SARETTO = My friends, he was abstinent from slushes, now he has come for a few hours and ate…..
PIERO= For a few minutes…. how many are 8?
SARETTO= I think it’s 7 or 8 granitas.
PIERO= 8 and a brioche.
SARETTO= Bye guys!
I was wondering why, maybe there was something we didn’t know anything about or was it just a quick trip back to Sicily?
In fact there was also a specific reason, a prize awarded to Piero.
On July 10, Piero collected the Ignazio Buttitta special prize, which is a prize for a literary competition, but as a special prize, it is also recognized for those who spread Sicilian art and culture.
It is an award established by the province of Agrigento, of which Piero belongs.
And here is the video of the award delivery and the motivation.
MOTIVATION = Pure singing talent, he gained international fame and popularity together with his travel companions : Il Volo.
In his short but intense career he has performed on the most prestigious stages in the world and has undertaken collaborations with the people of the musical firmament.
His singing ductility allows him to face any repertoire, from the more properly bel canto one, to pop.
Strong musicality, desire to improve, mild and strong-willed character, in a perfect mix, make Piero Barone an extraordinary artist witness of the best Italian musical culture in the world, congratulations!!
Special Presidency Prize, Piero, you made truly extraordinary flights to be here tonight (evidently Piero managed to be present between one engagement and another).
PIERO= I did it willingly, good evening everyone. In recent years I have never taken any recognition for granted, I believe that every recognition, individual or collective, human, artistic, is always important. I’ve always thought that recognition ennobles success.
Back to Sicily, I’m going home.
Piero with a journalist.
Now I’ll update you on the free event in Ascoli Piceno with the translation of this beautiful article.
ASCOLI – The ticket office opened at 8 this morning. After 30 minutes the tickets were finished, and only the very long queue of those in possession of the precious “number” remained. Fans from out of town and even foreigners too. Some have spent the night in Piazza del Popolo in the loggias under the Palazzo dei Capitani. The countdown officially kicks off to attend the gift to the city of Battista Faraotti who celebrates the thirtieth anniversary of his Fainplast.
All lined up for “Il Volo”. This morning, Monday 10 July, at 8:00AM the distribution of tickets for the concert of the most famous trio in the world, scheduled for 21 July in Piazza del Popolo, began in Ascoli.
A free concert, a “gift” to the city of Battista Faraotti who is celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of his company, Fainplast.
As was widely expected, the ticket office in Piazza del Popolo was stormed. There are those who even lay in wait during the night to earn a front row seat, even sleeping in their sleeping bags close to the Palazzo dei Capitani. Many people, even not very young, queued shortly after dawn.
Many for hours under the scorching sun, including those who have come from outside the region and also several tourists. Two of them, Americans, managed to grab the ticket.
An man from Ascoli arrived very early in the square. There were already a few dozen people, and he then took the initiative to organize numbered slips of paper which he distributed to those present while waiting for the various procedures to begin: the arrival of the City workers with the barriers, the security, the Municipal Police and the State Police. All aimed at finally getting hold of the ticket.
The comings and goings of enthusiasts who don’t want to miss out on the most eagerly awaited event of the year are continuous, like a river in flood. Tickets sold out within half an hour. 600 tickets were distributed, considering that each person could take a maximum of two.
There are two women from Ascoli who managed to pocket the precious coupon. “For the love of Il Volo I’m here in the Piazza from 5:40AM, finally says Pacifico Mariotti, who arrives from Fabriano (province of Ancona).
“I’ve been here since 6:00AM, I come from Montalto Marche and I’m in the company of two friends from Offida,” says Rosanna di Silvestre.
Among the hundreds of people in line, also the city councilor for commerce and sport Nico Stallone. “I arrived in Piazza del Popolo at 6:30AM and I already had 200 people in front of me. A first group of 280 people was made, then another. I had the pleasure of meeting the first person who arrived tonight”.
On July 12, Ignazio posted a nice photo of Budapest, will he be there for a short vacation?
But before evening, Gianluca also publishes a photo of leaving for Budapest.
Instead Piero is with his family and publishes a photo with his brother and sister Mariagrazia who graduated.
But not even a day goes by and Piero has also flown to Budapest, what will there be? There is no event or concert at the moment.
Here is the mystery revealed, a press conference in Budapest for the new concert on October 9 at the Budapest Arena.
The Hungarian singer with whom they will collaborate is also present at the conference: Gabi Toth.
These are her words: Great honor for me that the world famous Italian opera singers pop trio formed a joint song.
Il Volo October 9 – I will perform in the Arena and the concert will be previewed. 🙏🏻
I look forward to working together as this is a new challenge and an exciting musical journey. 🙌
After the press conference a nice and long interview was published of which I translated the most interesting questions and omitted the part where he describes Il Volo from its beginnings to today.
QUESTION= Let’s go back to the beginning. How do you remember your childhood, was your talent already manifested then?
GIANLUCA: On behalf of all three of us I can say that we owe a lot of gratitude to our parents, who have believed in us from the beginning. I’m very happy because they always gave me the chance to show my talent and believed in me. I was never told what to do. This is the most important thing to support the emergence of the talent of a young man who is just trying to express himself. The main direction in my life was that I wanted to be a singer. It’s the one thing I’m good at that my parents recognized and helped me figure out who I really am.
QUESTION= Your career started in a talent show where you competed individually. What do you think of the current talent scouts?
GIANLUCA: Sometimes I have the feeling that the singers in the TV show are just part of a big machine. It’s not easy to find new talent every year or even every month, and only a very small percentage of them manage to unleash their talent. It’s like they sacrifice everything on the altar of quality. That’s why it’s very important that singers who want to be famous try to express themselves as much as possible. A strong personality is essential, which is not easy to find, but social networks and TV shows are also based on it. I think there are a lot of talented people in the world, they just do something different. It’s also important to be able to plan ahead, and talent is useless if you don’t know how to use it. Just getting bad advice from someone and you can already be lost. This is why many still do not know how to express themselves.
