Before I begin, let me say the cover picture on this story is my all-time favorite picture of the guys and believe me over the last four years I’ve gone through thousands upon thousands of pictures. Why this picture? Because this picture tells a story about Fifteen Years of a Lifetime! This picture is worth not a thousand words but ten thousand words.
Look at how proud they are! The smiles, the joy of sharing the stage with one another. When you’ve come this far you have to look to one another and ask how did we get here? How did we, just kids, succeed, and how do we continue the journey? This is a story that has it’s roots in Naro, Bologna and Montepagano. Three young boys came into this world with totally amazing, totally unique voices. They each were one of a kind.
Let’s take a look back a minute to their beginnings….
How did they find their way to the Ariston stage at the same moment in time. La Forza del Destino or the hand of God? It’s all the same, it’s the hand of God. I think God had a plan and He set it in motion, and it all came together one night on the stage of the Ariston theater during the 2009 season of Ti Lascio Una Canzone.
I’ve written about this many times and what I am saying is something that the guys have said many times. Faith, divine intervention brought them together.
For me, I see the day they sang together for the first time as the day their destiny was fulfilled. La Forza del destino (the force of destiny). I call it as I see it! This was God’s plan! His hand was always guiding each of these boys. How else could you explain how they happened to be in the same place at the same time? We’re not just talking about three teenage boys with nice voices, we’re talking about three teenage boys with phenomenal voices. Very unique voices! Truly one-of-a-kind voices! Their voices are like no other voices in the world. Am I saying they are the greatest singers in the world? Yes! They are touched by the hand of God!
It wasn’t just that the voices were extraordinary, no, it was that they complemented one another. It was natural and it was apparent from the very first note that these voices worked well together and that their voices are in tune with one another. The first time they walked out on the stage, their fate was sealed.
So how is this possible? For me there is only one way to explain it! Before the Lord sent these three amazing men to earth, He said what this world needs are three voices that can bring joy to my people. So, He chose three loving couples and sent each one a son who would bring joy to the world through his voice!
Alone each voice is phenomenal. Together they are a symphony! Listen to their voices when they sing. Their voices come from every direction like a symphony orchestra that is forming the music around you!
I talked about their individual voices and discoveries many times. Usually when you talk about someone being discovered it goes something like, “I was standing on a street corner singing when….” No that isn’t what happened here. The reason they are so unique is because they were discovered as children. Very small children! Three, four years old. They really had those intense unmistakable voices very early on. A voice that makes you stop in your tracks and say, “Am I really hearing that voice coming from that child?” They were born with those voices.
Who could imagine that these three young boys who stepped on the stage of Ti Lascio Una Canzone would travel around the world, join renowned singers and immediately become a part of an industry which, in reality, is so hard to break into? Yes, it was La Forza del Destino that led them to America.
After singing with Piero and Ignazio Gianluca said, “I thought there were three hundred thousand boys singing like me, and instead that night I discovered that there are only two: Ignazio and Piero.” Of course, Gianluca was referring to the night they sang together for the first time on Ti Lascio Una Canzone.
What Gianluca realized in that moment was the uniqueness of their voices. So, let’s begin where it all began….
It is the fourth episode of Ti Lascio Una Canzone and the boys are given the music for O Sole Mio but in three parts. They thought it was strange because until then they were singing alone or doing duets.
They walked out on the stage, sang O Sole Mio and it was like they had been performing together for years. Absolutely flawless! Truly the hand of God. And so, it begins! And there is no turning back!
After that performance, things began to happen. Michele Torpedine would come into the picture and every big name including Universal would want to be a part of this great discovery!
Truly amazing things happened….
This video of them recording Tous le visages de l’amour brings us to the early days in the studio. So young but so talented! Listen to those amazing voices! Notes that take your breath away.
Ignazio recalls….
It was the beginning of 2010, our first time overseas. Destination Miami! What charm America! Everything was so different from Italy: the cars were different, the streets, the houses. I felt like I was in another world.
Immediately after Miami we went to Los Angeles. My first word? ‘Wow!’ Which was also what I said when I entered my room in one of the best hotels in the city, the InterContinental of Century City.
We were only three kids accompanied by our parents. We still did not know each other well. At the beginning I immediately started to connect with Piero. Perhaps because he is Sicilian like me and maybe because we always found the opportunity to make jokes and have fun. We especially enjoyed ourselves when we tried to make ourselves understood by people, since we spoke few words of English.
This was the first Photoshoot in LA. A Behind the Scenes treat!
But what were we doing in Los Angeles? We stayed there a week during which we were lucky enough to be part of the We Are the World 25 for Haiti with eighty of the most famous music stars in the world including Celine Dion, Lionel Richie, Santana and many others. After 25 years we all gathered together for We Are the World 25 for Haiti to collect funds for the earthquake victims of January 12th, 2010.
Can you even begin to imagine what it was like for these three teenagers to find themselves in the mist of some of the greatest entertainers in the music industry! I don’t think they even realized how amazing this event was and here they are a part of it! Remarkable, just like them.
In the beginning the idea of being one in three was something that the guys needed to learn about. They had to learn how to sing together. It was no longer this is your song, learn it and sing it. No, now it was, this is your part, your take, your phrase, learn it and sing it. They begin to understand how music and recording actually work. They were starting to learn about being three in the form of one. Sharing! And, if that wasn’t enough, they had to learn something even harder, how to get along with one another.
I’ve told you, in some of my stories, about the problems, the disagreements. This may seem unusual but in reality, it was not. You show me three teenage boys who can be thrown together and immediately like one another and totally agree with one another. No, that would never happen.
Soon things would change, America opened her arms and her heart to Il Volo….
PBS introduced Il Volo to America. You can say Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca grew up on PBS.
From their first concert on October 27, 2011, at the Detroit Opera House, they won the admiration of the American people and stole their hearts. PBS has been with the guys for every important event in their lives.
When they began, they introduced America to a new style of music. Operatic pop! A very different kind of music for teenagers. Their aim was to show young people how good this music is. They won over the children, parents and grandparents. They were an immediate sensation. America fell in love with them.
There’s no question that PBS played a major role in the career of Il Volo in America.
In 2013 the guys chatted with “Spotlight” producer Paul Larson just minutes before going on stage at Place des Arts in Montreal, Quebec. These were the early years. Larsen would come back seven years later to catch up with the guys!
In the beginning it wasn’t always easy for the guys but when they had a goal, they went for it! I keep going back to Ignazio’s words in the video, “This is Radio City! We hope, I hope, everyone hopes to go there to do a big concert for the American people.”
Back Then
What a dream! Who could possibly have thought that three Italian teenagers could have achieved this dream and stepped on to the stage at Radio City Music Hall and brought us all to absolute ecstasy with their voices!
And now!
Most entertainers want to perform at Radio City once in their lifetime! It’s a dream, it’s every entertainer’s dream! Our guys have done it year after year to sold out audiences! And every time is better than the last.
Five years had passed, and it was time to make a big courageous move….
Sanremo!
I’ll let the guys tell you what happened at Sanremo….
Ignazio….
The sixty-fifth edition of the Festival begins Tuesday, February 10th. We sing the second night, Wednesday the 11th. The strange thing is that normally my legs tremble before the performance, but mine trembled even after the performance! Perhaps too much adrenaline, it never happened before.
Piero….
