This week we will explore Ignazio’s flight through childhood. Let me start by saying each one of the guys is unique in how he presents his story in this book, “Il Volo, Un’avventura Straordinario, La Nostra Storia.” Ignazio chose to write his story. He comes in and out of the story speaking to the reader and asking questions. He is an excellent writer. He articulates very well in English and Italian and that is why it was so easy for me to write his story.
(Listen to this video! Ignazio is thirteen years old and totally amazing! Mr. Perfection!)
All the Italics in this story are Ignazio’s own words. I did not change the thoughts or feelings of Ignazio or any of the guys in any of their stories. It’s all in their own words. As I said in Piero’s story, I’m relating the story as seen through my eyes. In My Flight, as the narrator, Ignazio gives us the facts and I follow him by giving you information that is important to the story and makes for a better narrative.
As I said before, when I write about the guys I always tell you how I relate to each guy in his story. At the end of Ignazio’s story, I will tell you how I related to him in this story!
This is a very sensitive and sincere story! Ignazio is a very sensitive and sincere person and his kindness and compassion come through in his words and feelings in his account of his life. At times it can be a very emotional journey and you will find yourself full of emotions as you follow along! Grab those tissues, fasten your seat belts and let us embark on Ignazio’s Flight….
If life is a story and if every story needs someone to tell it, here I am to tell you mine, all of it from the beginning.
My story is not a fictional story even if it seems to be one of those dreams that you never want to wake up from. My story is sincere. It is the story of my life just as I experienced it before Il Volo and inside Il Volo.
My Flight (every reference is purely coincidental) starts with a Christmas Letter.
It seems Ignazio’s mother, Caterina, and his father, Vito, were thinking about expanding their family. It is Christmas time 1993. Ignazio’s sister Antonia, who everyone calls Nina, is at school and the children are told to write a letter to Santa and the Baby Jesus. What Nina writes is a miracle and the beginning of one of the most beautiful and sincere relationships between a brother and sister. Nina, 7 years old, writes:
Dear Santa and Baby Jesus,
I do not want any presents for Christmas. Give my gifts to poor children. I want a baby brother for Christmas.
Nina
Ignazio continues, Said and done!
Shortly after New Year’s Caterina discovers she is pregnant. When Nina is told she wants to confirm that her request has come true. Nina asks her mother if she can join her for her first ultrasound. During the checkup, Nina asks the doctor, “May I know what it is?”
“What do you want, honey?” the doctor asks.
“I want a little brother.”
“Then come, I’ll show you the string bean.”
Nina’s first wish is granted but her second wish, not exactly! Nina wants her brother to be born on October 1st, her birthday. It seems Ignazio had another idea.
My name is Ignazio Boschetto. I was born on October 4, 1994, in Bologna, Italy.
No, I didn’t make it for Nina’s birthday. I was wrong. What can I tell you? When they brought me home, I was better than any doll to Nina. Everyone was happy but soon, there were some worries. During the first visit, the doctor found that I had a strange kidney malfunction. After several checkups, they found I was born with a single kidney, but the one kidney I had was larger than normal and it works as if it were two kidneys.
And, as if that wasn’t enough, I was born with the squint of Venus, but I was fine, a Bolognese, brand new. The truth is, I could have been born Sicilian – Sienese. How would you see me with a Tuscan accent?
Is it the same if the images that I will never forget are … the memories of my parents? It’s not that I’m crazy or strange, it’s right that my story would never have existed without my parents.
I needed to put this break in the story to present something amazing!
He had it then, he has it now….and forever!
I really wanted to present 2008 alongside 2023. If ever there was a phenomenal collaboration this was it! Two of the greatest tenors in the world are interwoven to present Allegri’s Miserere. They say heavenly voices are needed to properly present this Hymn. Well, these certainly are heavenly voices! They are the voices of men who are legends in their own time! They call Miserere “the stuff of legends.” Ignazio and Piero were brought together for a unique presentation of Miserere. Their presentation is very unique, very touching, very emotional and always brings down the house. It brought me to tears in Athens! Totally amazing!
Back to the story….
In 1990 when Nina was four years old and before Ignazio was born, his parents made the decision to leave Marsala. They left with the hope of a better life for their family. As Ignazio says…. The family they had only begun to create. Things were not going well in Marsala, and it was difficult to make a living for a family. They decided to go to Siena because a good friend of Ignazio’s maternal grandfather, who was a building contractor, offered Mr. Boschetto a job. Ignazio’s parents would do anything to make the family’s life better.
Ignazio says…. Of the sacrifices they have made, there were many and big for me and for my sister, I do not spend a day when I do not think about how proud I am of them.
When they went to Buoncovento, Mr. Boschetto worked as a mason. Mrs. Boschetto did many different jobs.
By 1992 the Boschetto’s realized they didn’t earn enough to keep going. During a visit to a cousin’s house, Mr. Boschetto met an old friend who made him aware of a job opportunity in San Martino on Agrine near Bologna. So, the decision was made to move to San Martine on Agrine. And Ignazio would say….That’s why I was born in Bologna.
Upon arrival, Mr. Boschetto, being a mason, immediately found a job. Mrs. Boschetto. was always a determined person who had a great desire to keep busy. She reinvented herself. She was a good cook and she found herself a job as a chef in a restaurant not far from home.
Within a few years they managed to achieve economic stability and decided to move into a house. Finally, a house just for them in Guarda di Molinella. Ignazio says….The house was very small, but it was my first house, the one in which I was born.
By far, Ignazio was the most pampered member of the family. He was a lively child who laughed all the time, Ignazio says….I never stopped laughing. He learned very quickly to talk and walk. He was never silent.
When I was three or four years old, I played with the piano my parents had given Nina. My mother says I was one year old when I played. Nina taught me to play Happy Birthday with one finger. I was a happy child. My mother told me, ‘You’ve never been a child,’ in the sense that I was always quite serious and responsible. I ask you, ‘Would you ever say that?’ In all, I was a happy child. It seemed the situation started getting better. It wasn’t all roses and flowers but in four years it had changed a lot and so the moves were not finished. The moves were always to make a better life for me and Nina. The moves continued even after my birth. When it seemed that we were fine, it was always time to leave.
Of all the houses I lived in, one particular address remains in my mind: Via Marconi 94 in Molinella. It was a big and very beautiful house. We moved there just before I started elementary school.
I do not remember the first day of school, but I certainly did not take long to get noticed. If you’re thinking of scenes of me being put in the middle of the class to sing, forget it. I had a passion for music but, I had an even greater passion for pranks. I tell you, since I started talking and walking, mine was an escalation of agitation. It was official I was not the most mischievous in class that would be my friend Nicholas. I was second. It was always an open challenge, a race to the red crosses. Now the question arises: What are the red crosses? The teachers had a billboard and on it they listed all the students in alphabetical order. If you were good in your school and good in your grades, you got a blue cross, however, if you had taken an insufficiency or if you behaved badly, evil was everywhere! Nicolas and I were the most popular! Our billboard line was a red fire specimen.
