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Concert Photos/Reviews, Our Stories

TUTTI PER UNO (under the rain) by Daniela

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May 1st, Arena di Verona, the first of two Il Volo concerts –  TUTTI PER UNO and I was there!!!

MAGNIFICENT! 💗💗💗

This single word encompasses everything and must make you understand in a moment my personal opinion on what I have seen, and even if we have seen a beautiful show under an incessant rain, it was wonderful, but now as usual I describe everything from the start.

Unfortunately the forecasts predicted rain and cold for the evening of the concert, but, as usual, we hoped it wasn’t like that.
Instead, all predictions have sadly came true.
The morning started with big clouds and some light rain but nothing special.
Some friends who were already in Verona wrote to me that it was cloudy but not raining and so I was very hopeful for the evening.
As the time to go to Verona approached, the clouds became more and more and it started to rain, a light but insistent drizzle.
We left for Verona, me, my husband, my son’s mother-in-law and Kirsten from Denmark, who came especially for the concert.
Shortly after the finish we entered the Arena and under the ancient vaults, sheltered, all the people put on rain ponchos, in short, we all seemed hooded but we all took our seats and waited for the beginning of the show, unfortunately the rain became more and more insistent.

I tell you right away that I took a few photos and a couple of short videos, because it was difficult under the rain and then I thought after that there would be a good TV shoot.
Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca entered the stage, and………. boy, what an entrance, what a fantastic scenography, all very well organised. They started right away with Granada, but not the usual song, or rather, the usual song but sung in three different ways, right away it was clear that Gianluca, Ignazio, and Piero wanted to demonstrate three different styles, three ways of singing the same song, in fact Piero interpreted in a classic way, then Gianluca in a more swing way and Ignazio in a more pop way, beautiful!! Their clothes were also different and respected these styles, Piero very elegant in a classic way. Gianluca with a full leather suit and Ignazio with a very baggy and soft suit that didn’t do him full justice.

I had prepared a pen and paper to write down the title of each song, and you will have understood that I could not do anything, but there were so many songs, three and a half hours of show without any interruptions and with our boys always present on the stage.
There were a lot of guests, but they didn’t take time away from our boys who duetted with each of them, Italian songs, many unknown to you, but it would be the same if they were new songs.
Some duets have been really fantastic, sweet and important and when there will be the television shooting I will explain better.
Knowing then that Ignazio, Gianluca and Piero believed a lot in this hard work, which was organized entirely by them, I felt particularly proud of the three of them.
Casual, beautiful, kind, and extremely good, they have shown so much talent, so much skill and to be able to range in different styles and not be relegated to performing pieces only for “mature people”, as the Italian audience often thinks, well done, well done !!!
Some parts touched the heart, for what was said and how some songs were sung, but, as promised I’ll explain better later, because some songs have really special lyrics and our boys especially felt this from the bottom of their hearts.
I am referring to Il Volo’s duet with IRAMA, a young Italian singer-songwriter. He presented his song dedicated to his missing grandmother in Sanremo, these words were also perfect for Ignazio and Piero, in fact all four performed the song.
“Wherever you are, wherever I am, in every gesture I will look for you. If you will not there, I will understand it and in silence I will listen to you”, these are the beautiful words of the refrain, which Ignazio sang placing his hand on his heart.❤
The choice of songs was varied, but also modern, all songs that have deep meanings and which I will explain well later.
Ignazio used his beautiful and very high voice to perform songs sung by women, women like Whitney Houston and in some moments he showed his rock side by performing songs by Loredana Bertè, accompanying himself on the guitar.

 

Piero duetted a splendid MISERERE with Mario Biondi, performed the Cavalleria Rusticana solo and the toast of Traviata in duet with the beautiful and talented Aida Garifullina.
Gianluca dedicated his voice to Elvis, but he also remembered the Beatles and amazed me with the duet with soprano Aida Garifullina singing a splendid Angels.
But these are just a few small examples, because the songs, the duets, the solos were very many and then Il Volo, united, also sang Grande Amore, A chi mi dice, Musica che resta, My way,  Ancora, Il Mondo, Caruso,  L’amore si muove, Ecstasy of Gold with the choir, in short, lots and lots of music quality.
It was a different concert, but let me tell you, a big step forward our young men have proven to be very good showmen, as well as excellent performers and their voices have always been in the foreground, even with the numerous guests. Even the presence of the Canale 5 presenter was not at all invasive of the time and the little monologue of the actor Edoardo Leo, well done.

As I told you I have made very few videos, but I don’t want to spoil the surprise, there are already many videos on Facebook or YouTube, but wait and you will have the whole show perfectly filmed and explained by me.
I also want to tell you that on this particular evening I was able to notice, and surely Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca also understood it, the great love that the fans of Il Volo have for their favorites, because they resist for a total of 4 hours under an incessant rain and even cold, means to love them very much. And il Volo understood this message, because the following day they wrote:

Thank you Verona, that was wonderful!🙏🏻

Despite the rain that stayed with us for the whole show, you welcomed us and supported us from start to finish with incredible warmth.🤩

We are three very lucky guys and we love you!💗

We’ll see you tomorrow, Wednesday May 3rd for the second “Tutti Per Uno” show, here at the Verona Arena!

