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
No question about it, Il Volo has achieved worldwide fame! From the first time they stepped on stage they won the hearts of people around the world. Every place they perform at you will find thousands of people waiting for them. Why? Because they deliver a perfect concert every time. It’s always about the delivery. It’s always about giving the fans what they want! Every performance is an event to be written in our minds that we look back on when we hear a certain song or remember a moment when they first touched our hearts!
It’s a feeling you get. It’s not just a song, it’s their voices that captures our inner being and draws us to them! Many people will say, about other groups, “isn’t that a wonderful song” but with Il Volo they say what phenomenal voices. Gianluca said when he first heard “Grande Amore,” he didn’t like it, but he said what he should have considered was “our voices change the song.” It’s not the song that changes, no, it’s their voices that make every song phenomenal! It’s how their voices draw us to them and to our past and important moments in our lives. Yes, all their music, all their songs are amazing but above all it’s the voices! And this explains their continued success worldwide! Three absolutely phenomenal voices.
When I think about their voices, I immediately go to Ecstasy of Gold and the opening of the Tribute to Ennio Morricone at the Verona Concert. I can’t help but talk about the intensity of their voices when they sang The Ecstasy of Gold. What force! But it doesn’t stop there! I must add that you need to watch how their bodies react to the music! They are in motion.
Look at Gianluca! Watch his fist come at you! This is the punch, just the beginning.
Listen to Ignazio ride the note that guides us into the story! Now we’re sailing on the wind!
Piero intensifies the moment with his powerful voice that says the journey has begun! Follow us in this new adventure!
Now I need to go beyond the Voices, Movement, Expressions to bring you to what it all equals ~ Sceneggiata.
On stage in Verona, their voices, their expressions, their movements blended into the background becoming a part of the movie behind them. They themselves felt this and they looked back from time to time to absorb what was going on behind them. The movie, the orchestra, the phenomenal lights constantly changing color and reflection! Just intense!
The soundtrack of “the Ecstasy of Gold” from the 1966 Sergio Leone film The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is considered one of the most influential soundtracks in history. It was so important that it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. It is one of the most well-known of Morricone’s themes and one of the most iconic pieces of cinematic score in history.
I usually don’t repeat videos within a story, but I find it necessary to do so in this story because I want you to see where it even goes beyond the voices and body movements. Watch the expressions on their faces. Movement and expressions tell a story that goes beyond the voices. It’s like a story within a song. There’s a Neapolitan name for that. Sceneggiata (pronounced shen~en~ja~ta) which means a story that’s built around a song. Believe me their songs in videos are Sceneggiata. So today, I want to tell my story a little differently. I want you to watch these videos and I want you to listen to the song and live the story. I want you to see how the story builds as the song goes on. The whole idea of a video is to do just what Sceneggiata does. It tells the story within the story of the song!
When the major video for the album, Il Volo Sings Morricone, needed to be produced we followed the guys to Sardinia for the videoing of The Ecstasy of Gold which brought back memories of American cinema in 60’s, 1966 to be exact, the year The Good, The Bad and The Ugly was released! Some of the early American Western Films were made in Italy and Spain. Remember Clint Eastwood made many Italian Westerns.
Now, let’s take a look at the guy’s official video from Sanremo 2019. Let’s watch and listen to Musica che resta, which came in third at Sanremo. Who can forget the intensity of this song as the story builds within it!
The next video is a very important video. Grande Amore, the song that won Sanremo 2015. This is three stories within a song. Each story holds our interest and brings us to a beautiful conclusion.
A Chi Mi Dice took us on a journey along the Amalfi Coast. The song is about losing the woman you love and hoping she would come back. In the video you feel the cool and calmness of the day as the guys sail around the Mediterranean Sea. Are they searching for something or someone?
The vastness of the Arena and the emptiness lets us feel the absence of the woman they are singing about in Si Me Falta Tu Mirada. It makes you feels how much they miss the gaze of the woman they’re singing about!