With the passage of time, I found something good to do at school, that is, an activity that was able to hold my interest enough to prevent me from slipping into some disaster. I joined the school choir. I always liked to sing, to be ‘in the middle’ of the music. And more and more passionately I began to understand how to make better use of Nina’s famous pianola. I learned how to start the musical bases and flip through them. And that’s when I discovered La Donna È Mobile. I liked it so much that I sang with the bass and invented words. I don’t remember the words but, it certainly was a song about Pavarotti. Having seen Pavarotti on TV, I knew he always had a big handkerchief so I would invent text and sing on the air La Donna È Mobile.
Now I would not want you to get the wrong idea of me as a child. A saint I was not, mind you, but thinking about it now if I was mischievous at school, maybe there was a reason.
Around 1998, when Ignazio was four years old and had just started kindergarten, the climate in the house changed. There was a problem in the family. Ignazio’s mom was diagnosed with cancer. For a child of Ignazio’s age, it was hard to understand what was happening. He realized that something was wrong when he began to see less and less of his mother. She was going back and forth to the hospital for months without finding a solution.
Ignazio said….Mom did something she always did with us, for as long as I can remember, she explained the situation to us, speaking openly. This is a great merit that I must acknowledge about my family, but perhaps a little more to mom, because the fact of speaking clearly with us children and telling us the truth about things that affected our family and life in general taught us to face up to early adult conversations. With mom we always talked about sex, about society, a little bit of everything that life had in store for us as children.
Now, I’m going to step out of the story because there are no words that I can say that will express the emotion and the sensitivity of Ignazio words. So, I chose to have Ignazio talk directly to you
I do not even have to tell you that since my mother’s conversation, my life has changed. I was small, but I could not afford to think like the other children of my age. As for my sister the situation was even more complicated because since 1998, the year of our mother’s first hospitalization, until 2003, the year when all the bad story is over, my mother has become Nina.
For the first two years of elementary school, those dotted with red crosses, I have not often seen mom, a little because I went to school, a little because she had to return frequently to the hospital and stay there for long periods. Dad worked and my sister, despite her twelve years, had to be a housewife. She has become my biggest reference point. We had to grow both of us very quickly, without thinking about toys and different entertainment, and not so to speak, but really. The truth is that we were not interested in anything that usually affects two children of that age, because the only thing we wanted was to have mom at home.
It is difficult to say what the worst moment was because her absence was always felt. For sure, however, I was particularly impressed by a quarrel with my sister. I was four and she was twelve and I was playing with a toy, she was fed up because I made noise, she took the toy, and we had a fight. After responding badly to her, I immediately repented. For me Nina was very important, really like a mother. In the end I did not sleep for a week. But I never told her, at least until now.
After five surgeries and one hundred and fifty points in the face, mom has returned home. Too bad they did not leave me much time to enjoy her. I wanted to sit her on the sofa, and I wanted all the kisses, hugs and everything I hadn’t had in those years. Mom is mine and woe to those who touch her! And instead, a few years earlier, mom had started working in a pizzeria and, not even the time to leave the hospital, she rightly started working again. What could I do?
Most of the time Ignazio stayed with Sabrina, his nanny, who was the girlfriend of the pizza maker who worked with his mom. But there were days when Ignazio was allowed to go to work with his mom. Since Ignazio never wanted to lose sight of his mother again, he would stand by the fridge where the drinks were held and, from there he had a perfect view of the cash desk. At the time, his mother did not work in the kitchen. She was now managing the pizzeria, so most of the time she was at the cash desk or answering the phone. And Ignazio never took his eyes off her. He was so happy that he could talk to her, and he did a good job of selling drinks to the customers.
So, let’s take a look at the situation. Ignazio’s mother is home, the pizzeria has become Ignazio’s second home, he certainly was good at selling drinks and everything seemed to finally be the best it could be.
Ignazio concludes…. at school, then, as I told you, I was part of the choir, and I was more passionate about my music. In short, finally a little tranquility. How long has it lasted? Four years, more or less.
In July 2004 we were on the road again.
So here we are, it’s 2004, Ignazio is 10 years old, and his life is about to take a major turn. La Forza del destino!
So now you understand why I let Ignazio take over this story. He is a brilliant writer, and I couldn’t possibly explain it better than him. My Flight is full of passion and emotion much like Ignazio’s music. My flight, as Ignazio calls it, is one that we can follow through the eyes of four-year-old Ignazio and share a tear with him! This story tells us a lot about how Ignazio was molded into the amazing man he is today!
In Episode Two of Ignazio’s story, we will follow ten-year-old Ignazio to Marsala where he steps on the stage for the first time and embarks on the road to Stardom!
So how do I relate to this story? When I was five years old my mother had a very serious blood disease and I remember how sick she was. I would be so worried that I would never let her leave my sight. In my tiny mind I thought my mother was going to die and each morning when I woke up, I would run into the kitchen to see if she was there. You can’t begin to imagine how happy I was to see her sitting at the table or washing dishes and she would turn and smile at me! The best smiles of my life! Yes, Ignazio, I get it!
Update on Bosky_TV
Join us today, October 25, 2023, at 2:45 PM New York time 8:45 PM Italy time for a new chapter on Bosky TV.
A new music format will start on my TWITCH channel “BoskyTV.”
At The Floki Bar, we will talk about music in 360’, we will hear new emerging artists, new songs and covers from all over the world. Then with various friends, producers and not, we will go on a creative journey together in the production of live songs! We will see you later today! Don’t miss this!!!!
What I have written here are excerpts from the book the guys wrote about their lives. “Il Volo, Un’avventura Straordinario, La Nostra Storia.” (An Extraordinary Adventure, Our Story) This is just a small piece of each mans’ story. The book is written in Italian. If you can read Italian, I would highly recommend that you read it. It’s wonderful! If not, I can only hope that someday it will be translated into English. Or you can use Google Translate to translate it.
I also recommend you read their second book “IL Volo: Quello Che Porto Nel Cuore” (What I Carry in My Heart).
And let’s not forget their album “Tres Voces Un Alma.” Available on Spotify, Amazon, and other music media!
Join me next week as I go back Through the Fields of My Mind and open the door to a new adventure! Next time we will explore Gianluca’s beginnings!
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
The European tour is over! What a spectacular tour it was! In this tour the guys brought us new songs, new realities and their new individuality! I had the good fortune of seeing the concert in Athens and I can say it and all the European concerts were phenomenal!
Those of you who read my column know that when a tour is over, I rewrite the guy’s story because they have new fans who just want to know everything there is to know about them.
The source of my story is the guy’s first book, “Il Volo, Un’avventura straordinaria, La nostra. If you can read Italian I highly recommend you read it.
My story is their story as seen through my eyes. The guys are present in the Italics of my story. They come in and out of the story moving us along on their journey! Their early lives come alive in their stories and words.
Let me tell you how this book is written. The beginning of the book is three individual stories. In age order it is Piero, Ignazio, Gianluca and it continues this way until the three come together. A very unique idea. Episode by episode we will relive their lives and experience their very beginnings.
Those of you who have read my stories about the guys know, whenever I write a story about one of them there is usually something in that story that I can relate to. There are two things I relate to in this story. One thing is, I can relate to Piero’s family because he was raised as I was. Every word I read brings a smile to my face because it could be my family he is writing about. The second thing you’ll have to wait until the end of story for me to tell you about that.