The only complaint, the rain, incessant. ☔ This made me very sorry, not only for the discomfort, but for the fact that the audience was unable to fully demonstrate its approval through applause and standing ovations, impossible to get up and the applause was there but under the poncho, really too bad about that!
And now I want to remove a small pebble, because before the concert, when the names of the guests were published, there were many, very many boring and insistent comments protesting for a concert where Il Volo would not have given its best due of the numerous guests, even some offended fans said they wouldn’t come or they would to selling the ticket, and that they was  sadness at feeling betrayed.
A good pull on the ears would be good for these people, because they didn’t believe in Il Volo, which has never betrayed us, which has never offered us bad things!!!!
Of course, as I said at the beginning, this is my personal opinion, and when there’s a television video, you’ll tell me yours too.
Another important aspect of the Il Volo concert is the possibility for me to meet Flight Crew friends who live far from Italy, but who have come to Italy for their concerts.
The rain prevented some of these meetings, but some happened all the same.
Kirsten from Denmark

 

Jolanta from Poland
Susan from the U.S.
And then our beautiful nonna Maura, even she, 93 years old, held out until the end of the concert.
I also met Judith from Canada, then Laura and Ugo from Trieste, but I wasn’t able to take a picture with them.
I’m sorry I didn’t meet Maija and her daughter from Minnesota, and our Chinese friend Keisyuu who lives in Rome.
Il Volo is also this, it unites friends from all over the world.
I’m closing like this, concert at the top and now there will be the second part, with lots of other songs, because the program won’t be the same.
Thank you Ignazio, Piero and Gianluca for your beautiful voices and for always being so good!!! 💗💗💗
Daniela 🤗😁

 

Credit to owners of all photos and videos.

Article or Video Translations, Our Stories

INTERVIEW WITH IL VOLO IN JAPAN by Keisyuu

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Today I come back to you with a nice interview.
It is not a simple Italian interview, far from it. In August 2022, Il Volo went to Japan for three concerts, this interview was released the day before the last concert, of course it’s all written in Japanese and I don’t know anything about this language, but our Chinese friend Xinjie, that you have already met here in Flight Crew in two posts : (https://ilvoloflightcrw.com/2019/06/03/capri-history-of-a-meeting/), (https://ilvoloflightcrw.com/2019/07/05/roma-my-first-concert-by-xinjie/) and that you see here in the photo together with Il Volo and two other fans in Capri.

Xinjie contacted me telling me that she translated an interview for a friend and then she thought that the same interview could be appreciated by all the readers of Flight Crew and all the fans of Il Volo, so she sent me the beautiful translation.
From now on, Xinjie will be our eastern correspondent, under the name of KEISYUU. ☺
Thank you on behalf of all, all fans will appreciate this read!! ☺😘
Daniela 🤗

INTERVIEW WITH IL VOLO IN JAPAN

Japanese fans are very polite and elegant. The strong love from everyone can be clearly felt even on stage. (Gianluca)
INTERVIEW: YUKO KATO

I interviewed them the morning before the show in Nagoya. This time, there was also a live recording at Kiyomizu Temple, and Il Volo stayed in Japan for a long time. They had plenty of time to enjoy Japan. What was troubling was the heat of summer in Japan, and even at Kiyomizu Temple, the makeup was ruined by the dripping sweat, and had to be fixed for each song. Because of that, the three got tired of the heat. Just before the interview, the location was changed to a hotel, therefore photography was not allowed.

On the other hand, they enjoyed Japanese cuisine. “Those boys would be happy every day if they eat sushi”, I was told so by people involved. But in addition to sushi, it seems that they have discovered new favorites such as okonomiyaki.

Well, much earlier than the interview time, Piero comes first. Next is Gianluca. And Ignazio is on the verge. Ignazio, who was greeted with a cold gaze from both of them, “Isn’t it just the correct time!? I’m not late,” he said, showing off his watch and making a big appeal. The two smiled wryly. Probably he’s always doing it.

— I heard that you recorded a live video at Kiyomizu Temple without audience,  I wanted to see it live.

Piero Barone: It was a great experience. We make music called bel canto, which is an Italian tradition, and thanks to bel canto, we can sing in many beautiful places. This is also true in Italy, and again we can sing in a very beautiful temple in Japan. Kiyomizu Temple is the most important temple in Kyoto and has a great history, so it was really an honor to sing in such a wonderful place. It’s a very small place, so we couldn’t let the audience in, but I hope you enjoy what we’ve done by watching the video. Personally, I feel that Japanese culture and Italian culture are very compatible. Anyway, it has become an unforgettable memory for a lifetime, and I will continue to talk about live performances at Kiyomizu Temple in the future.

