If this story sounds familiar to you it’s because I had to write a similar story last year about our, Ignazio.
When I go on Instagram or Facebook and I see stories that hurt the guys, it upsets me. These are three of the nicest guys you’re ever going to meet in your life. It’s not just a career for them, it’s their life, their whole life. It’s what they’ve dedicated themselves to since they were teenagers. Everything they do they do for us the Fans. We as you know, aren’t just fans to them, we are family. They grew up with us and they know how important we are and, they do things every day to try to please us. Sometimes it’s a picture, sometimes a song or sometimes just their joking around. Then there are days, not too often, when they are quiet, they just hide themselves in their own lives. Lives that you and, I take for granted every day, they only get to enjoy occasionally. No, they can’t be out there for us 24/7 but they try their best to make themselves visible and available.
Even though we are like family to them, they do have families of their own. Families that they have spent so little time with over the last twelve years. The pandemic has been very hard on all of us. It was also hard for the guys because they had to leave us their fan family. If anything, there was some good that came out of this, the guys got to stay at home with their families. Since they were teenagers, they never had the opportunity to stay at home with their families for a whole year. And I think Ignazio expressed it best in an interview when he said, “if it wasn’t for the pandemic, I wouldn’t have spent those last (precious months) months with my dad.”
I chose to write about Ignazio this week because of some sad things that have been said about him on Instagram. I’ve had to do this on other occasions for Piero and Gianluca. This is a very important time for Ignazio. It’s a time when he needs to be near family and, among other things, to deal with the loss of his father. The purpose of this piece is to show you, those who don’t already know it, how, really, nice Ignazio is and has always been since he was a child!
Let me start by telling you about what Ignazio does for us with his music and what he contributes to the music industry.
If Ignazio did nothing more than sing for the rest of his life, he would be remembered as a singer who captured an audience at a very young age and continues to intrigue them with every passing day.
From the first time he stepped on the stage, he was a star. I remember watching him on PBS and thinking if he’s this good now, what will he be like ten years from now. Along with Gianluca and Piero these three, amazing, men have achieved in ten years what most men could only dream of achieving in a lifetime!
He is the voice that never ends! The voice that intrigues! The voice that takes your breath away! The voice that leads you to ecstasy!
But it doesn’t end there. No, there is so much more to be said about Ignazio and the best place to start is in his performances. He is the ultimate entertainer. He is the production. His presence is there in every aspect of the production. He is a prolific entertainer! He sees music! He feels music! He breathes music! Follow him around the stage. The little gestures aren’t just for our entertainment they are real movements within each song. Let me describe it as I have described it for you in the past:
Ignazio is known as the funny one and that he is! But is it really about the joke? Or is it more about the production.
I want you to think about the performance. We know these guys have amazing voices but, what if they got on the stage and for two hours, they did nothing but sing. I don’t think it would work. A performance needs the ability to move on. There’s no change of scenery and no intermission so how do you move the performance along? Ignazio! The joking he brings into the performance provides the levity to relive the seriousness of the performance. He brings a certain ease and suspense to the performance. The audience is always wondering, what will he do next.
But is it always about joking? I want you to think about what I’m saying. Ignazio is constantly moving around the stage. He’s dancing and keeping the rhythm. He’s swinging the microphone around and constantly nodding towards the orchestra, Gianluca and Piero. Is that the lead up to a joke? I don’t think so. Let me tell you what you are looking at. Ignazio is following every note that is sung or played on that stage. His mind is in motion. He is sensitive and passionate with music. He has the ability to see the music as it is happening. He knows where every instrument should come in and out. That’s why you notice little things like him smiling, nodding, pointing towards the musicians, Gianluca or Piero. He also grabs the baton from the conductor, sometimes to joke but more often to conduct. Think about him conducting the Asti Symphony Orchestra while Marcello Rota sang his tenor part. He wasn’t joking, he was conducting. And that’s why everyone was watching in amazement. And when it was over, they were speechless. Look at Michele Torpedine go across the stage to embrace him. He is in awe of this young man. You call him funny I call him brilliant! I am going to make a prediction here! Remember you heard it here first. Ignazio will compose a great operatic pop opera one day.
