On December 13, just returned from the U.S., Il Volo was a guest in Milan on Radio 102.5, this radio also broadcasts on a television channel and therefore there is the video of the interview.
Before starting the translation, I propose the arrival of the boys at Radio 102.5, as you can see, Ignazio arrives with Michelle 😍 and Piero with Torpedine.
The show is called THE FLIGHT(not on purpose 😁) and the two presenters are La Zac(woman) and Matteo Campese(man).
The part dedicated to Il Volo lasted an hour but was interrupted by various songs from Il Volo.
M.CAMPESE= Not only on the wave, they have arrived in the studio: Il Volo ladies and gentlemen.
IGNAZIO= Hello, hello everyone.
GIANLUCA= Hello everyone.
PIERO= Hi, explain to me why you who work on radio all have a voice like that (you mean deep, persuasive).
GIANLUCA= It’s a setting that works.
LA ZAC= But it’s not true, it used to be like that, Piero.
M.CAMPESE= But you actually say that you’re a singer.
PIERO= It’s like….vroom…
M.CAMPESE= Yes, because once upon a time we wanted to be pilots and we have wheel friction!
GIANLUCA= Hi everyone, it’s nice to be back, we’re really happy, after a long time, to return to: The Flight.
LA ZAC= We were talking before, we were imagining your passports, how many times did you have to renew them, because there were no more pages to put the stamps on?
IGNAZIO= If I’m not mistaken, I’m on my fourth, fourth passport.
M.CAMPESE= Do you keep them? No, you can’t?
IGNAZIO= Yes, you can, just cancel them.
GIANLUCA= We’ll play cards then, it’s a new game.
LA ZAC= What country are you missing, so to speak.
GIANLUCA= I would like to go to India, or Iceland, or Alaska, they are places we have never been.
PIERO= I would like to go to Sardinia.
M.CAMPESE= Easy!
GIANLUCA= You don’t need a passport there.
IGNAZIO= By the way, you gave me some news the other day, without your knowledge.
M.CAMPESE= Tell me.
IGNAZIO= Your Instagram published a video of a restaurant in Bologna.
LA ZAC= Yes.
IGNAZIO= That’s the restaurant where I went.
M.CAMPESE= That is, when you had a quarter of an hour free you rushed over there?
IGNAZIO= It’s near my house.
M.CAMPESE= Ok.
IGNAZIO= And so every now and then I had sushi there, those quick things….you published that video…
LA ZAC= That of fish made outdoors?
IGNAZIO= My stomach was bad for half a day! (laughter)
LA ZAC= Anyway, let me introduce you to Ignazio, the married man.
IGNAZIO= Hi, what do you mean….
LA ZAC= Okay come on, that’s an achievement, we’ve literally seen you grow, professionally but also humanly and see someone getting married…….
GIANLUCA= Sleep the signs of time passing for everyone!
LA ZAC= That’s right.
GIANLUCA= When you reach that age where you get married and you are no longer a fifteen year old, a twenty year old.
M.CAMPESE= Who sang at your wedding?
IGNAZIO= Me.
GIANLUCA= To our ??? Of the three of us? When we get married we get married alone, not as a threesome.
IGNAZIO= I sang at my wedding. In truth it wasn’t one of those weddings where you feel obligated to sing.
PIERO= No, you just set up a stage that looked like the one at the super bowl.
IGNAZIO= There was the band, but really, whoever wanted went on stage and did what they wanted. Think my sister sang too. We had fun.
LA ZAC= Well, Il Volo is with us today, send your messages. Soon we will give you a series of dates and information, we’ll talk about it shortly, but in the meantime FRAMMENTI DI UNIVERSO, Il Volo!
LA ZAC= The voices of Il Volo that magically intersect (Ignazio screams saying ABRACADABRA and everyone laughs) I knew it, I try to make a good presentation and Ignazio as usual….
M.CAMPESE= But why ABRACADABRA?
IGNAZIO= Because she said magic voices. (laughter)
LA ZAC= Then in your concerts there is always this atmosphere that lends itself to this type of presentation, but that’s enough, I won’t say anything more! You continue.
IGNAZIO= We are very happy with this album, because it is an album for everyone, it is Il Volo as perhaps you don’t expect it or as you expect it.
I personally am really happy because it’s that side that I liked people to be able to notice and see.
LA ZAC= Piero is showing your side.
IGNAZIO= Ah, ok, the side. I’m also very happy especially with TRA LE ONDE, which we left there, and so I suffered a bit, waiting for the right moment to arrive…
GIANLUCA= TRA LE ONDE is the new single you listened to a little while ago.
LA ZAC= Yes.
M.CAMPESE= The whole journey actually started from Sanremo for this latest album.
PIERO= We returned to Sanremo after 5 years, from 2019, we decided to participate in the festival by highlighting humility and modesty and we titled the song CAPOLAVORO (MASTERPIECE, he jokes)
M.CAMPESE= Rightly so.
IGNAZIO= Obviously inspired by our colleague and friend Gianluca Ginoble!
PIERO= The song was dedicated to him (Ignazio and Piero are joking, meaning that Gianluca is a masterpiece).
Jokes aside, it all started from Sanremo, then after Sanremo the world tour began from Nagoya in Japan, it was April 25th, and on April 25th 2009 we sang together for the first time, in the program where we met.
M.CAMPESE= Was it 2009? So 15 years this year of an honored career!
PIERO= Yes, almost 16 years, we are celebrating this milestone with a demanding tour, 150 dates in a year and a half, so we are really happy.
M.CAMPESE= How old were you in 2009?
IGNAZIO= We were 15 years younger. (laughter)
PIERO= 14 (Gianluca) 15 (Ignazio) 16 (Piero)
M.CAMPESE= Did you recognize the narrative of a slightly sacrificed childhood or not?
IGNAZIO= But, sacrificed……it depends on your point of view…
M.CAMPESE= Let’s skip beyond the pleasantries…
PIERO= Do you mean if we missed some stages?
M.CAMPESE= Yes, that.
IGNAZIO= Exactly, it’s exactly that because maybe you missed the whole phase where you say…can you say bad words??
M.CAMPESE= Yes, you must.
IGNAZIO= Where you do shit with friends…
LA ZAC= Piero turned off his microphone!!
