Category Archives: Article or Video Translations

~ RICOMINCIO DAI TRE ~ by Daniela

Perhaps not all of you know that Michele Torpedine, the manager of IL VOLO has written a book, which is titled RICOMINCIO DAI TRE (I start again from the three ). In this book he talks about his career as a manager and all the artists he brought to success, their gratitude but often ingratitude, until he talks about Piero, Gianluca and Ignazio.

This book was  withdrawn from bookstores, but one of my Volo-friends had already bought it and so she photocopied it for me.

I will translate for you some passages concerning IL VOLO.

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The first time I saw them I was at home sitting on the couch talking on the phone with Tony Renis.  I was watching TV, but without volume. I had tuned in on the program by Antonella Clerici in which young performers sang: TI LASCIO UNA CANZONE, broadcast by the Ariston of Sanremo. I only looked, and imagined.

I did not need to listen.

Then these three boys of fourteen or fifteen appear. I see them, I still do not hear the voice, but already they reminded me of the three tenors: Ignazio as huge as Pavarotti, Gianluca a little like Josè Carreras, Piero more difficult to associate with Palcido Domingo, but you could try.

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The growing curiosity pushes me to turn up the volume. And here I realize another element, even more important than the first: the three, casually put together to sing a song of the program, possess an incredible vocality for the age they have.

Of course they are good, those guys, I repeat to myself. And if I tried to put them together really? A trio, here’s what I could do.

The next day I am a volcano. I want to talk with everyone: producers, managers, families.

After meeting with Tony Renis I call Roberto Cenci, the artistic director and director of the program – who had the intuition to let them sing a song together – and I ask, the addresses of the three boys.

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So another great story started, a new story at a time when it seemed to me there was no future for me: a breath of oxygen in my environment.

After years of disappointments, loss of confidence and lack of gratitude or denial, with Ignazio, Piero and Gianluca I rediscover the values ​​of correctness, gratitude, esteem.

They, the boys of IL VOLO, give me trust, first of all, the administration of a world tour, with important amounts to move, on which I could take what I want if I were dishonest.

Trust is theirs, but also that of the parents, to whom I have committed myself to teach everything, the mechanisms, the things that move, the relationships. All.

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 Today I do not talk to three guys with incredible voices, I compare with three men of just over twenty years who have made international experiences that 99.99% of our Italian stars do not even imagine, because they have never crossed the borders of Bel Country.

These three “guys” (I continue to call them that), have very clear ideas and I have never seen them impressed in front of audiences that many would shake their wrists.

Never heard a smear of voice or a wrong attack, and if some inconvenience has risked making it happen, wisely have been able to file the problem at the origin: extraordinary, always. Their voices grow with them, mature, take on body and soul.

There is no other team or artistic team so complete.

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UN GRANDE AMORE, A GREAT LOVE .

If I had to define the story of IL VOLO with a dominant feeling, I would call it that.

Many have arrogated the merit of the success of the three boys, which is certainly the result of a great teamwork, but it is above all the result of intelligence, humility and generosity of the three families who have not only never hindered my work as manager, but were supportive in the best way: Ercole and Lenora Ginoble parents of Gianluca, Vito and Caterina Boschetto father and mother of Ignazio, and Gaetano and Eleonora Barone who gave life to Piero.

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Credit to all owners of photos.

~ LIFE FROM FAN ~ by Daniela

In the newspaper, SOCIETY AND CULTURE, this amusing article written by Mariafrancesca Mary Troisi has been published.

Read it, it’s really funny.

LIFE FROM FAN: leave all hope, you who become!

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Concerts, radio, signature – copies, TV show, the life of the fan is very hard.

Yeah, because the real fan (the certified DOC to be clear), is not there to comb the dolls.

Leave all hope you become (fan). And what is it? Dante’s hell? Worse, much worse!

The true fan, to begin with, has in fact qualities that you can not even imagine. First of all: patience!

Yeah, it seems easy to wait weeks, months, or even years, to get news of their “idol”?  (Term I do not like to use, but I do mine to simplify).

And when the news does not come, it’s a constant anxiety. Will the single come out? Will there be a concert? Will it go on TV? He will eat? He will sleep? (And other vital functions that I leave out).

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When then,  finally have the news (hallelujah hallelujah), immediately takes over the other dowry of the fan DOC, ie the “fast race” to get the news in pole position, and put it immediately on its FB status with lots of little hearts to beautify all, doing envy to those who know the news a few hours later. The amateurs in short.