QUESTION= It has become obvious in the search for talent that opera is closest to you. Why did you choose this genre?
PIERO= Actually our genre isn’t even opera. The pieces we perform are all part of Italian culture, interpreted in recent years by singers such as Luciano Pavarotti and many others who have brought these compositions from the theater and brought them to the public. They are traditional songs known all over the world, and perhaps people confuse them with opera due to the powerful sounds, even if it is bel canto. To hear an opera you have to go to the theatre. However, our program does include some opera pieces, including La Traviata and Nessun Dorma. Whoever comes to the Budapest show will feel as if they were in Italy for one night, it will be a trip through the last 14 years. In addition to Italian sheet music, we have previously covered American compositions as well, including My Way. Our most characteristic song is Grande Amore, with which we had the opportunity to represent Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2015.
QUESTION= You mentioned the Eurovision Song Contest. You took part in the competition in 2015, where you finished in third place. What memories do you have of this period?
PIERO= In Italy the only way to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest and represent the country is to win the most famous festival, the Sanremo Festival. Thanks to this, we also managed to enter the competition in 2015 with the song Grande Amore , as we won the festival with it. At that time, the Eurovision Song Contest in Italy was not as well known as it is now, but we have good memories of it. The passion with which every interpreter displays the flag of his nation. We had the best time of our lives then, because overall our only goal was to represent Italy, as we felt the love and support of our nation.
QUESTION = In 2021, another Italian band, Maneskin, won the competition. In the history of Eurovision, they managed to do it for the third time among Italians. Did it mean a lot to you that an Italian band finally won?
PIERO = We were happy that Italy could finally win and host the next Eurovision. In fact, we were invited as guests to Turin to perform that evening. We performed another English version of Grande Amore and believe me, seeing the Eurovision Song Contest in Italy gave a completely different feeling of freedom.
QUESTION= It’s already official that you will duet with the singer Gabi Tóth at the concert in Budapest, why was she chosen?
PIERO= It was introduced to us via Spotify, because when we travel to certain countries, we like to collaborate with artists there. We got to her with the help of an agency and we liked her. If only because a great experience connects us. She has also performed in front of Pope Francis which is quite amazing. When we first met, we had a chance to talk a bit and it became obvious what feelings drive all of us.
QUESTION = In 2021 you sang in honor of Ennio Morricone in a concert, and then you released an album in his memory. What did that composer mean to you?
PIERO= He has done a lot for our culture, he is an icon and we all grew up listening to his songs. While many people may not know at first when they hear a song that he composed, we’re also talking about an Oscar-winning artist. As Italians, we are very proud that he was also Italian, and we want to thank his family for believing in us for this project, as well as we are grateful for his melodies, which fill us with emotion when we hear them on stage.
QUESTION= Most singers and musicians have some sort of mission through music. What is your main motivation?
GIANLUCA= Next year we will celebrate our 15th anniversary and we have created a very strong show. In addition to songs belonging to our culture, we have already sung Smile by Charlie Chaplin with Barbra Streisand, among others, but currently our goal is to have our own repertoire and be able to sing for our generation as well. This is a very difficult challenge, but we strive to achieve it with our new songs. We are already thinking about the distant future and let’s imagine the next 15-20-30 years together.
QUESTION= Among the younger generation, music genres like r’n’b or pop are considered mainstream these days. How can you make them fall in love with bel canto?
GIANLUCA= We are young too and we love this music. We have different audiences in different parts of the world, for example in South America 80% of people belong to our generation. It all depends on the country we are talking about. In Japan and Europe, for example, we are mostly listened to by adults. The goal is to make good songs, because if we do that, people will listen to our music.
QUESTION = You have already proved yourself to Hungarian fans in 2018 and 2019. What is your experience with this audience?
GIANLUCA= Hungary was one of the first places we went after the Eurovision Song Contest. We were constantly on the road and playing concerts. It was very touching to see the arenas full even outside of Italy and to experience the love we received from the Hungarian audience.
QUESTION= As mentioned above, during your career you have performed duets with, among others, Barbara Streisand. Who else is left out of the line-up you would like to work with?
GIANLUCA= We never know who life will bring us together with, and we can also mix different musical genres. We have achieved so much in our career so far and now a new chapter begins as we want to bring our music to an even bigger audience. This is one of our goals.
QUESTION= Do you have other role models?
PIERO= Hans Zimmer, is one of the most brilliant composers.
QUESTION= Is there an artist whose career you would like to have?
IGNAZIO= Ourselves.
PIERO= There was a singer in Italy who was asked who he wanted to be, and he replied: myself, the best form of myself.
GIANLUCA= You have to reach your goals and dream big, but at the same time you have to recognize your limits. It wouldn’t be true if I said I wanted to be like Michael Jackson. You have to realize that you have to give yourself in life, you have to believe in yourself and, as Piero said: you have to be the best. If I only express 60 percent of my being with my music, I have to think about how to reach 100 percent. This is what we stand for.
And the second concert with POOH has also arrived, this time at the stadium in Rome.
Once again a good experience, they sang the same one song: Uomini Soli (lonely men).
At the beginning Ignazio says that he has studied the song well these days, otherwise Red gets angry.
Red replies laughing that Ignazio is a scoundrel, because in the afternoon during rehearsals he pretended to get the song wrong and Red really thought he was wrong. And Ignazio says he does it on purpose to make Red angry!! 😁😁
This beautiful photo was posted by Red (he has a red jacket), with these words:
“THOSE GOOD GUYS FROM IL VOLO –
They are like us, three different worlds, but which complement each other… they are kind and they are certainly very good. Singing with them was a real joy… and we also laughed and joked a lot… they are three little pests and Ignazio managed to deceive me, during rehearsals, by pretending to get the verse of Uomini Soli (lonely men) wrong and I fell for it like a pear tree… but there’s time… and I’ll do it again 🤣”
But there is yet another news, which Susan has already informed you about, it has been published that Il Volo will participate in the “match of the heart” a football match with a charity background, where the teams will be: Singers versus Artists.
