This story tells the tale of three guys who between 2020 and 2024 changed not who they are but how they present themselves and their individuality. It’s part of maturity, of course, but not entirely! After being together constantly, in 2020 they suddenly find themselves communicating by phone. A very unique thing for them. They were never more than a hotel room away.

Sometimes people write to me and say, you know these guys so well! No, I don’t. Have I met them? Yes! Do I have a personal relationship with them? On many occasions I have communicated with one or another. But no, I’m just a fan like you!  But the research I’ve done over the years has given me the tools to write my Il Volo stories. And this story required a lot of research because I needed to present the turning point in their lives, the New Horizons, the new beginning for our guys!

When exactly did that happen? To find that answer we have to go back to 2020….

I think of the day when the guys walked out the door and said I’ve had enough of this and started to live their lives again. On that day, it wasn’t about isolation, it was about what they contributed during the time of isolation. It was about working their way into a new life, a new beginning.

What the guys did during this time formed the framework for a new Il Volo!

Things changed; the world changed but above all we all changed in some way. As to the guys, they stayed home but they couldn’t stay without something to do.

And so, they began a new journey….

In May 2020, the guys joined other Italian singers and artists to make a statement about the people and their situation. They sang about all people all over Italy; perhaps all over the world. Ma il cielo e’ sempre blu (But the sky is always blue). No matter what happens, the sky is always blue! That’s true!  It was a catchy tune and before you knew it, we were all singing it!

So out the door they went to start a whole new beginning, this time in Italy!

In July 2020 the guys performed at the Taormina Film Festival.

At the Festival, they sang a beautiful Sicilian song. E Vui Durmiti Ancora (And you sleep again!) When they sang it, they brought tears to our eyes and a beautiful sense of pride to the Sicilian people! An absolutely amazing performance! And each performance after this would be more and more amazing!

In September 2020 the guys went to the SMA Awards….

This is the statement the guys made at the beginning of this beautiful video. A new beginning.

Ignazio: 2020 will be remembered as the year where the world would be constrained to be turned off.

Gianluca: For the music employees the verb “turn off” means the end of the show, when the curtains close and it is the waiting moment for the next show, but this time the waiting lasted more than expected, the silence was unavoidable.

Piero: Now, the world is getting ready to start again! Now the moment has arrived to raise the curtain! Now, we will turn on the music! 

IL VOLO performance at SEAT Awards – Click Here

That evening, the guys chose to sing Nessun Dorma which sent a very strong message to the world and especially the entertainment industry. It says we may have to perform under these new world conditions, but we don’t have to change who we are or why we’re here. In this ancient Arena we look to the past while following the path to the future.

That night was a turning point for the guys. They set a precedence. Verona would now be the place where there would always be new beginnings. And every year thereafter, it was a new beginning. Every new and exciting event would be presented here!

Their identities, their individuality, who they truly are, would come to light in this magnificent Arena.

When they step on the stage, their presence is electrifying! From their first note the whole arena lights up. Their voices are clean and crisp. Their presence is illuminating. Their notes rise above the Arena into the night sky to let the world know they are there!

That night when they sang Nessun Dorma, in the final notes of their song they sent a message that would resonate throughout the industry, We have returned! Turn on the lights! And the whole industry came to life again.

What is so amazing about this is, over the months since they had left quarantine, they had almost single handedly brought back the music industry in Italy. The guys hit the restart button! They played a major role in the restart of the music industry In Italy!

An amazing feat by three guys who were barely recognized by Italy. But that too would change, and they would become the favorite child (children) of Italy! But I’m getting ahead of myself!

All the work they did after their quarantine moved things forward in Italy. This included a most important project, the concert in Tribute to Ennio Morricone and the recording of their album by the same name.

To mark this event, on June 5, 2021, they held the performance of a lifetime at the ancient Arena of Verona! Who will ever forget it!

This project which brought the music of four men together, Il Volo and Ennio Morricone, was absolutely extraordinary because they were extraordinary men. Having worked together when they were teenagers the guys were the perfect people to present the legacy of Ennio Morricone!

In 2020, the guys had an opportunity to do something very unusual, stay home! This project is the result of that rare opportunity! The idea of presenting an album of Morricone’s music is genius. Combine that with the genius of Il Volo and what do you get, an album of phenomenal songs!