IGNAZIO= …..but we got to know the world….
PIERO= You met me!
IGNAZIO= Yes, what an ass! (laughter)
LA ZAC= You got it, it’s going to be such a fun hour.
IGNAZIO= We have learned many things about the world that perhaps we would not have known.
PIERO= He’s the one speaking, you must know that he doesn’t know anything in the world, ……
IGNAZIO= I met the hotels.
PIERO=….because he travels… and always stays in the hotel, while Gianluca and I go around, see monuments, various things, he always stays in the room.
IGNAZIO= You have 10 more seconds to denigrate me, go! (laughter) Go.
LA ZAC= Well friends, stay with us, more incredible surprises with Il Volo in The Flight.
LA ZAC= Until the end, rightly so, MASTERPIECE, Il Volo on RTL 102.5.
IGNAZIO= You should have said “CAPOLAVOLO”
LA ZAC= Gianluca you have something.
GIANLUCA= I want to say that this song was an important step in our career, especially in Italy, but also around the world it was much appreciated and getting back into the game after 5 years and proposing a project of unreleased songs, the first album of unreleased songs after 15 years of career, in short our fans, like everyone else, know that we have based our career for 80% on a repertoire of “covers” (already known songs) taking inspiration from the great songs of the past and re-proposing them, certainly for those who already have them knew, but also for the younger ones that we had never heard some songs from the past.
So from GRANDE AMORE our construction of unreleased songs began, and then finally, after this project, we can say that we are really satisfied with this new adventure, with CAPOLAVORO, with this album, with the new single TRA LE ONDE, because we are expressing a part of us that perhaps most people didn’t know, so we are satisfied.
LA ZAC= Well your career is made up of many pieces, you have truly conquered every corner of the globe and you have added different things each time. There’s also an appointment with Christmas, we’re there now, right?
PIERO= Now on December 24th, Christmas Eve, Christmas Eve, you will see this concert that we created at the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento. In 2025 Agrigento will be the Italian capital of culture and we created this concert. I must say that we are satisfied because it was really complex to hold the event there, but now we have had the opportunity to see the initial images of the concert and it is impressive to see the Valley of the Temples in that way.
M.CAMPESE= With your repertoire it is a little easier to access those places that are the right setting.
IGNAZIO= Yes absolutely.
PIERO= It’s also the reason why we had the opportunity to sing in more exclusive places, like perhaps the Kiyomizu Dera Temple in Kyoto or inside the Tower of David in Jerusalem two years ago for the Christmas concert.
IGNAZIO= But also singing for the Pope, as much as I adore Vasco Rossi (Italian rock songs) I listen to him every day, but I don’t see him singing in front of the Pope.
M.CAMPESE= I couldn’t wait. (he says this meaning that it would be a really strange thing – laughter)
GIANLUCA= Actually recently Blanco (Italian Hip-hop/rap singer) sang… (in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican), so it is not only linked to our musical genre. Surely what we want to convey is that it is an experience to live, for example the Nessun Dorma, even if you don’t listen to classical music, it is an experience, something that must excite you, because it is not earthly as a melody, it is almost linked to an energy, I don’t know, universal! Do you understand that there are types of music and writing that truly embrace all ages, it’s almost not tied to a genre, it’s an experience like walking through the streets of Rome or Tuscany, you understand? It’s linked to that sensation there, to that emotion!
M.CAMPESE= True, but is there an absurd location that they proposed to you, like the first concert in space in history?
PIERO= The Kiyomizu Dera Temple. You must know that it is the oldest temple in the city of Kyoto and no one has ever held a concert there, because it is a temple overlooking a forest, so there is no audience there, and because they had to make a special to then broadcast in cinemas in Japan and therefore we recorded this concert without the audience, so it was the conductor or the orchestra who applauded. It was special and I also remember the heat and humidity of that evening, but it’s beautiful!
M.CAMPESE= ….and you can’t forget the overhang either…
PIERO= But it was dark, so you didn’t notice.
LA ZAC= While waiting for this festive event in Agrigento, I would say to get into the mood with the song Happy Christmas War is Over.
LA ZAC= This is the international version (they laugh because at the end of the song Ignazio was humming the song)
M.CAMPESE= Sorry but abroad, what is the Italian song that they ask you to sing the most?
PIERO= The one he was singing (Ignazio)
IGNAZIO= GELATO AL CIOCCOLATO (it is the title of a much sung Italian song). No, no, you know one of the most coveted is always IL MONDO, it’s one of those songs that….
M.CAMPESE= Where you go, they ask you.
IGNAZIO= …..everyone sings it, our audience, wherever we are, always sing it. Like now we’ve finished the tour in Europe and IL MONDO was one of the last songs on the set list and everyone was singing it.
GIANLUCA= And most don’t speak Italian, so they know the text by heart.
PIERO= Actually, I agree with what Ignazio said, on the European tour IL MONDO was the third to last, then after two or three dates we realized that it was the most awaited and therefore we decided to end the concert with IL MONDO .
IGNAZIO= But then the nice thing, there are a lot of people who meet us and tell us:
“You know we started studying Italian for you. I speak a little Italian because I wanted to understand your songs, because I always listen to you and I want to learn Italian.”
That’s also one of the goals we’ve always had, to be an example, to encourage people to do something good with our songs, whether it’s listening to them, or singing them and learning Italian.
PIERO= The best thing we heard, we were in the U.S. last week…..
IGNAZIO= But did you put THE FLIGHT on because we are guests or is it the title of the program???
LA ZAC= Both!!
PIERO=…… we were in the U.S. in Chicago, a lady comes to us and asks us: “But do you sing PAVAROTTI in your concerts?”
Do you know what that lady meant? NESSUN DORMA was titled PAVAROTTI for her.
LA ZAC= How would the NESSUN DORMA Pavarotti version do?
IGNAZIO= Okay, MUSICA CHE RESTA!
LA ZAC = Now begins a tour called ALL FOR ONE AD ASTRA LIVE in the Palasport, from January 10th in Iesolo, then followed by Milan, Treviso, Florence, Bologna, Turin, Rome, Eboli, Bari and Messina, and then there is it’s the whole European session in autumn 2025, so, in short, the guys are always around.
