Last week I wrote about the guys being The Epitome of Success. This week, I would like to add to that story by talking about a man who made it all possible, the man who lives In The Shadow of Il Volo.
In 2021, the man in the shadows wrote a book, “Ricomincio Dai Tre” (I Start Again from Three). If you follow Il Volo, you certainly know who I am talking about, their manager, Michele Torpedine. At concerts we see a patch of grey hair and we all say, “There’s Michele.”
But who is this man? And where did it all begin for him?
“Ricomincio Dai Tre” is Michele Torpedine’s autobiography. I said this about the guys’ book and, I will say it about Michele’s book, “If you can read Italian, you need to read this book.” It was so good, I read it in one weekend. I will say a lot of the people he talks about, you probably will not know, unless you’re Italian. Having said this, it is a very good read!
Let’s start by first looking at how the guys came to know Michele.
The day the guys came together singing, “O Sole Mio” on Ti Lascio una Canzone, Michele was at the end of his career. For him it was truly over. All he had done for so many now seemed in vain. But with this vision before him, three amazing teenagers, he was able to see a new light. A light that would start the wheels rolling again. A light that would reveal truth. A truth that never before was revealed to him. A truth he searched for his whole life but would only find in his relationship with Il Volo.
What was this truth? For the answer, let’s go back to the beginning that is the beginning for Michele. Let’s listen to what Michele has to say about his humble beginnings….
In my story, you will find pieces of true stories of artists, such as Andrea Bocelli, Il Volo, or rather, among their stories, you will find mine, that of an Apulian child emigrated to Bologna, the boy who from a studio apartment in a small white house (the Apulian houses are often white), went to the oval room of the White House.
I loved music, I still love it, the world of music, less.
I was born on 12th May 1952 in a small town in northern Puglia. I don’t remember anything about this place, because I moved to Bologna when I was 5 months old.
My father was called Salvatore, he was a tailor, he was severe, hard.
My mother’s name was Titina, I lost her when I was 27 years old. I carried her down in my arms, wrapped in a sheet, to the mortuary chamber. She was 51 years old. Hunger, misery and cancer, this was her life, she struggled like a beast, then from one day to the other she fell ill and flew away in less than a year, I still haven’t managed to forgive her for leaving me so early.
In Bologna, we came in search of work and survival, we are poor, but really poor. We were five people in one room.
At the age of 8, I start to work, with a shoemaker, straightening the nails that were extracted from the soles. At 12 I started working as a bartender, then as a waiter and bellhop.
My brother Nino, at the age of 17, assembled his first battery of drums (drum set), I, who was five years younger than him, began to follow him and learn. I began to work in the evening. I would go to the places where you can play. At the age of 14, I became part of a local orchestra.
At 16, my first dream came true, a friend of mine called me on a Sunday afternoon and told me that he was given the task of hiring six bands to open the Jimi Hendrix concert and asked me if I wanted to take part. I accepted immediately; I was excited.
Our band is the last one to play before Hendrix enters. Bad fate because people couldn’t wait any longer, so they threw booze and popcorn at us.
Things began to improve. They call me more and more often.
One evening, all together, we go to see a concert of musicians playing with Ray Charles, the place is packed, that evening he is there too, Ray Charles, at a certain point they tell me they don’t have a drummer and they asked me to play. My legs were shaking, I was paralyzed with fear, but then I calmed down and played.
Michele says that the battery (the drums) is his life, not women, nothing for him is as reliable as a drum set. Michele continues….
Everything goes well, time passes, I was good, but not a genius, I understood that it is better to change.
One day someone proposed that I be a road manager, that is the one who contacts the local promoters, pays the musicians, takes the money, checks that everything goes well.
I plan a series of concerts for artists like Paoli-Vanoni, a great success, things are getting better and better, from one day to the next I became a millionaire, and people began to ask for me.
I started a partnership with Zucchero Fornaciari. He is a good soul singer, nobody in Italy sings like that. Time passed and Zucchero became very successful, one day he came to me with a beautiful and sad song: “Miserere”, and he says, “this song should be sung with a tenor … let’s try to ask Pavarotti?”
Pavarotti was in America. I have to bring him a demo of the song so he can listen to it. I contacted all the tenors I knew but nobody wants to do a demo with Zucchero, with them pop was not contemplated by the classical tenors.
By pure chance, a friend tells me that in Tuscany, in a club, in the evening, there is a blind boy who plays the piano and is very good, he also sings tenor songs, his name is Andrea Bocelli.
It was the first time I met Bocelli. No one believed in him, not even himself.
Bocelli agreed to do the demo but, he was fearful because Pavarotti would hear it. He is very good and likeable. He sings the demo in a special way. I tell him to persist with music and he replies that he has won a receptionist competition and that music will remain his passion.
I flew to Philadelphia to give Pavarotti the demo and he immediately told me that he will never sing a song of light music. I asked him to at least listen to the demo and he agreed. I explained to him that the boy who sings is not a tenor but a simple boy who plays with passion and Pavarotti asks me if I’m kidding him, because for years he hasn’t heard such a beautiful voice.
I went home and call Bocelli and I incredulously propose a contract to him. Bocelli doesn’t believe it’s all true.
At first it was difficult, nobody wanted Andrea. Too risky! There were always so many bad reviews in American newspapers, but people loved him, that’s the only thing he has always counted on.
The live reaction of the people was a show in the show. Andrea was a great interpreter of emotions he knew how to take on the feelings of ordinary people. This was its added value: to be a common mortal with a divine voice.
As to women, Michele says…
Women, I love them, but I’m afraid of them. I can’t trust the exclusive relationship with a woman. I am not so naive as not to understand that beautiful women are with me even for what I do, I am wealthy, I ride in beautiful cars and, I have some power. I never married, but I was almost married. How it ended makes me feel bad today. I was 30, she was from Bologna, beautiful and intelligent. We decided to get married.
I will only say, he cheated and, it was over! Too bad!
As with everything, Michele goes back to his mother….
My mother, who I loved very much, left me early, too early, without giving me a way to show all my love for her. My mother could not share with me that little bit of success, of well-being, that I wanted to give her after so many hardships. I had everything from her, and she, she had no way to say with pride “That is my son.” I feel guilty about this.
But there is another woman who has always been important in my life, and it is my sister Liliana, a little friend, a little mother, and always with me even at work, especially in the most important moments.
I must admit that other female figures have been very important in my career. At the beginning, Cristina Gelsi, who followed me in the 16 years with Bocelli. And, now Barbara Vitali, omnipresent in all my activities, almost my alter ego, lives traveling the world to assist Il Volo.
So, let’s talk about the guys and their relationship with Michele.