Or maybe it was because we came back to the Ariston stage after going around the world. It was like coming home, because we experienced the beginning of our career here with Ti Lascio UnaCanzone. One thing that cannot be described: in Sanremo, in Italy, to sing and receive the applause of the Italian public. It cannot be explained.
Gianluca….
Can you imagine for me, this was also my birthday: I turned twenty on Ariston’s stage? Of course, I was moved in the end, and it was too much emotion to my sensibility to play bad jokes at times.
And then, we felt the pressure in the air. Even though I was optimistic, the tension was there.
Although we had taken care of the smallest details of the song, we had tried and tried again, and we had taken care of even the smallest details of the clothing. The first evening look more rock: total black with leather jacket.
Because when we do our work, too, the image matters.
Piero….
Count, of course that counts.
At this point the guys get off track reminiscing and Ignazio pulls them back to the story….
Ignazio….
Yes, but what does that have to do with it, Pie? We’re talking about Sanremo.
Ignazio continues….
Sanremo 2015, from 10th to 14th of February, we sang on the second evening, legs shaking, Gianluca’s birthday.
Piero….
And the criticisms we felt in those days? People at home voted for us, appreciated us, and journalists gave us votes that we thought were postponed until September, I also said this at the press conference after the victory. Five that flew (Bad votes given by critics). But we see that the criticisms have done us good.
Ignazio….
Can I do too, a criticism of you?
Piero…
Ah, tell me…
Ignazio
You interrupted me. I was about to tell the final. Can I continue?
In short, the final evening arrives, February 14th. I realize from the shirt that in a week we have eaten more than sung.
Unfortunately, or fortunately, I’m a boy who does not say cat if I do not have it in the bag, then until Carlo Conti said….
Piero….
And indeed, whoever wins does not know it until the end! Sorry, Igna Speak you!!!
Ignazio….
Until Carlo Conti said: ‘The winner of the Sanremo Festival 2015 is … Il Volo!,’ I said to the boys: ‘No, guys, we do not win, it’s difficult.’ And on the one hand I had Piero with shining eyes and on the other Gianluca with a smug smile as if to say: ‘Do not worry.’
Gianluca….
The truth is that I was right from the beginning, and no one has ever listened to me, ever. I believed it so much that, if you notice, maybe I’m the one with the least surprised look when Carlo Conti announces the winner. Then, of those moments, one remembers little, there is great confusion, emotion. It was a dream to be able to shout, ‘Thank you, Italy!’ from that stage. I looked at Sanremo as a child when there was Pippo Baudo, and I was there and won because people were on our side and it was a dream, I repeat even if I have already said.
The emotion was only when my grandfather told me almost in tears: ‘Who would have told me that in life I saw Modugno win at the Festival and then I saw you win.’
In short, Sanremo was just a dream that brought us many different emotions.
These three men proved you have to go after your dreams. This dream was different because it was not a dream that in the end would make them superstars; they already were superstars! Their dream was to follow their hearts and win the hearts of the people of Italy. That was the dream! It was the dream that would make absolutely no difference in their lives except for being close to the people they loved. So, they ran with it and started chasing the Lion until they caught him on February 14, 2015! That night they brought the Lion home along with the hearts of the Italian people.
In 2019 the guys decided to return to Sanremo. Their song Musica che resta ranked third at the Festival!
After ten years….
Just like the rest of the world, the guys had to postpone their concerts, go back to home and wait until there was some control over COVID-19. Their concerts were rescheduled.
As the guys go soaring into their second decade, they meet up again with Paul Larsen.
In the interview the guys said, “Larson invites us back to a simpler time, when “social distancing” was not a common term.”
Larsen’s second interview with Il Volo happened on January 30, 2020, backstage at Place Bell in Laval, Quebec. No one was talking about postponing shows back then. No one was wearing a mask. Larson sat less than six feet apart from the guys and chatted about their 10-year career, and their sixth PBS special, shot in beautiful Matera Italy.
Let’s move forward five years. So much happened over those years but most importantly these teenagers grew into amazing young men and the time came to expand their horizons.
In their first Raiuno live for TV concert in Verona, we noticed that the guys had matured in body and mind and their voices have gone to another level of magnificence!
We watched them grow but this is different. There’s a beautiful presence about them now. A certain elegance! After fifteen 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!
Fifteen years of a lifetime! I use that expression a lot because each year was like a lifetime with them. They never seem to stop. Like in their last Latin American Tour. Not only were there concerts but there were also late-night recording sessions. Thanks to the genius of Ignazio who turned his hotel rooms into a recording studio. And when the tour was over, it still wasn’t over. It’s called bringing your work home. There were still the recordings to deal with. Yes, it’s a lifetime full of wonders. One can hardly imagine what goes on. The tour takes on a life of its own. It’s an experience which most entertainers will never know. Or should I say, “have the honor of knowing.” For our guys, work is honor!
For Il Volo, 2023 was about new beginnings! So now let’s go to where these new beginnings began. The best place to start is the televised concerts at Verona in May. The beautiful 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!”
Next we met the real Gianluca in his rock mode and he introduced us to his feelings for Elvis, Sinatra, Dylan and the Beatles.
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.
During their solos, the other two guys sat on the side stage and listened. In these moments, we see the admiration these men have for one another. Truly amazing!
This was a nice way of presenting each of them.
I remember Piero saying, in his story, that when he did a solo he couldn’t wait for it to end when Ignazio and Gianluca would return. He has to love this new arrangement.
These concerts were different. They showed a beautiful evolution from where the guys were to where they are now. Their new direction! Their future!
This new arrangement is thrilling because there is a lot of feeling in the music. The songs they have sung from the beginning have always had feeling but in a different way.
Here we feel each man’s thoughts, ideas and mindset. In the soul of each man there is a longing to bring you their music unlike you’ve ever heard it before. It is the movement within their souls when they sing. They were restless to release these feelings and make you feel what they feel. They bring a feeling of sheer bliss to each note in each song. Think about expressing your feelings for someone you love. Put that to music and you have each guy’s mindset.
Amid a thousand points of light that sparkled like stars in the night sky, our guys were the brightest stars on the stage. They showed not just their love for one another’s music but their love and appreciation for the music of the other performers.
So where did this go? Individuality!!!
Their new concerts are giving us the opportunity to look into the heart of our guys through their music. It allows us to see them in a deeper and more personal way.
Their idea of “individuality” was not to dissuade you from one or the other. No, in fact, they want you to take a closer look at the other guy. Not to compare but to understand their individuality!
You may have found that some of the music they are singing now you like more than what they were singing or vis versa! It’s called taking a closer look!
Il Volo is magic, and that magic is on the stage, in the concert halls, in Arenas and Amphitheaters, on TV, in videos and CD’s but the true magic of Il Volo is in our hearts!
So it only made sense that in 2024, they would return to Sanremo in a new light in a new direction!
Their video won best video at Sanremo 2024! Their song should have won Sanremo! The song is spectacular! The voices are spectacular! They outperformed every entertainer at Sanremo 2024!
I know they went there with no great expectations. I know they wanted to celebrate fifteen years together on the Ariston stage, but they deserved to win! Some things never change. I know they were happy regardless of the results, as well they should be because they are the ultimate performers. When they are on the stage they give their all. And they have shared Fifteen Years of a Lifetime with all of us and from the bottom of our hearts we thank them!
And let’s not forget, Capolavoro went Gold!