M.CAMPESE= When they come back through Italy they withdraw 200, like in Monopoly and then they go. Stay with us if you have any questions, see you soon with Il Volo in the studio at RTL 102.5.
In THE FLIGHT it is 3:48pm. I imagine people stopping you on the street and out of nowhere asking you: “Excuse me, are you giving me a sharp note?”, coldly, like that!
IGNAZIO = On the fly (immediately)
PIERO= (turning to La Zac) Do you remember I told you about the airport?
LA ZAC= Ah it’s true: “Take a flight to Il Volo” (in Italian THE FLIGHT is IL VOLO – laughter)
IGNAZIO= No, come on, guys, please!!
M.CAMPESE= But it doesn’t happen that many times.
IGNAZIO= Always.
M.CAMPESE= Come on!
IGNAZIO= I swear, always!
M.CAMPESE= But isn’t it true, come on, in Italy?
IGNAZIO= Always, the best thing is that whoever says it also feels cool. “On the fly with Il Volo ah ah ah”
PIERO= Matteo (Campese) always does this.
M.CAMPESE= Of course, I always do this.
IGNAZIO= Ok, and now what are we talking about?
LA ZAC= There are many things to say, and precisely because there are many we try to skim and say the most immediately important things.
PIERO= A little while ago you spoke about the Palasport. Will you come to Milan?
LA ZAC= Yes, I really think so.
GIANLUCA= Yes, Zac, also because we are returning to the Palasport where we will always play the important songs of these 15 years, but we will also play all the new songs from the new album AD ASTRA and then we are building things for the first time, also in the musical part different ones we’ve never done. So in the musical part there will be some interludes…..
PIERO= Don’t spoil anything….
GIANLUCA= Let’s not spoil but also the beginning, it will be a very exciting beginning, so it will be a show for everyone, not just for lovers of this musical genre.
IGNAZIO= Let’s say that the tour in the arenas will be more of a show in all respects, rather than a television concert.
GIANLUCA= And I would like to say that this summer we were on tour, but now we are going to propose a totally different type of show compared to what they saw this summer, furthermore in Palasport a different concept of tour is usually proposed compared to theaters or to summer outdoor seats. So we are very happy to be able to return to the Palasport.
LA ZAC= We remember: 10 January IESOLO, then Milan, Treviso, Florence, Bologna, Turin, Rome, Eboli, Bari and Messina, then maybe we will also give you the European dates, but then we said that there is also the appointment with this great concert from Agrigento for the holidays, so in short, we will have Il Volo available.
GIANLUCA= Yes, we’ll join you for dinner on the 24th.
PIERO= Christmas Eve.
LA ZAC= Good, good. And now SATURNO E VENERE.
M.CAMPESE= RTL 102.5 at 3:53pm, a lot of messages have arrived in the meantime at this time here, there is one asking if you are planning the release of a new book.
GIANLUCA= No.
PIERO= We are not Fabio Volo (writer)
GIANLUCA= I also wanted to say hello to IRAMA, Filippo (real name of Irama who sang Saturno e Venere with Il Volo), apart from the fact that he is a friend, and we are very happy to have made this contrast of musical genre, which then we are the first to have done it, it all started with MISERERE with Zucchero and Bocelli and then with Pavarotti and Friends which brought this series of vocal collaborations. And then it’s nice to be able to follow in the footsteps of our idols again and with Irama we are happy to have brought lyrical pop to everyone again after so many years, even with Irama it was a beautiful collaboration.
M.CAMPESE= (in the meantime Piero and Ignazio and La Zac were laughing and then Matteo asks why) What happened?
IGNAZIO= Nothing, you’re a curious guy. He’s right (Gianluca), the beautiful thing is not to put barriers to music, it’s one of the most important things, not many people understand it and so we are happy that Filippo, Irama, has agreed to do a duet with us, especially here in Italy where perhaps our gender is always seen as something unusual for three thirty year old boys and we tend to avoid it, it was like this until we won Sanremo and we are following the path we are following, it is useless to deny the evidence, therefore for we are very grateful to Irama for this.
LA ZAC= Incidentally, just yesterday Matteo and I were remembering the time Barbra Streisand called you on stage: “Ignazio, Gianluca, Piero, Il Volo.”
PIERO= That was one of the best collaborations because in the end we were busy for 12 dates, about two months in the U.S. with her, we weren’t the opening act, we were an integral part of the show and we entered with the background of this song (he hums the tune), a very nice thing, and then the situation changed because we sang SMILE by Charlie Chaplin and when she entered , I remember it was 10 years ago now, she came in with this voice, I can’t describe that voice…
IGNAZIO= Magical!
PIERO= Magical! Ignazio found it and so I have to say that the tour with Barbra was a great school.
LA ZAC= It was also one of the first great goals of your career.
IGNAZIO= We leave you in AMONG THE WAVES.
LA ZAC= Il Volo on RTL 102.5.
GIANLUCA= I want to take a few seconds to thank all the authors, the producers who are truly the best in Italy at the moment, who we have relied on in this year and a half to be able to pull together and write this album, so I don’t all the names otherwise I’ll forget some but thank you so much for your support and for helping us express ourselves musically like we’ve never done.
M.CAMPESE= Thanks to you guys for this magical hour, it must be said!
IGNATIO= Abracadabra!!! (laughter)
LA ZAC= Thanks to Il Volo!! In January in Palasport.
PIERO= Happy holidays!
IGNAZIO= See you in the Palasport.
GIANLUCA= Bye everyone!
Ignazio, Piero and Gianluca have participated in several radio interviews in recent days, I won’t give you any other full translations, also because the questions are repeated, there aren’t even full videos, and therefore I will translate the best things for you, except for one of them, the interview with RAI RADIO 2 which is really very beautiful. Later, perhaps after the Christmas holidays, I will send you the entire translated interview because the questions and answers really deserve to be read!
The short video I propose below is part of the ISORADIO interview. Turn on subtitles!!
The next video is part of the RADIO NORBA interview.
In the short telephone interview they talk about the new tour, the new projects for the new single and the meaning of the lyrics of the new album. Then they talk about the Christmas concert, then remember the dates of the Palasport and wish them Christmas wishes!!