In an article by Ilvolovers Romania they commented: “Ignazio, for what he looks like and also for everything he sometimes hides, is an imposing, brave and authentic young man. Sensitive and passionate, his performance creates a hurricane of feelings for anyone who looks at him and listens to him. For him, the phrase “singing with the heart” is not a metaphor, it is a reality expressed in every gesture and makes us wonder what his eyes see when he sings.”
Let’s look at how Ignazio has helped aspiring young artist.
On February 2, 2014, Ignazio collaborated with singer Roberto Amadè in a project that resulted in a wonderful concert, the Amadè-Boschetto concert which was organized through the Cultural and Artistic Center “Ignazio Boschetto,” with the support of The Town Hall of Marsala. The Teatro Impero archipelago hall has long applauded this initiative which brought together several artists from Marsala.
Ignazio has helped many young people in their careers. In February 2014, Katya Pantaleo, a young singer from Marsala, won the Premio della Critica at Sanremo with the song “Come in paradiso” music, lyrics and arrangement by Ignazio.
On August 30, 2014, Chiara Cusumano and Giorgia Vassalo, The Duo Sisters, reached the finals of the Festival di Castrocaro, performing a song composed by Ignazio: “Paura d’Amare”.
And let’s not forget the beautiful song he wrote “Hablando de ti” that he has performed in concert.
And what about the theme song for the Rai Series Makari.
Let me add to this by recognizing Ignazio’s production company, Floki Productions. At 25 he started his own production company. Does this surprise you? It doesn’t surprise me. It makes a lot of sense to me.
Floki Productions I’m sure is Ignazio’s dream. So, where does the dream begin. Nico Arezzo!
In many ways Nico reminds me of Ignazio. He knows what he wants and, he goes after it. Nico was the first artist to sign a contract with Ignazio under Floki Productions.
You will remember that Ignazio released Nico’s song Gorilla on June 30, 2020 (in the middle of the pandemic) in a “Live on Instagram.” Let’s listen to what Ignazio had to say about that:
“On Thursday night we were the first to do a high-quality sound live on Instagram.”
People wouldn’t dream of doing what Ignazio did. What a spectacular show!
While the music world was trying to restart, Ignazio, at age 25, made his debut as a producer. And what a phenomenal production it was!
Ignazio said, “Production has always been my dream. It started with an idea to give a chance to those who deserve a break,” Ignazio reminds us “as it happened 11 years ago to myself, Gianluca and Piero.”
Some of you may remember the interview I did last October with Ignazio’s teacher Ermelinda De Bartoli. (you can read the full interview “Watching Ignazio Take Flight” on www.ilvoloflightcrw.com) Now I want to go back to that interview and pull out some of the questions and answers which will give you some insight as to who Ignazio really is:
Excerpts from the Interview of October 2020….
Susan: Ignazio’s mother said Ignazio was always very serious and responsible! How would you describe him as a teenager?
Ermelinda: I met him when he was only 14 years old. He was at the beginning of adolescence and, he was always joking. He was very attached to his family. He grew up in Bologna because the family moved there for work and, at the age of ten he moved to Marsala when the family decided to return. In Marsala he attended middle school and two years of high school. At school he was playful and sociable, with a very open and modest character. He often told us about his passion for singing which he studied with a teacher. His life as a teenager was not hard, because, as soon as he started his career at the age of 15, his life changed due to the numerous commitments linked to his success and the new path taken with Il Volo.
Susan: Ignazio is very kind and compassionate. Was this something you noticed about him as a teenager?
Ermelinda: He was very generous and affable to everyone. In particular, he was very compassionate towards some pupils with disabilities, with whom he often conversed, holding them in high regard and showing empathy.