Congratulations guys!
Join me next week as I go back Through the Fields of My Mind and open the door to a new adventure!
The guys new Album Ad Astra is out. It’s available on Spotify, Amazon etc.
Just so you don’t think I’ve lost my mind; I’m doing this story in between black outs. I’ve lost my lights four times today. So, I decided to take an old story which happens to be my first story and post it so you will have a story this week. It’s four years ago this week that I wrote it!
I couldn’t get into my photos so there are none. I did get into videos, but the videos really don’t relate to the story but I’m sure you’ll love them anyway.
Four years ago, after learning that the guys were going home because of COVID, I started checking the fans pages to see what I could find out. What I found out was people were very concerned that the guys were going into the COVID zone, Italy. Little did we know that we would follow them.
Just Went Gold! Congratulations guys!
The guys did what they had to do. They left to be with their families.
I was not a person who went on fan pages. I was always too busy to stop and read all that people had to say. But suddenly, 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. After a few days I realized that the fans were making themselves crazy over the guys going back to Italy so, I decided to write an article about it. 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!
At one point I received a message from Daniela Perani who asked if she could post my article on Il Volo Flight Crew! I said yes, and four years later I have my own column (every Wednesday) and the rest is history!
So, today, four years later, I am posting the original article which Daniela posted. I’ve included her remarks so you can get a feel for how this all went down! So here I am Talking About Our Guys ~ Four Years Later.
Daniela’s comment:
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.
Over the last few days, I’ve been thinking about how our lives have changed in just two weeks. It’s surreal! I try to distract myself but it’s difficult to get away from it all. So, I decided to focus on something else. I can usually get lost in my writing. You know before I started my travel business in 1990, I worked in the motion picture industry. I used to critique films. It was a good job but, I decided I wanted to do more with my life so, I quit my job and I spent two years writing. The best years of my life. So, where am I going with all of this?
Like most of you, right now, I spend a good deal of my day listening to those three amazing guys sing and I said maybe I should do a review of what’s been going on in their lives for the last 10 years. I think, over the last few days, I must have watched hundreds of video clips including interviews and some full concerts and now I’m ready to Talk About Our Guys.
Let me start off by saying these three young men are extraordinary! They are remarkable, exceptional, persons. And, they have revolutionized the music industry. Let’s take a look at each one.
Gianluca is known as the Velvet Voice! I don’t who coined the phrase but, that is right on. Let’s use our senses to understand what that means. Take a piece of velvet and hold it in your hand. Now take your other hand and gently pass your hand across the velvet. What do you feel? You feel a smooth even surface that is crisp with no breaks in it. The sensation is so good that you automatically go back and do it again. And every time it’s the same. It’s pleasing!
Now take Gianluca’s voice, let the notes pass into your ears, what do you hear? A crisp, smooth, even voice with no breaks in it. The note barely passes into your ear, and you are going back for the next note. It’s always pleasing!
Gianluca is a lyrical baritone. He is exceptional because he can sing from the lowest to the highest note in the baritone range. Most baritones are limited in range. Gianluca’s voice is huge. He has a very rich chest resonance which creates a feeling of depth and drama in his voice.
A baritone 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. He 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! He brings so much to the production, and I’ll talk more about that later!
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.
In his dedication to Pino Daniele you hear an interpretation that is emotional and a delivery that is so amazing that you get the sense that Daniele wrote his songs for Ignazio.
Ignazio’s voice is the one that brings it all together!
I certainly look for every excuse to include one of my favorite songs. Nobody else can sing it like Ignazio! Just thrilling! “Quando l’amore diventa poesia.”
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. Select one of their songs. Now close your eyes and listen to them sing. What can you say about this song? You can say, that is Gianluca or Ignazio or Piero singing. In the progression of the song, you hear the voices blend to form a symphony for your ears. Their voices are very distinct.
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.” He 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.
Let’s look at how they described one another when they first started out. I think Ignazio said Gianluca was the serious one, and Piero was the Intelligent one and Gianluca and Piero said Ignazio was the funny one. So, let’s take a look at that.
Gianluca, in most cases, is the spokesman for the group. I’m not sure if this is by chance or choice. He seems to always take the lead when they are in interviews. And he is constantly monitoring the conversation. A good example is the video that was going around recently. It’s the one with the story about the shrimps. The boys were appearing on a Spanish show and Piero was telling the story about Gianluca and Ignazio’s food fight, when they were teenagers, and he mistakenly used the Spanish word cama (bed) instead of the Spanish word cara (face) which turns the story from them throwing shrimps into one another’s face into throwing shrimps at each other in bed. Gianluca picked up on this and immediately corrected the mistake while Ignazio and Piero got hysterical laughing.
Piero is the intelligent one perhaps because he thinks everything through. In interviews he thinks before he speaks, and his answers are always intelligent. He’s very serious and you can tell he thought out the answer before he spoke. And I’m sure that’s what makes his performance so great!
And, Ignazio, the funny one. And that he is! But is it really about the joke? Or is it more about the production. Let’s turn to the production.
The stage is simple. One sign that says it all – Il Volo. There’s the orchestra. Guitars, drum, piano, violins and whatever other instruments are needed for the performance. I want you to stop and think about the performance. We know these guys have three amazing voices but, what if they got on the stage and for two hours, they did nothing but sing. I don’t think it would work. A performance needs the ability to move on. There’s no change of scenery and no intermission so how do you move the performance along? Ignazio!!! The joking he brings into the performance provides the levity to relieve the seriousness of the performance. He brings a certain ease and suspense to the performance. The audience is always wondering, what will he do next. But is it always about joking? I want you to think about what I’m saying. Ignazio is constantly moving around the stage. He’s dancing and keeping the rhythm. He’s swinging the microphone around and constantly nodding towards the orchestra, Gianluca and Piero. Is that the lead up to a joke? I don’t think so. Let me tell you what you are looking at. Ignazio is following every note that is sung or played on that stage. His mind is in motion. He is sensitive and passionate with the music. He has the ability to see the music as it is happening. He knows where every instrument should come in and out. That’s why you notice little things like him smiling, nodding, pointing towards the musicians, Gianluca or Piero. He also grabs the baton from the conductor, sometimes to joke but more often to conduct.
Think about Ignazio conducting the Asti Symphony Orchestra while Marcello Rota sang his tenor part. He wasn’t joking, he was conducting. And that’s why everyone was watching him in amazement. And when it was over, they were speechless. Look at Michele Torpedine go across the stage to embrace him. He is in awe of this young man. Ignazio is music! You call him funny I call him brilliant! I am going to make a prediction here! Remember you heard it here first. Ignazio will compose a great opera and will probably also write the libretto for it.
An early interview. Talking from the heart! Very sincere!
Let’s go back to the beginning. When these three young men started out, they were 15 and 16 years old. Think of being 15 or 16 years old and you have a dream, and someone tells you that that dream, needs to be shared. To fulfill that dream you have to leave your family, your friends, your home, you have to go to another country, and you have to share this journey with two people who you really know nothing about except that they had the same dream you did. You have to trust that the decision that was made by you and your family, was the right decision. If not, it’s back to square one! You’re going to be lonely, and you have to learn to survive without the people you love. So, you learn to lean on one another. That dependence turns 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!
Daniela’s final comment:
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!