While I’m writing to you, I’m listening to the interview live onRAI RADIO 1,so I can’t keep up with these three who NEVER stop!!
Furthermore, just today on the weeklyTV SORRISI E CANZONI TVthere is a nice interview with Il Volo.
It will be a magical eve, the evening of December 24th on Canale 5. With the special Christmas Concert from the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento.
SO THE HOLIDAYS TAKE IL VOLO
Guys, the time difference is bothering you!
IGNAZIO= The Melt stops being melted and we become melted….
PIERO= We sleep on the plane and don’t feel tired.
GIANLUCA= We’ve already done 45 minutes of running.
When we reach them on a video call, in Italy it is 7pm and at their place it is 10am. The artists of the Il Volo trio, connected from the U.S., appear relaxed and relaxed. Piero Barone, Ignazio Boschetto and Gianluca Ginoble are in America because they participated as super guests in a special Andrea Bocelli event in California.
On the stage of the Kia Forum in Inglewood (Los Angeles) you sang IL GLADIATORE and O SOLE MIO in duet with Bocelli, with the audience in a frenzy.
GIANLUCA= When Andrea, who was next to Zucchero, announced our entrance on stage by saying “Make way for the young people” a roar could be heard.
IGNAZIO= Enormous affection.
PIERO= It means that, even if we are still guys, in 15 years of our career we have sown. But you never get used to certain emotions.
Now another magical night awaits you: on December 24th you will be the protagonists of the Canale 5 concert, Il Volo – Natale ag Agrigento.
PIERO= The opportunity to admire the Valley of the Temples as you have never seen it. It is a special moment: Agrigento will be the Italian Capital of Culture in 2025.
Will you perform with the orchestra and choirs?
GIANLUCA= Complete package: there will be 120 of us on stage. Lineup of the evening?
IGNAZIO= If I’m not mistaken there will be 28 steps 😁
PIERO= Ignazio loves to joke, but in reality, as in any self-respecting concert of ours, there will be our successes, unreleased ones, hits like Capolavoro, but also all the great Christmas classics.
What is your favorite Christmas song?
GIANLUCA= White Christmas, in the 40s version of Bing Crosby, because it started Christmas songs as we understand them today.
PIERO= For me Feliz Navidad by José Feliciano
IGNAZIO= I say “Astro del ciel” , because I sang it as a child in school plays. What a beautiful Christmas atmosphere, with family lunches and all the gifts.
Do you three exchange Christmas presents every year?
PIERO= It’s not obligatory, because we think about it when it happens, without waiting for anniversaries.
GIANLUCA= Promise, we’ll make it this year.
IGNAZIO= Just don’t give me books that only you like and that I will never read.
PIERO= Ignazio, don’t do that, come on. This year is his first Christmas as a husband, you have to understand that.
Ignazio, tell me: how did you get on with the decorations? Have you delegated everything to your wife Michelle?
IGNAZIO= No, we made the tree together. In mid-November it was already decorated, because my wife is Venezuelan and the Christmas atmosphere starts earlier, on October 31st.
An essential Christmas Eve ritual?
PIERO= Dinner with relatives.
GIANLUCA= With bingo, cards, but not only: I like many unconventional board games.
IGNAZIO= Panettone with raisins and almonds.
If each of you were a character from the nativity scene, who would it be?
IGNAZIO= Right now the ox, maybe I should go on a diet a bit.
GIANLUCA= The little child who brings light to the other two.
PIERO= Then I am Saint Joseph who will give you a stick on your head. 😁
In the Canale 5 schedule, however, you are like the Three Wise Men. You have just hit the Auditel, even in reruns, with the TUTTI PER UNO concerts, three evenings at the Verona Arena. Does Mediaset already pamper you for other events?
IGNAZIO= With Pier Silvio Berlusconi (CEO of Mediaset) we have established an excellent relationship of trust and mutual respect.
PIERO= The conditions are there.
GIANLUCA= We have many ideas that we would like to realize. Meanwhile, the 2025 agenda is filling up with commitments….
IGNAZIO= In January we return to Italy in the indoor stadiums, in March we then fly to America for the World Tour.
GIANLUCA= And in autumn we have added new dates in Europe and others will arrive soon.
Good resolutions for the new year?
PIERO= I would quote maestro Franco Battiato (Italian composer and singer) “Being the best version of us.”
What do you wish the readers of Sorrisi?
IGNAZIO= To spend the holidays in harmony with the family, not only at Christmas but every day of the year: this is the most important thing.
GIANLUCA= To put aside grudges, forgetting problems.
PIERO= To watch the concert on Canale 5 and sing with us!
And these two short videos have just been published, they concern the wishes sent by Il Volo during the presentation of the Mediaset schedules!
And with this for the moment we want to close by sending everyone our warmest wishes, from all the Flight Crew staff: ✨🎄
O HOLY NIGHT
May the weapons fall silent and peace triumph everywhere. ❤️❤️🙏❤️❤️✨
The week just gone by was also full of commitments and the presence of Il Volo and as always I proceed in order.
We knew that Il Volo was live on German television and announced that he was leaving the next day to come to the U.S. probably to promote their tour and also the new PBS special.
In fact, on December 2nd Il Volo spoke live on the television show DESPIERTA AMERICA, here is the video, unfortunately of poor quality.
I will translate for you in broad terms the most important things that were said:
After the presentation and initial greetings, the presenter wishes the kids Christmas greetings and asks for details of the new AD ASTRA international edition album.
Gianluca explains that it is a series of unreleased songs with the addition of some special songs such as IL GLADIATORE and then says that they will go on tour in the US. starting from March 2025.
The presenter remembers the first time he interviewed them on Despierta America and he says that they were really kids and Ignazio adds that they are now 30 years old and he just got married.
Then Piero explains their projects which will last 2 years, starting from the US tour. and then a tour of South America will follow in October
At the end of the interview they sang CAPOLAVORO!!
Of course they sponsored the new international version Ad Astra CD which I think you have all received by now.
I already have mine too and what about the last 5 songs added compared to the version of Ad Astra I already had? I’m enthusiastic about it, there are 5 songs that add great value to the set that I already liked!!