Your Love needs no explanation! Of course, this story is about the 50th Anniversary of Grotte di Frasassi but for all of us who knew Vito Boschetto, Ignazio’s father, this song reminds us of him because it was the song the guys sang at Sanremo 2021 three days after Vito passed away. A very sad day but at Verona it became a tribute to Vito and it’s a song that always makes us think of him.
When I think of Per Te Ci Sarò I think of the guys growing up. This video is about young love! And it says it so well!
This video is a story of a lifetime. The video L’amore si Muove takes us through the lifetime of two children born at the same time. It tells of how they grew and fell in love and married and had a family.
In this video, the guys sing about being in love – We Are Love – While the artist is expressing love through peace.
This is a fun song Noche Sin Día. There’s no night without day. It’s like the rhythm of the night. The song begs the question, “What would life be if love didn’t exist,” and it acts it out almost as a game we play to find love. See if you can find Fabio Ingrassia in the video.
So, we come to Capolavoro. A true Masterpiece. The song talks about a masterpiece that fell from the sky. And how is it expressed in the video? This is different. The song says, “You were the only light giving things a meaning, and this life spent with you, my life spent with you, is a masterpiece. So, the guys are singing about the creation of a love that forms from a masterpiece (a person) that fell from the sky (came out of nowhere).
That’s the song, now think of the story. The masterpiece fell from the sky – that’s the light that we see fall from the sky. The light that fell from the sky lit the world – and a new creation was formed – a masterpiece. This is expressed through the four elements of life. Think of the video. Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire come together and a whole new story of life begins! It is a story of creation! What is the creation? It’s the new Il Volo! It’s their new way of looking at life! Their new music! Their new beginning! Each is the story of a creation!
What a beautiful presentation!
In conclusion, I want to tell you how the word Sceneggiata came about. After World War I, the Italian government increased the taxes on variety shows, which mostly included various types of singing and music, but they did not increase taxes on actual theater, thus causing many authors to devise a mixed type of show that would complement songs with dramatic acting, in order to circumvent such duties. So, a story was merged with a song to form a dramatic production and no taxes were charged.
Well in this day and age it’s not about taxes. Back then it was more about what the song became in order to survive in the industry. Today it’s about making a song more dramatic or giving it a reason by giving it a background with a story!
At times it could act like a fresco in medieval times. They would paint frescos on the walls of the churches so that those who couldn’t read would know the stories in the gospels. Many of you don’t understand Italian but you understand what’s going on because of these video clips!
That’s what videos do today! They give a story within a song ~ a Sceneggiata ~ that brings every song to life!
Before I close, I want to say Congratulations to Piero on his run in the Bologna Marathon. Great Job! He came in 1,556th position in just over two hours!
For your listening pleasure Il Volo Takes Flight Detroit 2011.
Join me next week as I go back Through the Fields of My Mind and bring to you the next exciting adventure of Il Volo.
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
Let me tell you about the day I fell in Love. Not with one guy but with three. I turned on my TV and there they were three handsome teenagers stepping on the stage at the Detroit Opera House. I had seen them before on American Idol and Good Morning America but, on this day, I would lose my heart to them.
Every note they sang went straight to my heart! Just amazing! Ever song they sang was wonderful but when they sang El Reloj something happened to me! I knew no other group would ever take their place in my life or my heart. They totally reached me with that song! For me I wanted the CLOCK to stop at that moment in time!
Why this song? They sing so many beautiful songs. What was it that captured me that night? It wasn’t so much about the song as it was about the voices. It was how natural the delivery was. Teenagers with such maturity! Such strength in their voices. Voices that flowed through the air! It was the simplicity of this song and how they delivered it that captured me.
Their voices form a symphony. Gianluca’s voice vibrates and expands to realms I’ve never heard before. Ignazio’s voice makes your heart stop as you journey along his notes that lead to absolute ecstasy. Piero’s voice fills all your senses and brings you to such heights that you have to stop and breathe.