And here is the promo video, to advertise the match.
It’s always a wonderful initiative, and with a very honorable goal, but I wonder how the guys will do, given that they have to be in Ascoli Piceno for the free concert the next day?
Let’s hope they let them play in the first half.
Lately they have been spinning like tops, they don’t have a moment of time for themselves and their families, in fact in this period there were also the birthdays of Ignazio’s mother and also of Gianluca’s father and Ignazio and Gianluca were in the company of their parents, just one day and that’s it, just like Piero just one day for his sister Mariagrazia’s feast.
The things they said in the interview in Hungary are really interesting, they are preparing big surprises for their 15-year career and different music that can also involve the youngest, but as Gianluca reiterated: “The goal is to make good songs, because if we do that, people will listen to our music.”
So don’t be afraid, Il Volo will not distort its nature, it will promote new beautiful music and of course it will always have its baggage of bel canto and opera that we all know well, I’m sure of it and I really hope they will succeed in their intent.❤
But July is not over yet and there are still many events, see you soon!!
It seems that barely six months have gone by, and I have a need to revisit this story. This time it’s for what lies ahead instead of what was before! The guys do quite a bit of charity work but the one event they like more than any other is the Partita del Cuore (Match of the Heart). Why? First and foremost, like any typical Italian man, they love soccer and being able to participate in the game allows them to live a dream that every young Italian boy has had. Playing soccer with the professionals!
In the past the guys had the opportunity to play in the Partita del Cuore 2015 and 2018 and on July 20, 2023, at the Stadio Romeo Neri in Rimini the guys will again participate on the Nazionale Cantanti Team. It’s a beautiful moment for them to follow their dream by Going Where Their Hearts Lead Them.
We know the guys are winners in anything they do but they were big winners at Partita del Cuore in 2015. As you can see in the video below, they stole the show and shocked the reporters by their professionalism when they played soccer.
The person who surprised me more than any other was Piero. Unlike Ignazio and Gianluca, Piero did not play soccer as a child, but you would never know it from his performance in this game. He even shocked Alessandro Del Piero who once played for Junventus. But, I guess if you’re Italian, you just have soccer in your blood. Bravo guys! A great game.
The Passion for Helping Others!
I will let Gianluca tell you about this event in his own words….
You cannot imagine the happiness of playing in the Partita del Cuore, (Match of the Heart) a Telethon for Charity on June 2, 2015, at Juventus Stadium. The stadium, in fact, made Ignazio happy more than anyone, because he is a huge Juventino (a big fan of Juventus). I was more excited about having been called up for the first time in the National singers and even more for being able to score. The match was against the team of Champions for research, all great sports champions and big names in the show, from Alex Del Piero to Pavel Nedved, from Jorge Lorenzo to Liam Gallagher of Oasis. What a dream it was! The stadium was full of people cheering crazy. My team was losing, when I came in, we were 3 to 4 and not being able to do anything, apart from shouting directions to my team-mates on the pitch, it made me feel even more strained. It’s like, I know how to play football, you see the others, think about what you would do for them and tell them. No, you scream it, otherwise they will not hear you. Ignazio and I shrieked like crazy to Piero, and then Piero and I shrieked like crazy to Ignazio, but ‘my legs are trembling’, I had to run, enter the pitch, I wanted to score. The coach made me enter in the 83rd minute. We were, as I said, under a goal, but I do not like losing football. So, I took the ball and I scored. What magic! The stadium was screaming, the guys ran to hug me, it was almost like winning the Sanremo Festival again.
But it didn’t end there! In 2018 the guys participated again in Genoa at Stadio Luigi Ferraris. This video is very nice. It’s the guys on their way to Genoa and on the bus with all the teams and of course at the stadium.
And of course, Gianluca scored a goal!
Soccer is certainly not unfamiliar to our guys. Especially not to Ignazio and Gianluca.
A Family Passion for Soccer!
Between the age of eleven and thirteen, Gianluca enjoyed playing soccer! What was it Gianluca loved about soccer? You might say for Gianluca the passion was inherited! Let’s listen to what he has to say about his passion for Soccer….
Football has always been a great passion of mine. This too, like music, is a family passion.
My father is a big fan of Pescara, as is my grandfather. They were also big fans of Gianluca Vialli, no matter which team he played in because he was a myth for my father. And because Vialli also had a name that appealed to both my father and mother, when I was born, they named me Gianluca. Let’s say that name aside, my father gave me a piece of football culture.
I am a big fan of Roma football, before Il Volo, more so. I watched all the games, I did not miss one, and every time Totti beat a penalty, I covered my head with my arms and, if I heard the scream from the television, I screamed from home. But now there are work commitments and that prevents me from following my favorite team. Even now, despite the commitments, I continue to play football as soon as I can.
When I go back to Montepagano I always try to organize a game with old friends with whom I trained in the youth teams of Roseto.
How did I play soccer? I was good, come on, I did not like losing, I wanted to score goals by force, I never passed the ball, and when I had the ball, I scored. Let’s say that I was a bit ‘instinctive’ even on the football field.
Once when I was playing in Pescara there was a score of 4 to 4. I had already scored two goals, but the draw was not enough for me, I wanted the win. Only the field was difficult, it had rained, so there was a lot of mud. What happened? I pull, huge slide and I fill myself with mud, from head to toe. What do I do? I start shouting, ‘I got dirty!’ In all this, it must be said that the game was true, even if we were very young. There was the championship, with the ranking and everything else, it’s not that you could take and do what was going on in your head. The referee shouts, ‘Get up, what are you playing ball.’ ‘No,’ I said, ‘I’m leaving, I’m all dirty!’ He shouts, ‘get up and go to the locker room.’ Not for nothing, they don’t call me the ‘little Cassano’ (famous Italian soccer player) for nothing. Cassano was so good, and he was so restless!
This is one of many stories Gianluca told about playing soccer when he was a child. Let’s think about this for a moment. If Gianluca hadn’t become a singer, would he have become a soccer player? He was real, good!