I remember an episode one evening after he won Ti Lascio Una Canzone, the whole class with me and another colleague went to the pizzeria. Ignazio was just fifteen and, when it was time to pay the bill, he came to me and said: “Professor, you are my guest.” I understood that in him there was so much kindness in his manner and in his soul, in this case, a kind gesture towards a woman.
Susan: When Ignazio was your student, he was already studying with Lilliana Adreanò. Ignazio said he had a great passion for soccer and, he loved to play every afternoon but, it had been less so after he started taking singing lessons. He said, “I had less free time and then no free time and I realized that singing was more important than all the rest.” How do you think Ignazio saw his future at that time?
Ermelinda: It is true to study singing he began to leave other hobbies. After Ti Lascio Una Canzone despite having been praised by these great Italian singers, who sang with him, I remember that he told all this with great modesty and simplicity and despite the fact that he had won he never spoke of great expectations nor did he delude himself, at least, until the moment in which Michele Torpedine and Tony Renis hired them after a short time, to form Il Volo. I heard the comments on him by experts such as Claudio Cecchetto and Al Bano who, when he told him that he had recently taken singing lessons, were amazed.
Another detail that I noticed is that while he sang, he always kept his eyes closed and he told me that he was doing it because having recently lost his grandfather, who he adored and, it was he who Ignazio thought of while he sang and, he sang with his heart.
Susan: Ignazio went from your classroom to Ti Lascio Una Canzone and immediately became a star. You told me after the Italian program, he just took off. You said you saw him take off! What was it like watching all of this happen before your eyes? Did it seem like it was all happening very fast?
Ermelinda: Of course, having seen him “take flight” in a short time and, see him pass by the school desks, and then on a stage was for me, as for all his companions, a great emotion and a source of great pride.
Susan: Did you see a change in Ignazio during this time?
Ermelinda: Ignazio was still at school, after his first success, and with all of us, he always remained himself … with a modesty and genuineness that still distinguishes him today.
Susan: During the performances Ignazio sang with some really great singers. Massimo Ranieri, Albano, Fausto Leali to name a few. These singers were in awe of him. Do you think that Ignazio understood what was happening to him?
Ermelinda: Yes, these singers were more than in awe of what they heard, they were astonished, something that Ignazio confirmed when we asked him. And, to think that he was still a kid, and had not yet completed the development of the vocal cords.
Yes, Ignazio from the point of view of his singing ability had already understood in comparison with these famous singers that he had what it takes to become even greater.
Susan: How did your other students feel about what was going on in Ignazio’s life?
Ermelinda: His classmates were very happy and excited. Every Saturday night none of us left the house. We all waited to see Ignazio on TV … and on Monday when he returned to school, for the class, it was a riot and bursting questions, and also a source of pride to kids as they were, to have him as a companion … the little big star, their friend.
Susan: Did you every stop to think about how this all happened? How did a young man from a very simple family suddenly become a superstar?
Ermelinda: It often occurred to me that what was happening to Ignazio was a fairy tale … of those things that you think can only happen in fairy tales. He is a boy with a great talent hitherto unknown, from a very modest family but very united and with healthy values, he was able to tread the scenes of half the world … from his cottage in the countryside to a duet with Barbra Streisand and much more that we know.
The way in which all this happened is told by the facts that there was a first revelation of his talent and Ti Lasco Una Canzone, as we know, could remain there as it happens to many without getting anything else; then as he also said he had the luck of an intuition of the director who suggested to the managers Michele Torpedine and Tony Renis to form the trio.
Susan: How did you feel when Il Volo won Sanremo?
Ermelinda: When Il Volo won in Sanremo, that evening, in addition to the great emotion, I retraced the periods of when Ignazio was still young, always talking with humility about his first successes and I also thought that from the beginning I told myself that he was a phenomenon, so seeing him on that stage, the most important in Italy, was for me just as it was for all Marsala people.
Susan: Finally, what would you like to add about Ignazio that we haven’t already covered?