In an interview with La Vita in Diretta, Michele was asked, “What has changed, Torpedine?”
I have many enemies, which will increase after this book but, I met the right people: Gianluca Ginoble, Ignazio Boschetto and Piero Barone.
Yes, as you can tell from the title of the book, when I met them and put them together as a trio, they were so young… to think that ten years have already passed! With them and with their families, good people, a relationship was born that goes far beyond the professional one.
Together we joke and laugh, then we get serious, enjoying worldwide successes: but the human side, their being real and clean, for me is an added value, which is priceless. And, especially in this environment, is a rare commodity.
So true! This is something we always say about the guys. Something we admire! Their integrity and values are priceless! We admire that they are able to remain grounded being in this environment.
Where there is gratitude, there is Il Volo! Michele continues…
It’s so hard to be told ‘thank you.’ For this reason, the boys, Gianluca, Piero and Ignazio are different: grateful, so much so that I had to tell them to stop making my name and thanking me during interviews or at the end of the concerts, everything seems prepared.
But, of course, we know it’s from the heart! That’s who Il Volo is!
Asked about whether or not Michele would “Fancy a family.” He replied….
I have no children or wife, I married music. Perhaps the ugly will come later when I turn around and find no one. But at the moment I’m fine with that!
We wonder what Michele expected when he signed Il Volo?
Another great story started, a new story at a time when it seemed to me that there was no future for me, for my profession: a breath of oxygen in my environment.
After years of disappointment, loss of trust and gratitude, missing or denied, with Ignazio, Piero and Gianluca, Michele rediscovers the values of gratitude. Michele says….
The boys allowed me to really go back to my job.
So where did Michele begin with the boys? He started in a place where he always wanted to be.
Let’s start with trust because they trust me first of all; the administration of an entire world tour, with important figures to move on which I could take what I want if I were dishonest. But they trusted me and so did their parents, to whom, moreover, I have committed myself to teaching everything, the mechanisms, the things that move, the figures, the relationships. All.
So how does Michele describe this trust?
If I had to define the story of Il Volo with a dominant feeling, I would call it, Un Grande Amore – A Great Love!
Many have arrogated the merit of the success of the three boys, which is certainly the result of great teamwork, but it is above all the result of intelligence, humility and generosity of the three families who have not only never hindered my work as manager, but were supportive in the best way: Ercole and Lenora Ginoble parents of Gianluca, Vito and Caterina Boschetto father and mother of Ignazio, and Gaetano and Eleonora Barone who gave life to Piero.
To sum up his life, Michele says,
Many disappointments, mainly human and partly, even professional.
At some point, I found myself feeling more disappointed than ever with music, with the environment I mean. There was never gratitude around me. I found myself tired, eager for simplicity, for pure things. The horizon seems closed to me. One night I was at home, sitting on the couch, and three boys, fourteen, fifteen, appear on TV. Of course, they are good, and if I tried to really put them together. A trio, here’s what I could do: Il Volo.
I think those three determined boys saved me from depression and from the desire to leave everything. Three teenagers, yes, but already great, in all respects. Already great since I first saw them: Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca.
In concluding Michele says…
I started from a studio apartment in a small white house and passed to the Oval Room of the White House, received by Clinton and Bush. Who knows Ricomincio Dai Tre – I Start Again from Threemay become a film!
Maybe it’s time for me to go back to my old career and write the screenplay!
So, what haven’t I talked about in this story. Oh, yes, how do the guys feel about Michele?
When Michele was involved in a legal matter, the guys went to bat for him. They said….
We know you well. You have been by our side for more than 10 years. You have defended us from everyone, you have fought for us, you have taught us so much and above all you love us. You always made us understand who we should trust and who preferred to use us for their own interests and for their own personal glory. We are proud to have chosen you and to have renewed our trust, for 10 years, day after day. This is truth that no sentence can hinder. For the rest, just have patience: in the end the truth always comes. In life and in courts.
What did we learn from this story? We learned Michele is a very sensitive man who lives in The Shadow of Il Volo!
Join me next week as I go back Through the Fields of My Mind and open the door to a new adventure!
IL VOLO USA Tour 2014 Philadelphia PA Mann Center
If you would like to share a story with me, please email: susan.flightcrew@yahoo.com
To read more Il Volo stories visit us at www.ilvoloflightcrw.com
Excerpts from “Ricomincio Dai Tre” by Michele Torpedine.
Last year I wrote a story about everything that happened after the guys won Ti Lascio Una Canzone. One of the things I loved about the story was a wonderful video I found that showed the guys coming together musically! Usually, I end each story with an amazing video, I will do that in this story, but this week I need to start with a wonderful video of our three teenagers when they started on the road to success and proved they were The Epitome of Success.
Now tell me these are not the three most amazing young men, the three most talented young men, some of the most handsome teenagers and now very handsome young men, you have ever met!
Over the last few weeks, we heard about how they got to Ti Lascio Una Canzone and then we started to see them branch out in America.
So now we leave behind the individual stories of the guys, and we begin to see the guys together and we listen to their conversations. It’s so exciting to watch them grow and mature!
In their many interviews, they talked about their lives in the beginning of their career, and we begin to see how they interact with one another to form a powerful team. From a very young age they were very intelligent, and they were always courteous. They always had the right answer at the right time! This is a big achievement for such young boys who were thrown together into an adult’s world without any way of knowing what to expect. This says a lot about their integrity.
The video below is truly the beginning of Il Volo. I’m sure you have all seen this video a hundred times before but what I love about this video is what Tony Renis, Humberto Gatica, Ron Fair, and Michele Torpedine have to say about the guys. These four men, who are the crème de la crème in their industry, explain who these three teenagers are in a most amazing way! Michele sums it all up by saying, “They are just in a different dimension!” I certainly couldn’t have said it better. Can you imagine saying such things about any other teenagers? No, because there has never been a group of teenagers or adults who could compare with these three. Never! They are a once in a lifetime event. La Forza del Destino!
Let’s talk about destiny for a moment! For me, I see the day they sang together for the first time as the day their destiny was sealed. La Forza del Destino (the force of destiny). I call it as I see it! This was God’s plan! His hand was always guiding each of these boys. How else would you explain how they happened to be in the same place at the same time? We’re not just talking about three teenage boys with nice voices, we’re talking about three teenage boys with phenomenal voices. Very unique voices! Truly one-of-a-kind voices! Their voices are like no other voices in the world. Am I saying they are the greatest singers in the world? Yes! They are touched by the hand of God!
It wasn’t just that the voices were extraordinary, no, it was that they complemented one another. It was natural and it was apparent from the very first note that these voices worked well together and that their voices are in tune with one another. The first time they walked out on the stage, their fate was sealed. Their voices were a perfect fit for one another! What are the chances this would happen?
