Credit to owners of all photos.
Thank you so much. What a lovely story and true. I know they appreciate your. time. I love the guys and happen to believe they will go far. In life we sometimes don’t make first but that helps us grow.
Thank you Susan! What a superb job you have done with this book! I enjoyed reading every story, every translated tidbit of our boys lives, enjoyed your masterful narrative. Loved it ❤
Thank you Anna! I know you followed every step of the way!
I too have really enjoyed this. Thank you so much! 🙂
Thank you Susan, Much appreciation !
Wonderful to hear their stories. Please let us know when a english translation of the book is available.
It is so nice to hear their stories, thank you Susan you have done a great job, hopefully the book will be translated into English sometime.
Thank you Susan. Great story, great guys.I just love the way they are. Honest, sincere, full of fun, care for their fans and very, very talented.
Thank you so much for translating this. I don’t speak Italian but their story means a lot to me. Knowing more about them and hearing their music has helped me so much during this pandemic when I am alone most of the time.
Thank you Susan for all your hard work. Gianluca is not only a romantic, he is very intelligent and reads a lot of books.
I know it! But, I think what makes him the sweet wonderful person he is is his passion!
Thank you, Susan. I am a writer as well and envy you the task of doing their story in the right way. I loved every word.
You gave an extraordinary gift to their fans who do not understand Italian.
These young men grew up to be exemplary gentlemen, grounded and humble, who recognize their gifts. At 77, I adore them as I would my grandchildren.
Grazie!
A heartfelt thank you for sharing these great stories to benefit the global, non-Italian speakers/fans. GRAZIE 🤗
Susan, thank you ever so much for the magnificent job you have done in bringing the stories to us. It has been wonderful to read them and to broaden our knowledge of the lives of the boys in their own words. Thank you again for your time, your talent and your insight.
Thank you so much for you efforts on our behalf! Fantastic job!! It’s been fascinating and warming to have a glimpse into their story. I saw them in Bethlehem, PA, USA back in Feb, 2020. They are wonderful young men and seeing them live, in concert is a memory and thrill I will never forget. I am sure they will continue to make beautiful, emotional connections with us through their music going forward. Thank you again and God Bless You, Ignazio, Piero and Gianluca. We love Il Volo!!
I’m so sad that this is the “Goodbye,” but my hope is in the words, “For Now.” I hope so much that some day this book will be published in English. Thank you, Susan, for translating so much of it for us to enjoy.
Blessings!
Susan,
I hope they ask you to translate for a book. Have read and enjoyed your translation. I will be first in line to buy the book when/if it is published.
👍👍👍
Thank you so much for all your hard work You have made thousands of fans very happy translating for all of us. I am alone and the guys are my happy place. Watch every video on you tube, listen to my CD’s Life is so much more worthwhile with them in it. By the way I saw them in February in Ft. Lauderdale. All I can say is AWESOME.
This has been so special. Thank you to all who put this together and made it possible for us to read it. I enjoyed each one as they came out. The boys mean so much to us in a variety of ways. I’m lucky as I am an Il Volover from the start. Their personal telling means a lot to me.
Thank you so much for sharing their beautiful stoty. to me they were the winners and not only that I see that they will win it just wasn’t their time but from they learn you see I see they even have more in them and they will figure it out you see its a
s Pierson teacher said he has a diamond in his throat and all three poses that individually, they are going to reach the stars, God bless them.
Thank you so much for sharing this story to us. It really is a wonderful tale. They are still so loved by their fans. And I’m one of their first.
Thank you, Susan, for your wonderful article. I first heard IL Volo on PBS a long time ago. I bought that first CD and then the DVD IL Volo Takes Flight. Then I had a great deal of studying to do and did not follow them until 2020 when I saw them again on PBS and noticed that the young boys had turned into swans!. I bought that DVD (the Ten year one in Matera), and now that I have more time I am searching the internet for the many traces they left in 10 years of work. They had great success in Latin America. I am fluent in Spanish so I see that so are they. They are so handsome and obviously have a really good family background. I am going to buy all their DVDs and CDs – I have a lot of enjoyment ahead! I feel they will make another album with exquisite music, and many fans, not just myself, will happily make a long journey to see and hear them in person! For me, they did win Eurovision. They are just incomparable and should be happy with that knowledge. No one can even approach the lyrical beauty of their voices! Dena Pitchfork, Mercer Island, Washington U.S.A.
Thank you Susan for sharing some of the stories of Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca in An Extraordinary Adventure. Hopefully someday there will be an English version also. We all love to learn as much as possible about these wonderful, talented and extraordinary young boys and now men. Watching their performance at Eurovision, it was amazing to see the reaction of the audience when they sang Grande Amore! When you see them perform at concerts, you realize how much of themselves they give and the joy on their faces with the love they receive from the audience.
I have always felt it was God’s plan to put these three extraordinary boys together at the same time and place. They are a gift from God!
Susan, I am sure that the book will be translated into English, and I will try to be first in line to buy it. These young men are so enchanting with such lovable personalities. I feel it was destiny that they would meet. They have given so much enjoyment to so many. They are a real blessing. Dena Pitchfork, Mercer Island, Washington U.S.A.
Thank you love your stories
❤️
Susan, thank you for all of your efforts in bringing Il Volo’s personal story to life. I enjoyed your excellent narrative immensely. Gianlucca, Piero & Ignazio are intoxicating. They are so very talented and they realize it; yet, they are humble. I think you were correct about the hand of God bringing all three of these fine young men together at the same time & in the same place! Thanks again for bringing joy into the lives of their fans by sharing their story. Can’t wait until the book is translated into English.
Thanks ever so (Marilyn Monroe used to say) for the lovely interlude your writing has given us. My question IS. – Are they thinking of calling it a day? A ten year day? Will Italy ever let them replace The TENORS? Or do they have to be 50 and at the Met? This phenomenon may NEVER happen again. They own the world. Maybe that’s enough?
Susan, I haven’t read all the stories yet, but have loved the ones that I have read. I have been listening to Il Volo since they were first heard in North America. I think they are the best singers in the world, and multi-talented! I love all three of them. What I love most is that they are genuine, they are honest and love their families. No one can replace them. If you have any say in the matter, please encourage or beg them to have the book translated into English. They have so many fans that would love to read the book. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
Hi Susan! I’m looking forward now to going into the archives to find the other translations you did. Why can’t you be the one to do the book translation?? You’ve already done so much excellent work on it. Does Michele know this?
Grazie mille.
Thank you so much for sharing such interesting reading amount these three totally magnificently talented guys!!! I read everything about them that I can find at least here in America and in English, as I do not speak their beautiful Italian. I am mesmerized by it!! My very best wishes to you as you go forward in whatever direction life takes you! Grazie!!!!
Lovely. Wish u could translate the book for us!