How do I see things now. I see the guys more mature with voices that are more amazing each day! The sweetness is still there, and they still share their lives with the fans.
Sometimes it’s difficult writing about the guys because they’ve lived a lifetime and experienced things that most entertainers only experience late in their careers. They are so young and have truly lived a lifetime of dreams. Since the column is called Through the Fields of My Mind, I must talk about the past. Sometimes I think, how many ways can I tell the same story and then, I read your comments and I realize it’s new every time and there is always someone who has never heard the story before. All in all, I still enjoy Talking About Our Guys ~ Four Years Later.
Now for you listening pleasure The Concert in Verona 2015
Join me next week as I go back Through the Fields of My Mind and open the door to a new adventure!
The guy’s new Album Ad Astra is out. It’s available on Spotify, Amazon etc.
If you would like to share a story with me, please copy email: susan.flightcrew@yahoo.com
To read more Il Volo stories visit us at www.ilvoloflightcrw.com
In July 2016, after returning from the World Tour, Gianluca was presented with the Dean Martin Award from the municipality of Pescara.
What did Gianluca have to say about his life back then? Let’s listen to his words….
TRAVELING, DREAMING, SINGING. THREE SIMPLE WORDS THAT ENVELOPE THE MEANING OF MY LIFE. TRAVEL CHANGED ME. I AM NO LONGER THE SAME PERSON AFTER SEEING THE MOON ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD. DREAMING IS CREATIVITY AND IMAGINATION AND ONLY THOSE WHO DO NOT STOP DOING IT CAN TOUCH THE SKY. SINGING IS MY LIFE…HAS ALWAYS BEEN AND ALWAYS WILL BE…MY LIFE!
That truly sums up Gianluca’s life even if only in a simple way.
Even back then, I saw Gianluca as being a romantic. His life was all about his dreams and his love ~ That’s Amore!
At the beginning of the event, Gianluca received greetings from Mayor Marco Alessandrini who said, “one of the voices of Il Volo will receive the Dean Martin Award, during the presentation of the Awards in the Council Chamber.”
On Friday, July 22, 2016 the Council Chamber of the Municipality of Pescara, presented the 9th Dean Martin Award to Gianluca Ginoble.
Alessandra Portinari, president of the Dean Martin Foundation explained, This year’s edition of the Dean Martin Prize will be presented to a great artist from Abruzzo known all over the world thanks to his talent. The gala will be held on Sunday July 31st, in Piazza Muzii – Pescara. Many compare Gianluca Ginoble as the natural heir of Dino Crocetti (Dean Martin), not only in terms of vocal timbre, but for the stubbornness typical of the Abruzzese and for the perfection that they put and have put into their work. A necessary quality to achieve that American dream that first Dean Martin and now Gianluca have conquered.
Ginoble, with the other members of Il Volo, have enchanted stages all over the world and between a tour in Latin America and Europe on Friday we will have the honor of presenting him with the prestigious award.
At the age of fourteen with Ignazio Boschetto and Piero Barone participated in 2009 in Ti lascio una canzone, the Raiuno television program, but it is thanks to the intuition of Michele Torpedine, the manager who built the careers of Andrea Bocelli, Zucchero, Giorgia and Biagio Antonacci, that they have become an incredibly successful trio. Their debut album ‘Il Volo’ was released in Italy in November 2010 and obtained the ‘Platinum’ certification for sales and was released all over the world. In just one week, it entered the ‘Top Ten of the Billboard 200,’ dedicated to the best-selling albums in the United States.
From August to October 2012 Il Volo was engaged in a tour of 40 dates in the United States & Canada in the most important theaters of New York, Toronto, Boston, Miami, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Montreal and many others, then participating as a Special Guest in the tour of Barbra Streisand in over twelve concerts, dueting with the great artist. On November 20, 2012, the second album, ‘We are Love’ was released, which includes duets with Placido Domingo and Eros Ramazzotti and an English cover of U2’s hit ‘Beautiful Day.’
On December 10, 2013, the three boys participated in the concert for the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, accompanied by an orchestra of sixty elements. An event of international importance that will thus close their year full of successes. In 2014, Il Volo was nominated twice at the Billboard Latin Music Awards, this time in the Latin Pop Albums categories Artist of the Year, Duo or Group (winning) and Top Latin Albums Artist of the Year, Duo or Group. During the event, they won the El Pulso Social award, intended for the artist who received the most attention on social networks during the award ceremony.
Il Volo won the Sanremo Festival 2015 with the song ‘Grande Amore.’ After a months-long tour in the U.S. and Latin America, Il Volo released it on July 1st.
By now Gianluca is used to dealing with artists of the caliber of Barbra Streisand and Oscar winner Luis Bacalov, at home in social events where he is portrayed with Sting and Bill Clinton, or sacred monsters who have changed music in recent decades such as Quincy Jones (producer of Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, Miles Davis).
Gianluca has preserved the humility necessary to enjoy, in the rare moments of break, his Rose Garden, where he lives with his family, in the charming village of Montepagano, before returning to the beach, with mother Leonora, father Ercole, who left his job to follow him, and his brother Ernesto; he is also very close to his grandfather and no one in the village is envious of his success, on the contrary they consider him their ‘Maradona.’
We know that he loves sports, especially football, tennis and swimming; he has two favorite teams, Roma and Barcelona, while his idols are Francesco Totti and Lionel Messi. His favorite singers are many, including Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake and Andrea Bocelli, while in cinema he prefers Nathalie Portman.”
Presentation of the Dean Martin Award to Gianluca July 22, 2016.
Announcer: The Dean Martin Award opened in Pescara with the awarding of Gianluca Ginoble of the trio Il Volo to welcome him in the council room of the municipality, here the young man from Roseto dedicated selfies and autographs during the ceremonies the video was broadcast of the victory of Sanremo 2015 and the president of Martin’s foundation Alessandra Portinari presented the HAT symbolizing the award.
Gianluca: I returned home to Abruzzo for a few days after seven months of tours. We started our world tour in Roseto degli Abruzzi on January 6th and there couldn’t have been a better thing than to return and receive this very important award especially from my idol.
I absolutely don’t want to be compared to Dean Martin. I’m just a 20-year-old guy who likes to sing, this is my passion. I’ve been singing since I was 3 years old with my grandfather,
Sure, sometimes I realize that we have reached a great level and above all also in the world with my two colleagues of Il Volo, Ignazio and Piero.
Sometimes I don’t even realize we’re all here together. I’m here to receive this award. I’m really happy and very excited.
Now let’s have some fun with Gianluca….
What better way to start than with Gianluca and his friends!
Next, this is a throwback video of the Abruzzo’s Prince, Gianluca singing classic covers with the guitar Master Giovanni Di Caprio.
This is Gianluca Ginoble
GIANLUCA GINOBLE’S PERFECTION
Anyone who knows me knows that I look for any and every excuse to listen to Gianluca sing Anema e core. No one sings it like Gianluca! This was in Taormina on July 21, 2014.
I love Gianluca singing Enrique Iglesias song El Baño.
And Gianluca’s amazing performance of Aranjuez at Washington DC’s Kennedy Center February 9, 2016.
Over the years Gianluca has thrilled us with his amazing voice. His songs hit home every time. There’s no question about his versatility. He’s brought us on a journey which began with O sole Mio and brings us to songs today like She’s Always a Woman.
