Before I begin, let me say the cover picture on this story is my all-time favorite picture of the guys and believe me over the last four years I’ve gone through thousands upon thousands of pictures. Why this picture? Because this picture tells a story about Fifteen Years of a Lifetime! This picture is worth not a thousand words but ten thousand words.
Look at how proud they are! The smiles, the joy of sharing the stage with one another. When you’ve come this far you have to look to one another and ask how did we get here? How did we, just kids, succeed, and how do we continue the journey? This is a story that has it’s roots in Naro, Bologna and Montepagano. Three young boys came into this world with totally amazing, totally unique voices. They each were one of a kind.
Let’s take a look back a minute to their beginnings….
How did they find their way to the Ariston stage at the same moment in time. La Forza del Destino or the hand of God? It’s all the same, it’s the hand of God. I think God had a plan and He set it in motion, and it all came together one night on the stage of the Ariston theater during the 2009 season of Ti Lascio Una Canzone.
I’ve written about this many times and what I am saying is something that the guys have said many times. Faith, divine intervention brought them together.
For me, I see the day they sang together for the first time as the day their destiny was fulfilled. 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 could 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.
So how is this possible? For me there is only one way to explain it! Before the Lord sent these three amazing men 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 sent each one a son who would bring joy to the world through his voice!
Alone each voice is phenomenal. Together they are 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!
I talked about their individual voices and 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.
Who could imagine that these three young boys who stepped on the stage of Ti Lascio Una Canzone would travel around the world, join renowned singers and immediately become a part of an industry which, in reality, is so hard to break into? Yes, it was La Forza del Destino that led them to America.
After singing with Piero and Ignazio Gianluca said, “I thought there were three hundred thousand boys singing like me, and instead that night I discovered that there are only two: Ignazio and Piero.” Of course, Gianluca was referring to the night they sang together for the first time on Ti Lascio Una Canzone.
What Gianluca realized in that moment was the uniqueness of their voices. So, let’s begin where it all began….
It is the fourth episode of Ti Lascio Una Canzone and the boys are given the music for O Sole Mio but in three parts. They thought it was strange because until then they were singing alone or doing duets.
They walked out on the stage, sang O Sole Mio and it was like they had been performing together for years. Absolutely flawless! Truly the hand of God. And so, it begins! And there is no turning back!
After that performance, things began to happen. Michele Torpedine would come into the picture and every big name including Universal would want to be a part of this great discovery!
Truly amazing things happened….
This video of them recording Tous le visages de l’amour brings us to the early days in the studio. So young but so talented! Listen to those amazing voices! Notes that take your breath away.
Ignazio recalls….
It was the beginning of 2010, our first time overseas. Destination Miami! What charm America! Everything was so different from Italy: the cars were different, the streets, the houses. I felt like I was in another world.
Immediately after Miami we went to Los Angeles. My first word? ‘Wow!’ Which was also what I said when I entered my room in one of the best hotels in the city, the InterContinental of Century City.
We were only three kids accompanied by our parents. We still did not know each other well. At the beginning I immediately started to connect with Piero. Perhaps because he is Sicilian like me and maybe because we always found the opportunity to make jokes and have fun. We especially enjoyed ourselves when we tried to make ourselves understood by people, since we spoke few words of English.
This was the first Photoshoot in LA. A Behind the Scenes treat!
But what were we doing in Los Angeles? We stayed there a week during which we were lucky enough to be part of the We Are the World 25 for Haiti with eighty of the most famous music stars in the world including Celine Dion, Lionel Richie, Santana and many others. After 25 years we all gathered together for We Are the World 25 for Haiti to collect funds for the earthquake victims of January 12th, 2010.
Can you even begin to imagine what it was like for these three teenagers to find themselves in the mist of some of the greatest entertainers in the music industry! I don’t think they even realized how amazing this event was and here they are a part of it! Remarkable, just like them.
In the beginning the idea of being one in three was something that the guys needed to learn about. They had to learn how to sing together. It was no longer this is your song, learn it and sing it. No, now it was, this is your part, your take, your phrase, learn it and sing it. They begin to understand how music and recording actually work. They were starting to learn about being three in the form of one. Sharing! And, if that wasn’t enough, they had to learn something even harder, how to get along with one another.
I’ve told you, in some of my stories, about the problems, the disagreements. This may seem unusual but in reality, it was not. You show me three teenage boys who can be thrown together and immediately like one another and totally agree with one another. No, that would never happen.
Soon things would change, America opened her arms and her heart to Il Volo….
PBS introduced Il Volo to America. You can say Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca grew up on PBS.
From their first concert on October 27, 2011, at the Detroit Opera House, they won the admiration of the American people and stole their hearts. PBS has been with the guys for every important event in their lives.
When they began, they introduced America to a new style of music. Operatic pop! A very different kind of music for teenagers. Their aim was to show young people how good this music is. They won over the children, parents and grandparents. They were an immediate sensation. America fell in love with them.
There’s no question that PBS played a major role in the career of Il Volo in America.
In 2013 the guys chatted with “Spotlight” producer Paul Larson just minutes before going on stage at Place des Arts in Montreal, Quebec. These were the early years. Larsen would come back seven years later to catch up with the guys!
In the beginning it wasn’t always easy for the guys but when they had a goal, they went for it! I keep going back to Ignazio’s words in the video, “This is Radio City! We hope, I hope, everyone hopes to go there to do a big concert for the American people.”
Back Then
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!
And now!
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.
Five years had passed, and it was time to make a big courageous move….
Sanremo!
I’ll let the guys tell you what happened at Sanremo….
Ignazio….
The sixty-fifth edition of the Festival begins Tuesday, February 10th. We sing the second night, Wednesday the 11th. The strange thing is that normally my legs tremble before the performance, but mine trembled even after the performance! Perhaps too much adrenaline, it never happened before.
Piero….
Or maybe it was because we came back to the Ariston stage after going around the world. It was like coming home, because we experienced the beginning of our career here with Ti Lascio UnaCanzone. One thing that cannot be described: in Sanremo, in Italy, to sing and receive the applause of the Italian public. It cannot be explained.
Gianluca….
Can you imagine for me, this was also my birthday: I turned twenty on Ariston’s stage? Of course, I was moved in the end, and it was too much emotion to my sensibility to play bad jokes at times.
And then, we felt the pressure in the air. Even though I was optimistic, the tension was there.
Although we had taken care of the smallest details of the song, we had tried and tried again, and we had taken care of even the smallest details of the clothing. The first evening look more rock: total black with leather jacket.
Because when we do our work, too, the image matters.
Piero….