If you want to present a voice, in this case three voices, this is the way you do it. They were together for such a short period of time and yet they were perfect! And it went beyond the voices. It was their personalities, their presentation, their interaction with the audience. They were young but they had it all. They won the people with their voices but, they totally captured them with their charm and personality.
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. You might say it is The Marriage of PBS and Il Volo.
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. But where did it all begin for them. Let’s listen to what the guys had to say about how they were discovered.
Piero will take us back to his grandfather, Pietro Ognibene’s, back yard where he is swinging on a swing that hung from a mulberry tree. His grandfather was sitting on the veranda, as he usually did, at this time of day. His grandfather has been blind for many years and so he always had a tape recorder with him which he used to record music and poetry. Piero’s grandfather is also a singer. On this day he was recording a little Sicilian song which Piero said his grandfather wrote. So, let’s listen to what Piero had to say…
I was swinging on the swing, I was about four or five years old, I was really, very small. I listened to him a little and at a certain point, when he stopped singing, I started: E lu suli, talia, talia, talia. Sopra ‘sta pedra luci ci duna. What can I tell you? It just came out like that.
His grandfather turned off the recorder and called his wife. Rina came out on the terrace and he asked her, “Unni è Piero?” (Where is Piero?)
She replied, “In Altalena” (He is on the swing)
Pietro asked, “Ma cu cantava? Iddu?” (But who was singing? He?)
She replied, “Eh, si.” (yes)
He told Rina to call him.
So, Piero got up and went to his grandfather. Pietro lifted him up and put him on the table next to the recorder and told him to “sing the song again.” Piero sang the song exactly as his grandfather sang it. And so it begins….
Ignazio’s discovery would come about because of Nina’s pianola.
Ignazio remembers, When I was three or four years old – I played with the piano my parents had given my sister, Nina. My mother says I was one years old when I played. Nina taught me to play Happy Birthday with one finger.
Nina’s famous pianola gave Ignazio a passion for music.
Ignazio continues,I do not remember the first day of school, but I certainly did not take long to get noticed. If you’re thinking of scenes of me being put in the middle of the class to sing, forget it. I had a passion for music but, I had an even greater passion for pranks. I tell you, since I started talking and walking, mine was an escalation of agitation.
But as Ignazio explains, this agitation passed and the most important event in his life began to take shape…
With the passage of time, I found something good to do at school, that is, an activity that was able to hold my interest enough to prevent me from slipping into some disaster. I joined the school choir. I always liked to sing, to be ‘in the middle’ of the music. And more and more passionately I began to understand how to make better use of Nina’s famous pianola. I learned how to start the musical bases and flip through them. And that’s when I discovered La Donna È Mobile. I liked it so much that I sang with the base and invented words. I don’t remember the words but, it certainly was a song about Pavarotti. Having seen Pavarotti on TV, I knew he always had a big handkerchief so I would invent text and sing on the air La Donna È Mobile.
It seems at three years old Ignazio was already composing wonderful music!
As we all know eventually, Piero and Ignazio performed La Donna È Mobile.
Gianluca tells us that his life was different from Ignazio but, in many ways like Piero’s.
My life as a child seems so far away. I remember very little of my childhood! I’m not like Ignazio I was born and raised in Montepagano. I was traveling only with dreams. What made me dream? Music naturally. Dad and mom realized that I had something special in my voice when I started to sing at the age of three or four years.
My parents tell me when I was three years old, I sang ’O Sole Mio’ in the town square in front of all the elderly gentlemen friends of my grandfather who, sitting around the bar table, were listening to this little boy with such a particular voice.
Each boy has now been set on the road to PBS so where did they go from here?
Over the years, each boy approached his musical education in a different way.
After his discovery in the garden, Piero embarked on a classical music education. He began piano lessons at the age of 8. At 10 years old he joined the Little Singers of the Philharmonic Association – Santa Cecilia of Agrigento. And then he began the competitions around Sicily.