What can I say about the dedication made in memory of Barbara, it moved me! ❤️🙏
But then the new single TRA LE ONDE (Between the Waves) was also released.
“Hello everyone, we are Il Volo Our new single TRA LE ONDE It is available on all platforms.”
I liked it a lot, I liked the very meaningful words and it is certainly a radio song, but the problem is always that the radio is unlikely to play it.
It is certainly not the song whose musicality strikes you at first listening, but I must recognize the great work especially in the translated text that I propose to you.
Calm sky and full moon And down here we are Distracted passengers Scattered dreams and muscles Every day is a swing Luckily you’re here That forgive my mistakes And you push me forward And ahead of us What is it? Rain and clear And the desire to lose The heart in the waves, waves, waves To feel the wind on your face Without ever stopping laughing Together in the waves, waves, waves Life is like a stream It passes beneath us That we remain standing in the waves Between barriers and high walls Luckily you’re here Teach me how to skip them Or to fall and get back up And ahead of us What is it? Rain and clear And the desire to lose The heart in the waves, waves, waves To feel the wind on your face Without ever stopping laughing Together in the waves, waves, waves Life is like a stream It passes beneath us That we remain standing Between a destiny that brings us To run, then change course The sun ahead and my shadow next to yours The heart in the waves, waves, waves And don’t stop laughing Together in the waves, waves, waves Life is like a stream It passes beneath us That we remain standing in the waves
Il Volo also sent this beautiful message to the students of Florida Atlantic University.
And then the fun promotion on WTTW Chicago PBS!! 😁😁
“Ah, life, what is more true in the world and we almost never realize it.”
“It is not possible to waste this life in vain. Ah life, there is nothing more beautiful than life, and perhaps many people don’t know it.”
And we hope, given the current times, that many people realize that: “there is nothing more beautiful in the world than life”
Meanwhile, the dates of the concerts to be held next year in Europe are increasing, here is the update:
Finally, on December 8th in Los Angeles there was Andrea Bocelli’s concert and among the numerous guests there was also Il Volo who sang THE GLADIATOR.
and then in a duet with Bocelli himself, they sang O SOLE MIO.
What an evening, fantastic, Bocelli has a very long high performance, but I think Il Volo also made a great impression!!
And here are some moments from the rehearsal evening and from backstage.
With the actresses Katerine Kelly Lang and Ashley Aubra
With Pia Toscano she sang with Il Volo in the first PBS special in 2012 🥰
I would say that even in these first 10 days of December there hasn’t been a moment of respite, every day there is new news that talks about them, our fantastic trio: IL VOLO!! ❤️❤️❤️
Il Volo has been present on Italian television programs and beyond and therefore I am preparing to give you a summary.
November 27, Il Volo is a guest in an episode of the show on Canale 5THIS IS ME, hosted by the talented Silvia Toffanin.
This program is an invitation to young people who have attended the show AMICI(a talent show like Saranno Famosi) and who have been successful. Years later, these guys revisit their first debuts in music and then duet with some guests. Needless to say, the broadcast started at 9:30 pm and Il Volo performed at 0:10 am, two and a half hours of waiting to see them sing with Sarah (student of Amici) to the tune of Capolavoro which I now propose to you.
Nice performance, I liked Sarah Toscano too, but what a long wait just for one song.
Piero had the opportunity to announce that on the evening of December 24th there will be their concert recorded in Agrigento.
Silvia Toffanin who greatly admires our young men said that Ignazio got married this summer and Ignazio complimented her.
Sarah posted these words: “I sang with Il Volo and I was very nervous. They immediately put me at ease, they were really nice towards me so it was really beautiful.”
Small detail, the following day the audience figures were published, which are very popular here in Italy, THIS IS ME was the most followed program of the evening and of all the Italian channels.
The peak audience took place in two moments, at 9:58pm and at 0:10am (the moment Il Volo performed).
As I announced, the three concerts in Verona held in May would have been repeated on 7, 14 and 21 December, but due to a change in programme, Canale 5 announced only a couple of days ago that the first repeat of the concert was on Saturday 30 November.
So, on Saturday evening I had the immense pleasure of seeing the first concert held in the Arena in Verona in May (I was present at the second concert).
What can I tell you? I was glued to the television from 9:30pm until 1am listening and seeing Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca sing beautiful songs of which I want to show you these videos:
LEI, the beautiful song by Charles Aznavour “SHE”. How sweet, how wonderful!!
by Piero I want to offer you this beautiful tarantella by Rossini: LA DANZA.
by Ignazio here is the beautiful Italian song TI SENTO
by Gianluca the beautiful ALWAYS ON MY MIND
While in Italy I was watching the repeat concert in Verona, at the same time Kirsten from Denmark messaged me telling me that she was watching German television where there was a Christmas show and among the various guests there was also Il Volo.
In the program “Das Adventsfest der 100.000 Lichter”, Il Volo began by singing “Rockin Around The Christmas Tree”
But that’s not all, at the same time in some parts of the States, PBS was broadcasting the Christmas special recorded in Agrigento, and therefore Il Volo was present on three televisions around the world, how wonderful, what emotion, what pride!! ❤️❤️❤️
But since you really liked the vocal coach’s review last time, I propose another one that I recently found on YouTube and it was fantastic to see the reaction of those who don’t know Il Volo at all!!
Regarding the song Hallelujah and the saying “no one is a prophet in his own country” I want to tell you this.
You know that Halleluiah is now a song that Il Volo always offers in its concerts. After one performance, the video of the song they performed very well was published on YouTube. I read all the comments but one, made by an Italian man, really annoyed me a lot, he downgraded Il Volo saying that they didn’t sing that song well and that they should have listened to the one performed by Pentatonix who were much better than Il Volo and that Il Volo didn’t it was nothing compared to Pentatonix. I was furious and responded in kind by writing that Scott from Pentatonix was a friend and admirer of Il Volo, to the point that he had performed the song in LA with them and I attached the video. Furthermore, remembering that the next day Scott had thanked Il Volo on his Facebook page, saying that they were special people as well as very good singers, I also attached his statement!!!
What a joy to shut his mouth like this to this stupid man!! 🤬🤬
And also watch this video, it’s really nice to see these reactions!!