Finally the life of the DOC fan starts to make sense. The idol is coming back.

The true fan DOC then, is almost always also written to the fc (Fan club) of the artist who follows, and for the fc of an artist, often there are events reserved only for members, such as the meeting, where the songs are presented preview. And even if the meet happened on the moon, the real fan will buy his spaceship and … greetings to all! Nobody stops him!

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Then follow the signature – copies (for those who do) or interviews on the radio, to promote the new album.

You must know, in fact, that at these events you have the opportunity to meet the artist you are following. And what do you do? Are not you going?  But let’s not joke!

And here they are there in the morning, perfumed and combed with great care (so to speak, there are those who arrive, for example on the radio, always not exactly “polished”), to challenge any weather conditions, make kilometers, and wait for hours, hoping for a selfie and / or an autograph.

During these hours they start throwing malicious glances at those around you, because, especially for radio interviews, the more people there are, the less chance you have of getting to your favorite artist. And they think, “Did that person even come here?”… mentally hoping that she will get an attack of … dysentery, and leave the camp.

Oh this is a war, you do not look at anyone!

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But if all goes well, and you can embrace your idol for a few minutes, and in the lucky cases, when there are very few people to chat, the hours that have passed under the sun or in the rain, make sense. It makes your day!

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The true fan obviously knows by heart every detail of the artist, his songs (he suggests them to the singer if he were to forget), even the less famous, that even the artist remembers to have written or sung. The true fan never misses an interview with him, TV intervention.  It is not possible.

Finally the concert dates come out, and here too the DOC fan, trained to  throw himself on ticketone and … away, to get the best seats for the dates he prefers. Sometimes, however, the tickets end too quickly even for the DOC fan; then comes hope – another talent of the fan, mixed with despair – to find the “savior” who sells the ticket.

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Concert time.

What does the fan do?  But obviously, he sleeps outside the stadium / building, or goes there at dawn.  AT LEAST.  The first row should be conquered with the nails and teeth (then do not say that it is almost not a job that of the fan). Rain, heat, cold, wind. He does not move from there. The front row must be defended at the cost of living.

So you will think … then there is no solidarity between fans?

Of course there is. When there are no signature – copies, radios, concerts, TV … in short, when the artist “hibernates”, they are all friends.

For the true fan the friend is the one who holds you the place in the hurdle next to him: who finds a friend in hurdle, finds a treasure.

But you … what do you know !?

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Tell us about the crazy things you did for the guys from IL VOLO.

I begin, I have NEVER been to a concert, NEVER been to a signature-copy, I have NEVER had any friendships on the other side of the world, and who do not speak my language ……. all this before IL VOLO!! 

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Credit to all owners of photos.

IL VOLO at the 2018 Winter Olympics!?!?

2018 Winter Olympics logo

I love the Olympics!

Winter or Summer, it makes no difference to me. Watching all the young, and sometimes not so young, athletes from all over the world come together in competition excites me and fills me with hope for the future.

There are many events in these 2018 Winter Olympic Games that I like to watch – from snowboarding and luge to the increasingly popular curling that I fell in love with at the 2006 Turin games.  But the most beautiful event, I think, is ice skating.

I have watched as much skating as I can, either live or recorded. Last Friday evening I turned on the men’s skating short program that had already begun and that I was recording. I stepped out of the room for a moment but I could still hear the music. All of a sudden I hear the familiar strains of L’Immensita and immediately knew who was singing it……our guys of IL VOLO! An Israeli skater named Daniel Samohin had chosen this powerful song for his short program.Daniel Samohin ISRAEL small

So I thought I had better watch the competition from the beginning and was so surprised to find that another skater, Matteo Rizzo, from Italy had skated to Torna A Surriento by IL VOLO.

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After scouring the Olympic.org website (thanks for the link, Jana!), I found program lists for all the skaters including what music they skated to during their performances. There were a few songs that our guys have sung in the past but not in these particular ice skating performances. They are Historia De Un Amor chosen by a Korean pairs team for their short program. A Chinese pairs team performed to Turandot by Giacomo Puccini and an Italian ice dance team performed to La Vita e Bella (Smile) by Piovani.

I am happy to know that the music of IL VOLO is getting out there and being heard by an international audience who may have not previously been aware of them. You just never know where their incredible voices will pop up next!

Credit is given to owners of photos and to the Olympic Games 2018 logo.