— How did you feel about performing at a Buddhist temple? 

PIero: We respect all religions. In fact, before the performance, we asked the monk of the temple to offer a prayer. Honestly, I didn’t understand what was said.. ( bitter smile). But we also have a lot of respect for that.

— But the high temperature and humidity made it difficult for you, didn’t they? You spent nearly 4 hours in the heat, right?

Gianluca: No, it didn’t affect the singing. But it was hard for the hair! That was the only problem (laughs).

Everyone: (laughs).

Gianluca: Two years ago we gave a Christmas concert at St. Peter’s Basilica in front of the Pope, and it was very cold. It was harder back then. Personally, it’s much harder to sing in the cold than it is to sing in the heat.

Ignazio: By the way, the performance at Kiyomizu Temple started recording around 9pm and ended around 1am.

Gianluca: Everything was perfect for us. It is the first time that overseas artists perform at Kiyomizu Temple. It is truly an honor and I will never forget it.

— When is this video going to be distributed?

Piero: It will be in September. (Note: Published on September 18)

— We’ll look forward to it. By the way, I recently released “Grande Amore” featuring Japan’s Little Glee Monster. Whose idea was this?

Piero: It was originally an idea from the label, but we also like Little Glee Monster very much that we wanted to collaborate.

Ignazio: We’ve wanted to collaborate on Grande Amore with Japanese artists for a couple of years. And have already done the same thing with the Brazilian and German artists. When we told the Japanese label about it, they looked for different artists and we chose Little Glee Monster.

— Did you actually meet these girls?

Piero: No, unfortunately we didn’t. We invited them to our show, and they’re also on the tour right now.

— That’s a pity.

Ignazio: It’s the first tour after years, so that’s actually a good thing! Because of the pandemic, we spent our days without doing anything at home.


— The Tokyo and Osaka shows are over, how did the audience react?

Gianluca: It was fantastic, the Japanese fans have always given us so much love from the first day, it is exactly the “Grande Amore”. Japanese audiences are very different from audiences in other countries.

— Oh, really? How?

Gianluca: Japanese fans are very polite and elegant. They have the utmost respect for artists, and the strong love from everyone can be clearly felt even on stage. I feel that Japanese culture and traditions are very unique in all aspects, and it means so much to us that Japanese people show so much love for Italian artists on the other side of the world.

— You have prepared a special set list for Japan, right?

PIero: Oh, yes. We talked to the conductor and the orchestra and changed the set list a little bit. Japanese fans prefer classical and symphonic songs, so we sing songs that we don’t do in other countries. As a result, it became a very long set.

— There are 28 songs in all.

PIero: Yes, that’s a pretty long show. But that’s how we love to sing on stage. We love sharing our music with everyone and we always want to do something special for our fans in Japan.

— Singing 28 songs for 2 hours non-stop is amazing.

Ignazio: Every night.

Gianluca: Just like football players. Some players play non-stop for 90 minutes. Of course, we don’t miss our daily training, too. It’s our job, also our passion. This is our lifestyle.

— Can you tell me the highlights of the show?

Piero: Uhmm…For me it’s the first song. You get on stage and see all sorts of new faces, I like to see everyone’s facial expressions that shine brightly when I start singing the first song. We’ve had great reactions in Tokyo and Osaka, and I hope we get the same reactions here in Nagoya.

— I’ve read a few live reviews by fans, and some have said they were so emotional that they brought tears to their eyes.

Piero: I’m glad for that.

Ignazio: At the beginning of the show, I always say, “Tonight is going to be a night full of emotions. I want you to have a lot of fun, to be emotional, to cry, to laugh. “ That’s the right way. You can be emotional, you can have fun, and that’s the beauty of our music. We love what we do and we do it with passion. Of course it’s a business, but before that there’s a lot of passion and love for music.

Gianluca: We’re doing this music for the elderly who’ve been hearing bel canto and the Three Tenors, and for the younger generation who don’t know that. We want to follow those whom we respect and convey this genre to the future.

— Japanese young people don’t listen to classical music very much, so that’s the problem.

Gianluca: It’s the same in any country, it’s normal. This genre is not so commercial. Pop has always been commercial, while classical is not. Even in this way, the existence of The Three Tenors has prevailed in the world.

Piero: (Luciano) Pavarotti at the top of the list.

Ignazio: The younger generation grew up listening to commercial music from the time they were born, so it’s hard to let them listen to classical music. The music used in TikTok, Instagram, etc. is also easy to listen to. Like rap or electronics. So, there are a lot of young people who don’t know this kind of music, and they have to discover it by themselves. Of course, I’m not saying that you should only listen to this kind of music, but I think it’s best to listen to a variety of music, but I also want them to listen to this kind of music we do, and through that, I hope them can get a sense of comfort and feel a lot of emotion. I’m not saying it’s wrong to listen to commercial music.