Let me start by saying, Piero has a very sharp memory. I believe he is very detail oriented. When he does an interview or in stories I’ve read, he remembers every little detail. When an interview is over or he finishes his story, you know the event as it happened and there is nothing more for you to know. He’s told it all. He is very sensitive and very emotional when he speaks about his childhood and his family.
In the beginning of this story, we meet Pietro Ognibene, Piero’s grandfather. When we lost Mr. Ognibene I wrote a story, “The Man Behind the Man,” and I asked the question, “Who is Pietro Ognibene?” The answer is he was a great discoverer. No, he didn’t discover a new land or a cure for anything, he discovered something even better, he discovered Piero Barone!
This is the first time I am writing this story since he left us. I think Piero would agree with me, that the most wonderful thing about being part of a close Italian family is we speak often about our loved ones who have left us, and we keep them alive with our stories. So, without further ado, let me bring this story of Pietro Ognibene alive by telling you about the first time Piero sang Un Amore Così Grande.
In the garden of Piero’s grandparents’ house there is a Mulberry Tree and hanging on that tree is an old-fashioned swing.
As was his custom, Piero’s grandfather Pietro would come out on the terrace every morning and find a cool place to sit. Pietro always had a recorder with him. He had been blind for many years, and he used the recorder to record music, recite poetry and compose songs. Piero says…
When I think back to the first images I have of him, he is sitting on the terrace in the country, with a stereo in his hands.
On this morning, Piero is on the swing, and on the terrace, Pietro is preparing to record a song. It’s just a little song. The song is only two lines, and it is pure Sicilian. Pietro begins to sing. E lu suli talia, talia, talia. Sopra ‘sta petra luci ci duna, that is and, the sun, look, look, look, to this stone gives the light.
Piero recalls… I was swinging on the swing, I was about four or five years old, I was really, very, small. I listened to him a little and at a certain point, when he stopped singing, I started: E lu suli, talia, talia, talia. Sopra ‘sta pedra luci ci duna. What can I tell you? It just came out like that.
His grandfather turned off the recorder and called his wife. Rina, came out on the terrace and he asked her, “Unni è Piero?” (Where is Piero?)
She replied, “In Altalena” (He is on the swing)
Pietro asked, “Ma cu cantava? Iddru?” (But who was singing? He?)
She replied, “Eh, si.” (yes)
He told Rina to call him.
So, Piero got up and went to his grandfather. Pietro lifted him up and put him on the table next to the recorder and told him to “sing the song again.” Piero sang the song exactly as his grandfather sang it. He listened to Piero sing the song and then he made the decision to go to his friend Antonio’s house to record it.
Antonio was a friend of Pietro, and he shared a passion for music with him. Antonio had in his home what was called at that time a “recording studio”. It was not very big but it did have a bigger stereo and a microphone. So, that afternoon they recorded Piero singing his grandfathers’ song in Sicilian. But it didn’t stop there!
The next day they went to the countryside to the Riolo’s house. Piero’s grandparents had a country house and the Riolo’s were their neighbors. Pietro had a good relationship with Mr. Riolo, because he had worked for him in the past and they were family friends. So, Pietro and Piero went to visit Mimmo Riolo. They all sat together under a carob tree because the air was always fresh under that tree. While the men talked, Piero ate prickly pears. (Piero has such great memories in the Riolo gardens, but that’s a story for another day.)
Pietro said to his old friend, “You know, Mimmo, yesterday I discovered that my grandson has a nice voice.”
Mimmo thought about it for a moment and came up with an idea. “I want Piero to listen to one of my favorite singers”.
Piero recalls…. And this is how I listened for the first time to Un Amore Cosi’ Grande by Mario del Monaco. And I learned it right away, but right away. (Piero has a photographic memory when it comes to songs. He only has to hear a song once or twice and he has it.) My grandfather was very proud. And something told me the next day we would go to record Un Amore Così Grande at Antonio’s house.
The day after they visited Mr. Riolo, they went to Anotonio’s house to record Un Amore Così Grande.
My name is Piero Barone. I was born on June 24, 1993 in the Sicilian city of Naro.
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 fondly remembers summers in the countryside. He recalls how in the winter the entire family gathered on a Sunday for wonderful dinners and everyone was presents from his great grandmother down to all the aunts, uncles and cousins, who were like sisters and brothers to him. And he says another beautiful thing that happened in the countryside was that in the summer the entire family met for dinner every evening. Piero has said about his time in the countryside…. I swear, they were perhaps the most beautiful days of my life, and I will never forget them.
On the evening, after recording Un Amore Così Grande, as always, everyone ate dinner together. After dinner all the kid’s played soccer while the adults went outside to chat and enjoy the cool of the evening on the terrace. But this evening would be a little different. This evening would be the beginning of Piero’s journey to stardom!
When they finished dinner, Pietro called to his wife. “Rina, get the recorder.” Rina brought in the recorder and placed it in front of Pietro. The recorder was already prepared with the cassette. Pietro turns to Piero’s dad and says, “Listen to this voice, Gaetano.” He pushes the play button and starts the recording of Un Amore Così Grande. Gaetano is amazed, like he has just heard a good thing, and he says, “It’s beautiful, who is it Daddy?” (Gaetano calls his father-in-law Daddy.) Pietro says, “Piero.” Silence! Gaetano has a questioning looking on his face. “How did Piero?” Pietro says, “So?”
On that night Piero’s life changed! His father did everything he could think of to start him on a musical journey. He wanted Piero to start the festivals, but he was too young.
He needed to “put in a base” because the voice alone was not enough. Gaetano asked himself, “What must Piero start to do?” And the answer was, “Piero must start playing the piano.”
His father wanted him to start taking piano lessons, but he didn’t start until he was eight or nine. In those four years between the time he first sang Un Amore Così Grande and the first time he sat at the keyboard of a piano, Piero says…. who took care of my musical education, my grandfather.
Piero’s grandfather had a great passion for music. He composed songs in dialect, and he was a singer of popular music in the country. In Naro there are many folk groups because it is the capital of the Almond Blossom Festival, the Primavera Narese. Keeping this traditional festival alive means keeping alive the musical tradition of the folk groups. Piero says…. so many guys are singing in these groups, and I was singing too. That’s how I started to learn the songs of Sicilian folklore.
Piero began to study piano at the age of eight but, economically, the family could not afford the costs of the lessons. So, Piero’s grandfather paid for everything, and not just from the material point of view. Stefano Tesè was Piero’s first piano teacher. The mother of Piero’s teacher lived on the floor below in his grandfather’s house and the master came to see his mother every Monday. Pietro made an agreement with Mr. Tesè to give Piero lessons every Monday at six o’clock.
Piero says…. the road was very short to my grandfather’s house, I could even go there alone, but here was a second problem, to get there I had to face a dog that was going around in that neighborhood, that dog would approach and bark furiously. And I have a fear of dogs. Squeezed under my grandfather’s arm, he, who being blind needed to be guided, I felt protected as behind a shield: when the dog approached, he shouted: “Passa arrassu!” (fast pass), go away, and the dog went away.
Piero confesses there is a third problem…. every Monday six in the afternoon was a nightmare for me, because I did not like going to the piano lesson, or rather, I liked it only when the lessons were good, when I could play, but at the beginning I was bored a lot with the hammers, solfeggios and all the things that you rightly have to learn to play the piano. Maestro Tesè was a tough guy, and I was always worried that he would scold me. After a while I started to understand how the piano worked and the lessons started to please me.