So how is this possible? No doubt it was God’s plan! But how do you explain it! For me, there is only one way to explain it! So, bear with me and I will tell you a little tale about how I think these three amazing boys came to be!
Before the Lord sent these three amazing boys to earth, He said what this world needs are three voices that can bring joy to my people. So, he chose three loving couples and one by one he sent them a son. Not just any son! A special son! One that God would choose from His Choir of Angels!
First there was Gaetano and Elenora Barone. The Lord called in his Choir of Angels and chose a Spinto Tenor to send to this couple because he wanted a strong voice to share with the world! When their boy arrived, the Barones thought, what should we name him. They decided he was solid like a rock, so they called him Piero which means rock!
The Lord waited and watched and liked what he saw and decided it was time to send another amazing boy to earth. He sent this son to Vito and Caterina Boschetto. Not just any son. No, the Lord thought about it and said what this world needs is a Lyrical Tenor. Not just any lyrical tenor, no, one that could sing from the lowest to the highest note on the scale and bring High C to another level. When he arrived the Boschettos noticed that he was a spitfire, so they named him Ignazio which means “fiery.”
The Lord waited and saw this was good then he thought, what we need to round this out is a Baritone! So, he went back to His Choir of Angels and found a Baritone who he knew would capture the world with his amazing voice. He sent him to Elenora and Ercole Ginoble who the Lord felt needed some light in their life. Gianluca is a combination of two names, Gian and Luca. Luca means light and the two names together mean A Gift of God born under the sunrise. Well, I think we can all agree that Gianluca is a ray of sunlight!
The Lord completed His task and rested because He had achieved His goal of sending three phenomenal boys to earth and He knew the world would be in total awe of these three boys. Without a doubt, they have spread their joy around the world!
What was the goal of the Lord? He wanted three voices that alone were phenomenal and together were a symphony! Listen to their voices when they sing. Their voices come from every direction like a symphony orchestra that is forming the music around you!
Maybe my story is a little silly, but the results are not! The Lord in fact sent three phenomenal singers to earth for our listening pleasure and what pleasure they give us!
I talked about their individual discoveries many times. Usually when you talk about someone being discovered it goes something like, “I was standing on a street corner singing when….” No that isn’t what happened here. The reason they are so unique is because they were discovered as children. Very small children! Three, four years old. They really had those intense unmistakable voices very early on. A voice that makes you stop in your tracks and say, “Am I really hearing that voice coming from that child?” They were born with those voices. If their coming together isn’t destiny, I don’t know what is!
After Ti Lascio Una Canzone, as we begin to listen to their interviews and read through their stories, we can see how the boys begin to bond with one another. We all have our good days and our bad days but, at the end of the day they have what’s most important, “each other.”
What we see in their story is how they begin to achieve success in American. From their first performance on TV on American Idol, they took America by storm. Every TV Show wanted them as guests. After the show they hit the top 10 on the “Billboard” charts.
Success doesn’t come easy in America. Why were they successful? Certainly, those voices helped but there was more.
One of the things I noticed from the beginning was they had confidence because they all enjoyed what they were doing. But the flip side was there was a certain lack of confidence because of their young age. It was the things they had in common that made them special! They all had phenomenal voices, all three were fighters, and from when they were on Ti Lascio Una Canzone, they all were out there to win. And winners they were.
Piero was always confident. When he got on stage, he was going to do what he did right along in his competitions. His idea was, I got this, I’m going out there and I’m going to do what I know works! It didn’t matter that he was in the real world now. No, the stage was still the stage no matter who is in front of you.
Ignazio was always the big draw card because he had that stage presence, and of the three he was never afraid to take chances; well maybe with Sanremo he hesitated a little! On the rare occasions that you see him quiet, there’s no need to worry, it just means he’s thinking. His mind is always working! He’s always preparing! Even at 14 when he was competing, he had it all together. Maybe he wasn’t as polished as he is today, but he certainly had it all together. He’s very personable and that has always been his key.
In the beginning, Gianluca was a little laid-back. He was a little less confident than the others. The fact that he had never competed before added to this lack of confidence. I will say he was sassy in the beginning but that changed as he gained confidence and began to feel a part of the three. He was too young to even understand all that was going on when he competed in Ti Lascio Una Canzone. As the three began to sing together Gianluca’s sassiness began to go away and he started to appreciate the value of being one of three. This gave him the confidence he needed.
They were very different from one another! But who they were and what they were, got them to where they are and so that’s where the story begins.
Each boy had a dream and that dream got him to the stage he needed to be on to show the world who he was and what he was about!
In the beginning it was a little rough. For Ignazio and Piero, a quick friendship developed and since both had stage experience it was a little easier for them to acclimate. Not so much for Gianluca.
Gianluca was too young and didn’t have the stage presence the other two had. This created a problem because he needed to find his stage presence. He always imagined that the stage was his alone. This was not a bad thing, even though it did cause problems, but going forward it needed to be resolved before their future could be sealed. As with all teenage boys they had their arguments, their disagreements, but when reality hit, Gianluca understood, he wasn’t the ONE they were the THREE ~ Il Volo.
But before they became one, they needed to do something that teenage boys don’t have to do. They had to grow up overnight and take on the role of adults when they were only 15 and 16 years old.
You can’t even get your 15-year-old to clean his room. Imagine telling him it’s time to say goodbye to your teenage years and start working. How could they even understand what this was all about. The fact is they really didn’t understand. Let’s listen to what the guys had to say about their beginnings….
Piero said….
In short, a little impression, however, we had when we started to hear about America. And who knew us, there? Nobody. So, what happened? We discover what it means to have a manager.
Thanks to an American lawyer, Peter Lopez, a contact from Tony Renis, one of our auditions arrives at Interscope Records in the United States. It is a label of music production that is part of the Universal Music Group America, the largest record company in the States.
Imagine the desk of Jimmy Iovine, the president of Interscope, a large desk in a large American office. They take a laptop, put it in front of it, start ‘O Sole Mio’ recorded by TI LASCIO UNA CANZONE. When it arrives at the “Ma n’aaaatu sole!”, Iovine closes the computer and exclaims: ‘We got it!.’ All right, we do it. And we signed a millionaire contract.
At the beginning it was really a dream, even if I do not like repeating it, because you find yourself traveling the world and doing it, from one day to the next. However, I repeat, always without realizing the importance of the thing, without fully understanding what was happening.
Ignazio responds to Piero….
A dream that Piero, in the clouds, has forgotten to say the most important thing: that it was the first time that Italian singers signed a contract directly with an American record company.