Count, of course that counts.
At this point the guys get off track reminiscing and Ignazio pulls them back to the story….
Ignazio….
Yes, but what does that have to do with it, Pie? We’re talking about Sanremo.
Ignazio continues….
Sanremo 2015, from 10th to 14th of February, we sang on the second evening, legs shaking, Gianluca’s birthday.
Piero….
And the criticisms we felt in those days? People at home voted for us, appreciated us, and journalists gave us votes that we thought were postponed until September, I also said this at the press conference after the victory. Five that flew (Bad votes given by critics). But we see that the criticisms have done us good.
Ignazio….
Can I do too, a criticism of you?
Piero…
Ah, tell me…
Ignazio
You interrupted me. I was about to tell the final. Can I continue?
In short, the final evening arrives, February 14th. I realize from the shirt that in a week we have eaten more than sung.
Unfortunately, or fortunately, I’m a boy who does not say cat if I do not have it in the bag, then until Carlo Conti said….
Piero….
And indeed, whoever wins does not know it until the end! Sorry, Igna Speak you!!!
Ignazio….
Until Carlo Conti said: ‘The winner of the Sanremo Festival 2015 is … Il Volo!,’ I said to the boys: ‘No, guys, we do not win, it’s difficult.’ And on the one hand I had Piero with shining eyes and on the other Gianluca with a smug smile as if to say: ‘Do not worry.’
Gianluca….
The truth is that I was right from the beginning, and no one has ever listened to me, ever. I believed it so much that, if you notice, maybe I’m the one with the least surprised look when Carlo Conti announces the winner. Then, of those moments, one remembers little, there is great confusion, emotion. It was a dream to be able to shout, ‘Thank you, Italy!’ from that stage. I looked at Sanremo as a child when there was Pippo Baudo, and I was there and won because people were on our side and it was a dream, I repeat even if I have already said.
The emotion was only when my grandfather told me almost in tears: ‘Who would have told me that in life I saw Modugno win at the Festival and then I saw you win.’
In short, Sanremo was just a dream that brought us many different emotions.
These three men proved you have to go after your dreams. This dream was different because it was not a dream that in the end would make them superstars; they already were superstars! Their dream was to follow their hearts and win the hearts of the people of Italy. That was the dream! It was the dream that would make absolutely no difference in their lives except for being close to the people they loved. So, they ran with it and started chasing the Lion until they caught him on February 14, 2015! That night they brought the Lion home along with the hearts of the Italian people.
In 2019 the guys decided to return to Sanremo. Their song Musica che resta ranked third at the Festival!
After ten years….
Just like the rest of the world, the guys had to postpone their concerts, go back to home and wait until there was some control over COVID-19. Their concerts were rescheduled.
As the guys go soaring into their second decade, they meet up again with Paul Larsen.
In the interview the guys said, “Larson invites us back to a simpler time, when “social distancing” was not a common term.”
Larsen’s second interview with Il Volo happened on January 30, 2020, backstage at Place Bell in Laval, Quebec. No one was talking about postponing shows back then. No one was wearing a mask. Larson sat less than six feet apart from the guys and chatted about their 10-year career, and their sixth PBS special, shot in beautiful Matera Italy.
Let’s move forward five years. So much happened over those years but most importantly these teenagers grew into amazing young men and the time came to expand their horizons.
In their first Raiuno live for TV concert in Verona, we noticed that the guys had matured in body and mind and their voices have gone to another level of magnificence!
We watched them grow but this is different. There’s a beautiful presence about them now. A certain elegance! After fifteen years they haven’t waned, they’ve increased in strength and intensity! There is a certain power in their voices that grabs you from the first note of the concert to the last.
Each guy has grown into his voice and is showing a maturity and style the likes of which men who are approaching the end of their careers can only have imagined!
Fifteen years of a lifetime! I use that expression a lot because each year was like a lifetime with them. They never seem to stop. Like in their last Latin American Tour. Not only were there concerts but there were also late-night recording sessions. Thanks to the genius of Ignazio who turned his hotel rooms into a recording studio. 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!
For Il Volo, 2023 was about new beginnings! So now let’s go to where these new beginnings began. The best place to start is the televised concerts at Verona in May. The beautiful Frederica Panicucci who was the presenter of the Il Volo concert had this to say about what would happen that evening. “During the evening Il Volo will show unpublished moments with solos and duets they never performed before. It will be their way of showing their different personalities.”
Yes, Federica was right, that night was different because we’ve heard these voices before but not in the way we heard them that night. The guys introduced us to their personal feelings about their music.
A great example of this is in Ignazio’s words before both concerts:
In the first concert Ignazio said, “I’ve always loved great female voices….”
And in the second concert he said, “I will try to take a trip to the most beautiful female songs in the world tonight.
So let’s start with one of Ignazio’s solos….
So, it seems Ignazio still enjoys singing these (female) songs. And why wouldn’t he? He is the only one of the three that can sing that kind of song because they are songs that require a strong voice that is very clear, crisp and very lyrical and a lot of passion must be put into each song! I think I just described Ignazio’s voice! Let me add and, “very soulful!”
Next we met the real Gianluca in his rock mode and he introduced us to his feelings for Elvis, Sinatra, Dylan and the Beatles.
Piero brought us his perfect operatic voice. Whimsical and joyful. He has a great love and sincerity for this music. Opera is in his soul. He opens up that soul to us in these concerts with arias we have never heard him sing before.
During their solos, the other two guys sat on the side stage and listened. In these moments, we see the admiration these men have for one another. Truly amazing!
This was a nice way of presenting each of them.
I remember Piero saying, in his story, that when he did a solo he couldn’t wait for it to end when Ignazio and Gianluca would return. He has to love this new arrangement.
These concerts were different. They showed a beautiful evolution from where the guys were to where they are now. Their new direction! Their future!
This new arrangement is thrilling because there is a lot of feeling in the music. The songs they have sung from the beginning have always had feeling but in a different way.
Here we feel each man’s thoughts, ideas and mindset. In the soul of each man there is a longing to bring you their music unlike you’ve ever heard it before. It is the movement within their souls when they sing. They were restless to release these feelings and make you feel what they feel. They bring a feeling of sheer bliss to each note in each song. Think about expressing your feelings for someone you love. Put that to music and you have each guy’s mindset.
Amid a thousand points of light that sparkled like stars in the night sky, our guys were the brightest stars on the stage. They showed not just their love for one another’s music but their love and appreciation for the music of the other performers.
So where did this go? Individuality!!!
Their new concerts are giving us the opportunity to look into the heart of our guys through their music. It allows us to see them in a deeper and more personal way.