And so it was that Piero started his classical musical education.
You know how I love including interviews in my stories. This interview is different.
A number of years ago, Enrico Lucci of Ilene did an interview with the boys and their families. During the interview, Lucci asked Pietro Ognibene a question something to the effect of “Can you believe all that’s happened to Piero?”
Pietro: When I’m alone and I close my eyes, I can believe it, if I could see, maybe it would not happen.
Lucci: Why?
Pietro: I could continue my work, my way, without stopping on him. (What he meant was if he had not become blind, he would have been at work, so he would have less time with his grandson. More clearly, he would not have been on the terrace that day.)
Lucci: Is it worth the loss of sight for such a giant success?
Pietro: This is a question too important because, if I tell you it is better not to see my grandson that would be a lie, and vice versa it would be a bigger lie. (He cannot answer because in either case he loses something important. To see his grandson but then Piero would not become famous, or not see his grandson but so Piero has become famous.)
It’s hard to step away from this wonderful story because there is so much more to tell, but this is all I can say for now! We will return the Episode Two of Piero’s story after we hear Ignazio and Gianluca’s story in Episode One.
One last thing, I promised you that at the end of Piero’s story I would tell you what the other thing is that I relate to in this story. Around the time of this event in the garden when Piero was swinging on the swing that hung from the Mulberry tree, I was busy in New York writing a screenplay, the name of that screenplay was The Mulberry Tree!
This is the first episode in Piero’s story. Before I move on, I would like to say that over this last year, I have written more about Piero than the other two guys. Why? Because I watched Piero come into his own. He was always a phenomenal tenor but during the pandemic, Piero had the opportunity to do something that he couldn’t do so easily while on tour; he really started studying Opera. Every afternoon, Piero would come on Instagram and would practice the opera Cavalleria Rusticana. Since his return to the stage after the pandemic, we’ve all noticed his phenomenal tenor voice has because a magnificent Operatic voice. So powerful, so engaging! And when the new individual Piero sings his operas, he does what every opera singer from the time of Caruso has done ~ he follows his opera with Neapolitan songs. When I heard Piero sing Marechiare I knew the task was done, he was ready! Piero you are so ready for an Opera. Whenever and wherever you sing your first opera rest assured I will be there, and I think many of the fans will be with me.
A Note to Piero’s American fans: On November 5, 2023, our Piero will run in the New York Marathan. Piero all of the American fans will be cheering you on! I will see you at the starting line in my hometown of Staten Island.
What I have written here are excerpts from the book the guys wrote about their lives. “Il Volo, Un’avventura Straordinario, La Nostra Storia.” (An Extraordinary Adventure, Our Story) This is just a small piece of each man’s story. The book is written in Italian. If you can read Italian, I would highly recommend that you read it. It’s wonderful! If not, I can only hope that someday it will be translated into English. Or you can use Google Translate to translate it.
I also recommend you read their second book “IL Volo: Quello Che Porto Nel Cuore” (What I Carry in My Heart).
And let’s not forget their album. Available on Spotify, Amazon, and other music media!
Join me next week as I go back Through the Fields of My Mind and open the door to a new adventure. Next week we take a look at Ignazio’s childhood.
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
This story took me a very long time to write. Why? Because it shows us how between 2020 and 2023 the guys changed not who they are but how they present themselves. It’s part of maturity, of course, but not entirely! After being together constantly for 11 years they suddenly found themselves communicating by phone. A very unique thing for them. They were never more than a hotel room away.
The Last performance before returning to Italy on March 11, 2020
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 find the turning point the new beginning When the Tides Changed!
When exactly did that happen? I think we have to go back 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, it begins ~ 2020
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 know it we were all singing it!
In July 2020 the guys performed at the Taormina Film Festival.
During the time when they were preparing for this event, the guys did fund raisers including one for Dolce & Gabbana! Which brings me to another thing that happened during isolation. The guys took on a new line of clothing. The Armani men went Dolce & Gabbana!
They were stunning in their new Dolce & Gabbana tuxedos!
At the Taormina Film 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!
In September 2020 the guys went to the SMA Awards….
When the guys arrived on stage at the SMA Awards, they had a message for the world and all the people in the industry:
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!
This beautiful statement was followed by the performance of the evening. Their choice of “Nessun Dorma” sent an even stronger message. 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.
From their first note the whole arena lit up. Their voices were clean and crisp. Their presence was illuminating. Their notes rose above the Arena into the night sky to let the world know music is back! The final note of their song sent the final message. All three voices rose in unison and their voices sent forth a note that took our breaths away! It said We Have Returned! “Turn on the Lights!”
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. All the work they did after their quarantine moved things forward in Italy. This included their most important project the concert in Tribute to Ennio Morricone and the recording of their album by the same name.
The guys have Hit the Restart Button! They have played a major part in the restart of the music industry In Italy!
In October 2020, the guys surprised us with a press conference with the Mayor of Rome. The meeting set the wheels in motion for a phenomenal project, a Tribute to Ennio Morricone!
As you know the event was supposed to take place in Piazza Pio XII in the shadow of St. Peter’s Basilica. Due to the pandemic the venue had to be changed and the one million people who might have attended the free concert, were disappointed but, as always, the guys came through and on June 5, 2021, they held the performance of a lifetime at the ancient Arena of Verona! Who will ever forget it!
But we’ll get to that later.
This press conference was about a very ambitious project which included the genius of Il Volo and the music of Ennio Morricone. These four men, Il Volo and Ennio Morricone, have done extraordinary things in the music industry. Having worked together when they were teenagers the guys were the perfect people to present the legacy of Ennio Morricone!
On December 19, 2020, the guys went to St. Peters Square to record their Christmas Show. It was an exceptionally cold evening, and the guys were shivering as they sang. Behind them St. Peter’s Square was lit up and St. Peters and the Vatican shone brilliantly against the night sky! One light blared from the Papal residence. The light from the room of His Holiness Pope Francis. Together with Pope Francis we enjoyed a magnificent mini concert! Then the guys sent us a beautiful Christmas message!
Ten magnificent minutes at St. Peter’s Square. And this was their message to us!
In the middle of the video the guys spoke….
Gianluca: On this very special day in which, even though we are close, we are forced to stay apart, we wanted to find a way to wish you a Merry Christmas.
Ignazio: We did it in the way that best represents us with music in this extraordinary square where it seems like we are surrounded by two welcoming arms.
Piero: May Christmas with its magic bring a smile to your homes and warm your hearts. We will dedicate every note, every word on this Holy Night!
And at the end….
Gianluca: Merry Christmas
Ignazio: Happy New Year
Piero: Good life from Il Volo and Rai 1.
But there was one more message for the fans! The guys wanted to end 2020 on a high note!
How did they bring the year out? With a message from Verona!
Gianluca: Hello friends from Verona.
Ignazio: We should have seen each other in 2020, but we are ready to bring you a lot more music in 2021.
Piero: See you soon: Happy Holidays.
And so it is 2021….
On the last day of February, we got the sad news that Vito Boschetto had passed away! We were all shocked. We knew the guys were supposed to sing at San Remo but would they.