For us today there are seven takes to sing, back then there were thirty or forty…. So, a take is the recording of the single phrases that each of us sing when we record a song. We continue to redo until we get to the best version. In 2009, on our first recording, it took almost two days to record a song, until it was good. I remember that I made the absolute record of takes in “Smile”: I repeated my part fifty-seven times.
We were small and inexperienced, the English language did not help, Tony Renis and Humberto Gatica – one of the best-known producers and sound technicians in the world, who worked with Andrea Bocelli, Eros Ramazzotti, Pino Daniele, Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion – if they were not satisfied, they would tell it to us clearly.
Gianluca interrupts….
Piero forgot to mention that ours was the first contract signed directly by Italian singers with an American label, but Ignazio forgot to mention that the first recording studio in which we entered all three together for our great adventure it was called Forum and it was in Rome.
I remember, and it is one of the few things that I have very clear in mind of that period, that we have compiled the lineup of the tracks with Tony Renis, and most were the ones we had sung at Ti Lascio Una Canzone, plus five other American songs.
But the first time in front of the microphone was still in Rome in the studio where we had done the auditions before the program began. Roberto Cenci had assigned the songs to all the children, he had arranged the arrangements, and we had recorded the compilation that came out in May after the end of the program and immediately entered in the rankings.
But that was the first time alone in front of a microphone, and it was (Gianluca addresses Piero) … What are you looking at? Do you want to say it?
Piero interrupts….
… it was nice because it was the first experience.
We did not sing well because we had no technique, so it was as Ignazio said: we took a take in sixty, seventy times.
At that time, when we arrived in the studio, we found everything ready: the songs to sing, the subdivisions, the arrangement, this and the other. Now, instead, after the third album, we do everything together, we create everything with Celso Valli, our producer.
Those first times we did not have this freedom to do it, everything was imposed because we did not yet have the skills to do it.
Now we have them, and we share the parts, we know each other better and, in the studio, we help each other. It is also nice to see that each of us now has his way to enter the recording room. Gianluca and I sing with the light on in the recording room. Ignazio, on the other hand, enters and the first thing he does is turn off the light. They are small details, but they mean that we have grown, and we have our own way of working.
Between the three of us, we have split up the roles. Ignazio if there is a problem with the mixer, consults the producer to fix things. Gianluca is the one who listens to the songs from morning to night and offers: ‘Guys, I discovered this songwriter.’ ‘Guys, I discovered this artist, what do you think?’ I like the managerial part, I like managing, I like to contact people, I like to propose new things to Michele, ‘Why do we not do that?’ ‘Why do we not try to do that?’ ‘How can we get to this person?’ I like this: we put our heads together and think how we can improve it.
There is a complete professional balance: we have grown physically, but also professionally. So even if we get a producer we do not know, we do not have any problems, we know how to talk to him and tell him what we want. This is the most important aspect: being at the same level. Which is the reason why for some months now I have this big black leather folder, that I always carry with me. If I have to tell the truth, Torpedine lent it to me and, as it brought good luck, I stole it from him and, as I told you, I always carry it with me, with the pieces we have to do, the notes, the notes of what is lacking to be fixed, what is not lacking, the notes to do: everything is much more professional.
Now we are working with Celso, one of the most important record producers we have in Italy.
We have had great luck: we can afford to deal with the older ones, it is not easy. It’s something that put Torpedine in my mind: you must always invest for your future. Celso has agreed to bet with us on our future and we worked together on the last album, Love Moves (L’amore si Muove) which came out in September. It is a pleasure working with him because he lets you talk, lets you express your ideas, lets you try, and this is a fundamental thing, the most important thing when you want to improve, to grow.
Talking about “L’amore si Muove,” let’s take a moment to talk about this wonderful album….
“Musica” is the album that proved that great can get greater. This album is representative of where these young men were in 2018, nine years after they got together. The album is beautiful, it’s sensitive, it’s romantic. It’s about love. It’s about them being ready for love. It comes from deep within them. All the sweetness and humility of these guys is in this album. It moves your senses. What I am saying is they have evolved, and their voices have evolved. They’ve grown into their voices. Their voices are mature and have expanded in such an amazing way. There’s an intriguing balance in their voices. To experience this amazing evolution in voice and song you need go no further than “Be My Love.”
Gianluca’s voice vibrates and expands to realms I’ve never heard before.
Ignazio makes your heart stop as you journey along his notes which lead to absolute ecstasy. Where do those notes come from?
Piero fills all your senses and brings you to such heights he takes your breath away!
Just spectacular! Phenomenal voices!!!
Yes they really made some major moves over those first nine years. Most singers start out slowly and gradually get it together. Not our guys! They put everything on the table from day one and ran with it. You might say they took a chance but there was never a doubt, at least not in my mind, that they would succeed. They always were and always will be phenomenal!
We will leave the guys realizing for them success never stops! Every song, every concert, is a new adventure. The path always was and always will be open for them because they are The Epitome of Success!
I think I promised you a spectacular ending. Let’s stay in 2018 and see if this works….
Rehearsal
I think the guys had a great time Dancing with the Stars ~ Italian Style! They all danced well but who do you think danced the best?
And a special concert for your listening pleasure Il Volo Un’avventura Straordinaria.
Join me next week as I go back Through the Fields of My Mind and open the door to a new adventure!
If you would like to share a story with me, please email: susan.flightcrew@yahoo.com
On April 7, Il Volo, just back from the South American tour, participated in the TV show on Canale 5 entitled “Felicissima Sera —-all inclusive”.
This show is a nice program where they make fun of other programs, it is hosted by Pio and Amedeo, two comedians.
The show started at 09:40 am and Il Volo came on around midnight!!
Here are the photos of Piero and Gianluca backstage during at make-up session…
Here is their moment which I will try to explain better.
After a nice presentation, where the two conductors make a long speech about success and profit, which are not everything in life, Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca arrive and sing My Way.
Immediately after the song and the applause, Pio and Amedeo tell the boys not to leave, because they will have to get involved and Piero says he has always been afraid of the two of them!! 😁
In fact, immediately after, Pio and Amedeo are seated in the audience and exactly next to Giovanna and Alberto, who are the wife and son of Amadeus, an Italian presenter who presented Sanremo again this year.
Pio and Amedeo ironically tell Giovanna and Alberto that they must convince Amadeus to invite the neo-melodic Neapolitan singers to Sanremo who are very famous here in Naples but have not been admitted to Sanremo. To convince Amadeus that the Neapolitan neo-melodic singers are very important, he makes Ignazio, Gianluca and Piero duet with them. 😁
Really nice: Ignazio, Gianluca and Piero dueting with the three neo-melodic singers and the finale was really fun, with the introduction of freshly baked croissants, a classic in Italy in those very early morning hours.