Their idea of “individuality” was not to dissuade you from one or the other. No, in fact, they want you to take a closer look at the other guy. Not to compare but to understand their individuality!
You may have found that some of the music they are singing now you like more than what they were singing or vis versa! It’s called taking a closer look!
Il Volo is magic, and that magic is on the stage, in the concert halls, in Arenas and Amphitheaters, on TV, in videos and CD’s but the true magic of Il Volo is in our hearts!
So it only made sense that in 2024, they would return to Sanremo in a new light in a new direction!
Their video won best video at Sanremo 2024! Their song should have won Sanremo! The song is spectacular! The voices are spectacular! They outperformed every entertainer at Sanremo 2024!
I know they went there with no great expectations. I know they wanted to celebrate fifteen years together on the Ariston stage, but they deserved to win! Some things never change. I know they were happy regardless of the results, as well they should be because they are the ultimate performers. When they are on the stage they give their all. And they have shared Fifteen Years of a Lifetime with all of us and from the bottom of our hearts we thank them!
And let’s not forget, Capolavoro went Gold!
Congratulations guys!
Join me next week as I go back Through the Fields of My Mind and open the door to a new adventure!
The guys new Album Ad Astra is out. It’s available on Spotify, Amazon etc.
And here I am at the second event, the CD signing.
It happened on the same day as the launch of the new album..
I hadn’t pre-ordered any CD precisely because I was hoping that there would be an instore event, but then I had lost hope because Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca had shown us the photos while they signed the discs which could therefore be purchased already autographed and so I thought that they wouldn’t have done any instore and then they were very busy with interviews and television appearances. But in the end only two instores were announced and one of these was in the province of Verona, which is really not far from my house, so I said to my husband, let’s go there!!
I inquired at the “Porte dell’Adige” shopping center where the event was held if it was possible to purchase the CDs directly on site and they replied that I could purchase them directly there, but if I already had I could still participate in the signing and this is really a nice thing, because when the event takes place in Milan, if you don’t buy the CD from them (Feltrinelli bookshop), you don’t have the right to entry.
The meeting was scheduled for 5:30 pm so in the early afternoon my husband and I left, there wasn’t a long way to go.
I also took with me my Il Volo 10th anniversary CD, which doesn’t have their signatures so I would have taken the opportunity to get it signed.
As soon as we arrived we saw that the event was taking place in the small internal square inside the shops, where a small stage had been set up and barriers marked a mandatory route for people who had to line up with the CD.
There were already a lot of people waiting and we immediately saw the desk set up for the purchase of discs and we bought ours, I was holding the new AD ASTRA CD in my hand and my husband was holding the 10 YEARS CD. There was an entertainer who joked with the people making the emotion rise, which was already palpable and the music in the air at full volume were all songs from the new AD ASTRA, beautiful!!
People continued to arrive and shortly after 5:30 pm, here they were, I made a short video, but I propose the video that was made by the organizers of the event, which is obviously better seen.
What a thrill as Piero, Gianluca and Ignazio entered, acclaimed by the people!! ❤️❤️❤️
I took a still image of the video to show you where my husband and I were!!
The guys had to sit at the table and we in the audience had to parade behind them and while the three of them signed the CD, the official photographer took the photo. The time to stay with them was short, but better than nothing.
Before sitting down to start signing, Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca approached all the disabled people who were in the front row in front of the barriers and exchanged a few words with them, took photos and signed their CDs.
Then the signing began for all the people and obviously, as we approached we could take some photos, here are mine.
As I approached the stage, I noticed Torpedine talking assiduously to a man, I came forward, shook his hand and complimented him by saying that the songs were beautiful. He thanked me, I didn’t think to take a photo with him…..damn!!
And now our moment has come. What an emotion!
We positioned ourselves behind the boys, my husband between Piero and Ignazio and me between Ignazio and Gianluca.
We immediately greeted them and I told them: “Congratulations guys, last night we were at the Radio Italia event and you were fantastic, the songs are beautiful. I am part of Flight Crew and I bring you greetings from the whole group that follows you and awaits you next year.” Ignazio and Gianluca thanked me with amazement as they signed, and before passing behind Ignazio I managed to tell him: “Congratulations to you also for Michelle,” and he thanked me.
The photographer had taken the shot and was motioning for us to continue the journey.
My husband told me that he managed to tell Piero and Ignazio that they should have won in Sanremo and Piero thanked him and Ignazio made an expression as if to say that it wasn’t their fault.
That’s all, very little and with all that noise of voices, it’s impossible to say and understand anything else.
And here is our photo together, it’s not beautiful, but that’s enough.
All finished, as we walked away, one more look at the people who continued to sign.
Radio Italia is certainly a very different event, but of course, if you have the chance to go to this one, why give up! 😉
And the next day Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca had the same event in the province of Naples, in short, a completely different place, only two events, one in the north and one in the south of Italy.
Here is the reportage of the event at the “VULCANO BUONO” shopping center.
The public response was excellent.
The event was also covered by local TV which made an excellent report of it where he talks about Il Volo, the new CD and their tour, at the end the director of the shopping center talks about the events and projects that will be held in VULCANO BUONO.
All the Italian news talked about the release of the new CD. There are endless interviews and appearances on TV, some of which I still have to translate for you, but events follow one another so quickly that it is impossible to keep up.
Meanwhile, on the day of the CD’s release, Il Volo published this beautiful photo together with all the authors and producers toasting, a truly beautiful company with many dreams that we hope will come true.
Luca Faraone, one of the authors and exactly the boy with the glasses and the open mouth, in the photo next to Gianluca and Ignazio wrote these words.
You can find me on PER ASPERA, CHIARO DI LUNA and FRAGMENTS OF THE UNIVERSE.
Working on these songs was really cool, because it gave me the opportunity to measure myself with aspects that I rarely deal with in the mainstream.
Great cinematic compositions, complex productions, choral arrangements, orchestrations, I had fun like a child. And the first reason above all why I am grateful for this experience is independent of music, and is the opportunity I had to build new relationships with wonderful people.
Thanks to Il Volo for wanting me so strongly on this album, thanks infinitely to Ernesto, without whom this could not have existed, a person with an immense heart.
Thanks to Stefano Marletta, Michael Tenisci, Patti Carmelo and all those who contributed with their art.
Lastly and not because of the size of the mullet (it’s the boy with the striped shirt next to him in the photo, he has a lot of hair that he keeps collecting) the discovery of the Edwyn Roberts discoveries.
Praise God of songs for bringing us together.
Well…..let me know what you think, come on.
In the photo above Gianluca and Fuca Faraone.