 

A Grammy for the Guys??? – from Daniela

Daniela sent us this article and link.  This has been making the rounds on the various social media sites…. awesome news!

Today a nice article has been published on IL QUOTIDIANO written by ANDREA SPINELLI about IL VOLO and the new album.

It’s an interview that the guys have released during Sanremo.

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IL VOLO: LONG LIVE LATIN POP

 The young tenors change sound: “We have to renew ourselves, risking, the future is brave, we start again from Miami, with an album produced by Emilio Estefan, and a duet with Gloria” 

Sanremo, 11 February 2018 – “You never get used to such a great emotion”, assures Il Volo, talking about the hot shiver on the stage of the Ariston, once again chosen as the crossroads of his career. Three years after the triumph of Grande Amore, in fact, Piero Barone, Ignazio Boschetto and Gianluca Ginoble sought the reassuring applause of the Festival before flying under the Miami sun, to open a new chapter in their lives. “Returning to Sanremo was a great honor and we are extremely grateful to Baglioni,” they explain. «A standing ovation has been added to the applause and the return has become perfect».

 Coming down from the stage has the idea of ​​trying again? Maybe in a few years? 

Gianluca: «Once you have won, you can return to competition in Sanremo only with a song able to repeat the feat. Because, at that point, you can not be content to compete in the group, but you are forced to head a race ».

 Actually, Sanremo was decisive three years ago. 

Piero: “At the time we suffered the idea of ​​doing concerts abroad and returning to Italy just for the holidays, so we said: let’s go to Sanremo, or it goes or breaks it. We had nothing to lose, because in Italy we were known, but, let’s say it all, not too much appreciated. We could not find with the public the empathy we had abroad “.

 What do you think has discovered the public of you thanks to the Festival?

Piero: «That we are not the only guys able to sing O sole mio and Un Amore così grande, but we know how to embark on even more risky enterprises, succeeding, I think, quite well. Just think about the concert with Placido Domingo in Piazza Santa Croce in Florence, born a year and a half ago from a winning idea of ​​our manager Michele Torpedine ».

Now, however, the time has come to change direction.

Piero: «I believe that an artist should stick to the times and, why not, throw an eye to the genres and sounds that enliven the musical scene at that time. Although the classic never dies, in fact, ours is a genre that someone can consider old. So we decided to give a good refresh to our music, putting ourselves in the hands of a great Latin producer like Emilio Estefan, who will certainly not sing us with a symphony orchestra ».

Gianluca: «In these years we have taken refuge in the covers with the awareness that it would have been useless to record a record of unpublished classic, because the audience of our concerts jump on chairs especially when we do O sole mio e Un amore così grande. People are fond of that kind of repertoire and to propose something really new you have to change the register ».

 Where does the road start from?

 Piero: «From Miami, we fly there on 19 February because on the 22nd we have the Lo Nuestro Prize in which the best Latino musicians of the year participate».

Gianluca: «In 2019 we will do a ten-year career, people abroad have learned to appreciate us as well. Now we want a Flight 2.0. In the new album there is a lot of rhythm but also beautiful vocal parts, Il Volo with a new sound. More pop, a light voice, but always of quality ».

 Produce Estefan. Has the superstar wife come alive?

 Gianluca: «Yes. There is a duet with Gloria Estefan and we are honored. But the meeting between an icon of Latin music like her with a group that has our characteristics you can also wait for it, others are absolutely surprising alongside our name. Starting with the first single ».

 Who would have liked to host?

 Ignazio: «Shakira. But already Gloria is so much, so much stuff. “

 Why this Latin turn?

 Ignazio: «In the United States we have succeeded at seventy percent with the adult and thirty with the young, while in Latin countries like ours we have the girls under the hotels».

Gianluca: «When I read the criticisms that define us as young old people, I think  are not completely unfounded at times. I am 23 years old and artistically, I would like to live a little more my age. I am convinced I can do it only now, because then it would be difficult to go back “.

 The Stones used to say ” Il tempo è dalla mia parte ”: time is on my side.

 Gianluca: «True. We have different tastes, vocality and dreams. But everyone knows that it is the group that makes the strength and that it would be stupid to divide our paths. But to continue walking together we must renew ourselves, risking. The future is of the brave ».

 Turning the world, what was the most surprising discovery?

 Ignazio: «We went to Tokyo thinking of sushi and we left again admired by an extraordinary culture and social organization».

