A nice interview with Piero, Gianluca and Ignazio was done by Paolo di Stefano for IL CORRIERE DELLA SERA.
This newspaper dedicated an entire paper page to the interview and it is truly an event because in reality this newspaper has never talked about Il Volo.
I translate everything for you…
IL CORRIERE DELLA SERA Article – Click Here
Il Volo: “They tell us that we are the children everyone would like to have. But success without initial training risked ruining us.”
The guys from the Il Volo group, Ignazio Boschetto, Piero Barone and Gianluca Ginoble: “Before, only the grandmothers followed us. We tell our peers not to be afraid to cry.”
Who is Il Volo?
Collective singular: trio, trinity, triple alliance. “We don’t even know who we are,” says Gianluca Ginoble, the baritone of the group known throughout the world as an interpreter of Italian “lyrical pop”. Excellent premise from which to start, indeed indispensable given that Il Volo, after almost fifteen years of triumphs, has reached a turning point, a turn from the sky of “bel canto” to something new. And yet if today, almost thirty-year-olds, they still don’t know who they are, they know very well where they come from. Gianluca from Roseto degli Abruzzi, Piero Barone from Naro, province of Agrigento, Ignazio Boschetto, born in Bologna, is also Sicilian, son of the city of Marsala. We are between the deep South and the deep Center. The Deep North is missing, but it does the same. The meeting takes place in Milan with Gianluca and Piero, while Ignazio is connected in shorts from Caracas, where his partner lives. It’s a chat full of surprises. The first is the impressive list of novels read by Gianluca, including those by Faulkner. Then he quotes Murakami’s The Art of Running, when Piero remembers having participated in the New York marathon.
PIERO: We have a past that unites us in many things: for example, the encounter with music for me and Gianluca occurred thanks to our grandparents. For me the music was that of Mario Del Monaco and Claudio Villa. Nobody introduced me to rock. My maternal grandfather drove the truck carrying wheat between one mill and another, but at the age of 45 he lost his sight and spent the rest of his days in an armchair: in total darkness he saved himself with music, today I have his own voice. He felt the need to help me grow and so I did what he couldn’t do, I studied piano, I sang in the town choir….
IGNAZIO: (he laughs): The most beautiful voice in the world…
PIERO: All three of us got to know music like this, in a natural way, without knowing it, without a conservatory.
How do you explain it?
GIANLUCA: It would have to be studied in a psychology faculty. At 14-15 years old, after being discovered on TV, we spent three months in the USA, we were catapulted not into a new world, but into an absurd world, sacrificing adolescence, friends, family.
PIERO: Commitment and talent. But without commitment, talent vanishes, it’s not enough.
GIANLUCA: We live in a world where we want immediate results with minimal effort. Our lives changed so suddenly, without any training, that we didn’t even notice. Then comes commitment and ambition.
How do you grow up with such early success?
GIANLUCA: We spent more time with each other than with our families. We trained each other, it’s as if we were wearing a mask on stage: but the danger is to keep the mask on even when we’re not singing, because we rarely get to be together to have fun. Only now, as we have matured, has our relationship grown in intimacy and discussion.
IGNAZIO: Success is difficult to manage, even with families. Not everything is beautiful, especially if you start young. We are lucky not to have noticed it. Then, sometimes you stop and say: what happened? We are crazy, me first. I think we are lucky in many countries and I say: at this point why should I limit my life and my experiences?
GIANLUCA: We live from our passion and this overcomes tiredness and stress.
PIERO: The fun is still there, and remains the priority. I don’t think I’m famous and inner balance is a constant work for which I also have to thank the people around me: my brother and sister were sacrificed by the attention my parents dedicated to me. For this reason, today what I do on an economic level is also for them.
What do your parents do?
GIANLUCA: My father distributed medicines to pharmacies in Central Italy, but he left this work to follow me. Mum worked in the factory at Perla.