In the photo, Ignazio has fun with the authors Edwyn Roberts and Stefano Marletta. 😂😂
Remember that for this project many very successful young authors were called here in Italy, but they are used to other musical genres, so it was a great challenge for them too and the result is excellent!
The promotion of the CD can also be seen externally, here at the Milan train station, look at that beautiful poster.
And here, Roma train station.
And how beautiful is this video published by Gianluca while he sings FRAMMENTI DI UNIVERSO in his car.
Among the many interviews, the one published by FQ Magazine, written by Andrea Conti, which I translate for you, is very beautiful.
Il Volo to FqMagazine: “Get used to fake news, we will be together for a long time and we hope forever. Prejudices? You can’t please everyone.”
Piero Barone, Ignazio Boschetto and Gianluca Ginoble present the new album “Ad Astra”, after having participated in the last Sanremo Festival 2024 with “Capolavoro” and crowning 15 years of career
Fifteen years of career and not hearing them. Despite the outcry caused by an exchange of opinions during a radio interview at the Sanremo Festival, no dissolution is in sight for Il Volo. The proof is the fact that Piero Barone, Ignazio Boschetto and Gianluca Ginoble are involved in a thousand projects in Italy and abroad. The trio has released the new album “Ad Astra” to start again on new bases and create a new repertoire to propose on the international tour which will start in April from China, and then continue to Japan and touch the main European capitals in autumn. Il Volo will be the protagonist of “Tutti per uno”, four special concert events at the Verona Arena, all sold out for the first three dates 9, 11, 12 and 13 May. Then 20 summer events between June and September. In short, there is no intention to interrupt professional relationships, on the contrary.
“OPERA” celebrates the resilience and strength of remaining united even in daily difficulties. Who did you dedicate it to?
Ignazio:A suitable song especially in the moment we are experiencing in the world because it encourages people to have strength. The same also comes from listening to music. I would recommend listening to it in moments of weakness.
Piero:I would like to dedicate it to people who are chasing a dream and I invite them to never give up. Being encouraged is very important because sooner or later time gives the answers.
Gianluca:Finally, musically you approach our genre with an eye to the future thanks also to the collaboration with Federica Abbate, Katoo, Cheope and Raige. (authors)
“The world upside down (IL MONDO ALL’INCONTRARIO)” is an invitation to dream big. Is there a dream you would still like to realize? Ignazio:There are still many unfulfilled dreams. We are first and foremost three guys and then very ambitious artists. We always think about what the next project could be. We must always aim high and try to always want more, remaining focused in the present. Being ambitious is one of the most beautiful things that can exist.
Piero:It’s a song that tells of an ideal world, we sing about happiness. Today in such a hectic life we neglect many things, especially in this historical moment we are experiencing. This song highlights hope.
Gianluca: From the beginning of writing the album we wanted to focus on content that didn’t talk about love in a rhetorical way. So we worked hard to try to give meaning and a varied message from Capolavoro to the discovery of new sounds. Maybe this is our dream, slowly building our repertoire because we have many messages to send.
Ignazio, “SUCCEDE” seems written for you. When did you realize that Michelle had shocked your life like an earthquake?
Ignazio:But no! It is written for everyone in the end. The person you love becomes a bit like home. This is one of my favorite songs obviously because it encapsulates my love life today, but it is a song that everyone can make and feel is their own. Here we collaborated with Michelangelo as producer, something remotely imaginable only until recently. He did an amazing job and we are really happy.
How do you explain the uproar that followed the radio interview done in Sanremo in which Piero and Gianluca teased each other?
Piero:It was created because Ignazio wasn’t there to mediate (laughs)
Ignazio: If you look closely at the full interview (and not the minute that went viral on the Web) you understand very well that these are the usual attitudes we have. After many years and because of the trust that has been created, we respond as we want and often in a fun way.
Gianluca:I think that irony will save the world and that it exists in an ideal world. We are used to fake news. Il Volo will be together for a long time and we hope forever. Full speed ahead!
Four events at the Verona Arena. What can you tell us?
Piero:We will go on tour in China and Japan, but we are already thinking about the future project. We have almost finished the Verona project, which will be broadcast on Canale 5 on Saturday evenings and the concept is the same as last year’s ‘Tutti per Uno’. There are many confirmations from many artists. We like to surprise. There will be no shortage of surprises and there will be unthinkable collaborations.
To date, has Il Volo undermined the prejudice a bit?
Gianluca:Paradoxical that this prejudice has never existed abroad, where we are perceived differently. You have to manage your career differently in every part of the world. A very difficult thing. In South America we sing in Spanish and there is the perception of Italian with a younger audience. In the United States we are seen a bit like Bublè and Bocelli, in Japan there are only Japanese. Sanremo is an Italian fact, but one that also has resonance abroad. We were born here in a talent show for children, abroad they don’t know it and they have never seen us like this. It takes time to eradicate prejudices for those who have only seen us one way. There’s a reason we’ve reached fifteen years of our career. You can’t please everyone but I believe that starting a dialogue with even the most skeptical can open up new perspectives.
Meanwhile, CAPOLAVORO has been certified Gold Record here in Italy!! Nice satisfactions. 👏👏👏
And after a week, the AD ASTRA CD is first in Italy for vinyl sales and fifth in total sales, great guys, full steam ahead!! 👏👏👏
Listen and activate the subtitles to read and see this beautiful and funny interview done by Annalia Venezia, journalist of the weekly GRAZIA. Gianluca is missing from the interview. Annalia did not know Il Volo, nor had she ever interviewed them and at the end, she too remained fascinated by our boys! 🥰
And now laugh with these two short videos… these guys make me die laughing.🤣🤣🤣
(Gianluca, Ignazio and Piero read some questions, as always they laugh and joke and immediately Ignazio makes a joke to Piero.) 🤣🤣🤣
PIERO= I have to read the first one.
GIANLUCA= Can we read too?
PIERO= (he reads) I have never lied to one of you.
No, I lied! 😁
GIANLUCA= Okay, everyone, white (innocent) lies are told, come on. 😁
PIERO= For the balance of a group, it is sometimes necessary to lie.
GIANLUCA= So it also works in relationships?
PIERO= This is your business!! 😳
GIANLUCA= No, no, I’m telling you, I’m asking you the same question, ours is a relationship.
PIERO= So, I said “a group”, the relationship with the partner is one and one.
GIANLUCA= It’s a dual relationship, ours is a triad. oh well, you have to lie, come on. 🤪
(now he reads the question)I have never made up an excuse not to take a selfie with a fan.