Ignazio can’t resist and immediately bites into a croissant, Gianluca holds it in his hand and says the final goodbyes, and Piero, he’s upright and resists hot croissants……..but it’s not really like that and then you’ll understand why. 😁
Pio and Amedeo thanked il Volo saying that the three of them were on tour from the other end of the world and when they called them to take part in the show and also learned that they had to duet, they immediately said yes. ❤
And that’s why I was telling you that even Piero couldn’t resist the deliciousness of the hot croissant, in fact, backstage…………and with some sweet additions of Nutella!!!
Piero says “I can’t eat, I’m also intolerant to dairy products!!”……but he can’t resist.😁😁😁
Furthermore, in the backstage of the broadcast, Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca also met their godmother, Antonella Clerici, who introduced them in 2009, exactly in April, during “Ti lascio una canzone”, 14 years have passed, but Antonella is always been very affectionate with them. ❤
More photos from the evening.
But there is also another novelty, the promos announcing the two concerts that will take place on May 1st and 3rd in the Arena are circulating on TV.
Here is the first promo, broadcast during the Tele-news in Canale 5.
GIANLUCA= They will be two unpublished events, you will see us in a guise, like you have never seen us before.
VOICE= The boys of Il Volo, come back to perform live in Italy.
PIERO= Each of us…..
IGNAZIO= Don’t tell anything, May 1st and 3rd come to the Verona Arena and you will see everything.
GIANLUCA= A completely new show.
VOICE= Piero, Gianluca and Ignazio, TUTTI PER UNO (ALL FOR ONE) the title of the highly anticipated live event of the trio, in the magical setting of the Verona Arena.
IGNAZIO= See you at my concert at the Arena di Verona…
PIERO= No, to mine….
GIANLUCA= …. to my, to my…
PIERO= We know that we have three different voices….
GIANLUCA= We would like to highlight this thing.
VOICE= After a long international tour that has just ended in South America.
GIANLUCA= There we sing most of the songs in Spanish, and it’s nice to see such a different culture passionate about our music.
VOICE= Their extraordinary and unmistakable voices will thrill the audience for two incredible evenings that we will soon see on TV on Canale 5.
GIANLUCA= They will be aired soon on Canale 5, you will see us in a new, different guise.
IGNAZIO= I’ll wait for you at my concert.
PIERO= See you on Canale 5, from the Verona Arena.
And then also this nice promo. 😁😁😁
GIANLUCA= Hi, I’m Gianluca and I’m here to meet you at the Verona Arena for a special occasion.
PIERO= Hi, I’m Piero and I want to meet you at the Verona Arena for a special occasion.
IGNAZIO= Hi, I’m Ignazio, actually it’s me who has to give you a special appointment at the Verona Arena.
GIANLUCA= (towards Piero) Excuse me, but what are you doing here?
PIERO= I’m making an appointment at the Verona Arena for something of mine.
GIANLUCA= But like your thing….
IGNAZIO= Hi, did you say I’ll be at the Verona Arena?
PIERO= No, I’m there!
GIANLUCA= We’re not joking, I’m there!
PIERO= Guys, I booked it for me.
IGNAZIO= I’ll be waiting for you…
I+P+G=….At the Verona Arena!
That’s all for now, I’m getting ready for the concert on May 1st, how exciting.
The two concerts will then be broadcast on Canale 5 on May 20 and 27, but I will give you a good report of the concert on May 1, waiting to see the entire Canale 5 recording.
I will also meet several Volo-friends, it will be wonderful!!
Twelve years ago, PBS introduced America to three teenage Italian boys.
From their first concert on October 27, 2011, at the Detroit Opera House, they won the admiration of the American people and the support of PBS. These three teenagers stole the hearts of the American people, and now these three men continue to do so today. They have done several concerts with PBS over the past twelve years.
Their most recent PBS Special was the Tribute to Ennio Morricone.
There’s no question that PBS played a major role in the career of Il Volo in America.
In this 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 fourteen 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! Fourteen 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 this 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!
Let’s listen to what they had to say in 2013 when they were doing their 2013 PBS special Il Volo “We are Love.”
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’s start by saying, all that followed was possible because of an appearance on PBS….
Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca grew up on PBS. From their first concert on October 27, 2011, at the Detroit Opera House, these three teenagers stole the hearts of the American people, and they continue to do so today. They have done 7 concerts with PBS over the past 12 years. Their last concert in Verona, Italy was their Tribute to Ennio Morricone.
In the beginning, they introduced America to a new style of music. Operatic pop and classical music! A very different kind of music for teenagers. Il Volo’s 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.
On the Twelfth Anniversary of Il Volo’s concerts on PBS, let’s look back at how they started on this road.
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.
Ignazio continued his singing lessons moving on to other teachers as he progressed. He took three years of piano lessons. His relationship with Lilliana Andreanò continued. 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. Gianluca joined the Piccolo Choir of Roses. At one of their events, he was discovered.
As you know, the three teenage boys came together on the Ariston Stage in Ti Lascio Una Canzone for the performance of “O Sole Mio.” They stepped off the stage and embarked on a phenomenal journey! Stardom was waiting for them!
As you know they came in first, second and third. Gianluca, Ignazio and Piero. But the biggest win that evening was becoming Il Volo.
They signed a contract with Universal and recorded their first album.
In 2010 when they arrived in America, they took it by storm. After their performance on American Idol, they sky rocketed to the top of the Billboard charts.
What happened next?
And, so, we arrive at PBS. But let me turn the story over to the guys. In this video the guys will tell you about what happened after Ti Lascio Una Canzone and their appearance on PBS. Listen to what the guys had to say about their beginnings and their future! This is a PBS Spotlight Video.
The guys have grown in their music and now they continue to bring their bel canto around the world.
Their Buon Natale Blue Christmas PBS Special made Christmas 2013 very special.
I always love the videos of the guys recording. This one has to be among one of the greatest. It certainly is one of my favorites for so many reasons as I have told one of my readers recently! It was when their dream came true, and they recorded with Placido Domingo. Listen to what the guys have to say about recording with Placido Domingo. This is when the dreams are becoming realities. Notice how far they came in such a short time. Totally amazing teenagers.
The guys catch up with Placido Domingo again this time for their Notte Magica PBS Special in Florence, Italy.
The night of magic at Piazza Santa Croce!
We move on to that magical night in Piazza Santa Croce. When there was magic in the air! The night of the Tribute to the Three Tenors, Pavarotti, Domingo and Carreras! A truly magical event.