Gianluca: Yeah, we listen to a lot of music ourselves. From Elton John to Elvis Presley, The Weekend, Michael Jackson…

Ignazio: Ariana Grande, Drake…

Gianluca: Yes, that’s right. We listen to everything. Music is a part of our life.

We’re currently working on a very big new project while touring (Piero)

— Do you (Piero) also listen to music other than opera? I can’t imagine…

PIero: Certainly. After all, I have the strongest passion for opera, but as a singer, I have to broaden my horizons while listening to other genres of music!

Gianluca: Can you imagine listening to only one genre in your life? You can also say that about food. It’s like that I go to Japan and look for Italian restaurants. If you only eat the same food, only listen to the same music, you can’t grow and can’t expand your horizons. You have to try a lot of things anyway. Regardless of the genre, you should enjoy good quality music and good food.

Ignazio: Because you may be the one who limits yourself the most. I have to get rid of it first.

— Ignazio, you’re interested in producing, aren’t you?

Ignazio: Yes, I am interested, and I hope to do it someday. I’m not ready to do it alone yet. We work with a lot of producers and we learn a lot from them.

— Gianluca, you’ve taken acting lessons, but are you interested in acting?

Gianluca: Even if you are a singer, if you study acting and stage, you can become a better performer on stage.

Piero: That’s for sure.

Gianluca: For me, I started studying acting to become a better artist and to have more confidence on stage. But if I continue to practice like this, I may be blessed with the opportunity to work as an actor someday.

— And you bought a piano 3 years ago to write songs, right?

Gianluca: Yes. I have a lot of goals and things I want to do. I’m still not very good at playing the piano…

Ignazio: You’ve gotten a lot better!

Gianluca: Ah yeah, compared to before. I will resume my lesson when I get home. I hope someday I can write a song myself.

— Piero, when I first met you, you seemed very shy, but now you seem to be full of confidence.

Piero: It depends on the day (laughs). Waking up good or bad, changes the mood of the day.

Gianluca: When he looks shy, he’s just sleepy.

Piero: (laughs).

— Every time I do an interview, you announce a new project, so do you have any upcoming projects?

Piero: The last thing we did was the Morricone’s album (Il Volo Sings Morricone in ‘21), but then we went on tour and now we are on tour and working on a really big new project. But it’s too early to tell the details.

— Can you tell a little?

Piero: I can’t tell you anything. It’s a project for next year.

— Is it a new album?

Ignazio: Well~~(laughs)?

PIero: It’s going to be a big project. But we are working on it now, and it’s still a very early staircase, so unfortunately we can’t say anything.

— This tour is like Greatest Hits, not a tour of Morricone…

PIero: It also includes Morricone’s songs.

Gianluca: There are 5 Morricone songs.

Ignazio: Yes yes. We can’t do all 28 songs of Morricone. We do that plus other songs.

— When will you return to Japan next time?

Ignazio: We’ll be back next year!

Gianluca: Before that, I’d like to come back for a personal vacation.

Piero: But this time, we have plenty of time to travel around Kyoto and Tokyo. We also went to the Shinsekai of Osaka. By the way, we are going back to Italy tomorrow night, but we will go to Nagoya Castle before that. We love to explore different places.

Gianluca: also to eat a lot of traditional foods. Such as okonomiyaki.

Ignazio: Daisuki, Nippon! (I love you, Japan!)

Recorded August 12 in Nagoya.

Concert Photos/Reviews, Our Stories

CONCERT REVIEW OF ROME 2022 by KIRSTEN LANGER

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And here we are at the second review, this concerns the concert in Rome on December 23rd, the last Italian concert, and it was written by my friend Kirsten Langer whom I had the pleasure of meeting this year at the Verona concert.
“Kirsten, I’m so glad you and your husband were able to come to Rome for this concert, thank you for writing us this lovely review and it was a pleasure to help you in this adventure. 😘”
Enjoy reading!!
Daniela
______________________________________________

MY VERY BEST X-MAS GIFT:

– A CONCERT AND MEETING WITH IL VOLO, 12/23/22 –

And yet it wasn’t at all an X-mas present as the concert was scheduled for October but postponed to December due to Corona. But a gift it was indeed!
A fantastic concert – they have never been singing any better and all three guys were on top of their game and high spirited.
Unique individual voices – out of this world when in harmony! Add charm, energy, jokes, big smiles, a great and varied repertoire, beautiful music from the orchestra and warmth and love that reached way out beyond the edge off the stage and right into the hearts of the audience who loved them from the very first strophe and gave them standing ovations over and over.
They are world class! I’ll be back, definitely!