Ermelinda: I think I have said everything about him of what I know and what I have had the opportunity to perceive. When I talk about Ignazio, with others, I always say that he is very humble, modest and always very affectionate with the people who meet him. I still say: Ignazio, is a beautiful soul.
For Ignazio family is important. They are everything to him. So, please understand that he needs to be with his family right now. You like being with your family. How about posting some nice pictures of the Ignazio we love? Soon he will be in the limelight again. Until then, let’s remember, Ignazio is a Beautiful Soul! Respect that soul!
Join me next week as I go back Through the Fields of My Mind and open the door to a new adventure!
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
Credit to owners of all photos and videos.
Thanks Susan. Ignazio has the soul of music itself. It oozes out of every pore in his body. When I see the guys in concert, I cannot take my eyes off of him because I don’t want to miss a gesture, a step, a smile, anything. He deserves his private life, and I respect that, I think most of the true fans do too. Even at my age, when I go to a MnG and I am lucky enough to get a hug from him, I tell him how proud I am of him. May he be blessed with everything he wants in life. Can’t wait to see them live again soon. Not to ignore Piero and Gianluca, I love them too.
Wow, what a wonderful tribute to an awesome young man. I’m feeling very emotional reading it. I’m in UK and only found IL Volo 4 months ago but am absolutely hooked on these guys. I am forever watching every YouTube video and buying cd’s and DVD’s.
I love how Ignazio always puts so much fun into his performance, I love how the three of them love and respect each other and have fun together. I have been very lucky to have a ticket to see them live next year in Verona.
Thank you Susan for this article about Ignazio.
Thank you for the wonderful article, photos and videos. I always look forward to catching up on what is happening in the young men’s lives. They can be so proud of what they have achieved. If anything good has come out of this virus, it is that they have had some quality time for themselves and their family to recharge their creative energy and shift into the next gear. I am so happy for them and their families. As an aside…that photo of Ignazio that you used at the beginning of your article was one of the best I have seen, it really captured what I see in him!
IL Volo unique. Thank you for the story. Simply said, I love them and all they do for us!
This was beautiful. Thank you for writing this about our Igna. I too have seen the Instagram comments. Very shameful. He is beautiful inside and out. Cindy
HELLO Cindy where in Instagram please?
I looked for but I could not find it
I don’t know the exact Il Volo Instagram group. Or Ignazio Instagram or the Facebook Il Volo or Ignazio group. I belong to many. I have just seen the comments. I wanted to cry. And I wouldn’t repost them publicly anyway. I hope you understand 😊
Thank you again, Susan, for another remarkable feature. Not being on Face Book or Instagram, I have no idea what has been said about Ignazio, but, if it has been anything bad, I would not believe one word of it. Probably just posted by a jealous individual who has, or could not have, any of the wonderful attributes that make up the singular person who is our IGNAZIO! There is no one, nor will there be anyone, who comes close to who and what he is.
Amen to that!
Well said Dear Dee
So agree with you!
Why mention negative posts? There will always be those who lie or are just jealous. Let’s not give detractors attention!
AGREE! There will always be the haters and jealous people. Please don’t engage with them!
Thank you for all the info on such a GREAT man. Family is so important and glad to hear that he treasures his family and enjoys being with them. I am Italian-American and love to hear such stories. I love our culture. For me, so much is lost here in America now with family is located in different areas and not keeping in touch like they should to keep the unity. My best to Il Volo. I hope some day I will get to see them live. xoxoxo
Dear Susan, Your words and insight about sweet Ignazio are true, true, true. Thank you for posting about our sweetheart. I’ve had the pleasure of greeting him after several concerts in Chicago, and he is always so gracious, He made me feel as if he was interested in what I had to say to him. Imagine after a performance, he and his ‘brothers’ having the strength to greet so many loving fans. Ignazio and his family need this time to heal with one another in the sad loss of his Dad, He oozes music like someone said, he’s full of rhythm and love for it. I could go on and on, but you have said it all in a eloquent manner. Ciao, Susan! ♥
Susan, sometimes it seems that you were a little mouse watching each of the guys grow up and all these years later you retell their stories! Brava!!!! Ignazio… stole my heart in 2011 and he still has it.