One of the highlights of the concert was the guy’s duet with Placido Domingo. It was totally awesome! What I love about this video is Domingo is just as excited as the guys are! And during the video Domingo looks over at each guy with absolute awe and admiration! An awesome event!
In the middle of the video, we find Ignazio speaking to the Maestro.
Ignazio: Maestro Domingo, before performing the next piece I have to say one thing. You know we as children found ourselves dreaming, watching the videos of the three tenors, the video of Maestro Pavarotti, Maestro Domingo and Maestro Carreras, and you know, as little ones it was unthinkable that today we had to be here, on this stage in Florence with Maestro Domingo, for us it is a great honor to share this stage with you (Domingo) because for us it was something unimaginable, thank you very much!
Domingo: I would like to say two things, before we go to the end of the concert. Really, I must say that my grandchildren made me discover these three great artists, because they were already enthusiastic more than 4/5 years ago, when you started and they are here and they are very happy, now that we have sung together (they greet Domingo’s grandchildren with their hands in the stands). I would also like to say that really, I thank you so much for doing this (concert) remembering our concert, and we are also thinking of Luciano (Pavarotti) who we miss so much, Josè (Carreras) could not come because he had a concert, but I hope that on another occasion we will all find ourselves. Thank you.
Let’s go back a minute to another exciting PBS concert. It was their first US concert from Italy on June 10, 2015.
When we think of Pompeii we think of Italy. Take a picture of Pompeii and show it to anyone and they will know it is Pompeii, Italy. That is why this concert was so important. Not only was it their first US concert in Italy but it was a true representation of Italy! From this area of Campania, in the region of Naples we find the most romantic music in all of the world ~ Bel canto! The songs the guys sing in concert come from this region. They have brought their Bel canto around the world and now they have brought it all back to Italy where it all started. This was a true blend of all that is beautiful about Italy and Bel Canto. And the guys brought it to the world through their PBS Special.
Il Volo – Live From Pompeii
At the time of the Matera concert which marked the 10th Anniversary of Il Volo, our sweet Daniela Perani took the time to translated everything the guys had to say in the video.
This is truly the guys summing up all that they did and all that was important to them over their ten years together. What better time to do it than on a PBS Special.
Matera ~ The Ten-Year Anniversary of Il Volo!
PIERO: Everything started as a game, three strangers put together, now after 10 years we are really like three brothers, we weren’t really aware of what we were experiencing, but the game, now it’s over, and it’s become our job, our daily life, our future. We hope to celebrate another 10, 20, 30 years of career together.
GIANLUCA: We met when we were children, and we grew up together, we created, really a unique alchemy, because we share the stage, we travel constantly together.
IGNAZIO: We will never have full awareness of what we are facing, because we always see beauty, we also see things with naivety.
Our goal is to bring the Italian tradition, through music, to different stages and different cultures.
“Arriving in America” is always a bit of everyone’s dream, and getting to that audience was very exciting, because you realize how much you can be attached to a culture, a tradition, a flag. It is very varied, as an audience, of all ages, from the two-year-old girl to her mother.
PIERO: There is that Christmas song that says, “From 9 to 92”.
GIANLUCA: And also, the prestige that gives you this kind of music, because we do nothing but follow the steps of our greatest idols, like Luciano Pavarotti, Andrea Bocelli, the bel canto that is truly appreciated all over the world.
IGNAZIO: Surely, we must say thanks to the American public that is the first who discovered us. Because after Italy, after that famous show, we immediately went to America, and with “O SOLE MIO,” they immediately sent us great affection and it was certainly nice to be able to share the emotions with all the American audience.
PIERO: Italy, in our career, has always given us great emotions, perhaps the greatest emotions, because from 2010 to 2015, we sang only abroad, we did many concerts in America, South America, Japan, but in Italy, we didn’t sing.
IGNAZIO: We must tell the truth, we suffered a little from this, we pretended nothing, but we suffered.
PIERO: Very much.
IGNAZIO: Arriving in Italy and being practically unknown.
GIANLUCA: But you know, perhaps the “Made in Italy” musical genre has been increasingly revered abroad, especially in the US, a musical genre appreciated perhaps even more abroad.
PIERO: But in 2015 we had …..
IGNAZIO: The revenge …..
PIERO: The courage to participate in the Sanremo festival.
GIANLUCA: … and to bring back the “bel canto”, also in Italy, after 20 years.
PIERO: With our song “GRANDE AMORE”, when Carlo Conti said Il Volo, the winners of Sanremo, it seemed like dreaming. But then, the Italian audience has always remained faithful, from the beginning.
IGNAZIO: I’m sure that if we commit ourselves for a moment let’s remember the emotion of the first time we sang at the Verona Arena. And knowing, being aware of being in that scene with your concert, is something that makes you think a little, and be excited, because a few years before it was unthinkable.
PIERO: In our career we have had the opportunity to do many concerts in the Arena, we hope to make thousands of them, yet. But I can say that I struggled to fall asleep immediately after the Verona concert.
GIANLUCA: It is precisely this, the point, also a piece of advice that we want to give to all the guys who dream of living for music, and they want to do what we are doing, that there will be many people who will probably not believe in you, but you must persevere, because you can truly reach the farthest dream. We believed in it and we still believe in it and we are studying, really hoping to continue to stay together for many years to come.
IGNAZIO: In USA for Haiti, we had the opportunity to have an experience, which we will never forget, we were three strangers, small, just arrived in America, and we found ourselves singing in the choir of WE ARE THE WORLD.
PIERO: We were among hundreds of artists, without knowing how to speak half a word of English.
GIANLUCA: Celine Dion, Justin Bieber, Maroon Five ……
IGNAZIO: There was also Barbra Streisand, who knows, maybe it was the bell, which then gave her the idea to call us to do the tour with her!
GIANLUCA: Two years later, because in 2012 we went on tour with her, in America and Canada, and this too was an experience that made us grow, professionally but also personally.
IGNAZIO: I remember that the first time we met her was for my birthday, my 18 years (for us Italians is the age of maturity)
PIERO: Your 18 years.
GIANLUCA: You celebrated 18 years, on stage with Barbra Streisand, not bad!
PIERO: She perfectly studied our names and pronounced them perfectly, without the American accent, Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca, because the Americans, to speak our names …. what an effort!
GIANLUCA: One of the greatest emotions we experienced in our career was being able to share the stage with a great artist, Maestro Placido Domingo, in a concert tribute to the three tenors.
PIERO: The relationship with the master Domingo, was born thanks to his two grandchildren. He tells in an interview, that he returned to his son’s home in New York, and saw the grandchildren who were watching and listening on television on YouTube, our version of “O SOLE MIO”, and everything was born that way.