He continues to thrill us with his charm and wit and phenomenal voice. How about how he makes us feel when he sings La Cura, totally amazing!
Today I wanted to take a different journey. I wanted you to know about how Gianluca was honored but I also wanted you to know how much he deserves the honors he receives. Not just this honor but many honors! I wanted you to see him having fun in between the music. Gianluca has great friends but none better than his partners Piero and Ignazio! They’ve taken this journey together and together they walk on. It’s been said so many times in the last few weeks, but I’ll say it again. Il Volo goes on because Il Volo is where all three guys want to be.
No matter what Gianluca sings, he makes us happy, and, That’s Amore!
Join me next week as I go back Through the Fields of My Mind and open the door to a new adventure!
The guy’s new album Ad Astra will be released on March 29, 2024. Available For Pre-Order NOW! It’s available on all digital platforms including Spotify and Amazon Music.
If you would like to share a story with me, please email: susan.flightcrew@yahoo.com
Since the pandemic, Piero has made tremendous strides in his career! As I’ve said before, the pandemic had its bad points and its good points. For Piero, it was his opportunity to devote his time to his first love ~ Opera!
Yes, for Piero as for Gianluca and Ignazio, their first priority is Il Volo, but each has a life that will follow Il Volo. Of course, we all hope that won’t be for a long time but someday! For now, we have to listen to the guys when they say they are Il Volo and plan to continue being Il Volo.
For the last few years, Piero’s voice has blossomed into a true operatic voice. With the new Individuality, we find the true meaning of each guy’s voice and we focus on what they want us to know about their voices. For Piero, we’ve always known it but now Piero shows it in every performance. Not only does he sing his opera, he also is beginning to sing Neapolitan songs like all other opera singers going back to Enrico Caruso who, after his performances at the Met, would come out on stage and sing Neapolitan songs.
Of the three, Piero is the only one who said, “…. if there is one thing I want to do in life, it is singing, living for and with music.” That pretty much sums up Piero. He sings with such feeling and devotion. He studies endlessly! Opera is his dream! He’s studied among other opera’s Cavalieria Rusticana. I await the day when he will sing in his first opera. No matter where it is in the world, I will be there to see him fulfill his dream!
It might seem strange to you that he dreams of being an opera singer. He is a superstar. He has achieved in 15 years what most men can only hope to achieve in a lifetime. But, when you have dream, you have a dream and, with that dream, we will watch Piero go from Superstar to Opera Star.
Let’s go back and see what I’ve said, in the past, about Piero’s Golden Voice!
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 him singing “E Lucevan le Stele” from Tosca (his favorite opera). Or singing the beautiful Spanish aria “No Puede Ser” from A Tabernera del Puerto. From the first note Piero pierces our souls! 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!
So, let’s move on to Piero’s classical education!
We know that Piero was discovered by his grandfather when he was about 4 years old. You will recall he was swinging on a swing that hung from a mulberry tree in his grandfather’s garden. And as a result, he began his classical education by taking piano lessons.
But how do you get from that swing to stardom. You do what all three guys did! You start by joining a choir. Let’s listen to what Piero had to say about this first meeting with the choir…
The first thing I find myself in front of these guys who are in a semicircle. I enter, I hear them singing and immediately I see in the center of this semicircle a lady and a gentleman sitting at the piano. I had just made the acquaintance of the Little Singers of the Philharmonic Association – Santa Cecilia of Agrigento. The association was founded in 1983 and has two choirs, one for white voices and one for adults. Until 2008 they also collaborated with the “Sistina” Music Chapel of Rome, which led the choir to perform before the Pope during the Jubilee and which was opened to the best singers with the possibility of doing an internship in Rome.
The master accompanist was Alfonso Lo Presti and the director of the chorus of white voices was the maestro, Marisa Bonfiglio.
I will owe everything in my life to this lady.
Marisa was right in the middle and waiting for me. My father had warned Marisa that we would go to see the evidence to understand how it worked and if she could like me. I arrive, I was ten years old and, I was pretty chubby and, I find myself in the midst of all females and just two boys, Davide and Arturo.
After the greetings, Marisa asks Piero to introduce himself.
Hi, guys, I’m Piero, Piero Barone, I was born in 1993 and I like to sing. In a chorus what else should I say? If I was there, I had to like music, right? I thought it was the first thing to clarify. At that point the master Bonfiglio made me sit on the left, next to Davide and Arturo, while all the rest of the chorus – all females – were on the right. Three males in a world of females:
The number three would be my destiny, right?
We begin to sing, Easter songs, Christmas carols, church choir songs. With Davide and Arturo, I established a very strong relationship, which continues today: we are still friends. We phone each other when I am far from Naro and, when I come back, we go out together as often as we can.
At the time of the choir, we were always attached to each other, we looked at the girls but, we were three losers of nine to ten years, losers! Marisa never scolded anyone, but if we were disruptive, she looked a little like that and said ‘Guys,’ and we were immediately serious again.
This is the point where Piero’s voice is beginning to change, and so adjustments have to be made to accommodate this change. Let’s hear what Piero had to say about that….
Even my passion for red is in some way linked to the chorus of the little singers. I dressed in red, all red from head to toe. They make my presentation I start to sing. I could still sing but I was at the limit and I start the Ave Maria. Until then other tenors have arrived at the end of the piece all red in the face for the effort. Because singing, in reality, requires a much greater physical effort than one imagines. In short, I finish the song, the teacher looks at me, looks at Marisa Bonfiglio, looks at my father, looks at all the others: “Do you see this guy? He has everything red, except his face: he sang with incredible ease”. And to my father’s question, ‘What could I do with my son?’ The master replied: ‘Mr. Barone, now your son is having a change of voice, your son in his throat has a diamond. What would I do in his place? I would take this diamond, put it in a safe and hide the keys. Between two years we reopen this safe.’ And, so, we did!
What about those red glasses?
But it must be said, my ‘fixation’ for red glasses was not born here but was born in 2010 in Los Angeles. I was at my first photo shoot, and I went to the studio, it was the first real photo shoot. In short, I had glasses, as always, but one of the photographers who follows us looks at me a little and tells me: ‘You have to keep your glasses, but they must be red.’ And how could I do a pair of red eyeglasses in Los Angeles in one day? I think and think again, in the end the idea came: I called my optician of confidence in Naro, Giuseppe Minio, and I asked him to do it for me. Would you ever believe it? In twenty-four hours, I received the envelope in Los Angeles with my red glasses, and inside I also found rose petals and little hearts, pure affection directly from Naro, which is always good.
But I’m getting ahead of myself I still had to face the change of voice. That moment of change is something excruciating because you cannot sing, so no longer being a white voice, I had to leave the chorus. But Marisa Bonfiglio did not let me go like this, ‘Piero, see you soon,’ she cared about me and then helped me again: she took me to Palermo to a conservatory professor, a tenor. That master’s verdict was again: ‘Let’s wait.’ But in the wait, I could not remain completely silent. In reality, the wait for the change of voice lasted less than I thought, because towards the fourteen and a half years my voice had already matured.
So, the change happened, and Piero moved on in his life. He did participate in many singing competitions and won most.
But there was also his schoolwork to consider. Piero said, “Had it been for me I would have studied only singing and music.” But in fact, Piero studied accounting. Piero tells us “And I excelled in Math, in fact, I am so good, that I am the one of the three that runs with a bag full of all of our accounts.”