IGNAZIO: My parents moved from Marsala to Bologna, where my mother started working as a cook in a restaurant, then she worked in a pizzeria for a lot of years. When we returned to Sicily, she opened her own pizzeria. Dad was a bricklayer and wood craftsman. He died in 2021.
Three boys who start singing “Nessun dorma” and “Torna a Surriento”. It seems like anachronistic madness.
PIERO: They often tell us: you are the children everyone would like. Perhaps the message arrived in the most natural form.
GIANLUCA: To be nostalgic has been our luck with the adult public, but over time it can be a condemnation. In fact we are working on unreleased songs to move forward over the next twenty years… We are no longer Il Volo from the beginning, when we all sang the same way. We can do many things: Piero is the lyrical soul of the trio, Ignazio can do everything, he can sing opera but also Steve Wonder, Queen, he is genius and reckless, he has the most elastic voice, he is eclectic. Piero, on the other hand, is the lyrical soul.
PIERO: From 2009 to 2015 in Italy only mothers and grandmothers knew us, then with the new song and with the victory in Sanremo everything changed, we also brought young people closer. I would never have listened to someone my age singing O’ Sole Mio. Abroad we have found people who go crazy for bel canto. Non-Italians abroad: there are none in Japan, they are Japanese who love Italy.
IGNAZIO: We managed to keep the tradition alive. Now it’s time to work on new music, always maintaining that bit of tradition.
GIANLUCA: I have never listened to Del Monaco, I preferred De André or Gaber to virtuosity, who teach me to doubt, to be an empty container and to look at the world.
What does the world seem like to you?
PIERO: Instinctively they say: these people from Volo are always around, they are rich, famous… But we don’t live outside the world, we know that today more than ever we need discipline, responsibility and determination. What unfortunately many of our peers lack. The men then…
GIANLUCA: Males tend to hide their emotions, low self-esteem leads to anger and violence because they don’t manage their emotions and fragility, they don’t ask for help at the right time.
IGNAZIO: It’s as if fragility were a defect for man. The male cannot cry… More and more, to move me, all I need is a film or a nice evening with friends or with my girlfriend.
PIERO: I hear many things said, but for me the discussion must be reversed. It is not the woman who must defend herself from the man, it is the man who must change.
GIANLUCA: Before working on education we must work on education and sensitivity, but often the first to need it are parents. And who educates adults?
And here is the beautiful paper page of the newspaper.
After this article came out, Fiorello (a well-known Italia entertainer of whom Il Volo has already been a guest in the past) also mentioned Il Volo in his new broadcast, where we hope to soon see Ignazio, Gianluca and Piero also invited.
FIORELLO = Now let’s talk about our friends, IL VOLO, look how beautiful they are! (then he reads the title) . “They tell us that we are the children that everyone would like to have, but success without training has risked ruining us.”
Who wouldn’t want to have three children like this, think of three children like this, you have them at home in the morning at dawn (and he sings a piece of Nessun Dorma) ….at dawn I will win…..and they wake you up like this. 😂
They are beautiful, cute, because they already sang like that, I don’t know if you remember them when they were at Clerici (at TLUC), they were really crazy and tonight there is THE VOICE KIDS (new program hosted by Antonella Clerici where singing children participate).
But if you have read the beautiful interview above well, you will surely have read that Ignazio was connected from Caracas where his partner lives……so this makes the news official: Ignazio is in love again and his new love is called Michelle!!
Corriere d’Italia Article – Click Here
“Il Volo: Gianluca Ginoble and Piero Barone respond to Corriere della Sera, while Ignazio Boschetto connects remotely from Caracas.”
Gianluca Ginoble and Piero Barone of the musical trio Il Volo participated in an interview with Il Corriere della Sera in Milan, facing the journalist’s questions. However, the third member, Ignazio Boschetto, is physically absent and connected remotely, being in Caracas. The newspaper revealed further details about Boschetto’s private life, revealing the presence of his new partner, Michelle Bertolini, former Miss Venezuela International 2013, who lives in Venezuela.