On a March evening when no one expected it, the guys including Ignazio stepped on the stage of the Ariston Theater and sang Your Love. We cried, the guys cried, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. Without words it was understood that Ignazio did this to honor his father because he knew his father would want him to perform that evening!
This was the first sign of the true strength of Il Volo. A true brotherhood. From there the bond became stronger!
Your Love was and will always be the song that bonds us with the guys!
The other thing I remember very well about that night was that it was the first time we heard the song Màkari which was written by Ignazio for the Rai TV Series Màkari.
So we know Ignazio was writing during the pandemic.
I talk about San Remo and when I talk about it I have to say Carlo Conti played a big role in the career of Il Volo!
It seems every time there is a major event in their lives Conti was there.
In 2014 the guys made the decision to go to San Remo. As you know, at San Remo you must sing an unpublished song. When Michele Torpedine presented the song the guys chose, Conti said, “no they can’t win with that song.” Conti told Michele, “I know these two men who wrote a song I think is worthy.” Conti gave Michele the song and he presented it to the guys. As you know the guys didn’t like it, that is, everyone but Piero didn’t like it. Even though Piero liked the song, he didn’t think they could win with it! Of course, that song was Grande Amore!
On the evening of the award ceremony, it was Carlo Conti who said, “the winner is Il Volo.” Conti was very proud of the guys, and it was his great pleasure to present the guys with the Lion, top honors in the music industry in Italy.
As we arrive at 2021, we begin to see the results of what the guys did while they were in isolation.
First and foremost, they took on the Morricone project.
In June 2021, the guys did a concert in Verona. When I wrote about this concert I called it Phenomenal, because that’s what it was. Let’s take a look back at the Tribute to Ennio Morricone, where we witnessed an amazing transformation in their production. Not to mention the fact that it was their first Live Concert on TV with Rai 1.
This is where the tides begin to change….
I wrote about this concert, besides the superb performance by the guys, did you notice the interesting scenery? So different from what we are used to in an Il Volo concert. Spectacular scenery! And the videos that go along with each song. Such precision! Just amazing! Everything was so well thought out. Down to the last detail!
It’s obvious from this fantastic concert, while they were dealing with the pandemic, they were being very productive. Gianluca said, “We dealt with the pandemic productively, we tried not to give up. Young people must not give up the strength to believe in their dreams and pursue their goals.”
Piero reminds us that, “this is the first time we have performed a Concert live on TV.”
Yes, this is the first nod by Rai, but it wouldn’t be the last.
This was the first and only concert in 2021.
When the guys presented their songs they were presenting them 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 it started. This is where individuality began to come into play.
They were mature, they were vibrant, they had come into their own individuality. They knew not what others wanted them to know, no they knew what they wanted, and this new idea of individuality was set into play.
They have matured in body and mind and their voices have 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 twelve years they haven’t waned, they’ve increased in strength and intensity! There is a certain power in their voices that grabs you from the first note of the concert to the last.
Each guy has grown into his voice and is showing a maturity and style the likes of which men who are approaching the end of their careers can only have imagined! Twelve years of a lifetime! A lifetime full of wonders and experience which most entertainers will never have the honor of knowing.
In September 2021, we had an exciting week with the guys. They went from Melpignano to Verona and shared every amazing moment with us!
I cut this video to where the guys are. If you wish to see the full concert, I added it at the end of this story.
Albano awaits their arrival of the guys on stage. He tells us about the song. It is from the region of Apulia, the region where he was born. He says, “It reminds me of the autumn song. It is the November song.”
November is the time of the olive harvest, and a man would always pass with a cart of olives to sell to the people. Albano and Ignazio sing a phrase in the Apulian dialect (“Who has olives, I have to buy them.”) Albano said when Modugno sang in the Apulian dialect he was very proud of him. Ignazio said, “So let’s hope, with this next song we will sing, to make you even more proud of your land.”
Albano tells the guys, You know that I am proud to have you here beside me…
Gianluca responded, and we are happy ….
Albano (continues) …simply because I baptized these two.
Albano is referring to Ignazio and Piero who he performed with on Ti Lascio Una Canzone. I remember those performances and that Albano was in awe of both of them. Then Albano continues about Gianluca who he didn’t perform with at Ti Lascio una Canzone.
Albano says, And to you, (Gianluca) you I baptize this evening.
Gianluca responds, One day, sooner or later, we will sing together. But it is nice, I can say, that these events make it possible to spread a musical culture like this of Taranta and it is right that young people are attached to the roots of these great events. We must not lose this desire to carry on traditions, we too, as young people, are proud to be here tonight.
Next stop Venezia! Talk about an exciting event!
In the afternoon the guys attended the award presentations where they were presented as winners of the 78th Film Italy Movie Awards.
Upon exiting the building, they were interviewed by an unknown man…
Man: This is not San Remo this is the cinema exhibition!
Piero: But it seems a little like San Remo, we meet, all familiar faces.
Gianluca: We are preparing a very ambitious recording project which is a tribute to maestro Ennio Morricone. We had the opportunity to collaborate with Vittorio Storaro in a music video, so we are here in the company of a great master of cinema, Vittorio Storaro.
Ignazio:He chose our voices for a tribute of the video of Your Love, which is shot in the Frasassi Caves, and therefore it is beautiful, this is not the first time we have come here. It is always a beautiful atmosphere. Venice is a place that is stupendous.
We were so proud of the award they won at the 78th Venice Film Festival, but that was only the beginning!
Next stop Verona…
Do you ever feel when they’re in Verona, they are home? I certainly do. To me they own the Verona Arena. Every performance there is phenomenal!
They returned to the Seat Music Awards to sing their beautiful song, “Your Love” and to pick up their second award for the week!
At the SMA awards Carlo presented the guys with their DIVA award…
Carlo said:I seriously read the inscription: Arena di Verona Award for Il Volo, for the tribute project to Ennio Morricone, represented with great success right here at the Verona Arena, live on RAI1, and for the over 10 years of career, which led them to be known and appreciated representatives of Italian music in the world.
2022 what an amazing year!
The guys are back on the road and there was no stopping them!
Their first appearance in America put all the fans in shock!
White tuxedos!
I wrote a story called Drop Dead Gorgeous, and that they were!
And what did the fans do? They went everywhere. I was in New York, Phoenix and Los Angeles. We just couldn’t get enough of the guys!
New York
Me, Sana and Kathleen
Los Angeles
Anna, Me and Rose Marie
Kathleen, Annette, Sana, Me and Anna
My biggest fan ~ Maguerite Nourian and me
After they left the states, they went to Australia!
But that’s not all they did!
They wrote a new book!
Yes, they were busy and then there was 2023. First stop Japan!
Yuko Kato interviewed the guys. These are just two of the questions she asked the guys!
Yuko Kato: I heard that you recorded a live video at Kiyomizu Temple without an audience.
Piero replied:It was a great experience. We make music called bel canto, which is an Italian tradition, and thanks to bel canto, we can sing in many beautiful places. This is also true in Italy, and again we can sing in a very beautiful temple in Japan. Kiyomizu Temple is the most important temple in Kyoto and has a great history, so it was really an honor to sing in such a wonderful place. It’s a very small place, so we couldn’t let the audience in, but I hope you enjoy what we’ve done by watching the video. Personally, I feel that Japanese culture and Italian culture are very compatible. Anyway, it has become an unforgettable memory for a lifetime, and I will continue to talk about live performances at Kiyomizu Temple in the future.