Where to start…

Let me introduce myself. I am Kirsten and live in Copenhagen, Denmark, and I have been a dedicated IL VOLO fan for a couple of years and experienced my very first live concert this summer in Arena di Verona, Italy, a beautiful event – and, by the way, where I did likewise met up with our great and sweet Daniela ☺.
Already by then I had also purchased tickets for their autumn concert in Rome, to which my hubby and I had planned yet a small holiday but, alas, then the concert was moved to December and on none the less than the 23rd – the day before Christmas – which in my country is celebrated in the evening on the 24th.  Only one airline offered flights back in due time – did we dare take the risk? What should we do? I was about to give up but couldn’t get it over my heart to cancel the tickets, which had been so difficult to obtain, so I just left the issue unsolved for a long time. However, when our son offered to host and prepare everything for X-mas Eve, we decided to go through with the project and made arrangements for 48 hrs. fling to Rome 22-24 December.

I was all excited once again ☺.

In Rome, we found splendid weather, two days of warm sun, accompanied us.

Fan club arrangement with flaws … and you need a lot of patience!

Things got even better when firstly the guys announced a book signing event in Rome on the 22nd – jihaa, we could just make it – and then even better the Fanclub offered a Soundcheck arrangement on the 23rd followed by a personal meeting with the guys during which they would answer questions about their new book and greet the members.

WOW, now it got truly exciting! Almost too exciting… and the mood did drop a couple of degrees when the venue for the Rome book signing was advised. A huge Shopping Mall way outside the city centre to which local transportation would be more than 1 hr. each way – or some EUR 100 roundtrip for a private taxi. I was prepared to do the latter, but Daniela kindly suggested we skip it due to the bad location, the limited time and not the least, that we were to meet up with the guys the next afternoon and hence no doubt could get the book signed there. Reasonably enough, so we dropped the idea and Daniela found us a bookstore close to our accommodation by the Piazza Navona, where we could purchase the book easily while still enjoying the beautiful sights of historic Roma. (Thank you ☺).

(My dear husband in front of the obelisk at Piazza Navona. The sky is blue ☺)
Next hurdle appeared – we had no idea as to the time for the Soundcheck and were told that the same would not be available until very shortly before… – but we had to pre-order a private taxi to take us to the venue, Palazzo dello Sport, which appeared to be located yet a long way from downtown Rome some 30-45 min. drive, so how to coordinate?
Once again Daniela was of great assistance to us kindly checking up with the Fanclub postings on our behalf and keeping us updated. (Thank you again). The time was announced 2½ hrs. before meeting time! Well, we had guessed the time pretty much correctly and made the transfer in fine time, but still…. Not to miss out of anything we were at the assembly point around 17:00 hrs. – 20 minutes before time. We did soon find a little group of people with admission tickets in hand as well.
A young lady appeared (apparently from the Fanclub) and showed us to the gate in question and then nothing more happened. We waited… and waited… and waited.

(In the photo my husband is waiting in line.)
No action at all. Around 18:00 hrs. The young lady did finally come around again, starting to tick us off manually and hand us a bracelet. So far so good, but then – again waiting and more waiting. Finally around 18:15-18:20-18:30 we were let into the concert hall only to find the Soundcheck already in full swing… We rushed towards the front seats passing Michele Torpedine who nodded and smiled kindly to us 🙂.
Gianluca was rehearsing one of his solo while the two other guys were hanging around the stage. In a corner of the stage Gianluca’s girlfriend was seated on a chair and apparently he is still very fond of her as he went forth and back to cuddle and kiss her constantly.
Then they rehearsed a couple of songs and that was it! 10- 15 min. at a maximum. They gave the Fanclub group (I think we were about 50-70) a quick hello and smile from the stage and off they were… That is, Ignazio went to chat and fool around with their guitar player for a bit, but soon he was away too. We could hear Gianluca sing a bit of a bossanova song in the distance but not visible. Piero is long gone.
We were then awaiting the guys to re-appear for the book chat, but instead a lady came firmly asking us to move to our official seats.
Eh??? This could not be true? But no signs of the guys or anyone from the Fanclub to give instructions, so we rose. I hate to think that the guys would skip this scheduled meeting on purpose… or they should have forgotten? It seems so far from their general attitude towards their fans. There got to be some communication error down the line or some other good explanation. I hope so. Yet they ought to have figured out that in similarity with Turin and Milan would likewise have a meeting scheduled for their Rome fans… Needless to say, I was disappointed.
Well, sometimes one can be a bit lucky too, as suddenly we spied Gianluca behind the barrier with a little group of fans in the one corner. Signing autographs and taking selfies. We rushed over and he did most kindly😘 likewise sign my book and offered to take a selfie with me. ❤
Kudos to Gianluca for appearing albeit not in the way that was scheduled. Few seconds later he was, however, all gone again. We hung around the spot for a bit, and then suddenly we caught sight of Ignazio passing by in the distance. At this time my good old teenage rock-attitude took over and I called him over trying to explain that I came all the way from Denmark. He stopped, gazed for a split second and then came to the barrier and quickly grabbed my book and pen and signed as well as let a few other fans have selfies.

Then he rushed off again as swiftly as he had arrived. Piero was never in sight. But 2 out of 3 are, of course, better than nothing – but somewhat let down I cannot avoid feeling.