No, no, in fact we are perhaps too open to that, aren’t we? 😍
IGNAZIO= Yes absolutely, always. 😍
GIANLUCA= It’s true. 😍 (To Piero) See how I’m faster than you?
PIERO= I have never danced alone in my room.
No, of course I danced alone in my room, of course.
IGNAZIO= Always and also in déshabillé, (in underwear, or undressed)
GIANLUCA= With the “glié” (Ignazio pronounces déshabillé incorrectly making the letter G heard and Gianluca makes fun of him)
PIERO= With the “glié” (Piero also makes fun of Ignazio’s pronunciation)
IGNAZIO= I never thought about leaving my trio.
True, absolutely true, I never thought so. 🥰
GIANLUCA= But none ever.🥰
IGNAZIO= With sincerity.🥰
PIERO= This question is incredible…. I have never dreamed of a feat with Ghè.
GIANLUCA= (Piero pronounces Ghè and Gianluca corrects him) Gué, who is Ghé? Gué not Ghé. 🤣🤣
PIERO= I call him Gué Pequeno.😂 (He is a singer)
GIANLUCA= Gué 🤣
PIERO= And I call him Ghé Pequeno.😂
GIANLUCA= Gué, bye Ghé. 🤣
PIERO= Hi Ghé. No, I have to tell you that I thought about it, sometimes you know when you think of particular, strange duets….
GIANLUCA= Ghé…. (Gian insists with the wrong pronunciation and Ignazio dies laughing) 😂😂😂
PIERO= And with Ghé I thought so (I think it would be a truly absurd duet and perhaps Ignazio laughs at that too)…😂😂😂
GIANLUCA= Gué let’s do something together, the time has come, come on! (here in Italy Gué is doing duets with several singers)
IGNAZIO= I apologize to you, deeply.
PIERO= You go (to Gianluca)
GIANLUCA= Amuninni! (Sicilian dialect word meaning: let’s go)
I have never ghosted a girl.
(everyone laughs because this question actually happened to Gianluca who is considered the conqueror of the group) 😂😂😂
No it is not true!
PIERO= What, isn’t it? So we have to…
GIANLUCA= No, I said it’s not true that I’ve never done it.🤪
PIERO= Ahhhh ok! 😁
GIANLUCA= But not with malice, always with education!
PIERO= But you can’t ghost with politeness…..
GIANLUCA= No, I have never ghosted.
I never thought that anyone had fallen asleep at one of our concerts.
The most beautiful scene was Ignazio who saw someone sleeping and with the microphone he said, in an arena of 10 thousand people: PEM. And see, this one (jump) there was an incredible scene I don’t remember where, this one who had fallen asleep poor guy, after a while he had heard the two of them (Ignazio and Piero) singing he said, I have to fall asleep. It’s at a certain point it was he (Ignazio) who let out a scream and this (fright) 😂
IGNAZIO= I have never done something crazy for love.
PIERO= Just him! 🤣
GIANLUCA= He is madness for love par excellence. 😂
IGNAZIO= I have never done something crazy for love.
PIERO= Just him!
GIANLUCA= He is madness for love par excellence.
IGNAZIO= I am the…
PIERO= He is the feeling.
IGNAZIO= I have never snitched a bro.
PIERO= What does it mean? 😳
IGNAZIO= And what does snitched mean, sorry?? 😳
VOICE= That you snitched.
GIANLUCA= Derived from snitch.
PIERO= I have never snitched, what does this mean?
IGNAZIO= That you have never cheated or betrayed a friend.
PIERO= Ah, no never.
GIANLUCA= In any case, we’re really in our thirties, eh, there’s nothing we can do…
PIERO= But if you are thirty…
GIANLUCA= It’s a vocabulary that doesn’t belong to you, to me yes, to you no. 😁
IGNAZIO= So you want to know something?….
PIERO= Yes, because we have three generations of difference….🤣
IGNAZIO= As long as I had company (that means hanging out with a company), friends from Call of Duty, from “gioco”, from gaming, I knew how: to show off, to snitch, all these things, now the era is over….
PIERO= But I say, if we are in Italy, let’s talk, use the terms in Italian, not these snitch, snatch…😁
IGNAZIO= Say hotel, (in Italian albergo), don’t say hotel!😁
This video needs no translation, the three of them sing LA DONNA È MOBILE in three different ways: lyrical, pop, rock, they have fun and they joke. At the end Ignazio doesn’t stop making high notes and Gianluca asks:
“Where does it turn off?” 😂😂😂
And now this beautiful review of HALLELUJAH made by vocal coach Giacomo Rossi who analyzed their performance from a technical point of view, activates the subtitles.
I love these reviews and they’re on you tube, go and comment too, I asked Giacomo to review the new songs.
And finally this last gem.
A short video of CAPOLAVORO played by Valentino Alessandrini with the violin. 🥰
I hope you enjoyed the story of my two direct experiences with Il Volo, certainly the concert at Radio Italia was the best!!! But even seeing them sign your CD is priceless. I remind everyone that both events were absolutely free.
And what about the results of the new CD, very good and I hope the race continues!
By the way, in the next article I will show you all the lyrics of the new songs and we will talk about these new songs together, I can tell you that I liked them very much at the first listen.
And so their first CD of unreleased songs was released.🥰
For Il Volo it was an exhausting week for the launch of the CD, interviews and appearances everywhere and we were also in the pre-Easter week, in short, intense days.
I was very lucky that two events were taking place not far from where I live and with great joy I participated in both together with my husband!!
The first event was Thursday 28th in Cologno Monzese, home of Canale 5 and also of Radio Italia where the meeting took place.
The second, the next day, March 29, was the signing of the CD at the Bussolengo shopping center in the province of Verona.
Both events were about 100 km (62 miles) towards Milan for Cologno Monzese and the other towards Verona, in short Brescia remains right in the middle of these two places, how lucky!! 😉🤪
I didn’t go to Radio Italia through the Fan club, but I asked Radio Italia directly to be able to participate as an audience in the event and after a couple of days Radio Italia responded to me confirming entry for me and another person, therefore my husband was also admitted, naturally we had to send all our personal data. We had to show up at the entrance of Radio Italia at 7:00 pm and therefore we left on time and arrived at our destination without problems. There was already a queue of people waiting, entry was slow, because everyone had to fill out an authorization to use their image, given that the program was recorded and was broadcast on TV.
We had also been warned that there were no seats, but we already knew this having already been to a similar event, again with Il Volo in 2019.
When we all entered, an entertainer explained to us how the filming worked, once Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca entered, they would sit on the edge of the small stage and be interviewed by the two presenters: Manola Moslei and Daniela Cappelletti, the short interviews they would have been one after the other, but then edited at different times in the video.