IGNAZIO: Surely, we must also say thanks to our manager, Michele Torpedine, who then, in the end, was his idea. He wanted to do it for years, and surely, we used a little the wake of the Sanremo festival and the success we had in Italy.
GIANLUCA: What then is a repertoire, almost untouchable, we didn’t even want to commit the sin of presumption, also because we are young, there is still so much to study, this is important to say it, also because we didn’t want to imitate or emulate the three tenors, but only to remember this great project, which really brought the “bel canto” the opera, out of the theaters, around the world, and it was an incredible success, which excited millions of people all over the world.
Being able to be joined by the great master Placido Domingo, after 30 years of that great concert, was a great honor.
IGNAZIO: And then we realized that 70-80% of the repertoire, was what we were already singing.
PIERO: It wasn’t so difficult to choose the songs.
IGNAZIO: This year, to start the 10-year celebration, we started with a very special, very exciting event, we found ourselves on a gigantic altar, which was then a stage, turned into an altar, in Panama, for World Youth Day. We had the honor of singing for Pope Francis, being able to share the stage, with our music, with faith, above all, to see 700 to 800 thousand people praying in silence, to have Pope Francis in front of you, to pray together with all those young people.
PIERO: We are believers, and find ourselves, the only ones, there, in front of Pope Francis, who while he prays, listens to your voice, I believe it is an emotion that we will tell, to our children, grandchildren, we will tell it for life.
GIANLUCA: Being able to start the celebrations, of these 10 years, with a selfie with Pope Francis, it is not every day, and above all, to sing the “Ave Maria”, for him and for more than half a million young people, who found themselves there for WYD, and representing all the young people in this important event, was unique. We couldn’t have started the year in a better way.
PIERO: In life it also takes a little luck. On our last trip to Japan, something unexpected happened to us, in Japan the discipline of ice skating is very followed, and in the last Olympics, the Japanese skater, won the gold medal, skating on one of our tracks, doing the choreography on “Notte Stellata”.
GIANLUCA: There are so many Japanese people who come to study in Italy, especially opera. It is incredible, as some people have told us that they have learned to speak Italian, even listening to our songs. And it’s also nice to see so many young people who are approaching, all over the world, even this musical genre, which is our goal, we are young, and we want to bring it to the new generations.
IGNAZIO: Often an artist does not have many opportunities to talk about himself, he is always engaged in interviews to say, “we sang, we did …..”
PIERO: And it’s inconvenient.
IGNAZIO: It is uncomfortable. I think that an artist, to have a space, to talk about himself, to make people understand what he feels inside, and who he really is, is a rare and unique occasion.
We are three guys who weigh a lot the words, and in these years, we have always given a particular weight to the word THANK YOU, because being grateful to someone, to something, is always beautiful, it makes you feel better, and we would certainly like to say thank you to several people in this interview. But the biggest THANK YOU, and I think I speak on behalf of all three, goes to our families but above all to our manager Michele Torpedine, who, despite the many difficulties we have encountered in these 10 years, has always been there to give strength to us, and constant determination …
PIERO: His constant presence…….
IGNAZIO: …… that he sent us in these 10 years.
PIERO: The best thing about these 10 years is to see our fans, grow with us. We met 15-year-olds, who now have 25 like us, and our biggest THANKS goes to you the fans, who supported us and endured us for 10 years. We hope to live this long adventure and we love you so much.
GIANLUCA: We have had 10 wonderful years. Unthinkable things have happened to us. We were 14/15 years old and always sharing the same passion that unites us, which is music and love for singing.
IGNAZIO: This is what we want to do in life, and it will be our goal for the next 10, 20, 30, 40 years, until I have to accompany Piero by the arm.
GIANLUCA: 10 years of friendship of music and above all of fidelity and respect.
PIERO: There will be lots of surprises, we promise you we won’t let you down and we’d like to tell you THANK YOU, THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING.
Very beautiful, very sincere words from three truly amazing young men!
The last PBS Special the guys did was the “Tribute to Ennio Morricone.”
When I wrote about this concert, I called the article Phenomenal because there was no other way to describe them or the concert!
I began by saying, get used to it, I’m going to use the word phenomenal a lot in this article.
Let me say, I can write at least five pages just on the opening of the concert. If I wrote what I felt, saw, experienced in this concert, I would have to write a book!
Yes, that was how I felt, and I think most people felt about this concert.
To begin, this was their first Live concert for TV on Raiuno. It was in conjunction with PBS.
Among their guests was the amazing Nina Zilli. I would like to take a moment to wish Nina and Danti all the happiness in the world on the upcoming birth of their baby girl, Anna Blue!
The hardest part about writing this story was selecting the videos. For me every song is a symphony; it’s “un attimo senza fine!” ~ “An endless moment!” An expression that I love to use when describing not just the songs but also the guys, as some will attest to “Il mio attimo senza fine.” Each song goes straight to my heart and stays there until the next song begins! The songs and their voices are piercing. I can feel the adrenaline rise in me from the first note!
Performers spend their whole career trying to get to the top. Our guys, amazingly started at the top. It’s mind boggling. The amazing thing about these guys is they figured out where to go from up!
I enjoyed writing Bringing It Home With PBS. I know Il Volo is a big draw on PBS. Their specials are rated among the best for PBS. That’s why they have them back time after time! Not only do we love them but also PBS loves them! They put the Special in the word Special! We hope to have a new PBS Special Event soon!
For your listening pleasure, the entire PBS Special Il Volo Takes Flight.
Join me next week as I go back Through the Fields of My Mind and open the door to a new adventure!
If you would like to share a story with me, please email: susan.flightcrew@yahoo.com
To read more Il Volo stories visit us at www.ilvoloflightcrw.com
It seemed like yesterday that Il Volo was about to leave for the Latam Tour 2023, and instead we have already reached the last three concerts: Panama, Santo Domingo and Puerto Rico, but let’s go in order.
PANAMA
The PANAMA concert takes place in the Anayansi theater. Also here, many people and a warm affection towards Ignazio, Gianluca and Piero.
Thanks to the presence of Eva Wasner in the audience, there are some very good full videos, thanks Eva!
SE
GRANADA+ABRAZAME
NO ME DIGÁS QUE TE VA
HALLELUJAH (dedicated to all the people who suffered during the Covid and to all those who have left us)
EL TRISTE
MAS QUE AMOR
TAN ENAMORADOS
LA NAVE DEL OLVIDO
LA HISTORIA DE UN AMOR
RELOJ(Truly impossible to sing with all the people around!) + SI ME FALTA TU MIRADA
RELOJ(and people submerge them!)
Beautiful photos.
SANTO DOMINGO
The day before the concert, a good interview, turn on the subtitles.