The gossip that had been circulating in the previous weeks turned out to be true, confirming that the 29-year-old singer has a new flame, with whom he is deeply in love. Ignazio Boschetto visited his girlfriend in Venezuela, thus confirming his relationship with Michelle Bertolini.
Before this relationship, Boschetto was linked to the Brazilian dancer Ana Paula Guedes, but the two would have ended their story in the autumn of 2022. After a period of singleness, Ignazio found love again alongside Michelle Bertolini.
Michelle Bertolini is a well-known figure in Venezuela, born on June 15, 1994. She has had a multifaceted career, having been a professional tennis player, model and beauty queen. After a knee injury that forced her to leave competition in 2012, she has become an established presence in fashion. In 2013 she was elected Miss Venezuela International, representing her country at Miss International 2014.
Currently, Michelle is active in the restaurant industry, having founded Kiko Sake Sushi, and is dedicated to producing wines with her family through Vinos Bertolini. Ignazio Boschetto seems to be deeply involved in the relationship with the 29-year-old, demonstrating his interest and affection for the Venezuelan public figure.
What can I say, the beautiful Michelle is a true “career woman”.
She lives in Caracas but is often in Italy to follow the wine sales.
It seems that the conditions are all there for a “Great Love”, we will see over time, for now we are happy for the two of them! ❤️❤️
Meanwhile, in recent days, Il Volo flew to Germany to participate in Helen Fischer’s show.
The show will naturally be broadcast during the Christmas holidays.
But here is a short video of the participation.
But now here we are at the most important news, which…deep down we’ve all been waiting for…..it’s official:
IL VOLO WILL BE COMPETING IN SANREMO!!!!
Here is the moment on the RAI 1 news when presenter AMADEUS announced the competitors of Sanremo 2024.
And here is the moment in which Ignazio, Piero and Gianluca, flying back from Germany, got the news live.
GIANLUCA= Here we are, here we are….
PIERO= Gentlemen, we’re going to Sanremo!!!
GIANLUCA= Let’s go!
PIERO= Hi guys, see you in Sanremo!
IGNAZIO= Ciao!
What can I say, even if we were waiting for the news we are all amazed.
They always said that they would participate as contestants only if they found the “right” song.
So trust in our three young men and support in everything, also because in the interview they themselves spoke about changes, about turning points, without departing too much from their style.
Surely, given their past with Sanremo and with the Italian press which has always turned the public against them, the three of them will need all our support and all our love. 💗
Let’s sharpen our nails, volovers and get ready to vote for them!
Daniela 🤗
Credit to owners of all photos and videos.R
Well, getting this terrific post was the end of my getting any Christmas projects started early this morning–thank you so much Daniela and Pat!! What a wonderful article from Il Corriere–I’m so happy this is finally coming from the prominent Italian press. And thanks for the background information about Ignazio’s Michelle–she certainly is accomplished and lovely, as he deserves in his life. And SanRemo–my nails are sharpened, Daniela!
You’re most welcome, Judi! 😊
Judi, the article is very nice, but as usual, here in Italy many harmful comments have been unleashed among non-fans, people who are called “keyboard lions”. The occasion was given by the article reported on the newspaper’s Facebook page, which was titled “We are the children that everyone would like to have”, leaving out the words “they tell us that”, as if the sentence were said by Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca and so everyone writes that they are the usual arrogant people, who they think they are, etc. etc.
Unfortunately, all it takes is one badly placed comma and everything Il Volo says is immediately understood negatively.
As for Michelle, I must tell you that she is a very busy person at work and therefore I have excellent perspectives on their “couple life”. Fingers crossed.
OK I’m sharpening my nails. Why am I sharpening my nails?