I have nothing else to add but I await your opinions and if anyone has already seen the PBS special tell me your impressions.
Here it is Thanksgiving Day, and I found a few extra minutes, so I thought, why not share them with my Il Volo Family! These last few months while I’ve been busy writing, I’ve been following Daniela Perani’s stories. I am so thankful to her for keeping us all up to date with the goings on of the guys.
When I read the article that Daniela translated this week about Piero by Irene Carmina in La Repubblica I got to thinking it’s been quite sometime since I wrote the early stories of the guys. So, I went back to Through the Fields of My Mind and found a beautiful story which talks a lot about what Piero is talking about in the article.
Piero is a great storyteller! In his stories he recalls every detail. He makes you feel like you’re a part of his story. When the story is over you know the event as it happened and there is nothing more for you to know. He’s told it all. He is very sensitive and very emotional when he speaks about his childhood and his family.
So, without further ado, let us begin with Episode One of Piero’s Story in the courtyard of the town square of Naro….
The heat of the day has passed, and the time of rest is over and it’s time for people to come out into the square. On the bench nearby are old men. Piero is playing soccer with his friends. They are playing with his SUPER TELE (a plastic football). The ball flies off in the direction of the old men and they shout, “Slow with the ball or we will cut it.” The old men frighten Piero with their threat.
My name is Piero Barone. I was born on June 24, 1993, in the Sicilian city of Naro. What can I tell you about Naro? For me, it is the most beautiful city in the world! There are dozens of baroque churches and above the city the Chiaramonte castle. Below the castle is the beautiful Valle del Paradiso with its green pastures and the green sea that separates Naro from the real sea… and there’s the Spring Festival Narese!
Piero would gather with his friends in the afternoon and usually they played until ten in the evening but there was always the fear that the old men would pierce the ball. Piero said, Five or six years have passed since the old men scared me. The old men are still on the bench but now when they see me, they come to meet me, to greet me. Before, they scared me, and now they hug me and have that look of being proud and moved. It’s too strong for me! Yet, I still can’t explain why I become ‘weak inside’ when I see them.
The truth is, I’m still that kid with his SUPER TELE.
I think it is an effort to remember when we were young. We were young the day before yesterday. In fact, all three of us, feel that time has run too fast. Yesterday we were children, and, in a moment, we found ourselves grown up with a great job to carry on. Its’ the most beautiful job in the world, what we dreamed and desired, but the truth is that none of us really imagined what would happen.
I remember in detail the years from one to fourteen. Details like how many euros of gasoline I put in my motorbike. That would be 10. Or how much gasoline I consumed each day.
I recall for a few months, during the summer, when I was nine years old, I went to work in my father’s body shop but because I had bad allergies and asthma I was not able to deal with the paints and powders so the decision was made that I would go to work in my uncle Angelo’s (my mother’s brother) mechanic shop which was just in front of my father’s shop. I clearly recall, at half past ten, on time, my uncle gave me two euros and I went to buy a sandwich at the supermarket. The sandwich was ham and provolone. How good was that sandwich!
To Piero, these are things that have remained in his head and will not go away. Piero recalls a morning in 2001 when….
At eight o’clock, as I was getting ready to go to school, a phone call arrived, my grandfather Francesco, my paternal grandfather, died. I was small, but the pain was great because I always had a wonderful relationship with my paternal grandparents. These are the sad things that remain in my head and will not go away.
Piero’s grandmother Graziella was always proud of what Piero’s father had done in life and she is so proud of what her grandchildren do today. In moments of happiness Piero’s thoughts go to his grandfather Ciccio. He recalls his father saying, “What a disappointment that his grandfather did not get to enjoy all the beautiful things that have happened to him.”
What does Piero say about all of this …when you love a person, that good remains inside you, you cannot forget it anymore.
What I’ve done in the last five or six years, I tend to forget. Not because I’m not happy to have done it, contrary, I am, very, happy. It’s to have the life I have and have a dream come true: living with music was all I wanted.
Piero recalls a very sweet memory….
When I was a child, I visited my father’s body shop. The shop was very big and was full of cars and lots of noise. This was my ‘first stage.’ I was not yet four years old, and I was starting to sing. My father lifted me up and placed me on the hood of a car that was jacked up and I immediately began to sing. The people in front of the shop looked out. Slowly one after another, they came out. I remember them, they stood there listening to me, their heads popping out of the door and, I sang and, it was the most natural thing in the world for me!
But what remains in Piero’s heart is what he calls the “campaign” of his grandparents.
How do I explain this campaign? I think ‘Campaign’ and I think ‘family’ a couple that cannot be divided.
Piero compares this campaign to his mother, Elenora, and his father, Gaetano. He sees their marriage as an example of love that he hopes to one day share with someone. Piero says, I want someone with whom I can carry on that love that is so great even in times of difficulty. But he is not naïve about love. He knows that in most families there are obstacles. He recalls, I happened to see some quarrels between my parents and, I did not understand. However, all things worked out and the two returned to be more united than before.
Perhaps the worse moment was when my mother had serious health problems. My parents left me and my brother with my grandparents and my father took my mother to Milan for treatment. They were always united and always facing difficulties together. A ‘campaign!’
My brother and sister and I are three pieces that cannot be divided. The oldest is Francesco he is 17 months older than me. I am very proud of my brother. Francesco graduated cum laude in Literature in 2015. I am very proud that he is working hard for his future. If he wanted to, he could travel the world with me, work with me. But, no, he wants to be known as Francesco Barone and not Piero’s brother and that’s why I respect him so much. I have realized my dream and he wants to make his own.
Piero and Francesco resemble each other and when they were young their mother dressed them as twins. Piero say, I tell you the same: same shoes, same pants, same shirt, we looked like twins. Everyone thought we were twins.
And then there is Mariagrazia. She is six years younger than Piero and he says, I love her endlessly. While she was in high school, she lived at home with her parents. Piero regrets he doesn’t see her very often and he says, I am sorry because I miss her very much.Although the three do not see each other often, Piero says, Francesco and Mariagrazia are my friends, the people I trust and with whom I confess, me.
I am proud to say mine is a real Sicilian family, one of those that on Sundays reunites at the grand house, the grandparent’s house. There are great lunches from the first to the sweets, things so good that you cannot even imagine them. And the saga continues, when summer arrives and, everyone moves to the countryside.