I shall not bother you with yet another hurdle story when it appeared that the seat-figuration of the hall apparently had been changed over the years and, therefore, the seats I had selected no longer were placed in the first section but now rather far back on the floor in a not too good place… Well, to make a long story short we ended up being offered new seats that luckily appeared to be even better than the original ones, namely now on the 6th row next to the middle aisle with a very good view of the entire stage.
And it must be said that the young ushers were very kind and helpful to us but likewise apparently had experienced this situation before. After all, some of the tickets were already sold back in 2019/2020!
A long wait was now ahead of us as you are not let out once in… and the concert was not to start till 21:00 hrs. “Palazzo dello Sport” is absolutely an ugly and dull venue – all concrete with plastic chairs and no décor and with no cozy bars or eateries available. It’s a sports center able to hold a lot of people, and that’s it. So a plastic glass of lukewarm cheap red wine and a bag of potato chips made it out for dinner.
At this stage we were beginning to wonder if the trip was worth the while – but then the concert started!.

And what a concert!!!

At 21:10 hrs. It all began and the three guys entered the stage to the fanfare-like “Ecstasy of Gold” by Ennio Morricone – the famous Italian film music-writer to whom they dedicated their latest album.
And in a split second all our troubles were forgotten and we were fully encapsulated in the wonderful music.
They were wearing their nice new velvet tuxedos looking their best, they were very elegant indeed. 😘😘😘

They seemed in great spirits and full of energy. Lots of smiling and joking around. No one in particular in charge – all of them bidding in with presentations, stories and jokes. The latter was apparently rather humoristic at times as people around us were giggling and laughing – but not speaking a word of Italian we did, of course, not catch that part of the experience.
The repertoire was to a certain extent the same as in Verona, yet with the omission of some of the classics such as some of the Italian Bel Canto songs and i.e. Delilah. But we were lucky to enjoy two of the most beautiful Morricone songs, namely “Se” and “Your Love”.
As usual they did each sing two solos –and Ignazio’s “All by Myself” was once again incredibly well performed and had the audience giving him a standing ovation.
Standing ovations were likewise in abundance to Piero for his two opera pieces incl. “No Puede Ser”.

He seems to get better and better each time I hear him. What volume and control of his voice. And his following huge smiles verified that he indeed himself likewise enjoyed being on stage presenting them.
Gianluca did a very beautiful and emotional version of Elton John’s “Your Song” that was very well received with standing ovations by the audience as well, while – personally – I think it is time for him to let go of his Elvis favorite “Can’t Help Falling in Love”. He does it extremely well, but he can do better and needs some new challenges.
Standing ovations were indeed also much in place for the two duos – respectively “La donna è mobile” by Ignazio and Piero and “Hallelujah” by Gianluca and Ignazio.

The latter was extremely emotional and when everyone in the audience was waving their lit cellphones the atmosphere was breathtakingly beautiful…
Apparently there were interesting people in the audience and Gianluca introduced and pointed out to us his grandpa Ernesto, of whom he is very fond and dedicated a song to him. Actually, he was seated just a few seats further down our row without us having noticed. After the show Gianluca’s father came to fetch him and must have been seated elsewhere. Gianluca had, however, yet a great introduction to do – namely the Oscar-winning famous Italian cinematographer Vittorio Storaro (and Eleonora’s grandpa). He and some family/friends were seated just across from us, and when Gianluca a bit later came down into the audience while singing: “Here’s to You”, he went straight to their row to greet and hug them personally. A beautiful moment to encounter.

Ignazio had one of his great moments too, when he sat down on the top of the grand piano and sang one of his well-known ballads profoundly and heartfelt. Saying Ignazio you never know what to expect. Always in a good mood with a sneaky smile in his eye he never let us down.
This evening he seemed in an even greater mood than before and he gave us his now famous “disco-ball-show” happily dancing forth and back the stage in a for-the-moment improvised choreography sporting his new silver-shimmering tuxedo jacket bringing the big smiles about.  Who doesn’t love him?
As to tuxedos the guys seemed to have a bad clothing-day, each changing into a rather different and colorful jacket for the second half not matching each other in any way what-so-ever. Taste cannot be discussed… so I shall refrain from commenting on this new idea – only that Gianluca’s orange/red tiger print jacket is absolutely awful especially dressed with a red shirt; Piero’s black bling-spotted suit would be nicer with a pair of plain black trousers –and Ignazio’s “disco-jacket” is just too much and needs a thorough fit. He he he. But yet again, they can wear a brown potato-bag and we will love them .😁😁😁
Being Christmas time they concluded with three season songs, namely their little jolly “Christmas Medley”, the pompous “Adeste Fideles”.
and finally, of course, their new “Happy X-mas (War is Over)”.
During the latter everyone in the hall was once again waving their lit cell-phones creating a warm, intimate and lovely atmosphere. As an “extra” number they closed off as usual with “Grande Amore” and suddenly two hours had disappeared in no time.
But if the show was over for us – the party seemed to start for the guys – as instead of leaving the stage they did suddenly go “all bananas” with Ignazio climbing the grand piano and high standing calling manager Michel Torpedine, travel manager Barbara Vitale and some further staff to the stage and a huge hugging and kissing ceremony followed with the guys running across the stage from side to side with the arms high in the air, finger kissing the audience and hugging each other as had they just won the World Championship in football! They seemed almost in ecstasy and it was truly fun to watch how happy they were as if they had not expected to do so well themselves…
They were SO happy and sweet. ❤