In Marsala, Ignazio sang with his first singing teacher Lilliana Andreanò. He continued his singing lessons moving on to other teachers as he progressed. He took three years of piano lessons. He also participated in competitions around Sicily. Even after moving on to other teachers, Ignazio continued his relationship with Lilliana Andreanò. She advised him every step of the way right up to his audition at Ti Lascio Una Canzone which she convinced him to do.
Gianluca, unlike Piero and Ignazio, never had a singing lesson or piano lesson. He joined the Piccolo Choir of Roses. At one of their events, he was discovered.
As you know they all won on Ti Lascio una Canzone. But their biggest win was becoming Il Volo.
After American Idol, they did many shows but the one show that really set them “in flight” in America, was the PBS special “Il Volo Takes Flight.”
Their concert was shown on PBS stations across the US and Canada.
There’s no question that PBS played a major role in the career of Il Volo in America.
Most recently, 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 is 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 recording studios. 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!
I’ve worked in this industry, and I’ve seen young people achieve fame and throw it all away on foolishness! Many have achieved fame but what they do with it makes the difference. These men have shared the fruits of their fame. They didn’t take their fame and run with, they cherished it and used it to help others. They could have gone home to their families until the next tour but no they shared their good fortune. This is what makes them so great. This is what makes them incredible. For this reason, these entertainers are loved by their fans in the most incredible way!
Over the last year I have met with many fans at the various concerts I attended. I asked the fans what it is that they love about the guys on a more personal level. Many said their openness and generosity with the fans. They consider them like family. Some said they are the son they never had or the grandson they admire. Much like the fans who write to me each week. There is a beauty about the relationship between the fans and Il Volo. Il Volo is family!
The fans were the ones who got them through it all when they were young, and they never forget to say thank you! They attribute their fame not to their talent but to the fans who come back time after time, year after year to be with them. No, the fans are not followers in a sense that most fans are! No, they are family that always want to be there for their boys!
It wasn’t always easy for the guys but when they had a goal, they went for it! I remember Ignazio saying in a video when they first came to New York. “This is Radio City! We hope, I hope, everyone hopes to go there to do a big concert for the American people.”
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!
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.
But now I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me just say, all that followed in America was possible because of their concert on PBS. The Marriage of PBS and Il Volo was a marriage made in heaven.
Now let me turn my attention to a member of the Il Volo family who we are really missing today.
Vito Boschetto
Three years ago we all heard the news about the sudden passing of Ignazio’s father, Vito Boschetto. Each of us stopped to think about Ignazio and, how he must be feeling. There were no words we could expressed to comfort the family. We just kept them all in our hearts and in our prayers!
Over the years, as we watched Ignazio grow into a fine young man, we grew to understand that it was his parents’ guidance that made him who he is. They are a very proud family. Hard working people. This is a trait we see in Ignazio.
They gave Ignazio such exceptional values that it only made sense he would become the good, kind and compassionate person he is.
When Ignazio speaks about his family he speaks with a passion. The deep bond this family has is exceptional. Even as a very young child Ignazio said his family shared everything. No matter what happened it was discussed with the whole family. Ignazio has said that he admires his parents for their openness with him and Nina.
I write about Ignazio so often that I feel a special closeness to him and, today my heart aches for him. But Ignazio said something recently that touched my heart and the hearts of others. He said his mother told him, “Amore non finisce mai!” (Love never ends!) And this is true. Even when we are separated from the one’s we love that love doesn’t go away. It stays with you forever. It remains in our hearts.
In the past, Ignazio has said about his parents. Is it the same if the images that I will never forget are …. the memories of my parents? It’s not that I’m crazy or strange, it’s right that my story would never have existed without my parents …. Of sacrifices they have made many and, big for me and for my sister but, more so for me. I do not spend days when I do not think about how proud I am of them. He said this when his father was still with them.