Sharpen them well, Gail, because Il Volo is going to Sanremo and the press has never been kind to Il Volo, so we will have to defend them and support them to the maximum, so sharpen your nails well, we will have to “scratch” certain journalists
Sorry, I don’t have nails, so would I have permission to punch “certain journalists” where it hurts?!
Absolutely, Mark, permission granted!!
What a great article! I’m with Judi, reading this delayed my Christmas baking!! I’m thrilled for Igna and pray this one works for him….if it’s right it will. The Article in the press was wonderful and much appreciated, better late then never! This should help them win Sanremo in a big way! My nails are sharpened and ready but how do you watch in America? I don’t want to miss it again…and want to cast my vote for our amazing three! Maybe Pat can help me with this? And is it in February again?
This article just proves again what incredible men our young boys have become!…..so mature and socially envolved they are!! They make us proud. I cannot wait to hear their new music, have they been writing them themselves?
Wonderful day to start my day if not a bit distracting 🤣, two days in a row….Susan’s was yesterday morning!
Thank you Daniela and Pat❤️ 🤍💙💛🙏☮️💖💖💖🎼🎤👏👏👏👏Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to all. Pray for peace in the middle east and Ukraine….for the end of war!!🙏🙏🙏 Carol
You’re welcome Carol! I just did a search on how to watch the Sanremo Festival and I found this website: https://dailyitalianwords.com/where-and-how-to-watch-sanremo/
That was for the 2023 festival. I wonder if they will do it for the 2024 one as well.
Thanks, Carol, for asking and thanks, Pat, for answering!
I have some Italian words to look up before I get on there though.
Thank you Pat…I’m downloading the app now. Much app as you and Daniela always are!😉🤗❤️
Grazie Pat, very interesting!
Roz, they will certainly do it again this year, especially since Il Volo is known everywhere, they are expecting many connections from abroad. We will keep you informed!
It says on this website that “Normally, the RAI player is geo-blocked for viewers outside Italy, but during the Sanremo live shows, all restrictions will be lifted.” That’s great because we won’t have to use a VPN to view it!
Well done Carol, all ready to defend our favorites against insults or low ratings because it is undeniable that they really have the quality and voices at the top, so we know well that any comment (aside from taste) is truly out of place.
I too want to listen to their new music and we hope it will be enjoyable for all the very young people too!
Prego, Daniela! 😊
Many thanks for the interview. For some reason I am still not receiving notifications, having to look for them on Facebook instead. 🙁
I rather wish Igna hadn’t put his lovelife in the limelight ‘again’. I would rather he waited to see how things go. However I do wish them both well for the future. I would also like to say the lassie looks much prettier now than she did as Miss Venezuela. But then they usually do look a bit on the hard bitten side in these contests.
Roz
I’m sorry, Roz, but I still don’t know why you are not receiving the notices. Maybe try registering with a different email? I looked again and show you as a current subscriber. Have you checked your spam folder?
It will be one of those silly glitches (again)! If it isn’t missing emails, it is photographs that don’t show in emails or websites. I know I have said it before, at least twice this week so far, but technology, can’t live with it, but sometimes one could happily kick it!
Roz
Roz, we all know that Ignazio is very impulsive in love and throws himself “headlong” into relationships. Let’s hope this time is lasting and happy.
Don’t know about San Remo 2024, but I’ve seen programs from there over the past few years, so maybe we’ll be lucky!!
All the best to Igna and Michelle, may their love last a long time. Now, all we need is for Piero to fall in love again. His only love didn’t last very long when he couldn’t leave touring to be with Valentina Allegri for her school graduation ceremony. And, what is going on with Gian and his lady??? Just a nosy old grandmother!! Hugs, Dol
Hi Dol, I’ve been wonder also! I’m sure they’re alright🙏
Hi Dolores, I think we would all like to know news about the Gianluca-Eleonora couple, because lately we haven’t seen any photos of them together, but officially there is no news so let’s wait and time will tell.