Let me pause a moment to tell you about the archives at Il Volo Flight Crew. Everyone should take the time to visit them. They are the history of Il Volo from 2009 to the present. Anything you want to know; any past event and any future event can be found in the archives.
When I write these stories I like to go into the archives and see if there is something that would work with my story. I remembered an interview that Piero did when he was 19 years old. The interviewer was Marcella Lattuca who was a friend who Piero knew from the chorus. I think this interview gives us some great insight into who Piero was at the beginning of his career and his hopes and aspirations for his future and the future of Il Volo.
So, let’s go right to the interview with Marcella Lattuca from Agrigentini Bella Gente.
Marcella:This episode is very special because I have the privilege to talk with a real star of international music, he is only 19 years. Piero Barone, whom I thank for the interview, has reached goals that perhaps, artists cannot reach, over a whole career. Thanks Piero, for being our guest.
Piero:It’s a pleasure. We did the chorus together and today we are here to do this fantastic interview.
Marcella:It’s true, you and I started in parallel, with a fairly considerable age gap, alas. You start from Naro, you were born in Naro, you have a family from Agrigento, and you start with the Little Cantori di Santa Cecilia. Tell us how you approached music.
Piero:I have always pursued this dream of music, I grew up in the middle of music with my grandfather, Pietro and thanks also to my father, because you know, sometimes there are moments, when you’re little, you play piano and you want to give up everything, but thanks to the constancy of my father, I always pursued this dream, first with the chorus of Santa Cecilia, studying with private teachers, and now fortunately, I’m here.
Marcella:Your career was born a few years ago, when you were really a child. What was actually the turning point, which made you feel you wanted to do something more?
Piero:In fact there was not a turning point because I always wanted to sing, but there was luck, thanks to my father, always, thanks to my father, to do a summer festival in Cosenza.
My father called me and told me, ‘Do you want to do this festival? Let’s go and come back in 24 hours (by car), let’s go and come back.’
I replied, ‘Dad, are you crazy?’ and he ‘Come on, let’s try, I drive and you sleep in the car.’
For that selection they did not take me, but they gave my name to the editorial office of Ti Lascio Una Canzone, Antonella Clerici’s program.
One day I was returning from piano school, and I found my father on the phone with a lady Isabella Abiuso, and from there it all started, in fact my father asked me if I wanted to do that program and I replied ‘Why not, let’s try.’
Marcella:You started as a soloist at Ti Lascio Una Canzone, and then maybe fate played a special role.
Piero:Oh yes, we started this program as three singers, and now I, Ignazio and Gianluca are the group Il Volo, on the fourth episode, the producer Roberto Cenci, had the idea to join our voices, and from there started … the three tenors …. the Tryo, we changed name, but in the end we decided to call ourselves Il Volo. They wanted a short Italian name. Il Volo was a metaphorical name, Il Volo, to fly. Immediately after the program, we signed a program with Universal Music in Los Angeles.
Marcella:What I understood from you is, the one that followed you the most, was your dad, also because, being a minor, you could not go around alone.
Piero:My father and my grandfather – my grandfather discovered my voice my father helped me. He is great and he has been a great support.
Marcella:So immediately after Ti Lascio Una Canzone, you signed this contract with Universal, and you started your flight.
Piero:Yes, we signed a contract with Universal, with our producer Tony Renis and Umberto Gattica and our manager Michele Torpedine, and from there, the first TV, the first album, with the first album we sold 1 million copies. And now the new album We Are Love has been released, where there is also a duet with Eros Ramazzotti and with Placido Domingo.
Marcella:But when you say these things, do you realize where you’ve come from and all the way you’ve come in such a short time?
Piero:This is nothing, we made this new album, but behind this album we have done lots of experiences, like, a tour with Barbra Streisand, 12 dates with her. She was a great teacher for us, and we learned so many things from her, like from many other great artists.
Marcella:I can mention some reviews I read on the internet.
El Paso Times: ‘Electrifying: the name of the group means the flight in Italian, perfect name for a trio of young tenors who conquers ever higher peaks,’ just to name one, another: ‘Beautiful and intense voices accompanied by beautiful harmonies that enchant the public by giving strong emotions,’ this is the enthusiastic comment of the New York Journal.
You are a trio, so you are dealing with two other guys who are the same age.
Piero: Ignazio and Gianluca
Marcella:Perfect. What is the relationship between you three? Is it really difficult to keep united, even if you go in one direction only?
Piero: This project was born as three friends, you know, living every day together, we have established a great relationship, we are like three brothers, because we share everything ….not everything. There is a great relationship, a great agreement.
Marcella: But you also perform individually?
Piero: No, no, our concert is the concert of Il Volo. We have just finished a tour of 48 dates in America, this is the fourth tour. We have done an American tour, a South American, a European and another American just finished and now in 2013 we will do another South American, American and European.
Marcella:But for a boy of your age, you have spent most of your adolescence ….
Piero: On the plane
Marcella:In fact, and what effect does it make, having left your friends, your country, was it tough? Then you had to approach even with a language that was not yours, you had to learn English.
Piero:English is fundamental, and we also had to learn Spanish.
Marcella:You have learned Spanish because now, however, you will start a tour, if I’m not mistaken in South America.
Piero:The second tour, and now there are great future projects, but I’ll tell you what we did in the last two months. We started at Rockefeller Center in New York, with the lighting of the Christmas tree, the Christmas season opens all over the world. We were there with Michael Bublé, Mariah Carey, Tony Bennett, everyone was there.
Immediately after we sang for the Nobel Prize presentation in Oslo. We represented Italy, because the Nobel Prize was given to the European Union. There were Jennifer Hudson, SarahJessica Parker, Gerald Butler, Sial, it was a great experience.
Marcella:I see on the internet, I read that you have also become a style icon, because your fans have adopted this red eyewear look, is your brand?
Piero:If you come to our concerts, you will see all the girls with red glasses, it’s really nice!
Marcella:And then you also have some very important fans, like for example …. say you …
Piero:We were in Panama and a friend called us and told us ‘Guys, read the interview about ‘La Repubblica’ we go on the internet and we read that they asked Placido Domingo what music he is listening at the moment, and he replied: ‘I listen to Il Volo they are three jewels that the whole world should know.’ And the nephew of Pacido Domingo, is a wild fan, crazy about us, he wears red glasses, the vest, the tie ……. and from there was born the duet with Palcido Domingo.
Marcella:In fact, because in the last album, in addition to the duet with Ramazzotti, you also have one with Placido Domingo, which is one of the three historical tenors.
Piero:Domingo, Carreras and Pavarotti. We dedicated the song we sang together with Placido Domingo, Il Canto, to Pavarotti.
Marcella:It’s an extraordinary thing, you said that you met so many famous people and I would like to know if any of these gave you advice, if they made you a “mentor” in addition to your grandfather and your dad.
Piero:The advice, be yourself, because the key to success is only one, talent and humility, because all the great artists are great people.
Marcella:The real ones.
Piero:Real ones, like Barbra Streisand, 70, and every night she entertains 25,000 people in America’s biggest arenas.
Piero:American Idol, as jurors were: Jennifer Lopez, Steven Tyler and Randy Jackson. Steven Tyler is the singer of Aerosmith and in our new album we sang ‘I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing,’ but we did it in a classic Italian ‘Questo Amore Splendido.’ (Piero sings a few words)
Marcella: Nice to even hear it live.