Yuko Kato: How did you feel about performing at a Buddhist temple?
PIero: We respect all religions. In fact, before the performance, we asked the monk of the temple to offer a prayer. Honestly, I didn’t understand what was said. (bitter smile). But we also have a lot of respect for that.
After Japan the guys returned to Italy and began the year that would change it all.
So where are we today for one Armani is back! But more importantly, we are on the threshold of a new and absolutely incredible adventure!
When the guys stepped on the stage in Verona for a concert which would be filmed and produced by Rai, they brought along new ideas and new concepts.
The three men on the stage were different! They had new ideas, and they were ready to share them with us!
For one, the guys invited guests to perform with them. And the production itself was different! It was everyone’s concert not just Il Volo. As the night went on, each guy told us who they are, and what their music is about!
Gianluca ~ Rock! Ignazio ~ Pop! Piero – Opera! The new Il Volo!
Italy is now ecstatic with the programs! And Rai said new productions would follow.
But it’s not just a production it’s not the magnificence of what is going on on the stage. It was three men on the stage in a production with other entertainers, showing Italy, who they really are.
Italy always complained that their music was old but that night the guys showed Italy that you can have your old classics that the people love while sharing a new concept! A new individuality!
They put on an absolutely spectacular concert that blew the minds of the Italians, actually all the fans, and grossed phenomenal ratings on Rai!
They proved that each of them is a star in his own right! And that star shines individually and collectively with one another. Each man has a phenomenal voice and each song they sang was a phenomenal event, a new beginning! We watched and listened as the tides changed and they introduced us to three new men who are at the height of their performance! They wanted to introduce us to their minds and their music and wanted nothing more than to share these new concepts with us.
The project that was three years in the making finally came to fruition on that stage in Verona! The new concept, the new individuality that started in their homes during the pandemic came full circle on the stage in Verona When the Tides Changed!
Final Note to the fans (my friends): I know many of you are not on Instagram and Facebook. Yesterday I put up a message that I would like to relate to all of you.
Over the last few weeks many of you have written to me. Some of you wished me well and had very kind words for me. Many of you prayed for me! When I walked out of Memorial Sloan Kettering yesterday, I called my sister. I could tell she was worried when she answered the phone. I said: No Cancer! She was crying. She said I was just saying a prayer for you and when I said Amen, the phone rang. I said you have good connections with the Lord!
This last week was extremely stressful for me. It was your messages and your prayers that got me through it! You all have good connections with the Lord! Prayers do work, my sweet friends. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
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 I have included the Complete concert at Verona in Tribute to Morricone.
Verona concert June 5, 2021
Notte della Taranta 2020 Concert with Albano Full Concert
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
If you are a reader who has followed me for almost four years, you will recall that I said, “I am not a person who goes on fan pages. I’m always too busy to stop and read all that people have to say.” But suddenly in March 2020, I wasn’t busy. In fact, I was completely shut down. No business, nothing! That’s what led me to start reading the fan pages.
When I realized the fans were making themselves crazy over the guys going home to be with their families, I decided to write an article about their departure. I posted the article on Facebook and some of the administrators of the Il Volo fan groups started to message me. Can we post your article? Then they followed up with can you write another article. Well, I had nothing to do so I said yes!
So let me stop for a moment to tell you about two of those administrators. Katerina Tsaousi and Fofi Saratsioti Administrators of Piero Barone, Il sogno mio d’amore.
This is Katerina!
After reading my first story Katerina wrote to me and asked if she could post my story on her site because she said this was the perfect description of the guys and their music.
This is Fofi!
After posting the story Fofi thanked me and invited me to write more stories and post them on their site.
They have carried every one of my stories for almost four years.
Katerina and Fofi live in Greece, and I had the great pleasure of meeting them while I was in Athens for the concert.
These two ladies treated me like family. For three days wherever I went one or both of them was with me.
Maria, Me, Katerina and Elena
And it didn’t stop at that, their friend Maria was in charge of driving me everywhere. We spent a beautiful afternoon by the sea!
When I left Greece, I left behind my new family!
So those are two ladies who have been with me from the beginning!
The third lady who has been with me from day one is someone you all know, Daniela Perani.
At one point I received a message from Daniela who asked if she could post my article on Il Volo Flight Crew! I said yes, and almost four years later, as you know, I have my own column, Through the Fields of My Mind, which is published every Wednesday. And the rest is history!
Daniela besides being our translator at Flight Crew, also writes the reviews of the concerts. And they certainly are sparkling reviews!
After reading my first article, Daniela wrote:
Reading, here and there on the various sites and fan pages, I found this beautiful article written by Susan De Bartoli. Several fan pages have recognized the goodness of this beautiful article by publishing it. Since maybe not all of you who follow Flight Crew may have read it, I thought I’d post it here too, and I asked Susan for her confirmation to do so. Here’s what she wrote.
I’m not going to repost the whole article. I’m only posting the part that represents the Yesterday, in The Day After Yesterday.
Yesterday!
Back then I wrote:
These three young men are extraordinary! They are remarkable, exceptional people. And, they have revolutionized the music industry.
Gianluca is known as the Velvet Voice!
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 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 your being. 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.
Let’s talk about Ignazio, who I call the bridge.
Ignazio is a lyrical tenor. He, like Gianluca, is exceptional because he can sing from the lowest to the highest note in the tenor range. And God knows he can, easily, hit the high C. Waiting for it and knowing it’s going to happen is so exciting!
A lyrical tenor has a warm graceful voice which is bright and strong but not heavy and it can be heard over an orchestra. Ignazio’s voice is smooth, clean and clear, with an acute extension. His voice has the ability to increase the baritone voice of Gianluca while softening the spinto tenor voice of Piero.
Ignazio has many faces. He is very whimsical in his songs as in “Libiamo ne’ lieti calici” from La Traviata. In the aria “Una Furtiva Lagrima” from L’elisir D’amore, Ignazio makes you feel the innocents of Nemorino’s love for Adina.
Ignazio’s voice is the one that brings it all together!
And finally, Piero.
Piero is a spinto (meaning pushed) tenor. A spinto tenor has the brightness and height of a lyric tenor, but with a heavier vocal weight enabling the voice to be “pushed” to dramatic climaxes with less strain than his lighter-voice counterparts. His voice is warm, graceful, bright, and can be heard over an orchestra.
Piero has a powerful voice that easily reaches the higher notes. Every note that comes out of his mouth reaches us with such intensity and remains with us for a long time. It’s the voice that reaches out to you and demands your attention.
Think of Piero singing “E Lucevan le Stele” from Tosca. Or singing the beautiful Spanish aria “No Puede Ser” from A Tabernera del Puerto. From the first note Piero pierces your soul! His passion comes through in his music. Arias are very dramatic and Piero brings all the drama of the aria into his performance. Always a showstopper!
Now let’s put the voices together. Gianluca starts most songs because he is a baritone, and most songs are written for baritones. As I mentioned he draws you into the song. Gianluca will sing (in most cases) to Ignazio and Ignazio to Piero. This is how the three voices become one.
