I am happily retired. As a career I found myself in the business end of education. Spent most of my working life researching, developing and implementing a broad spectrum of local, state and national education programs. Other than some travel, my focus now is Il Volo and the Flight Crew. How lucky am I to have found such joy? I'm having the time of my life!
Oh, and I'll be a vegetarian when bacon grows on trees.
I found this post that I had misfiled. Daniela sent it to me a few months ago after Jane and I were privileged to meet her and Beppe in Brescia, Italy. It’s very sweet. ~Marie
And finally the day of our meeting arrived.
How granted my husband and I waited on the platform of the train from Milan. I explained in broad outline your appearance to my husband, one looked to one side and the other from the opposite one. The train arrived, many people came down and was waiting for a lot of climbing, there was confusion and then in the distance I saw you, I said,“there they are, they are” and yelled“Marie, Jane, waving his hand,” you have me seen and smile, a long embrace, as if we had known for years, a few words in my broken English and we immediately understand.
As well as the voices of our beloved boys of IL VOLO create harmonies, even among the three of us has created an atmosphere at once beautiful, even my husband who was afraid of being a perfect excluded, was immediately engaged by your sympathy and kindness. Let me tell members of the crew that Marie and Jane are really two special people, courageous and likable.
I must tell you it was a sight to see as there was fascinated to see the remains of Roman Brescia, the ancient old buildings of rich history, Piazza Loggia, Piazza Duomo, Capitolium and Brescia Castle.
For all lovers of Ignatius, Marie said that Brescia Castle will be their home when they marry (understood Jana, Loretta etc.) But also promised me that the wedding dress will buy it from me.
The day was wonderful there was a beautiful sun and a blue sky, we could not expect better and between a chat and the other was lunch time. We arrived at my house, dinner was ready, and as we ate we enjoyed the beautiful concert of Florence. Marie who barely restrained emotion. Time was flying fast when things are so pleasant time passes in a moment.
There we would never be known, but the love for Piero Ignazio and Gianluca brought us together. IL VOLO has built a bridge of friendship and we have traveled to get to know, to exchange our affection. Thanks Marie and Jane for coming up here. Thank you guys for giving us the opportunity to meet. We still have a lot to talk about and maybe there will be more time for they can be exchanged right Marie and Jane?
A warm hug from Italy and many kisses from your friend Daniela
I predict these kids will have a bright future. What do you think? ~Marie
Parliamo (Italian) – verb
1. We speak 2. A FIAT Backstage series in which we sit down, interview, and get to know someone from the world of FIAT, art, music, fashion, or design.
What were you doing at 17 years old? Odds are you were not embarking on a tour of the United States fresh off going platinum and taping your own concert DVD. In class you could daydream about being on stage in front of the adoration of your screaming fans. As members of the singing group Il Volo, this is just the life that three teenage Italian crooners (Piero Barone, Ignazio Boschetto, and Gianluca Ginoble) have found themselves living.
This life now seems like something that they have adapted to, and it’s no surprise considering how they formed as a group. Individually, they began their careers as contestants in 2009, when they entered the Italian music competition television show Ti lascio una canzone. Their talents were apparent from the beginning, and their lives were changed when the show’s producers decided to have them perform the song “O Sole Mio” as a trio. This new blend of their voices struck a chord with the audience, and with themselves. What has happened since has been an international sensation, and now the trio is focused on bringing their style, music, and artistry from Italy to the United States—they embarked on their own tour this fall, and released a new collection of songs for their growing fan base. It’s quite possible that in the near future you will be seeing a lot more of Il Volo.
Trust us. This is a very good thing.
We had a chance to catch up with them backstage before one of their recent tour stops, and talked everything from music to family to Gianluca’s FIAT Cinquecento back home.
Gianluca // Piero // Ignazio
You’ve made a name for yourselves in Italy; what are you hoping to accomplish here in the United States?
Gianluca: All of the people hope to come to America, and we are so lucky because we are the first Italian artists to sign with Universal Music in L.A., here in the United States. We have sold one million copies of our first album in Italy. We are young, and we want to introduce people to our kind of music, traditional music.
Piero: This has always been our goal. Usually, this type of music is loved by an older generation, but now if you come to our concert you will find people from 10 years old to 90 years old.
Have you found it difficult to introduce a younger generation to this type of music?
Piero: We are 17 and 18 years old, and we love this type of music. We think that all of the younger generation is going to love this kind of music as well. If you discover it, you’ll love it.
Gianluca: The new album is completely different. The songs are new, and it’s going to be a surprise when you hear it.
You sing a more traditional style of music, but are there any other types of music that you listen to or that inspire you?
Ignazio: Yes, of course! I love AC/DC. (It should be noted that at this point, Ignazio started singing some of his favorite AC/DC songs.)