(In this photo: Ignazio gets on the grand piano and the manager Michele Torpedine, the tour manager Barbara Vitali and the other members of the Il Volo staff are called on stage to embrace and kiss.)
At the end of the concert a lot of fans rushed towards the stage to get better photos of the guys or hand them X-mas gifts and shake hands. The teenager grows in me again, and I follow along . Only to find Gianluca kneeling down right before me and the group of people I stand next to, so I get a close-up photo as well . ❤

What a beautiful concert – what a fantastic show.
Compared to the concert in Verona they seemed a lot more lively, talkative and all over the stage. I/we loved each single minute of it and yes, it was indeed worth all the worries and flaws!
Cannot wait for their next concert. I/we will be back – most definitely. ❤❤❤
Warmest wishes for a Happy New Year to all members of The Flight Crew and love from Denmark:
Kirsten.

Here are some of my short videos and photos, I hope you like them!!

 

GRANADA

 

IL MONDO

CHRISTMAS MEDLEY

Please click here to view Christmas Medley

 

Concert Photos/Reviews, Our Stories

MILAN CONCERT REVIEW by ALESSANDRA COMPOSTO

40 Comments
As promised, here is the first of two reviews sent to me.
This is written by Alessandra Composto, and concerns the concert in Milan on December 17th.
Alessandra, who lives in France, had warned me, via Flight Crew, that she would be coming to Milan and we were able to exchange a few words at the signing of the book, we hope to meet more calmly next time, it’s so nice to meet Il Volo-friends!!
Enjoy this review of the first concert seen by Alessandra.
Good viewing:
Daniela. 🤗
__________________________________________
Hello Daniela and all IL Volo Flights Crew and Happy New Year to all!!
I wanted just to share all I have from the book signing at the instore on December 16 in Mondadori Milan and the concert of December 17 of Milano Forum Assago.
I am Italian (Sicilian), but I don’t live in Italy, my work has taken me to various places, now I live in lower France and will soon move to Paris.
I started to follow Il VOLO thanks to my uncle, since “Ti lascio una canzone” in Italy, but I never saw Il VOLO in concert before.
Their voices are really fantastic. Being brought up in Italy in a family that listened and read opera books, I knew right away that their voices were special.
I’m subscribed to several fan pages, as I believe all of you too, and also on this site, and it’s in this crew that I wanted to share my experiences.
I came from France to attend the concert and when I read that the day before there would be a book signing I was happy, so I could also do that event at the Feltrinelli bookshop.

I had the chance to see them from very close at the Mondadori Library. Gianluca and Piero looked really tired, no wonder after such a tour of the world in less than 80days 🤣!!!!
Must say that Ignazio was the most kind, fun, talkative, open and welcoming one that day.
While I was in line I took some photos.

I saw and called to Daniela, we exchanged a few words, but we didn’t take a picture.
Hi Daniela, it was nice to meet you in Milan!
And here it is my photo, posted on the library page!!

The day after, at  the sound check, I could approach Gianluca, who has been very kind indeed,  to ask him when they would perform in France, country where I live, he was really kind and took the time to answer me I could also see his father Mr. Ercole Ginoble and his brother Ernesto sitting not so far from  us, but I did not dare to go and talk to them ….I didn’t want to bother them.
Apart from the unfortunate and poor staff organisation of both events,
 -Fans put away by security for a photos after queuing 1 and 1/2 hour the first day……..and
 – standing in the cold for 2 hours to enter in the sound check without microphone for a Q&A , the second day, pity, because Il Volo certainly deserves an organization of a higher level………but the most important thing is that:

THE CONCERT WAS AMAZING!!!

–  I went home with my eyes and ears full of magic ready to repeat this experience, very soon I hope, and over and over again thinking that this was not just a concert it was a true Experience that will grow intellectually and culturally old with them as time will go by… I truly can feel it.
– And  the three of them are not just singers they could be much, much more together and also by themselves …. I also bet that the fans have not yet seen a quarter of what they will and are able to do in the future.
Il Volo strives for the importance of the family. I wonder if they really know that they put together families and different generations  thanks to their concerts, their music and their art!!!
Here is my sister and brother-in-law whom I brought with me to the concert. They loved it!!!