Let’s turn to Ignazio….
Ignazio said:Soccer was really a big passion for me.
Ignazio shares some soccer memories. Some of which can get you in trouble!
Near the end of July 2004, we had already packed everything for the move to Marsala. One afternoon, I went to get an ice cream with some friends, near home, really, just a few steps away. Upon returning, I saw some guys in the building next to ours playing football. I could go home and do nothing but, it was the last days I was in town? And the game was in the courtyard next to mine, it was practically like it was mine. So, I stop. I did not think to call mom with the intercom, and I played soccer, all afternoon, without even a ‘Mom, I’m down here!’ And mom started looking for me, all over Molinella. She rode around the city and did not find me. Then she called my father, who was at the supermarket shopping: ‘Come I cannot find Ignazio.’ My father arrives, my mom throws the bike in a corner, runs in the car, then, out of the corner of her eye she sees my shorts.
‘Ignaziooooo !!!!’
‘Hey, mom ….’
‘Woeful!!!!’
At one point, my mother from anger also spoke Chinese. If it had not been that we had already packed everything for the move, I certainly would have to iron two beautiful chairs full of clothes for punishment. Instead, as a punishment, no more backyard and no pizza for a month. What then, being without pizza for a month, was worse than two chairs of clothes to iron, because I always ate pizza. And pasta, too. Two other passions of mine, together with soccer and music.
My main project when I went to school was to get home and spend the afternoon playing football. It had been less so after I started taking singing lessons. I had less free time and then no free time and I realized that singing was more important than all the rest. But in general, From an early age I had a passion for football, also because my sister played football when we lived in Bologna and then she continued, even in Marsala. She played volleyball first, and I also inherited that passion, then she moved her passion to soccer.
At school I was bored, I was learning but I was bored. But I always enjoyed playing soccer. I came home, had my lunch and did my homework faster than light, because even homework bored me. As fast as I could, I went down to the playground to play football with my friends.
How about Piero?
This is one of Piero’s early soccer experiences.
Piero’s Story begins in the courtyard of the town square of Naro. This is a story you will remember!
The heat of the day has passed, and the time of rest is over and it’s time for people to come out into the square. On the bench nearby are old men. Piero is playing soccer with his friends. They are playing with his SUPER TELE (a plastic football).The ball flies off in the direction of the old men and they shout,‘Slow with the ball or we will cut it.’The old men frighten Piero with their threat.
Piero tells us….
What can I tell you about Naro? For me, it is the most beautiful city in the world! There are dozens of baroque churches and above the city the Chiaramonte castle. Below the castle is the beautiful Valle del Paradiso with its green pastures and the green sea that separates Naro from the real sea… and there’s the Spring Festival Narese!
Piero would gather with his friends in the afternoon and usually they played until ten in the evening but there was always the fear that the old men would pierce the ball.
Piero says….
Five or six years have passed since the old men scared me. The old men are still on the bench but now when they see me, they come to meet me, to greet me. Before, they scared me, and now they hug me and have that look of being proud and moved. It’s too strong for me! Yet, I still can’t explain why I become ‘weak inside’ when I see them.
The truth is, I’m still that kid with his SUPER TELE.
No, Piero was not a soccer player like Ignazio and Piero. Perhaps because he had bad allergies and asthma. For Piero it was more about family events.
Saturdays were very special for Piero….
I could not wait for it to be Saturday morning when we lit the wood burning oven. I went to collect wood around the ground, I helped to light the fire, and I helped to take out the pizza. In addition to pizza, we did “u pani impurnatu”, which is bread baked in the oven. How good it was! It kept that good taste all week. The week passed and the next Saturday we started over again. The bread was beautiful, warm and fragrant. We also made the “impanate”, which are rolls of pizza dough with vegetables inside, a typical dish of my area. In short, I ate a lot of good things, and it was visible.
What did Piero like doing? He says….
I excelled in Math, in fact, I am so good, that I am the one of the three that runs with a bag full of all of our accounts.
As for the other school subjects, I was always ordered, I was studying only the necessary, I did what I could. It is not that I did not study because of bad will, it was that I had other projects and the professors knew and understood it. I was not a tramp that ran from morning to night with the motorbike, I was one who was at home studying piano, solfeggio, I had many commitments, I always had something to do.
So, Piero’s greatest commitment was to music, as we expected.
Let’s go back to Partita del Cuore….
In 2016 after playing in the Partita del Cuore, Michelle Hunziger, host of House Party, invited Il Volo to appear on her show. The guys along with Michelle performed with many famous and interesting performers. Among them was Alessandro Del Piero.
It seems that after that fantastic play by Piero in the Partita del Cuore, Alex Del Piero, took a picture with him during the game, and the other guys were not included. Del Piero said he felt bad about it. But no problem, he made up for it up on House Party.
I know many of you have watched House Party on YouTube when the guys were on. For those of you who have never seen it, the host is Michelle Hunziker.
Michelle is a television host, actress, singer, and former model. Michelle now has a new show that the guys appeared on, Michelle Impossible….
So, what exactly did the guys do on Michelle’s show besides singing? They played soccer with Alex Del Piero. Anyone who knows anything about Ignazio knows he is a big Juventus fan, and his idol is Alex Del Piero. So obviously when they chose teams, Ignazio pairs with Del Piero and Gianluca pairs with Piero. Let’s go to the video to see how the match turned out….
In the video, before the game began, Ignazio tells Del Piero about his childhood when he played soccer with his friends. He said, when I was a little boy behind, at my house, there was a place we call nu puzzo (the well of water), this is the place where I played soccer with my friends.
Of course, we remember this from Ignazio’s story about his childhood.
Ignazio continues, since we are here with Alex we will pretend together. We will play some great football together.
Michelle says, we have two teams Juventus and the rest of the world. Let’s Go! Ignazio and Del Piero for Juventus! And Gianluca and Piero for the rest of the world!