Vito Boschetto was a man who worked very hard for his family. He was a mason, a brick layer. He worked at this job right up to the last days of his life.
Vito we all miss you at the concerts and by Ignazio’s side. There is a big void but the love lives on because amore non finisce mai. Our hearts are with your family today!
For your Listening pleasure, I leave you with the PBS/Rai concert in Verona.
Join me next week as I go back Through the Fields of My Mind and bring to you the next exciting adventure of Il Volo.
Capolavoro is available on all digital platforms including Spotify and Amazon Music
Who Wants to Live Forever is 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
It’s time for the guys to take a well-deserved break following their fantastic performance at Sanremo. Their performances of Capolavoro and Who Wants to Live Forever, were phenomenal. Our journey with them through town, attending interviews, and witnessing amazing moments was truly exhilarating.
The beginning of this remarkable journey didn’t begin a year and a half ago when the song was written, and the decision to participate in Sanremo was made. It began15 years ago April 25, 2009.
I know everyone who knows Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca knows that their story really begins in episode four of Ti Lascio Una Canzone. So, I will just briefly tell you what happened for those who don’t know.
It is the fourth episode of Ti Lascio Una Canzone the boys are given the music for O Sole Mio. They walked out on the stage, sang O Sole Mio and walked off stars!
Alone in his apartment, Michele Torpedine was sitting on his sofa with the volume off on his TV. The show he was watching was Ti Lascio Una Canzone. He keeps looking at the screen and he suddenly thinks Ignazio reminds him of Luciano Pavaroti, Gianluca seemed similar to Jose Carreras and Piero is similar to Placido Domingo. He still had not heard them sing. Out of curiosity, he raised the volume and Michele says, “Here I am aware of another element, that is even more important than the first. The three casually put together to sing a song of the program possess an incredible vocality for their age.”
At this point Michele’s head is spinning. He’s thinking these guys are good and again repeats it to himself, they’re good! He thinks, “What if I try to put them together seriously? A trio, he tells himself.”
The rest is history!
So, let’s step off the stage of Ti Lascio Una Canzone and follow The Long and Winding Road to Sanremo 2024.
After winning Ti Lascio Una Canzone, their parents negotiated a contract with Universal Studios which Piero commented about saying, “yesterday I was working at my uncle’s body shop and the following day I signed a millionaire’s contract with Universal.” Can we even begin to imagine what Jimmy Iovine was thinking? All he heard was a recording of O Sole Mio and he gave them a million-dollar contract!
This is how amazing they were and still are. This was so unique because the American music industry opened its door to three, unknown, Italian teenage boys. They were the first Italian artists in history to sign a contract directly with a major American music label. Unheard of!
Following the signing of the contract with Universal, a musical journey began!
Their music was Operatic pop or popera. What was this new movement? It’s singing Opera in a more classical style. While opera is very strict and regimented, popera is more ethereal it has a lighter feeling, and it moves freely. It takes away the hard edges of opera and replaces it with a more ethereal feel while still presenting the drama and the high notes of the opera.
This along with the classical Neapolitan songs became a big draw. Why did it work? One reason is three amazing voices! If the voice wasn’t there, the song wasn’t going to sell.
I think a lot about this today, as the guys are going through a transition with their music, they still realize that the reason they were and still are so successful with their concerts is their bel canto. Times change they change but bel canto lives on! Only now, they give us so much more with their individual personalities and songs! Can’t wait for the new album!
Going back to the beginning, as I’m writing this piece, I’m thinking about where I came into the picture.
For me, the magic began one morning when I was walking to work on the west side of New York. ABC Studios was a few blocks from my office on 47th. On this particular morning there was a large crowd standing outside and in the middle of the group were three teenage boys. I stopped to listen; I was amazed. Who are they and how do I get to see them perform. Well over the next few days they were everywhere! On all the day shows! On all the night shows! And then the real magic began when, about six months later, I turned on PBS and there they were! And I fell in LOVE!