Very touching. Thank you for sharing.
A beautiful article about the one we love. Thank you
Ignazio is the prize the world got in their box of cracker jacks! Who could be stupid enough to make negative comments? I’m glad I have resisted social media. But I worry about him. Look what they did to Mario Lanza.
This is one of the most beautiful descriptions and analysis of anyone I have ever read. Ive never been enough of a fan of any musician to have learned about such things as you describe here. I only knew that I love what I see of Ignazio as well as the others, and now I can look at his performances in a new way. I have always believed that they are God-sent and this makes me even more sure of it. I pray for them every day that they will e spared any Satanic influence that pulls so many in their business . Your writing here has left me in tears, actually as Im very touched by it and I thank you so much from my heart!
Thank you so much for this article! I am so glad I asked to join this community! I love Il Volo, ( I call them the Boys). They have lifted my heart and my depression since Covid started. They are very sweet and genuine. I have been debating getting Instagram to follow them, especially because I like to see Ignazio playing music and singing with friends. He stole my heart when I fist saw them sing on YouTube. He doesn’t wear his heart on his sleeve, he wears it in his eyes. And the eyes are the window into the soul. So your title is on point. When he sings he makes me laugh and cry. It must be difficult to have any kind of private life now that they are so famous. I have read that the press tried to create scandal about them , but it’s so sad that they are being bullied on social media. They post things for their fans, and they getting negative comments in return. It must hurt since they are all so giving. I hope they can shrug it off and continue being positive and loving.
No much to add to your nice article Susan like always Thank you……
Except that I recon that, if you are really a True Fan wih F capital,
if you are a mature person, if you really respect feel and support a person, no matter if is a star, a friend , all that you have explain and said on the above article a True Fan should know and understand
Those guys are stars, sure, but they did not sell their soul, they are Person at the 1st degree, like us, and above all !
WE the FANS, we should support them not criticize especially in a délicate moment that Ignazio is leaving
Couldn’t be more agree with you, IGNA is a nice soul and deserve to be left alone if he need so
By the way I am really fond on the 3 of them but Ignazio is My favorite so all “Evil Tongue around” BEWARE !!!!!
Such a beautiful article….thank you so much yet again……bought tears to my eyes in several places…….it is so wonderful to know that these amazing your guys and especially our Ignazio are “real” people. So many who find fame and fortune become detached from reality and the simple values in life that are so precious….my admiration, respect and love just grows and grows.
Best wishes to all, stay safe.
Thank you for this article…together these three young men have achieved remarkable goals and touched hearts across the world…I feel they have only just begun …their amazing talent is to be celebrated…enjoy their music, their talents and their message…leave their personal life private for them to have the freedom they so deserve …they are the sons of Italy and bring you so much pride…thank you for sharing them with the world ❤️🇨🇦
Again, thank you for taking the time, Susan. When you said he feels the music I’m thinking about how he seems really aware of what orchestra is doing. His body reacts to a drumbeat for example. Another thing that he doesn’t do as much as he did at the beginning, his mouth following the words that Piero sings.
He’s not my favorite but I’m touched by the sweet things he says like mentioning “the ones that didn’t make it” in reference to the pandemic.
He’s a treasure.
Thank you, Susan for highlighting Ignazio. He is a very special, talented, caring, sensitive, generous, and loving young man. You are absolutely on target when you describe him as having a beautiful soul.
I was happy to read your comment on Instagram last week asking people to respect his wishes regarding his privacy. Thank you for that.
Hope you have a good weekend.
On another topic — I watched the Detroit PBS special on Thursday night and a number of the acts seen originally were preempted by, of course, the asking for pledges, etc. The camera angles were interestingly different but much of the affectionate gestures of our boys were missing. I ordered the DVD/2 CDs of the program and just hope that it is the one from Verona.