Gianluca: «In Japan there is a civilization and an order that are difficult to find other latitudes».

 A few stumbles?

 Piero: “A few gaffes, rather. Like when Ignazio, for example, before the Pope, instead of saying “His Holiness” came out with “salve” ».

 Tokio, Sanremo, the album with Emilio. Another dream to achieve?

 Piero: «A Grammy we must try to win it. In Sanremo we would have liked to sing one of the new pieces. But it would have been useless to play there songs that the public could not find the next day on social networks or on music platforms. “

Gianluca: «Emilio has said it: this will be a Grammy Album. And we believe it ».

 

https://www.quotidiano.net/magazine/il-volo-1.3718271

 

After Sanremo, by Daniela

This post was actually written just before the Sanremo performance.  I apologize for it being out of order here, but I think you will enjoy it regardless! 

This beautiful article that I translate has just come out. Published on IL GIORNALE and written by Paolo Giordano.

 

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NOT ONLY BEL CANTO, AFTER SANREMO STARTS A NEW ROUTE

On the stage the trio (winner in 2015) sings Endrigo and duets with Baglioni. «Not easy»

 

Tonight they will sing in their own way: full  lungs and with drops of tradition.

 

Il Volo won the 2015 Festival with a song (GRANDE AMORE) that is already a classic of their concerts all over the world. And this time these three golden boys return on the stage of the Ariston with one more reason: to confirm that I’m not a meteor. Gianluca Ginoble, the Latin lover.  Ignazio Boschetto, the tallest. Piero Barone, the one with glasses. They are among the most famous Italians in the world, they make colossal tours and hosted in the most decisive televisions in the world. They were born on TV, they come from TI LASCIO UNA CANZONE and have made their way because they intercept a widespread need in the world (that of bel canto) but underestimated in Italy. After all, Italians find it hard to please what is Italian. In any case, Il Volo has now a recognizable identity at all latitudes. And tonight they come back to the Ariston. “After three years, it’s another sensation,” confirms Piero. Every time they go on stage, they beat the prejudice of those who do not accept that they can sing well in the old way. “But we’re used to it,” they always say. And in any case they do not stop. Like this time.

 

Sorry, Il Volo, what effect does being super guests?

(Piero) “It was Claudio Baglioni who immediately made us feel better. During the tests of last week, he put us at ease.”

 

As?

 

(Piero) “When we spoke to him, he answered clearly: “You are the guests, do what you want. So does a great artist. Chapeau.”

 

But in the meantime, where did you end up?

 

(Piero) “Let’s say we were on a break.”

 

Impossible.

 

(Piero) “In fact, we recorded a record with one of the most important producers in the world, Emilio Estefan. It will come out in two or three months. And it will be a surprise.”

 

Then explain why.

 

(Always Piero) “We opened the door to Latin sounds. Il Volo sings Latin. It is a tribute to a Latin American tradition that few expected from a group like ours. And there will also be duets that nobody expects.”

Eg?

 

(Piero) “With Gloria Estefan, wife of Emilio and super mega pop star in South America. Is it true that he did not expect it? “

 

In fact.

 

(Gianluca) “With this record we do not have only one goal, which is to improve ourselves. We also want to surprise and face an unexpected repertoire.”

 

The target?

 

(Gianluca) “Prove that we are not just beautiful singing.”

Will you do it at the Festival tonight?

 

(Gianluca) “In the meantime we will face a great story like Sergio Endrigo, playing CANZONE PER TE that won the Festival fifty years ago, in 1968.”

 

And then?

 

(Gianluca) “And then we will duet with Claudio Baglioni in a piece that is part of his repertoire as LA VITA E’ ADESSDO, from the disc of Baglioni in 1985. Not easy, you know?”

 

And then?

(Gianluca) “After the Sanremo Festival a new cycle begins for us.

But you can not be too different from before.

(Gianluca) “We have the opportunity to interpret many different repertoires without losing our identity. And we still have something that will never leave us: adrenaline. Maybe someone does not care or do not think about it, but who does this job has an engine that can not be extinguished: passion. We have it.”

All right, but three boys in their twenties will often fight among themselves.

(Gianluca, but the others nod) “We were educated by our parents and we have the teaching of our manager Michele Torpedine. So sure that we quarrel, often with vehemence, because each of us has a different character. But with intelligence everything is always resolved.”

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All ready for the big night?

                                                                                                                                                               

Credit to owner of photo.