Back to the guy’s journey through America.
Coming to America was exciting for them. It was new it was different they couldn’t believe their eyes. They couldn’t believe this other world that they were in. A world so different from Italy!
In 2010, they joined Quincy Jones’ “We are The World for Haiti” a charity event. They performed alongside 80 other international artists including Celine Dion, Bono, Lady Gaga, Barbra Streisand, Usher, Natalie Cole, and more. Il Volo were the only Italian artists to be invited. The three voices from the background caused such a sensation that everyone was asking, “Who was that?” They couldn’t believe what they were hearing but, “Who were they?” Soon they would find out!
In May 2010 their first album was released.
Their first album was self-titled Il Volo. It received platinum certification in Italy and the Spanish edition of the album received a nomination for Best Pop Album by a Duo or Group with Vocals at the 12th Annual Latin Grammy Awards in 2011. The album also debuted at number 1 on the US Top Classical Albums Chart.
And so, the awards begin!
In April 2013 they released a Spanish version of We Are Love, titled Más Que Amor, which includes a duet with Mexican singer Belinda. The album débuted at number 1 on the Billboard Latin Pop Albums. Más Que Amor was certified “Gold” in Mexico and Argentina. And this catapulted them into the Latin market. From that day on they took the Latin market by storm. This is unheard of! Three Italian kids taking over the Latin market!
In February 2014, they receive two nominations at the 2014 Latin Billboard Music Awards, as “Top Latin Albums Artist of the Year, Duo or Group” and “Latin Pop Albums Artist of the Year, Duo or Group.” At the awards show they were awarded as “Best Group of the Year in the Latin Pop Album” category and they won “El Pulso Social Award,” as the artist who dominated interactions on social networking sites during the Billboard Awards.
On February 14, 2015, they won the Sanremo Music Festival 2015 with Grande Amore winning 39.05% of the total vote over the 2 leading challengers. This is the top award in the Music Industry in Italy. With this win the guys really came home. They were finally recognized by the Italian people.
This win gave them the opportunity to represent Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest 2015. As Italy is a member of the Big Five, the group went straight into the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest, which was held in Vienna on May 23, 2015. Grande Amore came in 3rd with 292 points but, they won the televote with 366 points and won the Marcel Bezencon Press Award, as best song according to the collective voting of the accredited press. The extended play Sanremo Grande Amore was released in Italy on February 20, 2015, and it was certified triple platinum by FIMI.
At the Latin Billboard Awards, they dominated the social networking sites, and they won the televote and the best song according to collective voting by the accredited press. The people speak!
This was their first try at Sanremo and they won! Phenomenal.
They did return to Sanremo in 2019 and this time they won third place with Musica che resta.
This is just to mention a few of their achievements. There are so many more achievements, but they are too numerous to mention.
Moving along the journey let’s stop at the Back to Brooklyn Tour with Barbara Streisand.
In 2012, Barbara Streisand invited them to join her “Back to Brooklyn Tour,” which included twelve performances in the United States and Canada. They were not an opening act, no, they shared the stage with Barbara. To the guys this was a dream come true!
With each step that they took along the journey they became more and more popular.
The Christmas Concert at the Italian Senate December 21, 2014, was a highlight in their career. Ignazio wrote in their book: “We want to talk about the thrill of singing in front of the highest offices of state! What twenty-year-old boy has something like that happen? It happened to us, and it seems to me a beautiful result, an honor. You cannot imagine the emotional feeling to be called “guests of honor” inside the Senate. We were accompanied by the fantastic Filarmonia Orchestra Veneta conducted by Diego Basso. Half the beauty of the song is in the orchestra.
The most exciting moments? Everyone! But the hymn of Mameli was the heart-pounding one, the first song, singing in that place, with everyone singing along with us, including Giorgio Napolitano, (President) and Pietro Grasso (President of the Senate). It is one thing that I cannot explain.