They also asked us if any of us had never attended an Il Volo concert and about ten people raised their hands.
And then they came in, beautiful as the sun, smiling, dressed casually and they smiled at everyone. 😍😍😍
I knew that their new CD was officially released the next day but I was hoping, since the show would be broadcast the next evening, that they would let us hear the new songs.
And in fact it was like this, they told us we could take photos and videos, but they recommended not to release the videos of the new songs until midnight.
I took several photos that I will publish starting with these:
As you can see we were really close to the stage, a few meters separated us from them and after the interviews, they went up on stage and allowed us in the audience to get closer to the edge of the stage itself.
What can I say, we witnessed a real mini-concert. Ignazio Piero and Gianluca didn’t hold back, they immediately sang seven new songs, starting with Capolavoro and then, at the end, they sang another four songs that we know very well, namely Il Mondo, Se Telefonando, Musica che Resta, Grande Amore.
Ernesto Ginoble and all the authors and producers were also present in the room.
Gianluca Piero and Ignazio were calm but, by their admission, very excited because it was the first time they sang the new songs in public and they really wanted to see our reaction.
And what about the new songs…. WONDERFUL!!!! ❤️
I assure you that if you listen live they are beautiful, the lyrics are very beautiful, and the music is fantastic, very well orchestrated, certainly not ridiculous and repetitive songs with some basic chords done on the computer!!!
Congratulations, a job done really well, this is my opinion, of course, and I am very happy to note that Il Volo did not let itself be carried away by the pop and rap songs that are now in fashion here in Italy, songs that are super popular with kids, but which they have no artistic value, on the contrary, the more they are full of false notes and autotune, the more they are admired. Il Volo is not this and it shows in this production of theirs. Il Volo has not changed its nature, it has become more pop, but always remaining true to itself. Of course we don’t think we’ll find singing virtuosity, which they know how to do very well, but which they will always offer us in their concerts. 😉
Now I’ll tell you a couple of things that you won’t see during the official video.
The boys were singing and it was hot, at the end of a song, while Piero was talking, Ignazio in a corner, not in the frame, took off his jacket and when they were about to start the song, the technicians stopped and told Ignazio to put his jacket back on because otherwise the people on the video would have seen that first he was wearing the jacket and then after the jacket had disappeared . Ignazio said: “But I’m dying of heat,” and so they told him he had to put it back on and let them see him undress it. So in the video you will see that as soon as one of the songs starts, Ignazio immediately takes off his jacket and throws it in the air!! 😂😂
Another moment that you won’t see:at the end of the recording, the boys said goodbye to everyone, but before getting off the stage, the direction checked that everything was ok, but they saw that a song hadn’t come out well due to technical problems, so the guys told us if we were sorry they had to redo a song……but NOOOOOO. 🤪🤣🤣🤣
Then, after having redone the song, and with the cameras off, Gianluca said: “Let’s do Capolavoro again,” and so it was and we were all singing at the top of our lungs. Gianluca noticed a child in the audience who was singing loudly and invited him to go on stage, all three boys tried to convince him, but the child didn’t want to go up, he sent them a kiss and that was it.
But I must say that Ignazio, Piero and Gianluca were really very kind and nice, and their voices did not betray us, fantastic as always.
Overall it was a beautiful mini concert, indeed, an intimate mini concert, because we were about 200 people, and completely free!! 👏👏👏
None of the audience was able to have direct contact with them, because in the end Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca went to the back stage, but I would say that we can be happy like that.
And now I’ll give you the entire official Radio Italia video, enjoy!!
MANOLA= Isy Bank Music Place packed for a new episode of Radio Italia live. These very young boys started and it seems incredible 15 years ago, they were three kids and it is already a great indication.
DANIELA= Yes, yes, but then they toured the whole world with their music, they filled arenas and arenas I think on every continent .
MANOLA= My goodness!
DANIELA = This summer they will be everywhere in the world again, but this evening we have them right here on Radio Italia live, soon we will have a chat with them, we are Manola Moslehi and Daniela Cappelletti, but first let’s find out who they are with our card. Later! (the presentation sheet starts)
Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca enter the stage, Capolavoro begins! ❤️❤️❤️
(my husband and I are in the audience, on the far right of the stage, just starting the right wall. We know where we were and therefore we were able to see each other but for you, it is very difficult to recognize us)
PIERO= And now we will sing our album of unreleased songs for the first time, here at Radio Italia. We will sing some songs, most of the songs from the CD, we will start with CHIARO DI LUNA. It’s exciting for us, being able to sing songs for the first time, it’s the litmus test…(a girl lets out a little scream)
IGNAZIO= I would like to understand why you scream if you don’t know the song..😂😂…. (the song begins)
GIANLUCA= Luca Faraone (one of the authors and producers) has just arrived, a round of applause to the producer and great musician, to the great Edwyn who has just arrived (Edwyn Roberts, another author and producer) and we also want to thank Cheope who wrote this song with Stefano Marletta and Michael Tenisci (they are all authors).
IGNAZIO= This next song….
PIERO= However one thing is important, sorry (to Ignazio). Often we must not fall for social consensus, we live a daily life in which we always need to have the consent of others. Tonight, like never before, we need your consent , did you like it? (loud applause from the audience).
IGNAZIO= So we started well. The next song, personally it is one of my favorites on the album, is one of those songs where you have to put your headphones on, and dedicate it to the person you love and so if you have someone you love, dedicate it to them. L’INFINITO.
DANIELA= Their album AD ASTRA was released today and this evening they are making us feel, like a gift, to play the songs from this new album. At the Isy Bank Music Play of Radio Italia , there is Il Volo!!
IGNAZIO= We talked about the producers and this next song was written and produced in part by a great Italian producer who if a few months ago his name was associated with ours they told us: “you are crazy”, and we are talking about Michelangelo (producer)
PIERO= (he hums a song by Michelangelo)
IGNAZIO= The song talks about an elegant love, therefore: SUCCEDE
PIERO= It’s a very strange feeling tonight. This year, as you know, we are celebrating 15 years of our career and we have experienced……. (applause)..thank you…we have experienced many sensations, many emotions. Tonight is a new, very strange feeling, because we had never sung all these unreleased songs for the first time, we have always been used to singing well-known songs, we have based our career on bel canto, on the cultural heritage that we have all inherited. Really in life, never say never, this album has arrived and we are really.. I am moved, excited….😍
GIANLUCA= You know why, this is beautiful….. it’s beautiful because the beauty of our work is that we can convey emotions with our voices and this album talks a bit about us, about what we’ve experienced in the last year and a half, and our relationship has also strengthened, because 15 years is a long time but we are like a family and it is important to try to send this positive message too, it is important to do what you like most and express yourself, to be you yourself and convey authentic emotions to the audience that listens to you, so we would like to thank you for all the support you have given us over all these years, and it is exciting to sing these songs that speak about us deeply, for the first time to you this evening .