Gianluca: We love opera. We love rock. I love Frank Sinatra, Michael Bublé, all of the jazz singers really. Also, my favorite is Chris Botti. I am a huge fan of Chris Botti.
Piero: We love Barbra Streisand as well, and since we love Barbra Streisand, the dream is really coming true for us. We are going to have a concert and a tour with her in October. We will sing some songs with her, and some by ourselves.
As artists, where do you take inspiration from?
Gianluca: My grandfather. I started to listen to this type of music because of him.
Piero: My grandfather is my inspiration as well. My grandpa is blind, and he is the one who discovered my voice. He is a musician as well, and while he was writing a song, I started to sing. He started to look around and was wondering, “Who is this singer? Who is singing?” He helped me to form my dream.
Ignazio: I started alone in my room with a keyboard. When my family moved in Sicily, I started to study and sing and have fun with the music.
Since you have been stateside, what has been the most exciting thing to happen?
Piero: The American audience is so warm. They love our music so much. They are very familiar with our music. We love it.
Have you found your age to be a barrier for people to understand or appreciate your music?
Piero: This is the most important thing for me. Our music is a great mix: the voices and our age. This is the first time that many people our age will see this type of music performed.
Ignazio: Sometimes, people will compare us to the Three Tenors, but we don’t sing like the Three Tenors. They sing opera. We sing a mix of traditional and pop music. It is a great honor to be compared, but we are something different.
Gianluca: I would hope to have a career like the Three Tenors. They have been doing this for so long and are so talented. We are still very young and new.
Where would you like to see your career take you?
Gianluca: We want to always stay together.
Piero: With the first album, we sang covers to show people who we are. With the new album, with the new songs, we want people all over to sing OUR songs.
Ignazio: We want to bring wonderful things to our fans, and want to be a good example for the next generation.
How do you feel when you see a FIAT 500 here in the United States?
Gianluca: I have the Cinquecento. I own it back home. I love the Cinquecento.
Ignazio:Italy! In America! It’s a little piece of home.
Piero: Sometimes when we are on the bus and we see a Cinquecento, we say, “Look at the car! It’s just like home.”
I don’t know where else to start this discussion so I will post it here and would be happy to read your opinions.
I would like to bring your attention to their perfect pronunciation when all the three of them perform in English. I must say that I had never, never heard a singer, of any nationality, sing with such perfect pronunciation, accent, intonation and fluency in a foreign language. I grew up in France and England so I can be considered a native speaker in both languages, and I’ve taught linguistics and foreign languages in schools and universities for over 20 years, so as a linguist I have always been aware that one can never get rid of his/her native accent unless he/she grows up in the country from a very young age. This has to do with the way the brain works. Research has shown that children’s brains are developmentally ready to accept and learn a foreign language, and fluency comes easily, rapidly, and without accent. Between ages 8 and 12, a child loses the ability to hear and reproduce new sounds as they did when they were younger. That’s why I was truly astonished when I heard them sing in English. The amazing thing is that they have an Italian accent when they speak but not when they sing. A Spanish friend has told me that they sound native when they sing in Spanish as well. This calls for a case study! But it also shows how much work and proficiency they put into their craft.
OK, here’s the thing… When five of us started this site we had hopes of communicating with twenty or so people. Much to our astonishment, we have been read an average of a thousand times a day for nearly four years (that’s over a million and a quarter times). Kelly and I have been running this site, with the help of contributors, by ourselves for the past couple of years. If you look at our front page you will understand our job division. I take care of the middle (find, edit, draft and schedule the posts, monitor and approve comments, write stuff, etc.) and answer tons of mail. Kelly takes care of most of the outside edges (the calendar, Twitter, Facebook, music, slide show, etc.) pays the bills, does the Guys birthday videos and reports on the professional engagements of IL Volo.
Here’s what I’m getting at.. Kelly has a full-time, demanding job. I’m retired, but tired. The site is a pretty big everyday task. Without some help we are going to have to let it go. I can only speak for myself when I say that this site is my joy! It is like a child to me. I love it that much. But it has gotten to the point where it is hard for me to take even part of any day away.
We refuse to allow the quality, which we have tried hard to achieve and maintain, go downhill and would rather end it cleanly.
Only with some help in these areas can we remain a viable website and continue to “Share the Love”.
1.) help keeping up with professional aspects of Il Volo — including being able to draft your own work.
2.) someone who can speak to/help with technical aspects of running a site…including social media.
3.) someone to coordinate with translators.
4.) aid in editing and drafting posts.
5.) someone to help monitor our Flight Crew mail.
Most of these things can be taught by Kelly or myself.
I can’t begin to tell you exactly how crossed our fingers are. ~Kelly and Marie
P. S. ~~ Yes! What Marie said. It would break our hearts to have to let go, so please…help us keep our home! kya
Come in and share the love of life, friends and Il Volo!