Ignazio, Gianluca and Piero, have different personalities that we know and I could witness that is true now!
Ignazio is a real showman. ❤
Piero is a very good and handsome show supporter of Ignazio and his voice is just amazing especially when he sings opera…..❤
Gianluca has a fantastic scene presence. ❤
The three of them make ONE and complete each other leaving the audience with a breathtaking envy to have a listen to them once more.
Ignazio is unforgettable in his solo “All by Myself “ and unbelievably touchy together with Gianluca in the Alleluia duos with the magic and extra professional orchestra that plays what the three magically arrange.
Unfortunately I was too far away to take nice photos of our beloved boys, but I also wanted to enjoy the show.
I made two or three videos with my cell phone, but I don’t have Facebook and I don’t know how to share them with you, I hope Pat is able to attach at least the “Hallelujah” one, even if I turned my cell phone upside down. But the sights, sounds and beautiful voices of that evening remain etched in my mind.

When you are a fan, it is a serious thing and fans are forever. ❤️💕🌸

Wonderful seasons greetings to all!!!

Alessandra

Concert Photos/Reviews, Our Stories

REVIEWS AND COMMENTS by Daniela

47 Comments
As promised, I am posting more reviews of the concerts. They are shorter than Leena’s and so I thought I’d put them together in one post.
The first review was sent to us by email, the others that follow, are comments to the concerts and perhaps not all of you have read them.
Everything that has been written reflects exactly our feelings towards Il Volo, therefore reading these beautiful words makes us relive special moments of lived concerts.
Happy reading, I await your comments : Daniela 🤗

Let’s start with the Clearwater concert review sent to us by Judi Edwards.

Ciao Daniela & Pat,
Another wonderful concert for our guys, and the full-house audience with some Latinos and Italians in attendance was extremely enthusiastic and appreciative—with partial to full standing ovations on most of the songs.  My sister and I had fantastic seats – 3rd row, but with no one in front of us—a few steps and we could have grabbed a foot or two!  Slightly different repertoire, with Here’s To You and Nella Fantasia replaced by El Reloj, Historia de Un Amor and El Triste, pleasing the Latinos—and me too.  I was so happy also to hear Would She Even Know My Name as well—so beautiful!  Plus I have to mention the excellent orchestra of about 30 musicians.  Ignazio was his usual lively self, and at one point, when he was introducing My Way and wanting to sound like a boxing match announcer, he dropped to the floor when the other guys surprised him with a mic coming down from the ceiling (flies).   I had my first Meet and Greet (this is my second concert) and it was a thrill, but there were estimated to be over 100 of us—obviously there are a lot of serious fans of our guys!  I hope you like the photos from my sister Kathi–sorry we were too busy soaking up the glorious performance to take videos.

Toronto concert, review from Dolores.

I’m 90 yr. old, this was the third time I’ve seen them, twice at their earliest shows in Canada and then on September 7th in Toronto. My step-daughter and I took the train to Toronto from outside of Ottawa, and got a hotel room close to Meridian Hall. We had seats in the 7th row, with me sitting in an aisle seat.
When Ignazio came down the aisle he sat on the knee of the woman directly behind me, so I got an exceptional view of that wonderful guy and heard his voice like you wouldn’t on a CD!! The whole concert was unbelievable and the Meet and Greet afterwards was super. I told Gianluca and Ignazio it was my 90th birthday present to ME!! Got Piero to sign a CD insert for my good friend, Roz from the UK, who I’ve been writing to since January (meeting through your Flight Crew columns)..
This was an experience I will remember if I live to be 100 yrs. old. and, hopefully, I’ll get to go to another concert before I check out of this world!!
Hugs to you all!
Dolores/DeeBee

Phoenix concert, review from Martha Lukaszewski

Daniela and Pat, Thank you both for your joint efforts in bringing us all the spectacular highlights of the US tour. I saw the Phoenix concert and I witnessed their growth and maturity as artists and performers.
As a group, superb harmony. As solo performers and
in duets, they have reached new levels. Piero’s voice has matured and the audience was in awe. Gianluca’s “If I can Dream” was an emotional ride with a physicality, that showed a confidence in movement. As a soloist and in the duets, Ignazio shines. But as the “Ringleader of Merriment”
he is an original. The contrast from 2 years ago allowed the time to grow, and mature as men.
We are all in awe. We are here for them for years to come.
Grateful : Martha

Maryann Schlessinger wrote this nice thought:

Only heard them for the first time about 1 year ago, but I was hooked immediately! I need to have my IL Volo fixed every day, so I have many of their songs on my playlist. Saw them in concert recently and they were just wonderful. They are so talented, so beautiful, so generous, so humble, so filled with love & joy that it comes through in all their songs. I am so glad to have found them & will love them forever.

…… and to her,  replied Jil Shaw

Maryann Schlessinger you sound just like me. Heard the guys first last year – instantly obsessed with their beautiful voices. I saw them in Melbourne – have all their CDs and listen every single day. Don’t know what it is about Il Volo that is so special but there is something unique – in their voices, their affection for one another, their sense of fun on stage and I am just so glad I found them!!!!!! 💙 💙 💙

 

 

Credit to owners of all photos.