That it truly was but what happened on that stage in Verona surpasses anything we can possibly imagine.

On June 5, 2021, it all came together in Verona, of course!

Let’s set the scene!

The first note and we immediately know it’s “The Ecstasy of Gold.” The whistle of the wind!

The setting is gold! Then white! Then gold! Look at the gold flecks that come in and out! The orchestra vibrates! Each note intensifies our senses. We’re drawn to the back of the stage. To a tunnel where we know our guys will appear! The focus is always rear center stage! The lights change to intense red and now we are looking at the stage from the back of the arena. We are coming forward. The shadow of Il Volo turns into a force that is coming towards us! The theme of the concert is set!

Listen to the intensity of their voices! What force! Watch their motions. Look at Gianluca! Watch his body react to the music! The fist that comes at you saying this is the punch, just the beginning.  Listen to how Ignazio rides the note that guides us into the story! Now we’re sailing on the wind! Piero intensifies the moment with his powerful voice that says the journey has begun! Follow us!

The scenery is in motion again. In the background, the movie comes into view and blends with the voices! Everything on the stage comes to life! We’re now inside the film. Even the guys are taken by the movement around them. They look around and they are feeling the moment! Conductor, Andrea Morricone, Ennio Morricone’s son, steps up the music and we step back and look, in amazement, at what is before us!

What exactly is before us? A work of art! A Titian painting. In Venice there is a very magnificent painting by Titian called the Assumption. It is a painting in motion! Believe me, when I tell you what you are looking at on that stage is a Titian painting. Titian was known for his movement in painting! Titian was 24 years old when he painted the Assumption. Our guys are in their mid-twenties, and they painted the scene before you. If you don’t know the renaissance artist Titian, google him! You’ll understand what is going on here!

Now let me explain what is before you. Movement. Lots of movement.

Take a look at the stage! You, the audience are the spectators! You’re being drawn to the stage. You watch the guys’ approach, and you are in awe of their presence. You feel the intensity of the music, you and the guys are pulled into the movie. The music is all around you!  Their voices are a force in your head. You look up in amazement! You are a part of the scenery! You are a part of the orchestra! You are a part of the movie! You are a part of ~ Il Volo!  You have arrived and you are ready to follow the guys no matter where this journey leads you! It’s only the beginning! Fasten your seat belts. Phenomenal!

And let’s not forget this was their first Live Concert on TV with Rai 1. Many more would follow!

This was a new adventure for them. It was out of their realm of reality. These songs gave them a new path. A new idea about the future of Il Volo.

Their movement into the future had begun. No going back. Before them was a road sign that said, “This is your path, follow it.” And so, they did.

My Favorite picture 

So, what actually happened here? To answer that question, we have to move forward to 2023.

Individuality!!! You know that everyone loves Il Volo, but everyone loves his favorite guy, best!  Though I don’t admit it too often, I love all the guys but, I too have a favorite! Think of how many times at a concert you said I wish (my guy) would sing more. You said that not because you don’t like the group but in fact you want to listen to each one individually. In 2023, their concerts presented this new idea.  These concerts gave us the opportunity to look into the heart of our guys through their music. It allowed us to see them in a deeper and more personal way.

When the guys presented their songs, they were presenting in a new and different way. Each one told us what he always wanted to do in his solo and did it!

This is where they took another step forward and introduced us to themselves.  They presented their individuality, and we met each one through the spirit of his soul! 

With other groups this would have been a path divided but with them, it was a path united.

They had matured, they were vibrant, they had come into their own individuality. They knew what they wanted, and they went for it! Hence, the new idea of individuality was set into play.

They had matured in body and mind and their voices had gone to another level of magnificence!

Yes, we watched them grow but this is different. There’s a beautiful presence about them now. A certain elegance! After fourteen years they hadn’t wanned, they increased in strength and intensity! There was a certain power in their voices that grabbed you from the first note of the concert to the last.

Each guy had grown into his voice and had shown a maturity and style the likes of which men who are approaching the end of their careers can only have imagined! Fourteen years of a lifetime! A lifetime full of wonders and experience which most entertainers will never have the honor of knowing.

