On May 16th, the weekly SORRISI E CANZONI TV was released in Italy on newsstands, publishing a beautiful interview with Il Volo, and what a thrill to see the faces of Ignazio, Gianluca and Piero on the front page!!! I translate for you:
It’s May 1st, Labor Day (in Italy). But not for everyone.
The first part of “Tutti per uno”, Il Volo’s gala which will be broadcast on Canale 5 on May 27 and June 3, will be staged at the Arena di Verona.
The next day I meet Piero Barone, Ignazio Boschetto and Gianluca Ginoble in their hotel, in the heart of the city, tired, happy and above all amazed by the affection shown by the public, who undauntedly, watched the show in the rain, which lasted over three hours: “Nobody left, despite the water, and we got even more excited seeing that they all remained motionless under umbrellas”, Ignazio says, as he bites into a double chicken club sandwich with a side of fries, under the stern gaze of Gianluca and his seared salmon with white rice.
The Arena is an important place for you. In what state of mind do you go up on this stage?
GIANLUCA= “We are three leaders, but very different. With this project we felt the need to show our different personalities and vocalities”.
PIERO= “The Arena allows you to make your every wish come true, both artistically and in terms of production. Then it is a place that attracts the public and for this project we wanted a safe, already baptized place.” (means a place that already has an important name)
IGNAZIO= “It’s not just for this though. We could have done it even in a television studio. But our strength is to sing in front of the audience and charge ourselves with its emotions.”
You have just crossed the 14-year career milestone. Do you realize that half of your life you have spent together?”
GIANLUCA= “We are not related by blood, but by passion. We didn’t choose each other, but the intensity of the emotions we share on stage unites us more than anything else. We must learn to put aside ego and presumption, and listen to each other.”
PIERO= “At the beginning we were three teenagers and everyone thought they were right, we didn’t have the maturity to listen to each other. Fortunately our relationship has also matured with the chronological age.”
How did the idea of these two evenings come about?
IGNAZIO= “Our personal tastes go beyond what we sing. We are having an evolution in our group.”
GIANLUCA=“Il Volo remains the priority, however the lineup of the two evenings has been designed in a coherent way to show who we are.
Piero is the tenor of the group, he studies opera and dreams of one day interpreting one.
I, on the other hand, love American music like Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, John Mayer with his guitars, but also Italian songwriting like Fabrizio De André.
Ignazio also has a soulful voice and can do anything.”
You will sing both alone and with other artists. Can you give us some examples?
You will sing both alone and with other artists. Can you give us some examples?
GIANLUCA= I will sing GEORDIE with Madame (Italian singer), because we both love De André, with Irama (Italian singer) LA CURA by Battiato (Italian singer-songwriter) and with Annalisa (Italian singer) SHALLOW by Lady Gaga.”
PIERO=“I will sing MISERERE with Mario Biondi, and with Gianna Nannini MERAVIGLIOSA CREATURA.”
IGNAZIO=“Instead I will sing with Francesca Michielin (Italian singer). I know her artistically, she is very good at reaching people with her words. We will talk about love. And then with Mario Biondi I will sing NATURAL WOMAN and SEI BELLISSIMA, alone with the guitar. Ah, I will also duet with Orietta Berti! (long career Italian singer).”
PIERO= “And we will sing with Pooh (Italian group), we will almost be a soccer team!”
GIANLUCA= “We would like to say that we are three singers, not just three tenors. But obviously we will also re-propose our classics.”
PIERO= “We will open the show with GRANADA, but in different versions: classical, soul and pop, three like our personalities.”
Federica Panicucci will be on stage with you.
PIERO= “When we created this gala, we thought of a female figure who would help us show small features of our character. We couldn’t ask each other questions or celebrate ourselves. When her name came up, we all agreed. It is correct and balanced. It is the first time that we work together with her.”
Did she put you in line?
PIERO= “We don’t use the hunchback and we don’t follow a script, but the authors give us small inputs to bond with. Then maybe we change the subject and improvise, but Federica is very well prepared, a great professional.”
GIANLUCA= “While they were trying on the lights, she called me to ask me for advice on the dress. I told her that ours would have glitter and so she too chose a long sparkling dress. She put us at ease, we talked about the most and at the very least, it was like we were at home singing with friends. Federica was a nice surprise.”
ALL FOR ONE was the motto of the three musketeers. What’s yours?
PIERO= “We don’t have one, but just before going on stage we always shake hands and look into each other’s eyes. The nice thing is that we encourage each other, especially if one of us is less excited, or has a moment of discouragement, as happened to me yesterday evening: when I reached the last four songs I was mentally tired. Between the rain and humidity, I saw the audience suffer and I felt bad. We sang 32 songs for over three hours in the rain. I couldn’t take it anymore, but Ignazio encouraged me. Unity is our strength.”
What is your routine in Verona?
GIANLUCA= “Even in this we are different. Like Piero, I get up early, I always train and eat healthy, but he loves having everything under control, he is precise and doesn’t rest for a moment. Ignazio, on the other hand, is genius and reckless.”
PIERO= “I get up at 7:30 am, I train (I asked for an exercise bike in the room to pedal 20 minutes before going to bed, because I’m training for the New York marathon), then I have a protein breakfast, rigorously alone and in silence, because I read the news on my computer.
I am very organized and respect the timetables. Before I lived with more anxiety, now I enjoy the journey and arrive on stage serene.”
IGNAZIO= “Before, I too was careful about what I ate and trained constantly. Then my dad passed away within a month. I wasn’t prepared. When these things happen, you change.
Now I try to do what makes me feel good. I’m lucky enough to do what I like and if something goes wrong, patience.
Why do I have to have trouble, or suffer if it rains? We just give our best, tomorrow we don’t know what will happen.
I want to live like this with the sun on my forehead.! (This is a phrase that is part of a song that Piero will perform in the Arena)”
The last time we met was October 2019, to celebrate the collection of THE BEST OF TEN YEARS. In these four years, three of which due to the pandemic, what has happened in your lives?
PIERO= “We have dedicated ourselves to ourselves. This stop has helped me a lot to clarify my ideas and -set myself up- for the future. I have deepened my studies on opera.”
GIANLUCA= “I rediscovered reading and studied the piano, as well as being with my family.”
IGNAZIO= “I too started studying, I fell in love with sound, with how a recording studio works, with how a song is produced. I spent time with my loved ones.
For years we have been in the midst of a storm of commitments, emotions and compromises. It was important to stop and understand what we wanted to do.”
So let’s look to the future, what awaits you after these two evenings?
GIANLUCA= “We are working on a new album. Then in October we will conclude the dates of the world tour that started in May 2022. After three years of standstill, we are back in a big way, without neglecting any continent. We have been everywhere: Australia, Japan, South America, USA, Europe and now we have added a date in Petra, Jordan. We have done more than 100 concerts. It is our longest tour ever. We had so much fun. We returned to the stage with a new awareness, enjoying every moment.”
PIERO= “The public waited for our return for four years, they didn’t abandon us. This is a further confirmation of the people’s affection.”
As usual I’m speechless, but did you read correctly??? Petra in Jordan, wow, wow… but they haven’t said the date yet.
Meanwhile, May 27th is approaching and we will see one of the evenings on Canale 5 and on the same day, Il Volo will be in live concert in Krakow!!
See you soon: Daniela 🤗