Piero:We did Jay Leno, three times. Jay Leno is America’s most watched Tonight Show, Jay Leno and Larry King are the most famous, we sang “Beautiful Day” two weeks ago, which is the cover of U2.
People ask us, but your kind of music, what is it? We did two duets, one with Ramazzotti which is the top of pop and Placido Domingo, which is the top of classical music.
Marcella:So you are versatile, you have shown your versatility and even those who gave you a kind of emulation of the Trio of Tenors, like a bad copy of the trio, in the end it was denied.
Piero:This problem is only in Italy, but you know, Italy is a very, very difficult country, but …. let’s do everything in the time. The thing that makes us angry, and I have to say this, we participated in the Nobel Prize, we have represented Italy, the whole world talks about it, who does not talk about us: Italy.
Marcella:It seems we are a little xenophilous.
Piero:But we love our country, so we love it as it is.
Marcella:You said you spent most of your teenage years on a plane, but how did you stay in touch with your friends and study?
Piero:I always say that what we do is what we like to do, so if you love what you do, everything becomes easy.
Marcella:But how did you study?
Piero: I study again, because I lost a year with my work. But this year I graduate, study in hotels, on airplanes. I took the license. I did the theory in August and the guide in November.
Marcella:Even if in America? It’s not like you travel by car there.
Piero:Yes, I do. I drive my producer’s car. Sometimes I hire a Ferrari, or a Porsche, I like driving.
Marcella:And can you orient yourself? You are now a citizen of the world.
Piero:But the beautiful thing … ‘beautiful,’ so to speak, because sometimes you lack freedom, especially in South America we have five bodyguards at the baggage claim because at the exit of the airport there are a thousand girls.
Marcella:They recognize you on the street, it is shocking!
Piero:We travel with cars darkened and armored because unfortunately South America is a dangerous country but we love it and they love us, the girls chase us with taxis…. and shout, it’s nice!
Marcella:Are you afraid of this thing?
Piero:No, no fear, it fills you with pride and satisfaction because you understand that what you are transmitting reaches people.
Marcella: But this life is so stressful, how do you recharge? What is your secret to recharging?
Piero:It’s my family. Many people tell me “you have traveled the world.” Everyone asks me “What is your favorite city? ? Los Angeles, New York, Miami, London, Paris” my favorite city is Naro, Naro is my world.
Marcella:What’s your relationship with Naro?? After singing in faraway places, with immense crowds, when you arrive at Naro, do you have to re-program again?
Piero:No, Naro is my homeland, so every time it’s always a party.
Marcella:What is your relationship with Naro’s inhabitants?
Piero:Fantastic, I love them!
Marcella:Welcome you?
Piero:Yes, I go to buy fruit, I go to the hairdresser … it’s very nice!
Marcella:Perhaps paradoxically your country is the only place where you can roam freely.
Piero: With my little car, now I go around with my friends, I greet everyone, I am a very open type.
Marcella:It is a practice of our program, to ask what advice would you give to a person who has become a public figure, like you, to the Agrigentini boys who want to approach the art of singing.
Piero:My advice is always to follow your dream, never give up, there will be people who will say, “But come on, change jobs, change profession.” Never believe in them, believe in yourself, but when you arrive, stay where you are. Returning to the previous speech, I learned this from Barbra Streisand, and from all the great artists.
For example, we were on tour with Barbra Streisand, we were in the dressing room and we hear a knock, I go to open and there is Sting, or Michael Buble, David Beckham, Tom Hanks, all these great artists who knock on our dressing room, to have a photo, to greet us.
Marcella:This proves the fact that these great artists that have such long careers, it means that they remained what they were, it means that goodness of mind pays, beyond talent.
Piero:And then the humility even if it is really difficult to stay what you are, if you do not have great people behind, like a big family, I am doubly lucky because I am a person that could follow his dream and get there. Yet we have not arrived, but we are working, we study a lot, and my second fortune is my family – a moral support, a daily support, my father travels with me only when there are concerts, because the tour is very stressful. But for promotions, I travel alone, and you know, in the morning, when I call home, they give me the charge to start the day.
Marcella:As a good Sicilian you have left the roots here, however you continually feed from your family.
Piero:When someone tell me ‘You know, when you speak, we hear the Sicilian accent, the Italian accent’….. let it be heard!
Marcella: On the other hand your pride, it is this and, I can say, you are also our pride and I believe I also interpret the thought of all the inhabitants of Agrigento who followed you. Last question, what do you dream of doing ‘when you grow up?’
Piero: I’m studying lyric now, because that’s my dream, that world, it’s my dream, the lyric is another dimension, but you have to study … too much … and now I’m studying, thanks to my possibilities, I am studying in Bologna, with my teacher Sergio Bertocchi, a great teacher, and he is a great person. I’m studying an opera setting, however, always with Il Volo. Il Volo is always …. the group Il Volo…. IS IL VOLO. And so my dream is that one day maybe, to do the Premiere to La Scala or in some theater.
So, as we can see Piero’s dream has always been to be an opera singer. And here we find Piero on the threshold of an opera stage and ready to go from Superstar to Opera Star. And what an opera star he will be.
Piero did say at the age of 30 he will sing in an opera! Let’s see if there will be a surprise soon!
Join me next week as I go back Through the Fields of My Mind and open the door to a new adventure!
The guy’s new album Ad Astra will be released on March 29, 2024. Available For Pre-Order NOW! It’s available on all digital platforms including Spotify and Amazon Music.
If you would like to share a story with me, please email: susan.flightcrew@yahoo.com
This morning, I sat at my desk and said, “what are you going to write about this week.” Since I was already two days behind schedule, I figured I better decide quickly.
Life can be hectic at times! It seems the last few months have been hectic for me, but I must say it’s been even more hectic for the guys! Sanremo, new songs, many interviews! A never-ending day. It seems these last three months the guys have worked endlessly! And what beautiful results they are showing us for all their work. At this point everything that needed to be said about Sanremo has been said. We love Capolavoro and we anxiously await the new album. So, for a while we need to sit back and savor what we have and wait for what’s new to arrive.
Well, that’s all well and good but it still didn’t resolve my problem about what I will write about this week.
So, I got myself a cup of coffee and went on Instagram to see what was going on. As you know, my stories are Through the Fields of My Mind, so they have to be old stories made new. The first story I came to was by Il Volo en Clase, They’re following the guys at a Press Conference about the concerts for “Pompei e arte.” The event was held at the Italian Ministry of Culture and the event began with Makari, the theme song Ignazio wrote for the series “Makari.” So, I thought, the story I wrote about their song Makari was such a wonderful story about Ignazio, why not write about that this week.
In my original story I wrote, “Sometimes I feel like I spend every day of my life writing about Ignazio!” Now that has changed because the guys are so busy doing new things that they equally take up my time.
But there was a time when because of all his projects I sometimes would write two and three stories a week about Ignazio, wearing many different hats. Entertainer, Lyricist, Manager, Entrepreneur! The amazing thing about it is, I could never get enough of him! Ignazio for all that he did every day he would live in mind. I tried to find stories about Piero and Gianluca but they didn’t do what Ignazio did, so it was always back to Ignazio.
With fictional characters, the writer develops the character but, when you’re writing about real people, you come to a point where you are in their minds, and you feel their passions and emotions! We all know about Ignazio’s passions and emotions! Every song he sings is full of them.