MANOLA= The Isy Bank this evening is truly a place full of energy and warmth because the occasion is special, there are three guys we know, three incredible artists: Il Volo!!
IGNAZIO= Hello, hello everyone.
MANOLA= Welcome back, this is your home by now you know it, but it’s always a pleasure to meet you. What a beautiful day today! It’s special because it was released – AD ASTRA.
IGNAZIO= Today AD ASTRA was released, we have been working on it for a while, many monts if not a year and a half and we are very happy because in any case after 15 years we are working on a totally unreleased project, we have matured and reached an artistic maturity and it gave us the opportunity to have very concrete content in each song. In fact, with the songs we address themes that we feel are very close to us, such as love but also doubt, life, why we are in the world and also a little about the world as it is going at the moment in these years, that’s it.
MANOLA= How do you decide the songs to include in your first album of unreleased songs, I imagine you’ve done a skimming…
IGNAZIO= Making punches…😂😂😂
PIERO= It’s the first time and we are proud of this album, because we have put together a team of authors who have somehow coexisted with us, they listened…
MANOLA= Shall we name some names?
PIERO= Yes, then.. we have Stefano Marletta, Edwyn Roberts, Michael Tenisci, the applause also started..
IGNAZIO= Federica Abbate …
MANOLA= In short, a good team.
GIANLUCA= Yes, but then the beauty is that we are interpreters, we have never worked on an album entirely of unreleased songs, always making projects that have led us to become who we are today. We have to thank these people who gave us the opportunity to make our thoughts and emotions tangible, not by writing ourselves in the first place, so we made friends and thanks to them we can be ourselves with our songs, so thank you…….🥰
PIERO= So now that the album is out the friendship is over. 🤣
MANOLA= It’s not true, it’s impossible not to be your friends 😍
GIANLUCA= So we really want to thank them, they are here, please give a round of applause to these wonderful guys and artists first and foremost.
MANOLA= This thing is very beautiful because we are used to seeing the final result, so the album and the work behind it is often and willingly, I won’t say is underestimated, but put a little in the shade, so the fact that you underline how far you have come together, as a team effort, it is very beautiful, very very beautiful. 🥰 There is also a featuring with Irama, the first and only featuring in this new album, in SATURNO E VENERE, how did this collaboration come about?
PIERO= We had already collaborated with Irama last year in the concert we did at the Arena. This year we were in the recording studio, we felt the need for a duet and I must tell you that it is one of our objectives to play a bit with the possibilities that music gives us, to bring together these opposite worlds, and with Irama, perhaps it is also unthinkable to combine a voice like Irama in a duet with Il Volo and I must tell you that the strength of the music…
IGNAZIO= A quartet..
PIERO= A quartet, I have to tell you that the strength of the music allowed us to live an experience in the studio together with Filippo (Irama), his way of working, of recording, of writing music which is all his, is truly incredible , I wish you one day to be able to see Filippo in the recording studio while he writes the songs, he is truly fascinating, and we thank him for participating and accepting the collaboration.
MANOLA= In fact on paper, given Filippo’s vocality, it was particular to imagine as a duet, and instead the final result is truly extraordinary.
IGNAZIO= Did you hear it?
MANOLA= Yes. I did, of course, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to talk to you tonight, right? 😁 What questions are you asking me, Ignazio?.🙄.. he’s still him anyway…🤪
PIERO= He wants to put you in difficulty..😁
MANOLA= Of course, by now, I know that guy like the back of my hand! 😉
Piero, before, spoke about the Verona Arena, you want to talk about it again, because there is something very important that will happen soon at the Arena.
IGNAZIO= Breaking news is that out of four dates, three are already sold out.
MANOLA= Wow. Four concerts at the Verona Arena, you have actually already performed there, but bringing your work, your album of unreleased songs will be something else.
GIANLUCA= Already singing them live for the first time tonight is exciting, not only for some of you, but also for us because obviously listening to them in headphones and singing them is totally different, so we will give our best and we can’t wait to bring it to tour because it will be quite long, we will start from China and Japan, then we will go to the Arena and then until next year, until mid-2025, so it will be a trip to ASTRA, exactly.
MANOLA= You said 4 dates, three sold out, one is missing, in my opinion the other will be sold out very soon too, I’ll tell you.
IGNAZIO= Yes, they’re running out.
MANOLA= I’ll tell you, we at Radio Italia bring luck.👍
IGNAZIO= Oh yes?
MANOLA= Yes.
IGNAZIO= Good.
MANOLA= So we thank you because, in short, it is the first time that you are performing with your unreleased songs here at Isy Bank Music Place. Show it Piero (Manola is holding an AD ASTRA vinyl)
PIERO= Ah, the one with the most beautiful colour.
MANOLA= It’s blue.
PIERO= Look how beautiful!
GIANLUCA= It’s an object to keep at home, beautiful, it’s a piece of furniture, look, it’s wonderful.
MANOLA= Let’s say for those who are listening to us on the radio that you have just shown the color of the vinyl which is blue.
PIERO= Where is the camera? It’s here, look how beautiful it is.
MANOLA= Cobalt blue is this.
GIANLUCA= Even those who are not fans of Il Volo can take this, just for objects.
MANOLA= For objects…..it’s a bit of a fetish if you want…
GIANLUCA= A fetish, yes…
MANOLA= So guys I want to continue…
PIERO= This is Ignazio’s hand (he is looking at the back of the vinyl cover) “who continues to hope… close that window!”
MANOLA= Again for those who are listening on the radio, we are talking about the B side of the vinyl…
IGNAZIO= In what sense?
MANOLA = The cover, side B, practically has the hand of Ignazio.
IGNAZIO= They took it while I was running away and I said HELP….
GIANLUCA= In reality they chose Ignazio’s hand because it is the most beautiful of the three…😁
MANOLA= Oh well….
GIANLUCA= I won’t show you mine because you’d run away.
IGNAZIO= But Piero’s is nice too, just nice…😁
MANOLA= Guys, all three of you are beautiful, in any position, as you put on you are beautiful and you stay beautiful. 🥰
PIERO= I injured myself this morning in the walk-in closet (he has a plaster on his finger), I was about to put on a jacket and there was a sheet metal edge….