Triumph for Il Volo in the Dominican Republic! 🇩🇴
An absolutely dedicated and in love audience! 🤩🙌🏼
Message from the show producer: “We experienced a show overflowing with passion and energy. Without a doubt it was a magical and unforgettable night, full house, which in addition to music, they added important elements to feed the soul! Thanks for your art Il Volo!” 🇩🇴 🏻
NESSUN DORMA
O SOLE MIO
Beautiful this article that I translate for you. Here is the original link.
Classical music and opera, genres that have transcended throughout history, Italy being their cradle, have always been associated with the most mature or knowledgeable public. However, Il Volo, the trio of Belcanto-loving Italian musicians, have dismantled this myth, bringing their passion for classical and romantic ballads to the listening of the younger generation.
The baritone Gianluca Ginoble and the tenors Ignazio Boschetto and Piero Barone have shown since 2010, with their first debut, that the love for this type of music is ageless.
After four years away from the Dominican stage, and ten years after their first time in Santo Domingo, the classical musical trio returned this Wednesday the 29th with “Il Volo Live in Concert”, under the production of Cesar Suarez Pizano.
Their show achieved a “full house” in the main hall of the Eduardo Brito National Theater, where adults, youth and even children came together to enjoy these memorable voices.
The stage opened its curtains at 8:55 p.m., at which time, among the lights, the applause, and the excited shouts of the audience, Piero Barone, Ignazio Boschetto, and Gianluca Ginoble, appeared before the public as a whole of the orchestra. symphony, which was under the baton of Amaury Sánchez.
They opened the night with a tribute to Ennio Morricone’s memorable piece “The Ecstasy of Gold”, followed by “Nessun Dorma” from Puccini’s Turandot, an emblematic aria within lyrical singing.
”Buonasera tutti, buonasera!”, they exclaimed in their native language when appearing before the public. The three young people showed great presence on stage, it is inevitable to bring out the great sense of humor that this trio possess, who, between jokes, anecdotes and stories, broke the ice and won the sympathy of each of the spectators, because if something can characterize this show would be the laughter, the warmth and the contact with the public.
Among their repertoire, apart from paying homage to pieces of classical art, they also included songs from their most recent album, three voices, one soul, interpreting hits such as “Forgive me” or “Tan enamored”. Likewise, they paid tribute to the great Latin classics and the legendary artists of Hispanic music, giving life to songs by Julio Iglesias, José José, Luis Miguel, among others.
Il Volo, although it is known for being a musical trio since its inception, it is also true that each one of its members has a marked personality and distinctive character, for this reason, for approximately 5 years they have decided to give a space in their concerts for that everyone can express their tastes and open up personally with their viewers.
This event has not been the exception, since halfway through the presentation, everyone had the opportunity to interpret their favorite piece, beginning with Ignazio, who sang “All by myself” by the iconic Celine Dion.
He was followed by Gianluca, who sang “Can’t Help Falling in Love” by the legend Elvis Presley, who he noted was his greatest inspiration to follow his dreams in music. Finally, Piero sang the notes of a piece of classical lyrical art.
The concert lasted approximately two and a half hours, in which the public remained euphoric and energetic until closing. At the end of the concert, Il Volo said goodbye with a final performance of “Volare”, the classic Italian song that brought the entire audience to their feet to dance and sing along.
PUERTO RICO
Here’s what People music Puerto Rico writes: “Italians Il Volo close their world tour in Puerto Rico🇵🇷.
Voice trio Il Volo closes its world tour in Puerto Rico.”
and Puerto Rico Magazine:
“The Coca Cola Music Hall was the setting for the presentation of the famous, authentic and prestigious Italian trio composed by Piero Barone, Ignazio Boschetto and Gianluca Ginoble, as part of their long concert tour which toured the whole world and culminated in Puerto Rico, where they also took the opportunity to celebrate their 14 years of music.”
ECSTASY OF GOLD + NESSUN DORMA + IL MONDO
CAN’T HELP FALLING IN LOVE + NO PUEDE SER + ALL BY MYSELF
GRANDE AMORE
Incredible moments
Il Volo posted this beautiful video made in Mexico with these words: Thanks Latin-America, it was amazing!!
Gianluca instead wrote these beautiful words: (what a sweet and deep man ❤)
“Music has given meaning to my life. The goal has never been to desire and pursue ephemeral concepts such as fame, success or money, but to do what makes me happy and serene and express my essence.
But to understand who we are we need to get to know each other, dig deep into our inner self, dialogue with ourselves daily to discover what our vocation is and persevere in the search for what we were born to do, always recognizing our potential and humbly our limits and with tenacity and ambition everything else will come by itself…
Thank you for the love you have shown us every day since the beginning of this wonderful journey. ✨
With love, Gianluca”
The tour is over, but the fans still manage to amaze with their affection:
And still some fans (note that they are also male, not only female), waited for Il Volo after the concert and as they passed they started singing Il Mondo. Obviously Gianluca, Ignazio and Piero stopped to talk to them.
Gianluca also posted this photo of the team that follows Il Volo.
Between hugs, screams, emotions, love, lots of love, the tour is over.
I would say it was crazy, theaters were packed, tickets were sold out on very short notice. The people were enthusiastic and Piero, Gianluca and Ignazio, euphoric for the affection received, for the reconfirmation of what had already happened in the past, despite the forced arrest by Covid.
Surely this tour, also attended by a lot of young people, both male and female, has given a big boost to Il Volo’s pride, which has understood that the road is right, that there really is room for their type of music, and that it is not only relegated to mature people.
Now Ignazio, Piero and Gianluca are at home in Italy, you would think a well-deserved rest…….but no, on Friday 7th April they will be guests of a new television show and then there are the two concerts in Verona to prepare.
“Guys, you are truly tireless and this does you credit.”
But I want to finish this long post with the beautiful words of Luz Adriana Toro Arango, which you will surely appreciate a lot.
Daniela 🤗
They leave Latin America and surrender at their feet, waiting for them again right now!
Guatemala, El Salvador, Colombia, Ecuador, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Panama, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, we were filled with your charisma, that fraternal love, your perfect and blessed voices, your wonderful staging, his dialogues, his kind words for each of our countries, his concerts that passed so quickly and that are an indelible mark on our souls, his bitter little touches, which are also necessary for balance and, above all, that Love that they give to all of us who love them intensely forever and ever. Thank you!! Thank you!! and thanks.
Total Admiration, Much Respect and immense Affection from Colombia.
~ Luz Adriana Toro Arango ~
Happy Easter to all the members of the Flight Crew!
Credit to owners of all photos and videos.
Come in and share the love of life, friends and Il Volo!