For Il Volo, 2023 was about another new beginning! At the Verona Arena, in May, Frederica Panicucci, who was the presenter of the Il Volo concert, had this to say about what would happen that evening. “During the evening Il Volo will show unpublished moments with solos and duets they never performed before. It will be their way of showing their different personalities.”

Yes, Federica was right, that night was different because we’ve heard these voices before but not in the way we heard them that night. The guys introduced us to their personal feelings about their music.

A great example of this is in Ignazio’s words before both concerts:

In the first concert Ignazio said, “I’ve always loved great female voices….”

And in the second concert he said, “I will try to take a trip to the most beautiful female songs in the world tonight.

So let’s start with one of Ignazio’s solos….

So, it seems Ignazio still enjoys singing these (female) songs. And why wouldn’t he? He is the only one of the three that can sing that kind of song because they are songs that require a strong voice that is very clear, crisp and very lyrical and a lot of passion must be put into each song! I think I just described Ignazio’s voice! Let me add and, “very soulful!”

On to Gianluca….

Here, we met the real Gianluca in his rock mode and he introduced us to his feelings for Elvis, Sinatra, Dylan and the Beatles.

And last but not least, Piero….

Piero brought us his perfect operatic voice. Whimsical and joyful. He has a great love and sincerity for this music. Opera is in his soul. He opens up that soul to us in these concerts with arias we have never heard him sing before.

So we have arrived at 2024 and the return to Sanremo….

They were so ready for it.

Yes all they had to do was step on the stage and they would come into their moment.  And so they did.

They certainly had THE song. Capolavoro certainly was a Masterpiece. They had the charisma, the style, the unbelievable professionalism. Their performance surpassed any performance in the Festival. Did they win, no, because they had something else, they had the same old reporters who know nothing about music and are prejudiced against them.

What made a difference this time was they were there to honor their Fifteen Years of a Lifetime on  the Ariston Stage where it all began for them fifteen years earlier!  It was about their time together and no one was going to take that from them. And so, they celebrated! Interview after interview, one better than the other. It all turned into an amazing party! What a party it was!

What was amazing about it all was Italy really woke up. Yes, over the last few years they began to recognize them but this time they cherished them. They made them their own and this was their dream for fifteen years!

And here we are back at Verona. It is 2024 and they are ready to heighten your senses. This night was all about what they had succeeded in doing over the last few years. And they shared this evening with so many other wonderful entertainers.

You know what I like most about these guys, I like the way they present themselves to the people, especially the Italian people, in their concerts.  For all the prejudice against them, they are so down to earth. They accept everything with a grain of salt. There is not a jealous bone in their bodies. They openly admire those who share their stage. They are fair, they are kind, and they are loving. They are by far the greatest entertainers in the world today.

Just before they released their album Ad Astra, Gianluca summed it all up in this way.

Ad Astra is the journey of all of us.

Not only the result of talent, tenacity and passion, but the courageous story of those who choose to descend into the depths of the soul.

Ad Astra wants to be the testimony of our history and that of all those who find in music a language to discover themselves and express the hidden part of themselves.

‘Can’t you see something we have in common? Show me all your cuts and weaknesses because I know that deep down they are the same, mine, yours, with the same fears, no one knows the way…’

I hope that Ad Astra today can mean for you what is a symbol and victory for us: a harmony that can guide you towards new horizons.

Thanks to you who made all this possible. I love you. 

As I mentioned in my story Sitting on the Edge of the Universe, the songs on this album, Ad Astra, are the story of their lives. Young boys who left their families to join an adult world where they would have to grow up very quickly. No teenage years! No silly flirtations and a new girlfriend every other week! No! Just recording studios and world stages that would introduce them to a new kind of family! A family that would always be there waiting for them when they arrived in their city. Fans who would become family!

There were many lonely nights and many disappointments when they wanted so much more out of their lives, out of their relationships, but the concert always came first, and they would learn how to adjust their lives to fit the scenario!

Now they are finally finding a way to incorporate all things. They are looking for love and finding it and they are learning how to enjoy their family and home lives more! The new individuality is not just about music. It’s also about their lives. They are learning how to please everyone including themselves. The turning point in their lives brought them to this moment and on the path of New Horizons.

Join me next week as I go back Through the Fields of My Mind and open the door to a new adventure!

For your listening pleasure one of the concerts Verona 2024

Credit to the owners of Photos and videos!