The game certainly needs no explanation with the exception of Piero saying his mistake should not be counted.
Del Piero said, no sorry, sorry, sorry.Even when Michele tries to reason with Del Piero in defense of Piero, he says, no! He won’t hear of it.
Of course, Juventus won! So, Ignazio asked Del Piero to autograph his arm. And he joked, next time you will sing with us, yes?
When Del Piero retired, he chose not to retire his number 10 with Junventus but he did let the number live on in his famous restaurant in LA called No.10! Del Piero is now a sports reporter on ESPN.
As you know, this was not the only time the guys were on Michelles show.
(My advice, read the questions and answers first and then watch the video. It’s very cute!)
In one episode, Michelle asks the question…What would your career be if you weren’t a singer?
Piero: What would my career be? It happened very early I was 14/15 years.
Michelle: but have you seen Sliding Doors? Here’s how, if your life hadn’t been this what kind of job would you have wanted to do right?
For Piero, the answer was I would have followed in the footsteps of my father the coachbuilder.
Ignazio said he would follow in the footsteps of his mom and sister who worked in a pizzeria.
At the end of the question to Ignatius, Michelle offered Ignazio a piece of pizza and then says “you can eat it? Does it produce an astringent effect on the teeth?”What Michelle means is can he sing if he eats the pizza.
Michelle asked Gianluca if you did not sing in the microphone what would you do?
Gianluca replied,what had I done, I remember at school that I had fun making caricatures of my friends of drawings and then I also started painting a little so probably the painter not the painter. Why not?
Ignazio asked Michelle what she would be. She replied, a ballerina.
The guys sing “Piove” while Michelle dances. This is an absolutely wonderful video!
This story not only tells us about the guys Going Where Their Hearts Lead Them, it also talks about friends like Michelle Hunzinger who from when they were young always had them on her show (As is seen in all the videos) and in the case of Partita del Cuore, she brought the guys together with Del Piero to relive the magic! It was great fun for the guys and for Michelle and Del Piero!
Keep an eye out for the video of the guys participation in Partita del Cuore 2023 on July 20, 2023.
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
Soon after, Piero joined Ignazio and Gianluca in Macerata for a private event/concert.
Of this event, unlike other private events, there are several mini videos, here they are.
Once the event/concert has been archived, there is still room for Piero’s celebrations, this time an intimate dinner with Ignazio, Gianluca and Torpedine.
………….and more celebrations on the beach with other friends……
We arrived in July and great news comes after a long wait, Il Volo will be in concert in September for the first time in GREECE!!!! ☺
What wonderful news, our Greek friends have been waiting for this news for a long time and it is finally here!!❤
By the way, do you remember that Il Volo is supposed to give a free concert in Ascoli Piceno on July 21st? Things are not that simple, I translated this article, published by IL CORRIERE DELL’ADRIATICO, that explains everything!
ASCOLI PICENO – The mystery linked to the reservations for the concert of the “Il Volo” trio, which will be held on July 21 in Piazza del Popolo, continues to hold thousands and thousands of fans in suspense. The event, made official by the mayor Marco Fioravanti and by the managers – the entrepreneurs Roberta Faraotti and Stefano Panichi – was announced as a city festival, with free admission reserved for the local population, to be collected at the box office in Piazza del Popolo. A gift to the city to celebrate 30 years of activity of Fainplast.
The stop
But the reservation scheduled for June 20 was suspended by the public order committee for safety. Danger of night camps and impossibility to check the origin of the ticket applicants. Requests have in fact arrived from Belgium, Germany, even Americans for the show by Gianluca Ginoble, Piero Barone and Ignazio Boschetto. The three artists do not currently have an Italian tour, it is understandable why a free entrance to Ascoli is tempting for everyone, even for those who live in Sondrio or Syracuse.
In the photo, Battista Faraotti, owner of Fainplast and promoter of the free event in Ascoli Piceno with Il Volo!
What can I say, the free concert is a wonderful idea, but it’s not as easy as it seems, I’ll keep you updated on developments.
But that’s not all, today 5 July, the Canale 5 schedule for the 2023/2024 season was announced, and Il Volo will have three events in prime time.
The new schedule was announced during an evening and introduced by Pier Silvio Berlusconi who is manager and director of the Mediaset Group, of which Canale 5 is the flagship television network.
He is the son of Silvio Berlusconi, founder of Mediaset and entrepreneur who then had important roles in Italian politics until he became Prime Minister. Silvio Berlusconi passed away about a month ago.
Pier Silvio Berlusconi has been romantically linked for 21 years (they are not married) to Silvia Toffanin, whom you know because she is the kind entertainer of Verissimo.
During the evening Il Volo performed three songs: My Way, Hallelujah and Grande Amore.
Eventually they reached Pier Silvio Berlusconi who said very nice words for them. Click below to view the video.
After the presentation of Il Volo, My Way begins immediately.
PIERO= For us it is truly an honor to be here tonight, we are delighted to continue this journey together. It has been a special year for us, the two evenings ALL FOR ONE and CHRISTMAS IN JERUSALEM, a great alchemy has really been created, a great harmony as a working group and we can’t wait to do great things together next year. (Pier Silvio Berlusconi framed, thanks and sends them a kiss)
GIANLUCA= Thanks so much for everything, for allowing us to spread our music and our essence as artists and as people, which is not obvious and thanks for the affection.
The next one is a very special song, because to sing, as an art form, somehow allows you to convey emotions, to make something abstract tangible, like a feeling or an emotion. The next song represents all of this and is one of the most famous songs in the history of music and in this particular moment for you, for your big family, we want to dedicate it to all of you.
Hallelujah begins.
IGNAZIO= We wanted to sing this next song, which is our song: Grande Amore.
GERRY SCOTTI= (good and well-known Italian presenter) It’s a real pleasure, your patience has been great because you waited in the back and you were the big surprise of this evening, but I tell you what, it’s an evening dedicated not only to work , at the company, is an evening, as you will have understood, dedicated to feelings and love, and this last song of yours was the crown of everything we talked about this evening. (he refers to the recent mourning of the Berlusconi family).