From the time I was one until I was thirteen, I spent every summer at my grandparent’s house. And who was there with me, my grandparents and my great-grandmother Lina (my grandmother’s mother). I swear, they were perhaps the most beautiful days of my life, and I will never forget them.
Piero’s grandfather Pietro, his mother’s father, had made a campaign with his hands. He built it all, the house, the plants, the land, everything.
I could not wait for it to be Saturday morning when we lit the wood burning oven. I went to collect wood around the ground, I helped to light the fire, and I helped to take out the pizza. In addition to pizza, we did ‘u pani impurnatu’, which is bread baked in the oven. How good it was! It kept that good taste all week. The week passed and the next Saturday we started over again. The bread was beautiful, warm and fragrant. We also made the ‘impanate’ which are rolls of pizza dough with vegetables inside, a typical dish of my area. In short, I ate a lot of good things and it was visible. (I was really fat.)
The ‘campaign’ was also the kingdom of my minicross. I always had a passion for motorcycles and cars. And at age six or seven my father gave me a minicross. It is a cross-country minimoto, but without the gears. Why did I tell you that I spent the best time of my life in the country because I was there with my minicross!
I have lived the most beautiful adventures in the garden of the Riolo family?
The neighbors in the countryside were the Riolo family. They were the owners of the villa that was right next to Piero’s grandfather’s house. They were the richest family in the country. They lived in Agrigento and since they only came to the villa once a month, the marvelous orchard that surrounded it was practically abandoned.
What was I doing then? I took the minicross, my grandmother would sit back, and we would get into what we called ‘a stradella pi ‘Riola’, the road of the Riolo. Their gardens were full of very beautiful fruits trees. The Riolo’s knew of the raids. My grandmother, Rina, told them that we went to collect the fruit and they gave her permission to do so. My grandfather had worked for Mr. Riolo for many years and they were family friends. But for me, what was I doing I was going to ‘steal,’ it was a secret.
There were no fences, so you could enter from anywhere. The fact that we entered through the gate in the saddle of the minicross gave me the feeling of really doing something dangerous and secret.
Grandma, where are we going? I said, even before finishing the road.
“Lemon trees” she answered.
Here we go! And off we go to fill the bag of lemons.
Grandma, where are we going now?
Pear trees. And off we go to fill the pear bag.
There were peaches, plums, there were fruits of all kinds.
One day, the Riolo’s came to the countryside with us and they carried a bag of small, round, burgundy fruits. I asked Mr. Riolo, what are these things? I had never seen them before. They tasted very good, very soft, very sweet. They were jujubes.
Where did you get them?I asked.
“There are many trees like this,” Mr. Riolo said. And while Mr. Riolo explained it to me, I already saw myself under the tree picking up the jujubes
But how did we get the bags home? I put a broomstick on the handlebars of my minicross, we hung the bags on both sides and we walked.
Also, on the ground were walnuts and prickly pears. We picked up the prickly pears, and then with my great-grandmother we peeled them, she cleaned them without even putting on her gloves, at the end she scraped away the thorns from her hands with the knife, rinsed herself with water, all right.
In the countryside there were almonds. My aunt Lucia, my grandmother’s sister, had them on her land, and in the second half of August she had a ‘cugliuta di mennule’ (almond harvest). There were always two, three huge bags to be shared for the whole family.
Who peeled those almonds? My great-grandmother. Stone fingers, tac, tac, tac. And after who divided the almonds from the skins? I. So, my grandma tac, tac, tac, and I divided. An assembly line!
This was what happened to us in the countryside. They are images that I will never forget.
So, we leave Piero chopping almonds with his great-grandmother and we go back up “a stradella pi ‘Riola” and wait for Piero to arrive at Ti Lascio Una Canzone.
So that ends Piero’s Story for today.
But before I end the story, I want you to listen to this video. This was a recording session with Placido Domingo!
What I love about this video is the sweetness and sincerity of these young men. Their voices at such a young age were phenomenal! And listen to them speak. Very intelligent – intelligence beyond their years. You feel their voices because they feel their voices in their hearts, and they express that love to us in every song! And now fifteen years later, that love, that feeling they express in songs remains and, in fact, it has become their signature. Amazing young men!
Join me next time as I go back Through the Fields of My Mind and open the door to a new adventure!
I want to wish all my Il Volo Family a very Happy and Holy Thanksgiving. Enjoy your family! Enjoy your turkey! And to our guys I wish you could share our wonderful Thanksgiving tradition! Have a happy Day!
You can read the article about Piero from La Repubblica translated by Daniela on the Il Volo Flight Crew website. http://www.ilvoloflightcrw.com
What I have written are excerpts from the book the guys wrote about their lives. “Il Volo, Un’avventura Straordinario, La Nostra Storia.” (An Extraordinary Adventure, Our Story) This is just a small piece of Piero’s story. The book is written in Italian. If you can read Italian, I would highly recommend that you read it. It’s wonderful! If not, I can only hope that someday it will be translated into English. Or you can use Google Translate to translate it.
I also recommend you read their second book “IL Volo: Quello Che Porto Nel Cuore” (What I Carry in My Heart).
And let’s not forget the new album. On November 29th the International Edition of “Ad Astra” will be out.
On November 17, the newspaper La Repubblica published this beautiful interview done by Irene Carmina with Piero Barone.
Piero is really sweet as he answers questions and lets us see his beautiful and lovable personality once again.
Immediately after the publication of this interview, the Tour dates covering North America were announced and for this reason I preferred to wait a few days to translate it. But now here it is, enjoy reading!!
To those who consider him a “child prodigy” of Italian music, the singer Piero Barone from Agrigento smiles and explains that success matters little in life. That the important things are different.
He has had success since he was very young. At 15 he took part in the children’s talent show “Ti lascio una canzone” and was one of the three tenors of “Il Volo”, together with Ignazio Boschetto and Gianluca Ginoble. At 31 he has already done everything an artist dreams of doing at the end of his career.
He sang with Lady Gaga, Celine Dion, Bono and Placido Domingo, toured with Barbra Streisand, won Sanremo. He has climbed the national and international charts, taking bel canto around the world.