PBS always edits the concerts and usually leaves out everything but the actual songs.Often they leave out anything the guys say in introduction to a song also.
Thanks for another beautiful article. I can’t see how anybody can say anything bad about Ignazio or the other two. I have never been overwhelmed by a group as I am with IlVolo I live and breathe IlVolo Not a day goes by I have to hear them sing and watch their videos. To me they are the best on the planet. I am hoping to have the opportunity to see them again in concert. Thank you again for all your wonderful and informative articles.
Dear Susan …. Thank you so much for this article dedicated to Ignazio … I don’t really know what happened, but I give you every reason that you should leave him alone and respect his private life … For a long time he could not dedicate time (worth the redundancy) to his family for the innumerable commitments with IL VOLO, and this isolation, so to speak, has allowed him to enjoy more of his family, his friends, and people who he highly esteems and who normally do not. can see; and he could also enjoy his father in what they were together … I do not understand how there are people who do not understand this, but to foolish words deaf ears.
Well, regarding the tribute that you have paid him in this article, I must say, my dear Susan, that you have expressed in words my feelings towards this little man who has stolen my heart … I just started to follow the group ago a year and a half (more or less with the beginning of the pandemic), but I confess that the magnet that drew me to listen to them was the incomparable voice of Ignazio, when he interpreted the song “A chi mi dice” and “Grande Amore” in the Batiti Live 2019 … From there I became a fan of IL VOLO and more a fan of Ignazio ….. In your article, and I think we all agree, you present the simple, humble, folksy, but extremely talented, unique and It is singular that Ignazio is, and that he is never still, he is always doing something, be it at home, on stage, rehearsing, in an interview, etc., but he always keeps us aware of what he is going to do; And yes, I am one of those people who when I see him at a concert (just in case everything on video because I haven’t been able to see them live yet), I follow him with my eyes to see what he does, how he directs, how he expresses himself, how we rejoices completely …
I am a fan of IL VOLO; I am very proud of them; Piero and Gianluca are wonderful and together with Ignazio they are the perfect complement; but, I declare myself an unconditional fan of Ignazio, he is my weakness, he is my conceited; and obviously I am affected by the criticisms and negative comments that they can make towards him, without really knowing what he is like …
Thank you, Susan and the other members of the group, because I am always looking for information on Ignazio and IL VOLO, and on this page I have found very good articles, interviews, anecdotes, comments, that it seems that I have followed the boys from the beginning … ..
A thousand kisses to all and God bless me forever …
A thousand apologies for the length of the comment, and also for the “horrors” that the translator may have committed (I am Latina)
Fantastic letter Rossana we can feel you heart int it Brava!
Ignazio is my favourite too, so totally understand what you meant !
(fantastica lettera venuta dal cuore Brava e Ignazio e’ anche il mio preferito quindi capisco!)
Rossana, “horrors” in translation or not, your comment went right to the heart of the situation. Thank you, Dolores
Hi cousin Susan
You outdid yourself again great story about Ignazio
He is such a special and I liked when you said his music is not his career it is his life and his music is his passion he brings love to his music and watching him with Piero and Gianluca brings me such joy we are so lucky to have them and their music in our lives his family and the world
Love Jenny
He is a beautiful soul indeed, you can tell from his performances that that music permeates his soul…just wonderful to watch and hear as well as the other 2 guys…just a great group of gentlemen..
Beautiful soul, beautiful smile, beautiful eyes, beautiful, no, magnificent voice… whatever some mean-minded people write on Instagram, I have loved Ignazio from the first minute I heard him, over 5 years ago, and my feelings only keep growing. Let us pray for Il Volo and respect their privacy. Thank you very much, Susan and lady Ermelinda.
Dear Susan. Thanks for the great information, for our Inya. He, like any of his fans, needs discretion. Imagine if other people were interested in us? How would we live? Will we be happy to be interested in our every step and action? It is important for the artist to have peace and tranquility in order to develop. We love Il Solo. They give us their love and their wonderful songs! Let’s not want their lives either.