IL VOLO= Thank you, thank you very much. (Piero gets off the stage and goes towards Pier Silvio Berlusconi).
IGNAZIO= Well, we’ll see each other soon.
GERRY SCOTTI= I think so.
IGNAZIO= We’ll be able to do something together, we’ve never done it.
GERRY SCOTTI= That would be the case.
(meanwhile Gianluca also goes to Pier Silvio, warm hugs with Piero, Gianluca and Ignazio)
You were announced at the press conference, so….. Pier Silvio, do you want to say something to these guys ?
PIER SILVIO= Guys, I thank you again, all of you because you fill me up and warm my heart. They, in addition to being very good and full of energy, they are fantastic, I thank you for being here. They stir up unique emotions in me, because on the two Saturdays that aired (All for one concert), my dad called me both times and said: “But how good these guys are, but how exciting they are, please, keep them close.” So, I know he called you too.
GIANLUCA= Yes, and it is also for him that we are here this evening.
PIER SILVIO= Thank you, you gave me a wonderful gift, I thank you. (kisses and hugs)
But that’s not all, yesterday evening July 7, as promised, Il Volo was a guest during the concert of POOH, the band that had played with them during ALL FOR ONE. The concert takes place in the Milano sold out stadium. It was Il Volo’s first time in a stadium.
Here are our young men in rehearsal.
In the backstage, after the rehearsals, Il Volo was interviewed.
SPEAKER= Il Volo for a great POOH concert/event, where you are the protagonists with them. It’s your first performance at San Siro (stadium name).
PIERO= We want to say, a promise kept, because they came as guests to our show in Verona and there was this invitation live and we kept our promise, you can’t give up … first you can’t give up the POOH and then you can’t give up a performance at San Siro.
GIANLUCA= Furthermore, I believe that young people should have a certain openness of mind, like studying history at school, they should learn to appreciate the music of every era. They have marked more than an era, they are the greatest (Italian) band of all time, reaching 50 years of career is the dream of many artists. I have always followed them thanks to my father. ALOHA is my favorite record, but also the record in English HURRICANE where they really looked like an international band from all points of view, so for me it’s a great honor, for all of us it’s an honor to share the stage again with such a great band .
IGNAZIO= An anecdote: to me personally he binds a guitar of Dodi (the guitarist of the Pooh) that our manager gave me. I have Dodi’s guitar at home.
PIERO= But is there Dodi’s signature?
IGNAZIO= Of course there is his signature. Well POOH has been an inspiration for everyone, from the early years of their debut to our generation and the one to come. Symbol of unity, music is one of the strongest things in the world and they have demonstrated it and as Gianluca said we are happy to be here and to share the stage with them today.
PIERO= This evening we will sing UOMINI SOLI, because it is our favorite song, we have expressly asked to sing it together and we can’t wait to share that moment with their audience who are thrilled to see them on stage.
SPEAKER= There is a lot of professional esteem between you (Pooh and Volo), but also a lot of affection, I know you love each other very much, they love you very much.
GIANLUCA= Yes, because beyond the artistic professional esteem, everything starts from a great personal esteem, this is the most important thing, the affection that is shared with these great artists, we share the same passion, we have different ages, but we know that music keeps you young, you must never lose the childish part that probably allows you to bring out all your creativity and energy.
SPEAKER= Your audience is an international audience that has been following you for many years because even if you are young you started early, and the POOH audience follows you, loves you, surely you have values together, not only musical but also human.
PIERO= We grew up with healthy values and principles transmitted by our families, I see and perceive that it is something we have in common with POOH but above all also with the public, which is a human and above all faithful public, which has always followed these great artists and we also live it with our audience, because next year we celebrate 15 years of career and for an artist, for a singer, I think it’s the most beautiful reality to have in front of a faithful audience that saw you born, he followed you and never abandoned you.
SPEAKER=FRIENDS FOREVER (it’s the title of a Pooh song) it’s not only a very famous song by the Pooh, and also the name of this tour, it’s also their life motto which I think you follow very well. What does friends forever mean to you?
GIANLUCA= It’s like a marriage, if there is no serenity, if there is no respect, as well as friendship, any relationship fades over time, it crumbles, this is a great teaching from them for us, we take them for example. And we too, in addition to being colleagues, must be friends forever.
PIERO= There’s only one thing I don’t agree with: why did you give Ignazio Dodi’s guitar and only the shirt belongs to me??? 😁😁😁
And now during the concert, only one song, all together: UOMINI SOLI, with this song the Pooh won Sanremo in 1990.
And today, the Poohs posted this short video and these words:
I would say that it has been a month full of news and all very beautiful.
I am very happy with the work project with Canale 5, I have no doubt that it will be three splendid evenings and they have also concluded an agreement on a special for Christmas 2024.
The words expressed for Il Volo by Pier Silvio Berlusconi are truly beautiful.
The interpretation of the song together with POOH is magical, and it will soon be repeated in the stadium of Rome on July 15th.
In short, many positive events and more to come, Piero, Gianluca and Ignazio never cease to amaze us.
Writing about Gianluca is always a delight! He’s lived a very simple life. He is very laid back and he spent his early years just being a child and enjoying his childhood. He had a calm and peaceful childhood. He didn’t have the challenges that Ignazio had or the intense classical education that Piero had. No, he lived a simple life, in a tiny town overlooking the Adriatic Sea, where everybody knows everybody, and life is…. simple! In fact, the simplicity of his life is what leads me to say he is Simply Gianluca. No fanfare just calm peaceful days with walks in the Pinetta with his friends and, above all, sharing phenomenal moments with his brother, Ernesto! Together they listened to and felt music. Music that would become one of Gianluca’s greatest passions.
Perhaps this explains why Gianluca is a romantic. With him, everything is about passion! Like his passion for Abruzzo which he takes around the world. On tour he always speaks about Abruzzo. He loves his country, and he wants others to love it too! I agree with Gianluca, Abruzzo is an amazing place. My maternal grandparents were from Abruzzo!