Most groups sing and you hear just a song but with Il Volo you are surrounded by voices. And the individuality of their voices entices you and it stays with you. “Musica che Resta”. (Music that Remains) Think of what Piero says when he introduces one of the solos, “After we were together a while, we realized we had three different voices.”
Piero wasn’t saying that they suddenly found out they had different voices he was saying we are Tres Voces un Alma (three voices and one soul) and, we need to show you those voices individually.
And that’s where we find them today!
I wrote back then, to fulfill their dream they had to leave their family, friends and home and go to another country. And they had to share this journey with two people who they really knew nothing about except that they had the same dream as they did.
At first they were with family but then they were alone. They learned to survive without the people they loved. They learned to lean on one another. That dependence turned into a friendship and that friendship into a brotherhood. It enabled them to trust enough to collaborate and perfect something truly amazing. Something that revolutionized the music industry.
Let me go further by showing you a collaboration by these three amazing, very, very talented, young men that is so unreal that it boggles your mind. This is a collaboration of love. Stop and listen to this performance of “Por Una Cabeza”.
Look at how they smile at one another during the performance. A smile that says yes that’s it! Their faces are ablaze! Their expressions let one another know that it works. And, finally, when it’s over, they are so excited they can hardly contain themselves. Look at their smiles, their faces are lit up in joy and their embrace says it all! They are brothers who love one another!
At the end of my first story, Daniela commented….
Susan, I really have to thank you for your nice words, you hit the mark in the description of Gianluca, Ignazio and Piero.
Thanks also for allowing the publication.
We will be happy to have your other posts if you wish.
A hug from the whole Flight Crew family.
Well, obviously, I continued to write for Flight Crew!
After those first articles, people started asking me about the guy’s lives. Having never met the guys all I really knew was what I read, in their book, Un’avventura Straordinaria, La nostra Storia. Since the book was in Italian my stories gave everyone who couldn’t read Italian an opportunity to hear their story. Ironically, most people had the book, but they just couldn’t read it!
The months passed in isolation, and I continued to write my Il Volo stories. But there was a lot of restlessness on my part. At one point it seemed my world was about to collapse. I worried about what would happen with my business and where my life was headed. My concerns began to take over and I found myself becoming depressed. And that’s when something amazing happened.
I was writing an Il Volo story and I heard a ping on my iPad and looked to see what it was. It was a message on Facebook. It seemed someone wanted me to hear this song. The song was Il Mare Calmo della Sera and Ignazio was singing the song. So, I stopped to listen and I also watched very closely as he sang. There he was 13 years old, the sweetest most adorable thing you ever want to see. He closed his eyes and began to sing. And I’m smiling because I’m thinking about what I just read in their book….
After several lessons, Lilliana asked Ignazio (perhaps 12 years old at this time) to take part in a competition. He wasn’t completely convinced that he wanted to get on a stage. He said, Until that moment I had only thought about singing, but I had never seriously thought that all that singing one day could bring me into the spotlight.
In short, he was afraid. He feared that he would make mistakes. That he would forget the words. The whole idea of the stage frightened him. But with Lilliana’s urging he decided to do it. He said, “I was about to get on the stage. My legs were trembling, the butterflies in my stomach were no longer butterflies but crazy swallows.
In this video, Ignazio’s head is down! He never looks up until the middle of the song when he opens his eyes and smiles, those amazing dimples are so obvious, his whole face lights up and then he shuts his eyes and finishes his song.
I sat back in my chair and said this is a sign. If Ignazio at 13 could get over his fear, not of singing but of forgetting the words, then I could certainly get over my fear of what will happen when this pandemic is over. I needed to calm down. What was Ignazio singing Il Mare Calmo della Sera – The Calm Evening Sea. So, I put the song on my iPhone, iPad and computer and every night after that I listened to the song before going to bed. After this whenever I wrote I always had Ignazio right at my side. His voice had a calming effect on me.
As I continued to write my stories I began to understand the guys better, and I began to notice how kind and compassionate Ignazio was. He is a man who puts everyone before himself. Who always stands last and makes everyone more important than himself. Very selfless!
In the beginning of 2021 I was asked to write a book about Padre Pio. What did I know about writing a book. Nothing! So, what do I do. I said OKAY I’ll give it a try.
By now, every time I wrote I had Ignazio’s beautiful voice to calm me and his beautiful life to inspire me. He truly is my inspiration. I wrote two books with him at my side. The first book sold over 9,000 copies in the first edition and the new book will be out in the Spring of 2024.
It’s ironic that a person who I barely knew was able to get me through not just a pandemic but two books one of which one was a best seller and hopefully the second one will be too!
Ignazio continues to inspire me every day. No matter what happens in the world he has his hand out to help others. He truly is an amazing man and undoubtedly a phenomenal tenor. Perhaps the greatest tenor in the world today!
As most of you know, today is Ignazio’s birthday so I would like to say….
Happy Birthday Ignazio! I wish you a year full of Joy and Happiness! And I wish that all your dreams for the future come true! Always be happy!
Now that all the worries are gone, my business is back, and I no longer fear what will happen next, I have moved on in the world, and hopefully I/we will continue to move forward!
I will continue to write my stories each week and soon I will begin to retell the guy’s story from the beginning when they were children. I try to do this every so often because with each new round of concerts, they get new fans! But quite honestly, even the old fans enjoy rereading the stories.
And for as long as there is life in me I will continue to write about these three amazing men.
So, where are we today ~ The Day After Yesterday……
Over the last year I have seen a new Il Volo. Each man’s voice is totally phenomenal! Each voice is at its peak. Each man is living his moment!
As I wrote in my last story, their decision to sing individually was a decision that will bring them to a new realization in their lives and their careers.
Experiencing this new concept is amazing. When you attend a concert it’s like attending three concerts. You meet each man individually. You feel his love for music, music which is his alone and not shared by anyone else. It’s a new beginning. For us it’s experiencing each guy on his own turf. Each man gives a free hand to the next while complimenting and encouraging each other. But certainly, they don’t need any encouragement because they are just reaching down into their souls and presenting what was in there all along. The real Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca.
Piero lays out his operatic voice in an amazing way. He was always amazing but now he can reach higher notes and go deep into his soul and bring out all the drama of every aria. The songs he’s sung before are much more vibrant than they were. His voice is more fluid. He’s more at ease and more confident in his delivery! We always knew it was there, but he had to find his direction..
When he walks on the stage now, he is no longer Piero the spinto tenor. He is Piero stepping on a stage of an opera house and delivering the most beautiful arias you will ever hear. And he presents them as an opera singer. He delivers his opera and then sings his Neapolitan songs. Yes Piero you have arrived at the door of the opera house, and we will wait for you to walk out on that stage and show us who you are! I will be there for the event!
Ignazio always had soul but he recently began to share it in a most unique way. For so long Ignazio held back expressing who he was but now he has opened a new door. The delivery of female songs allows him to use the voice that was hidden for so long. Ignazio was made for the higher notes! His voice complements and delivers them in a unique way. The minute he opens up, he sends thrills throughout our bodies. His voice reaches our inner being and leaves a mark for all eternity. He is the endless voice. The one that stays with you and reawakens your senses long after leaving the concert hall. He is the voice that brings it all together.