And then, of course, the pleasure of shaking hands with the President of the Republic and of feeling that he knows Marsala, he has been there.”
Piazza Santa Croce in Florence, July 1, 2016 “Notte Magica” – 2016-2017 were the years dedicated to the “Notte Magica” project, the tribute to the 1990 event where the Three Tenors, Josè Carreras, Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti, enchanted the whole world from the stage of the Baths of Caracalla. On July 1st in Piazza Santa Croce in Florence Il Volo presented on stage “Notte Magica – A Tribute to the Three Tenors,” which was broadcast in prime time on Canale 5. The guys were joined by Placido Domingo who conducted the orchestra. This marked the beginning of the world tour of “Notte Magica – A Tribute to The Three Tenors” which debuted on March 4, 2017 at the Radio City Music Hall in New York. The show was sold out. After 15 stops in the United States, all sold out, the tour is extended to Europe from May 5, 2017 for 29 performances and from September it extended to Latin America. The concert “Notte Magica – Tribute to the Three Tenors” was filmed and broadcast in the United States by the national television network PBS, and in Italy by Canale 5 and, starting in June, it was broadcast in over 500 cinemas in Italy and around the world.
World Youth Day Jan 27, 2019 – If you ask the guys after winning Sanremo, which truly brought them home, “What was your greatest performance,” they would probably answer, there were two. Singing for the Holy Father at World Youth Day was one of the most amazing events in their life!
So much has happened since World Youth Day. But the most important event going forward was the guys presenting their individuality.
So, let’s see how they express this Individuality….
Elton Johns’ lyrics to Your Song expresses the romantic thoughts of an innocent person. Gianluca brings the song to another dimension. He is very romantic and everything he sings turns into a love song. His warm beautiful voice expresses the thoughts behind Elton John’s words.
The beautiful words of this song certainly express Gianluca’s feelings for his mother, Eleonora, who he is singing too and who has been at his side throughout his career.
His beautiful rendition of this song would make Elton John praise his performance. Gianluca got a well-deserved standing ovation! Just phenomenal!
What can I say about Piero singing No Puede Ser? It’s my favorite aria that Piero sings. He takes my breath away. No one, and I have heard many tenors sing No Puede Ser, no one sings it like Piero.
Always a showstopper, always a highlight, a splendid moment in the concert. I wait for you at La Scala! A Phenomenal performance!
Ignazio sings Beyonce’s beautiful song Listen. It’s a song that expresses how many people are feeling.
You are right Ignazio, it’s time to find your own voices. Ignazio knocks it out of the box with this song. His voice goes to unreal heights. Not only does he express how we are all feeling but he gives us a beautiful version of the song that fills our souls with emotion. And, little Julian adds to the moment with his phenomenal saxophone accompaniment. As I said before, guys, Julian is all of you at 8 years old. Now you know how people felt when they experienced your voices at such a young age!
So, this was the beginning of a new era for Il Volo. The beginning of expression! Their own expression. Their own feelings. Feelings they wanted to share with us.
We all know what the true magic of Il Volo is. The magic of Il Volo 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.
When we leave the concerts, we don’t leave them behind! No, we take them with us! They’re with us in our homes, in cars, on trains and on planes. How many of you out there can say that you ever felt that way about a singer or a group at any other time in your life? I’ll answer for you! Never! Because no other group in history has ever been so open, so sincere and so forthcoming with their fans.
And these past weeks, the guys shared some remarkable moments with us. They were the shining light at Sanremo 2024. The press can say what they want but we know what we want. We want the guys who have brought us happiness these last 15 years. We followed them along The Long and Winding Road and we enjoyed every minute of it. And, we plan to follow them through their celebrations this year and to continue down this road with them.
Join me next week as I go back Through the Fields of My Mind and bring to you the next exciting adventure of Il Volo.
Capolavoro is available on all digital platforms including Spotify and Amazon Music.
Who Wants to Live Forever is 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