Gianluca’s life began in the small town of Montepagano where he lived a simple life but, when he emerged, he began a journey that would take him around the world and through his amazing voice would leave his mark in every corner of that world.
Let’s listen to how Gianluca describes the town he grew up in:
To be precise, I grew up, in Montepagano, on a hill two hundred meters as the crow flies and ten minutes by road from the sea, and Roseto degli Abruzzi.
The accents are beautiful, the dialects are beautiful, but I can say that what I prefer is the Abruzzese? I am very proud to be from Abruzzo. I love everything about this region. And I like to bring Abruzzo around the world and keep it high.
I am right at the sea. I’m relaxing, I’m calm! There is a sea breeze and nothing else. It’s Thursday and I am practically alone on the beach. I’m fine, from God! I’m fine because I’m home.
When Gianluca goes home to Abruzzo, he feels like he is on vacation. Montepagano is a very beautiful town. It sits at the top of a hill facing the Adriatic Sea. It is like a picture-perfect postcard! It’s no wonder Gianluca is at peace here. Montepagano is Gianluca’s paradise.
If you ask Gianluca about this paradise and how he spent his childhood there he will tell you,
My life as a child seems so far away. I remember very little of my childhood! It’s like twenty years have passed but only five have passed. I’m not like Ignazio. I was born and raised in Montepagano. I was traveling only with dreams. What made me dream? Music naturally.
And, so, we come to perhaps Gianluca’s greatest passion, Music! Or let’s say our greatest passion for Gianluca, his music!
As you know, Gianluca’s mother worked, so, he went to after-school session with the nuns. He had a teacher named Gabriella. One afternoon, while Gianluca was doing homework, he suddenly got up and started singing “Time to Say Goodbye.” The teacher was speechless. “What a voice you have, what a wonderful voice,” she told Gianluca. “But do you know Andrea Bocelli?” She could not believe how it was possible for such a small child to have such a voice and to know a singer of that kind. “Of course, I know him,” Gianluca said, “he’s my idol, my favorite singer,” Gianluca said this with a certain pride. “Only I do not have his CD yet.” “I’ll bring it to you tomorrow, I’ll gift it to you” was the teacher’s answer. “I was seven, maybe eight years old and thanks to Gabriella I was able to start listening to Andrea Bocelli as often as I wanted.”
Yes, this was Gianluca’s passion as a young boy to sing Bocelli songs. And he sang them all the time. But it was music itself that motived Gianluca. In an interview with the “Rosetana Star” Gianluca said: “Music for me is the oxygen of my life.”
And it wasn’t just Bocelli as Gianluca will tell you. “As I grew older, I became more passionate about singing, including the great American classics, first of all Frank Sinatra.”
So, let’s turn to the Voice! Sinatra was known as the Voice. But I think Sinatra would be in awe of Gianluca. Love you Frank but Gianluca’s got this one!
Gianluca is known as the Velvet Voice!
I don’t know who coined the phrase but, that is right on. Let’s use our senses to understand what that means. Take a piece of velvet and hold it in your hand. Now take your other hand and gently pass your hand across the velvet. What do you feel? You feel a smooth even surface that is crisp with no breaks in it. The sensation is so good that you automatically go back and do it again. And every time it’s the same. It’s pleasing!
Now take Gianluca’s voice, let the notes pass into your ears, what do you hear? A crisp, smooth, even voice with no breaks in it. The note barely passes into your ear and, you are going back for the next note. It’s always pleasing!
Gianluca is a lyrical baritone. He is exceptional because he can sing from the lowest to the highest note in the baritone range. Most baritones are limited in range. Gianluca’s voice is huge. He has a very rich chest resonance which creates a feeling of depth and drama in his voice.
A baritone’s voice is very romantic, very pleasing to listen to and is always inviting. Most songs are written for baritones. Gianluca starts, almost, every song. Why? In order for a song to be received well you must draw your audience into it. Gianluca’s voice draws you in in a romantic way and you hang on to every note. He can mesmerize you with songs like “Mi Mancherai” where he reaches into the depth of his being and yours. His interpretation of “Surrender” is electrifying. But, when Gianluca sings, “She’s Always a Woman”, he takes your breath away. The highs, the lows, the emotion, the expression. His voice expands like nothing I ever heard before. He has total command of the song. You walk away with your senses lifted to another level.
So, let’s turn to how Gianluca got to where he is today! To do this I need to introduce you to the Zecchino d’oro .
The Zecchino d’oro is the festival of the little ones. In fact, if the Sanremo Festival is aimed at adult audiences and the songs are interpreted by adults, the Zecchino d’oro is made for children, with songs tailored for children.
The Zecchino d’oro is an Italian tradition. It is an event for kids, and it is dedicated to them and to all the adults who still feel like kids.
This show is presented every year between late November and the beginning of December.
In Italy there are magical days, when it starts to get cold, and children stay in their warm homes. It’s not Christmas, but the period that precedes it when the famous Zecchino d’oro TV show is broadcast. It has been broadcast every year, for decades.
Though you may not know this show in America, you can relate to one of the characters, Topo Gigio, the puppet created by Maria Perego. Topo Gigio landed in America many years ago on the legendary Ed Sullivan Show. For those of you who are not old enough to remember Topo Gigio, let me say people waited every week for his appearance on the show. For kids and adults, he became a household name. Seems hard to believe that this little mouse stole the hearts of the American people.
So where does Gianluca fit into all of this? If it wasn’t for the Piccolo Choir of Roses which was inspired by the Zecchino d’oro, Gianluca may not have been discovered.
Gianluca was a member of the Piccolo Choir of Roses, which is one of the local branches of this choir. The Mago Zurlì, who was the presenter of the event when Gianluca was in the Choir, was Gianluca’s father, Ercole Ginoble.
But, let me let Gianluca tell you how this all came to be….