Did you ever notice how Piero and Gianluca look at Ignazio when he sings? Or how Giampiero Grani looks at him when he sings. It is a look of total admiration. He brings every song home! He truly is the voice that extends Gianluca and lessens Piero. The bridge that brings it all together. Not to mention the fact that he is the entire production. His energy moves the guys and the stage. He electrifies you! No man has ever captured the whole concept of the stage like Ignazio. He doesn’t move around the production; the production moves around him. The biggest asset in Il Volo!
And then there is Gianluca! Where did this new Gianluca come from? For years I would scream at the screen, Gianluca move! Get with it! Gianluca has a phenomenal voice but with that voice you need to have movement. Finally, he’s found the moves. I think his love for Elvis and his new delivery of Elvis has given him what he was missing all these years. He has finally taken the phenomenal voice and given it meaning. Gianluca any baritone would die for your voice! You are one of a kind. Very unique! There has never been another baritone like you. And now you are finally giving it your all. The true sensation of delivering Elvis! Your interpretation of Elvis in itself is truly unique! You bring us his songs in a new and amazing way. You give us what even Elvis couldn’t give us, a voice that gives his songs meaning! Elvis would be in awe of you!
So, we find ourselves on The Day After Yesterday wondering where do the guys go from here? They will continue to present themselves in this new light but for now they are Il Volo, and they will continue to be Il Volo for as long as possible.
This new concept has given them a chance to give us everything that is new while preserving everything that is old! The concerts that we love so dearly will go on and we will enjoy their new interpretation of concerts. This is such a great opportunity for both us and them. We keep what makes us happy while allowing them to have what makes them happy! A win, win as I see it!
For your listening pleasure San Jose Concert 2020.
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
As most of you know, I was stuck at Athens airport for 13 hours, so I wasn’t able to post my story. I thought about doing a review on the concert but I’m going to leave that to Daniela who does such sparkling reviews. Instead, I want to talk about what I observed being that this was the first live concert I’ve seen since the guys started their new concerts.
Let me start by saying Athens was Phenomenal! All of their concerts are phenomenal, but this had a different edge to it! This concert had a lot of energy on the part of the guys and the audience. The audience was amazingly responsive. For a new group (new to Athens that is) in a new town that’s unusual. But it does say something. It says these people are really Il Volo fans who have waited a long time for them to come to their town.
And they came to town so ready for this concert. The guys were so at ease, so at home here, you would never believe it was their first performance in Athens!
To begin with, for me, it was the first performance of their new individually. I love how the concert is divided up. I love how we can have everything old that we love and everything new to love!
The performances have become more personal. The guys can each speak to the audience with an open heart and give them a feel for what they will present and represent. Every song has a story, and we are finally finding out what that story is! Each story comes from the heart of each guy. We can relate to what he is feeling, why he chose his song, and above all he can present it in his own way with his own style.
Their styles stand out.
Gianluca is flamboyant!
Ignazio is soulful!
And Piero is reserved!
What’s new is each one has become an absolute presence on stage. Of course, Ignazio, Mr. Personality, is in charge as always holding it all together but they have broken out. Ignazio’s humor as always is an asset on stage. But they are all reaching new dimensions.
I will say, I am so used to Gianluca being the romantic who leads us into a beautiful song that I find myself amazed at his new look and totally new performance. He has a new creativity that expresses a vision of Elvis from the fifties! He shines like a rock star. He’s really loosened up and this has added volume to his performance. Gianluca truly loves this music! It suits his beautiful voice. And of course, there’s his love for Sinatra. Gianluca will tell you Sinatra was his idol. I’ve said this so many times, Gianluca, Sinatra would be in awe of you. Sinatra was amazing but he didn’t have Gianlucas range. No other baritone has ever had Gianlucas unique voice.
I find Gianluca more expressive than before. And he has all the moves down pat to complement the Elvis songs. If you’re singing Elvis, you’ve got to act like Elvis. But Gianluca does it in a different way. There’s a certain finesse in the way he delivers an Elvis song! He romances the microphone!
Above all we can now feel Gianlucas love for his music. Before he used his amazing voice just to deliver a song, now he uses it to encompass a song; to become completely a part of it.
What can I say about Ignazio? He always was the presence on the stage and now that presence has turned into a whole production. His voice comes from every direction. And it is even clearer and more crisp than in the past. His presentation of female artists is rich, and these songs bring out the magnificence of his voice.
Ignazio’s delivery of every song makes you beg for more. He has such feeling when he sings, and he shares that feeling with us. You can truly feel every note. A note that comes from deep within his soul and gives us the most amazing sensations! You can feel the depth of that feeling as he reaches into his soul and gives us a performance to last a lifetime.
Everything about Ignazio shines. He is the consummate performer. He has exceptional knowledge of all that happens on the stage. He gives the audience what they want, and he does it in an exceptional way that only he can do. His shines even brighter than before!
And then there was Piero!
I think I’ve written more about Piero this year than the other two. Why? Because I watched Piero truly become an opera star this year!
His voice has exceptional power. He is always a showstopper. His voice has become very dramatic. It’s always warm, graceful and bright and now it is reaching higher notes that extend to new boundaries. There is intensity in every note. His voice reaches out to you and demands your attention. Each note pierces your soul! His passion comes through in his music. His Arias have become very dramatic, and he shares that drama in his performance. He performs like an opera singer. Even his repertoire is that of an opera singer. He sings his opera and he sings his Neapolitan songs. Piero you are so ready for an opera stage. And I will be there for the first performance!
Sticking with Piero for a moment, I want to add Ignazio to the picture.
Their performance of Miserere is like experiencing a phenomenal moment in time. I’ve said this before, I heard others sing this duet, but no one can sing it like Piero and Ignazio. Two beautiful voices that span time and eternity and deliver a magical moment! Hearing it live was amazing. One of the moments I cried during the concert.
Piero took the opportunity to thank Michele Torpedine for making this moment possible. Piero said “because Michele went to Philadelphia it made it possible for them to sing this song.”
This was something I wrote about not long ago. Zucchero wanted to sing this song with Pavarotti, so Michele had a young man who was blind record the song and he brought it to Philadelphia to have Pavarotti listen to it. When Pavarotti heard the song he refused to sing it with Zucchero (they eventually did sing it together). But Pavarotti commented, whoever that singer is you should sign him. And that’s how Andrea Boccelli was discovered. Michele was also Boccelli’s manager.
And that’s how the song was handed down and now is being sung by to amazing singers, Piero and Ignazio.
The guys presentation of Hallelujah is phenomenal! It’s like it’s one continual note. Absolutely harmonious. Listen to how smooth and clean their voices are. The purity of their voices. One continuous voice. There is no break, it is complete harmony, absolute energy. A very serene delivery. Angelic from three angel voices.
About the Odeon Herodes Atticus Theater. It is a beautiful Amphitheater. In Taormina we look out at the stage, and we see Mount Etna and the beautiful Ionian Sea. But in Athens the views are reversed.
We see the stage….
While the guys see the magnificent view!
This had to be one of the most beautiful views the guys ever had during a concert. I’m sure it took their breath away. What beautiful thoughts will remain in their memories!
They gave their all and as a result Athens was Phenomenal!
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.
Credit to owners of all photos and videos.
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