As for the Ignazio-Michelle couple, everything is still in the early stages, but let’s keep our fingers crossed for them.
I can assure you that Piero and Valentina did not break up due to the impossibility of going to her graduation party, it was a decision made at that moment but these are not the obstacles that end a relationship.
Thank you for translating this article!
Lois, I’m glad you liked it.
Daniela and Pat, Thanks for getting this wonderful
article translated and posted for the rest of us.
It has been one year since the guys were gifting
us with the Jerusalem Christmas special, and
now the area is close to a war zone.
Prayers for Peace as we hope the children
will be safe.
You’re most welcome, Martha! 😊
I completely agree with you Martha, a year ago we saw some beautiful places during the Il Volo concert. Let us pray for all wars to end soon.
Thank you for the translations Daniela. And thank you Pat for the information on watching the Sanremo festival. I’m sure it will be an exciting but anxious time for us Il Volo lovers. I know whatever the guys sing will surely be the best and I can’t wait to hear what song they pick. I wish Ignazio all the best. He certainly deserves it. She’s a lucky girl. He’s the best.
You’re welcome Cathy! I hope everyone is able to watch the performances of the guys at the festival. Should be exciting!
Cathy, during all the evenings of Sanremo, our hearts will beat faster, it will be exciting and we hope that the song will find favor with the public and the juries.
En sus experiencias se muestran todas sus emociones, su maravilloso mundo de arte , de hermandad , amistad ,de amor al amor ,de ternura,de busqueda interna, de sensibilidad ,optimismo y vision, todo cultiva ,acompaña y da sentido a sus comportamientos, a sus opiniones, a su consciencia ,a sus manerad de enfrentar al mundo, a su voces. Puro Arte en todas las formas de expresión, empezando por ellos
!! Admiración ,cariño ,respeto desde Colombia.
Toda la verdad Luz, además de ser buenos cantantes, tienen personalidades excelentes y educadas, lamentablemente aquí en Italia no son percibidos así, pero mucha gente ha cambiado de opinión al conocerlos, por lo que espero que les vaya bien en este San Remo.
What a great and not at least interesting article Daniela and Pat. Thanks a million for translating and bringing it to us on a “silver-platter”.
The newspaper interview – and a full page – is indeed a gem so very well replied to by the guys. Humble, honest and open – I bet this media is sorry for not having taken them seriously before but now learned their lesson. So happy for the guys .
Oh that dear Ignazio – he bubbles of joy when he is in love and just has to share his happiness – so sweet. I wish them both all the best in the world and do hope that the distance will be manageable to them.
The participation in “The Sanremo Festival 2024”. What can I say… Let me phrase it like this: If they are happy and thoroughly well prepared for a possible less favorable outcome – well, then I am happy too. And I wish them all the luck in the world and shall, of course, be rooting for them throughout the entire process. But in all honesty – personally I have mixed feelings. I don’t like these types of competitions based primarily on tele-votes – and as to The European Song Contest I hate the lacking seriousness and fairness… Having said so I do, however, fully understand the tactical decision by the guys to participate giving days of media attention and reaching way out beyond their core fan base opting for new potential segments. But somehow I do likewise feel like a mother/granny in respect to them – I would like to protect them from any harm or hurting. But I guess I shall have to accept that by now they are full grown experienced young men knowing the game, hence being much better prepared than last time. They have no doubt spent hours weighing the pros and cons and taken a full responsible decision. And looking at their happy faces and arms in the air when their name was announced witnesses that they really do wish to do this game once again. So I’ll back them all the way – of course.