So how did I come to hear about Makari? As usual, it was Daniela Perani who made me aware that something new was going on. She sent me a video that said Màkari and I wondered what is this about? And then I clicked on it and heard Ignazio’s beautiful voice and I thought when did Ignazio record this? That’s when I realized it was a new series on Rai1 and Il Volo will be singing the theme song. And if that wasn’t enough, I learned Ignazio wrote the theme song. Ignazio, do you ever sleep?
Ignazio, I remember at the time you had told us you had many surprises for us. Makari obviously was the collaboration with Rai1 you were talking about. But of course, we never know when there is another surprise in store! We can only hope!
But, truthfully, who better to write a song about Sicily and the region of Trapani than a native child! No, Ignazio wasn’t born in Sicily but, for Italians, who your parents are is who you are so, in fact, Ignazio is Sicilian.
It amazes me that the young boy who went to Sicily kicking and screaming when he was ten, became the spokesman for Marsala, around the world, and now for the region of Trapani. Ignazio came to embrace the land of his parents and he loves all the wonders of Sicily.
Sicily is different than Italy. Yes, I know Sicily is Italy but, how the Sicilians live and, who they are is very different. Ignazio’s song invites us to take a better look at this other land in the south. It speaks of “a land of sages and a land of fools, made from devils and saints.” Yes, that’s what Sicily is! They honor their saints while keeping their superstitions!
Ignazio invites you to live a new reality through his eyes. He invites us to see a different side of Sicily through his beautiful theme song, Màkari.
Ignazio begins his video by explaining to us his experience of Sicily as seen through his eyes. “It is a Sicily as told by a twenty-five year old who lived Sicily through stories, through images!”
This song speaks volumes! Where did the words of this song come from? Ignazio’s heart! There is something very mysterious about the song. Besides the fact that it speaks of a land as seen through Ignazio’s eyes.
In the following video, Ignazio joins Claudio Gioè, the star of the series Makari.
Ignazio: Hello everyone, I will start by saying that I am and we are really happy to be part of this project because it tells of our Sicily and therefore we are Sicilians. And it is a landscape that they are used to seeing in every stable. Personally, I have many friends in San Vito Lo Capo when I can I always count on the opportunity to go and stay in that land for a while. Well, we’re happy because I had the opportunity to tell my Sicily view with one of my songs. It’s told through images and by my grandparents and family. It’s a song that speaks of a true and sad truth, of devils and saints, of wise men and astray ones and that when you come to Sicily you cry twice, when you arrive and when you leave. I want to compliment Claudio Gioè. It was fantastic. His art in telling it is mine. Greetings to everyone who was part of this fiction and best wishes.
Claudio: Hello everyone, from the height of their global popularity. Truly they (IL Volo) have always maintained this great humility and I thank them very much. I give them many compliments.
Ignazio’s words allow us to see Sicily through tradition, home and love!
In a video, Ignazio talks about the summers he spent in S. Vito Capo in the landscape of Màkari. What is it that draws him back year after year? Is it the “silence” of the land that screams for you to open your eyes and look around at the wonder of the landscape or, the traditions of the land that go deep into your soul? It seems to Ignazio Màkari is joy and love and so he will never forget it! And what does that say! Simple! This is Ignazio’s story!!! His story of Sicily, the land he left to pursue his dream and the land he is drawn back to time and again.
Think about the words of the song! Is Ignazio talking about the writer who leaves his home and returns after a long period of time or the entertainer who travels the world? The similarities in his life and the life of the writer are striking, that’s why he was able to write such an emotional song! I feel like Ignazio wrote the song and then they made the show. His words are very enticing, they pull you into the story. They tell all there is to know and, Ignazio tells us a story, through the imagery of his words!
I believe a good part of the success of the show has to do with the theme song!
The mystery of it all is the relationship Ignazio has with this land! Having become a part of this land at the age of ten, it is amazing to me that Ignazio developed this great bond with Sicily. Yes, Bologna is his home but, Sicily is the place he comes home to!!!
Ignazio says, “it is an honor to talk about my Sicily through a fiction that tells the truth of this Sicily.” Ignazio loves that through all the mysteries and mystique of the program, the show speaks of love, which is something that he loves and, he loves that that love is combined with yellow (mysteries)!
Sicily is amazing for Ignazio because it’s different for him every time. He sees a Sicily that is always offering something new while being a part of something old. Always remembering what was while looking forward to what will be! This speaks to Ignazio’s soul!
Ignazio’s thoughts and emotions are everywhere in this song. In the interview with Inga and Claudio Gioè, Ignazio reminds us of his words, in the song, about His Sicily. “Whoever comes to Sicily, cries twice,” (once when you arrive and, once when you leave). I think that sums up Ignazio’s feelings for Sicily.” I think the words of this song will be on the lips of everyone for many years to come! A Classic!
The final verse of the song is sung by Ignazio with a few beautiful words in Sicilian and he is accompanied by a classical guitar. “Sing louder but do it in silence because here no one hears us, sees us. This is a story a little curious, a little grumpy, it speaks to me of love. For traditions, for my roots, Màkari is home and my heart sings for you!” These are emotional words, very touching!
In a video, Gianluca and Piero expressed their feelings about the project. Gianluca said, “I have anxiety waiting for this moment, so I renew my congratulations to everyone for this great project and we are delighted to be part of it.”
We, also, learned something very interesting in this video. We now know what everyone’s plans are for the future! Gianluca says, he would love to be an actor. I always thought he would be a model. He certainly has the body and looks for it! But who knows maybe he will show up in one of the episodes of Màkari? And Piero the sweetheart that he is, told us how proud he is of Ignazio and how happy he is to be a part of this project! Piero, all of us are very happy that all of you are embarking on this new adventure together!
One final thought! Ignazio’s words in the song call out to many people to express his feelings on many matters! I would like to go back to those last words of the song so that you can listen very carefully to Ignazio words! “Sing louder but do it in silence because here no one hears, sees us.” Think about it!
Màkari we’ve been waiting for you!
What an amazing song! Ignazio as usual you took my breath away, not just with your voice but with your beautiful words. No doubt they were from the heart. They truly hit home! They so speak of where your heart is! And from the bottom of my heart I say, thank you for the song and thank you guys for the beautiful delivery!
Ignazio, this story may be old but writing about you never gets old. You are a phenomenal entertainer and composer. I see a wonderful future for you!
The English words for Makari
You know how many times I’d like to leave
from this land of devils and saints
but Màkari is home, it’s joy and pain
this is my land.
Land of Wise Men and Land of Fools
of people who take heart, take it and give it!
Whoever comes to Sicily, cries twice!
Màkari is my home.
This is a story a little curious, a little grumpy,
it speaks to me of love.
For traditions, for my roots,
but Màkari is home, and the heart sings for you.
Sing louder, but do it in silence,
because here no one hears us, sees us,
but Makari is home, it is joy and pain,
Màkari I do not forget, I forget no more.
This is a story a little curious, a little grumpy,
it speaks to me of love.
For traditions, for my roots,
but Màkari is home and the heart sings for you.
The guys’ new album Ad Astra will be released on March 29, 2024. Available For Pre-Order NOW! It’s available on all digital platforms including Spotify and Amazon Music.
If you would like to share a story with me, please email: susan.flightcrew@yahoo.com