“Now I dream of opera,” he says from Madrid, before the last stop on a European tour.
* Are you thinking about a solo career instead?
This has also been said about me, but it’s not true. Alone you go fast, together you go far.
* But isn’t there the risk of losing something along the way if you go far away? In his case, perhaps, an entire phase of his life: adolescence.
I also quickly started to take on responsibilities. And do you know what the paradox is?
* What?
That having started our careers so young, many imagine us as eternally children. It wasn’t easy to shake off this look. It was a difficult period in my life: the key to overcoming it was to keep up with the times and evolve but always maintaining one’s identity, with seriousness and professionalism.
* In short, head down and work.
I can’t afford any missteps, I’m not one for pranks. I’m practically incorruptible.
* But everyone is allowed, when young, some blunder .
Not me, if I do something stupid I block the work of all the people who work with me. As a lover of psychology, I think that life is about balance.
*Speaks as if he were twice his age.
Friends always tell me I look old, but it suits me. Let me do what I like to do.
* What do you like to do?
Waking up at dawn, running in the evening at sunset, going fishing, listening to nostalgic pieces of “Buena vista social club”, reading the newspapers in the morning on the iPad sitting alone at the table. Ignazio and Gianluca know not to disturb me at that moment. It’s one of the little things that helps us stay together after so many years, let alone three. We are three different minds but together we form a team in all respects.
Our greatest fortune has been the maturity in understanding and respecting our individual needs and the private lives of each of us. We grew up together, sharing unique experiences that, just by telling them about them, my fellow villagers thought I was crazy
* Tell us one.
For example when at an evening organized for us in the States we found ourselves together with the Black Eyed Peas, Leonardo Di Caprio and Quincy Jones. Or when Barbra Streisand recommended her hairdresser in Los Angeles because she didn’t like my hair. She noticed us on “American Idol” and the “Tonight Show” and wanted us on tour with her.
* Of course, a great shot.
I didn’t even know who she was, I only realized it later. However, I knew Placido Domingo. He found out who we were from his six-year-old nephew walking around the house in New York singing “Grande Amore” with red glasses, saying he was Piero Barone. Sanremo has also allowed us to approach young audiences.
* Also because it is undeniable that fans of songs like “O sole mio” are not that young.
It’s clear that you don’t have to be a hundred years behind, but you can’t expect to please everyone. Otherwise you risk becoming a victim of the system. Growing up among criticism made me understand that the difference lies in how you interpret it. If you take them as an accusation you’re finished, if you see them as advice they become a stimulus. And, looking at what we did, it went very well.
* Among the things you have done there is also the Christmas concert recorded this summer at the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento.
Controversy matters little, Agrigento, the capital of culture, will shine in all its beauty everywhere in the world. Singing under the Temple of Concordia is a dream come true. And if I have to be honest, my luck was being born in Sicily.
* Why?
I inherited everything I am from the island. I wasn’t born in a five star hotel and I see the beauty of life in little things. I grew up in Naro, a small town where time passes slowly, with a housewife mother and a body shop father. He closed his business to follow me to the United States, we at Il Volo are the first Italian artists to have signed a contract with an American major, Geffen, owned by Universal. But nowhere was it written that it would go well, there was the risk of finding oneself empty-handed.
* Now I understand where your sense of responsibility comes from: all the expectations placed on her, it couldn’t have been easy.
I also felt guilty towards my brother and sister. They have always been close to me, without ever making me burden myself with anything. And I try to return the good that was given to me.
* Who discovered your voice?
My grandfather who had a more beautiful voice than mine and sang in a folk music group in the village. I was six years old and I started humming on the swing in countryside, a popular song “Lu sole calia, talia, talia”, while he recorded a cassette. Hearing me sing, he stopped: “Piero, come for a moment.” It all started like this.
* And then?
On Saturday afternoons my father drove two hours there and back to take me to the children’s choir in Agrigento and then to the singing teacher in Vittoria.
If you imagine how a little boy would react if his father wanted to take him to the church choir? He would throw pots at his head. I, on the other hand, was happy: those two hours of travel with dad remain among my best memories.
On Sundays, however, there were festivals. Once, at the end of summer, I said to my father: “Enough, dad, I’m tired.”
“We’ll do the last one in September”, he replied because he believed in me.
It was in Cosenza, madness.
We left in a blue Citroen Xantia, but I was discarded; it was a pop competition and I had little to do with it.
A talent scout, however, noticed me: he wanted me for “I’ll leave you a song”.
That day changed my life.
The beautiful interview ends like this but in the rectangle on the left at the bottom of the page there is a comment that is not part of the interview itself and therefore I will translate it for you:
“I haven’t lived with a partner, but when I find one I will already be trained.
I imagine it would be difficult for two people, let alone three.”
Piero certainly means to say that he has never lived with a woman. Then he considers that living together as a couple is certainly difficult, which is why he lets it be understood that Ignazio and Gianluca have a sort of coexistence as a threesome, which is even more difficult, and it is for this reason that Piero feels he is already trained in view of a probable living together as a couple. 😉
Another very good news is that the new CD AD ASTRA INTERNATIONAL with the addition of the new tracks will also be sold in Italy from November 29th, I must have it immediately!!!
But have you already heard the English version of Capolavoro?
I like it very much!! 🥰
In recent days I have also found a new review of a song by Ignazio Boschetto by a female vocal coach. She doesn’t know Ignazio and very little about Il Volo, I think she’s a Greek vocal coach, she’s quite skeptical at first, but in the end she’s astonished. Turn on subtitles.
Last thing, many Italian television programs have been announced on Canale 5 where Il Volo will also be there and it will truly be a great presence of our beloved singers.
For now they are confirmed as guests on Wednesday 27 November on the THIS IS ME program hosted by Silvia Toffanin.
Then on 7-14-21 the repeats of this year’s Verona concerts will be broadcast and on the 24th there will be the Christmas concert recorded at the Valley of the Temples.
The dates of the ZELIG and LE IENE programs have yet to be announced, where Il Volo will certainly also be a guest, however we will keep you informed.
See you soon: Daniela 🤗
Credit to owners of all photos and videos.
Come in and share the love of life, friends and Il Volo!
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