I cannot wait to learn of the song they will present… It is really the vital point. But it must have been a very difficult one to choose. They need a song that in the first place will attract the Italian people in order to win Sanremo. Meaning reaching those who bother to vote… – i.e. the younger generations – and not exactly the usual IL VOLO core fans. Secondly, if they win Sanremo it must likewise be attracting a much wider group of people who maybe doesn’t exactly appreciate the Italian taste/culture. Choosing that song must have been like walking on the edge of a knife. And yes Daniela, they have expressed they wouldn’t participate if they didn’t have the right song, meaning that they feel they have found that one. Or should I say maybe have written it themselves? I would not be surprised, if the name of the songwriter would be Ignazio Boschetto? I may be way out – but somehow I have a feeling that we shall see his name among the song writers, if not at the Sanremo contest – then probably on a song or two on their upcoming Album. No matter what, we are entering a nerve wrecking time sitting at the ringside. And I wish to join Daniela in her positive way of thinking – giving the guys full credit knowing that they do always make wise and good decisions. They will do great .
Best regards – Kirsten, Denmark
You’re most welcome, Kirsten. I also cannot wait to hear the song that they will sing! 😀
Kirsten, you said it better than I could, but I agree. I’m excited and worried in about equal measures.
We are all Judi, but we must have faith.
Yes, Kirsten we must think positively and have faith in Gianluca, Piero and Ignazio.
I think they had to make very strong, but very well thought out decisions, the song must appeal to a wide audience and must be a mix of modern, but wink at the classic. In any case, there will certainly be a notable media response and what matters most to me is that journalists are sincere and objective towards themselves, they must not be biased, but neither must they deny the evidence of their skill.
It will be hard because the three of them have always been hindered and even now many people don’t listen to them a priori, thanks to the bad light given to them by the press. In short, we just have to cross our fingers and wait, I have faith in the three of them.
Hello Daniela & Pat from Queensland!! – so wonderful to hear from you again – first of all I would love to congratulate Kirsten for her lovely long newsy reply about Piero – Ignazio & Gianluca winning a placement at Sanremo 2024 – I was very intrigued by her inside knowledge of what goes on in the World of Competition – if our Boys don’t win this [I am sure they will] one can bet the very loyal fan base of Piero – Ignazio & Gianluca will have a field day with the Sanremo organisers!! – they will experience the fury of a “tropical cyclone bearing down on them” haha!! – I had to laugh Daniela when you used the term “sharpen our nails” – we sure will & those in charge of the voting regime better watch out – much love to you two beautiful ladies – have a good week.
Hello Jude! Love and hugs to you! 🥰🤗💓
Okay, Pitterpat (Patti) how about love and hugs to me, too???
Dol.
Oh Dol!! – these girls have such beautiful hearts – they love us all – Piero – Ignazio & Gianluca are so very fortunate to have our girls & the very strong loyal fan base World-Wide – much love Dol.
Sure Dolores! Love and hugs to you too! 🥰 There is enough for everyone! 😊 💕
Are your nails ready Jude?
People don’t know how much protective affection volovers can have, but they will soon notice.
Many times in Sanremo, the winning song did not have the success hoped for by the public, therefore, if they do not manage to win, we hope for a successful song for them, as long as the radios play it because unfortunately, the radios never play the songs of Il Volo.
Thank you Daniela. Great to catch up. So excited about San Remo! The drab New Jersey winter is now brighter!!
It’s a shame Karen that the Sanremo rule says that participants cannot show themselves on any Italian TV, this means that we won’t see them on TV until February, otherwise they could be expelled from the festival.
Thank you for translating this interesting interview.
It seems that a lot will happen in Il Volo’s career next year, I can’t wait. I wish Ignazio all the best with Michelle. Again a girl from Latin America. I hope the distance won’t be an obstacle. Thanks a lot Daniela and Pat for everything you do for us. Greetings and hugs.
You’re most welcome, Jolanta! 😊
Yes, Jolanta, I believe that next year there will be many surprises that will amaze us greatly.
Still a girl from Latin America, but she is often in Italy because she imports Italian wines and has relatives here in Italy.
A big hug!!
Thank you so much!❤️❤️❤️