When I sing, I don’t forget instinct. What does that mean? As I said, I have never studied singing. I learned to “use” my voice only thanks to my musical ear. I listened to the music and it transmits everything I know. And I especially thank the Little Choir of Roses.
When I was about eight or nine, all those who knew my voice gave me the same advice: go sing in a choir. In Roseto there was the Piccolo Choir of Roses directed by the master Susy Paola Rizzo. They sang the songs of the ‘Zecchino d’oro’ or other famous songs with arrangements in that style, with music for children. The Mago Zurlì, that was the presenter of the event, was my father. He had been for a couple of seasons.
This is where I started. It was nice because we studied the songs throughout the winter season, not the technique of singing, the songs. It was different, because we did not study the notes and how to do them, rather we studied instinctively, following what the teacher said and what our ear heard.
Then, in the summer, we demonstrated our work in the Municipality of Roseto. We sang in the squares during the local festivals, in the lidos, in the bathing establishments, around the whole of Abruzzo, all these tiny villages.
During the performances with the choir, besides the repertoire of the Zecchino d’oro, we sang the songs of Bocelli: Misere, Il Mare Calmo Della Sera, La Voce Del SilenzIo.
Of course, the greatest achievement for Gianluca and the guys was winning Sanremo!
We know that it was Gianluca who convinced the guys to go to Sanremo! Or rather Gianluca convinced Piero who convinced Ignazio. And, in the end, Gianluca sums up Sanremo and the events that follow in this way!
The truth is that I was right from the beginning and no one has ever listened to me, ever. I believed it so much that, if you notice, maybe I’m the one with the least surprised look when Carlo Conti announces the winner. Then, of those moments, one remembers little, there is great confusion, emotion. It was a dream to be able to shout, ‘Thank you, Italy!’ from that stage. I looked at Sanremo as a child, when there was Pippo Baudo, and I was there and have won because people were on our side and it was a dream, I repeat even if I have already said. The emotion was only when my grandfather told me almost in tears: ‘Who would have told me that in my life I would see Modugno win at the Festival and then I see you win.’
On Sunday evening, when I returned to Montepagano, I found the whole village in a party, not just my grandfather: my countrymen were waiting for me from the morning to celebrate. There really was everyone, including the mayor. And then, the journalists, the local TV and a crowd of people who we could not count.
Another of the beautiful things that came after Sanremo was the chance to meet the children of the Agbe, the Association of Parents of the Emopatic Children, of Pescara.
It is a reality born in 2000 from the idea of a group of parents, in fact, with children from the hemopaths treated at the Santo Spirito hospital in the city. The purpose of the association is to give support in every way to the children and families during and after the period of treatment. An initiative that, for those like me and very sensitive to the problems of health of children, and really beautiful.
The thing that honors me a lot and that, inspired by my story with Ti Lascio Una Canzone, they thought to have the children dedicate themselves to singing, so they organize a Christmas show every year that keeps them very busy and also a lot of fun. But at Agbe they would never have thought we would meet.
Instead, after the Festival I went to see them, all young patients from 4 to 15 years, and I invited them to our concert of Il Volo Live 2015 in Chieti because I knew that Piero and Ignazio would have been happy to meet them. And, so, it was: they came, they had fun and we spent time together taking pictures and signing autographs.
Gianluca is a very kind and gentle person. This is evident in the following story.
When I titled this story Simply Gianluca, I didn’t realize that Daniela had written a story with that title. So, I decided to include excerpts from that story here!
Daniela writes about the thoughts of a girl who met Gianluca on the beach of Roseto. Her name is Valeria Tirelli and her favorite is Gianluca.
Valeria wrote:
With his warm, velvety voice, he caresses the soul’s cords.
With his sweetness, with his kindness, with his generosity in wanting to give you a smile, a word, a hug, he steals your heart.
I’m really happy to have had the opportunity to meet Gianluca Ginoble.
Because I did not meet the famous singer, but he, Gianluca, the “normal” guy, the one who did not change (and I hope will never change) from the huge, well-deserved success achieved along with the other guys from Il Volo.
Together, they enchant audiences around the world with those wonderful voices. Meeting Gianluca face to face has enchanted me.
Impossible not to be touched by his way of being, so humble, so normal, or by his sweetness, which you perceive in every gesture, in every look, in every smile.
Gianluca is the furthest you can be from how, a bit all of us, we imagine are the famous people.
If, as happened to me, you have the good fortune to meet him outside of the official occasions, you feel on your skin that you have in front of you, a very special boy. He is kind and helpful, curious and attentive to anyone approaching him to say hello, for a photo or an autograph.
Even if he is in a hurry, he does not deny a few minutes of his time to anyone, ever, going (and it is something that I would like to underline, having lived it in person) far beyond what would be ‘normally’ due to the fans.
So, I thank him for his time, for the photo, for the autograph, for those few minutes in which he spoke with us, treating us in a very exquisite way and giving us a precious moment to put in the album of memories.
I hope I’m lucky enough to meet him again.
I am convinced of one thing: only true great artists, and only those who have the merit of being beautiful souls, like Gianluca, are able to enter people’s hearts in this way.
And once they enter, they stay there forever.
Absolutely beautiful words Valeria. Thank you Daniela for sharing Valeria’s story!
Gianluca is a sweetheart! He always takes the time to speak to people and above all to listen to people. He impressed Valeria just as he has impressed many people worldwide. That’s just how Gianluca is.
So now, let me go back and sum up Gianluca’s musical career! Although Gianluca never studied music he did develop a musical ear and instinct and as a member of the Piccolo Choir of Roses and his performances around Abruzzo, he was discovered by Licia Giunco who brought Gianluca to Rome to audition for Ti Lascio Una Canzone. The rest of the story is history!
But the greatest part of the story is that Gianluca did not leave behind his life in Abruzzo. No he carried it around the world because he is Simply Gianluca and that is what he does!
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
*Excerpts from Il Volo, Un’avventura straordinaria, La nostra storia.
Credits to the owners of photos and videos.
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