IGNAZIO=…….and we don’t care..😂😂😂…Were you saying? (to Manola)
MANOLA= Too many things, you have to make a selection. No, let’s close, I want to hear you sing again, okay? (to the audience) – YES – and so I’ll leave the stage to you. This evening in the Isy Bank Music Place three extraordinary voices: Il Volo!
IGNAZIO= This next song is bel canto 2.0, we can say.
PIERO= So, there was a dear journalist who commented on this song saying after listening to it: “You have made bel canto more contemporary”. I think it was one of the best compliments we received and it was also our goal, and it’s also difficult to sing it.
IGNAZIO= It’s difficult to sing it, but above all we are happy with the message it sends, because with this album we wanted to send messages that talk about great themes and there is a song that we will sing after which is called IL MONDO ALL’INCONTRARIO which talks about the desire to hope, to dream, in a better way…
PIERO= Ideal..
IGNAZIO= Ideal, and this song instead invites you to enjoy life, enjoy every moment of life, because life, in the end, is as beautiful as a work which is not intended as just a work of music, but can be anything, a work of art, anything, so we wanted to say this to all the guys of our age, but of all ages, to take advantage of every second, every moment of life, because no one gives it back to us and then “Today won’t come back anymore”. 👏👏👏
PIERO= Thank you, thank you all. The next one is the last unreleased song we will sing, but not the last of the evening.
We can’t leave you like this! 😍
IL MONDO ALL’INCONTRARIO, the lyrics of this song, imagine an ideal world, imagine this stage and each of us inside this stage shouting this desire, it is truly a utopian text, but hope is the last to die.
DANIELA= Not only the successes of the last album but also those that made them famous all over the world, this evening at the Isy Bank Music Place, again for us: Il Volo!
IGNAZIO= Now let’s go into the world that has accompanied us until today.
GIANLUCA= This is a song that we wrote about ten days ago and we decided to add it to the repertoire the day before yesterday. 😂😂😂
PIERO= I wrote the lyrics and the refrain goes: “Gira il mondo gira nello spazio senza fine”… I was inspired. 🤣🤣🤣
GIANLUCA= You know this one well, so let’s all sing together at the top of our lungs: IL MONDO!
PIERO= I heard a beautiful joke these days, did you hear that joke (addressing Ignazio)
IGNAZIO= No, it depends on which one?
PIERO= Il Volo is separating!!! 😂😂😂
IGNAZIO= Ahhhhh I have certain jokes….
PIERO= But my son, alone, I say, one two three (Gianluca Ignazio Piero), alone, we don’t even get to Monza..😂😂😂.. (Monza is the closest city to Radio Italia and Piero means to say that alone their success wouldn’t even reach Monza), I’m not saying Switzerland 🤣 (which isn’t very far away), but we won’t even get to Monza.
What’s next? Ah, this is nice, with this song we participated in Sanremo 2019.
PIERO= We would like to remember that the lyrics of “Musica che resta” were written by the great Gianna Nannini.
DANIELA= Welcome back here to the Isy Bank Music Place, evening at Radio Italia live together with Il Volo. Hello lads .
I+P+G= Hi, hi.
IGNAZIO= How are you?
DANIELA= I’m fine, and how are you?
I+G+P= Good, good.
DANIELA= Are you ready for some questions, you are always around, I already told you, I envy you so much, because you see so many wonderful places in the world.
IGNAZIO= Well, whenever you want we’ll wait for you and take you with us.
DANIELA= I’m on my fourth Volo, but I can’t sing.
IGNAZIO= Don’t worry, let’s do a radio tour…
GIANLUCA= Radio Volo.
DANIELA= I’m in!
PIERO= We will do a tour with interviews in between.
DANIELA= Oh, are you calling me?
PIERO= Yes, of course.
DANIELA= Promise! Ok, then I’m good to go.
PIERO= You have to learn Chinese, Japanese…😁
DANIELA= But I know!!
PIERO= Look, she’s thrilled….😁
DANIELA= I do.
IGNAZIO= From tomorrow he will start studying all the menus of the Japanese restaurants in Milan.
DANIELA= I already know, I think so.😁 Let’s talk about travel, how does your life on tour work? Do you also have some time to enjoy the trip or is it just work?
IGNAZIO= It depends, for example now in mid-April we leave for China and we have seven days of promotion first, then on the 20th we will do the concert in Shanghai therefore we will have the opportunity to visit it, also because it often happens that many promotional activities are carried out in the cities themselves, not only within an office or a studio, or a hotel, so in that case, we have an opportunity to see. In Japan we have seen a lot because we were lucky enough last year to be the first artists after the renovation of this very famous temple, a UNESCO heritage site, Kiyomizu-dera. We are the only artists who have given a concert there, they chose us as the inauguration of the temple and it is a magical place there, very exclusive….
PIERO= From now the Temple is called Il Volo…😁
DANIELA= What was her name before??
IGNAZIO= Kiyomizu-dera.
DANIELA = Kiyomizu-dera ….now Il Volo, you’ve combined the names, beautiful.😁 So every now and then you enjoy it a little.
PIERO= But then do you know what they call Il Volo in Japan? Il Vro.
DANIELA= Really?
PIERO= I swear…
IGNAZIO= Il Vro, Il Vro …
DANIELA= It’s so cute! 🥰
PIERO= Too cute!
DANIELA= It’s particular. I want to give you a little quiz, a little game, are you up for it?
GIANLUCA= Go.
DANIELA= So, we always talk about travel, let’s stay on this topic, I would like to understand what type of travelers you are, therefore: who is the one who goes on adventures and who instead wants to be served and revered?
PIERO= So, served and revered: him (Gianluca)😁
DANIELA= Gianlu…
GIANLUCA= A prince….
PIERO= On adventure: him (Ignazio) 😁
DANIELA= Ah Ignazio, let’s go on an adventure…
PIERO= Everything planned: me.😁
DANIELA= Ok, so you’re all scheduled…
PIERO= I have to know where I should eat…
GIANLUCA= So in the end he too is served and revered, obviously..
DANIELA= You just have to have your references.
IGNAZIO= I’m honest, I like the idea of taking an adventure holiday, but in the end I always end up served and revered….
DANIELA= Me too, because I’m lazy..
IGNAZIO= Me too, like a cat and more!
PIERO= Do you know what happened once? We have finished this two month tour and we decide to all return to our home. I had organized five days in a hotel in Sicily with my brother and sister. I arrive at this hotel, I get ready, I put on my swimsuit, I arrive at the swimming pool… guess who I find at the swimming pool in the same hotel? -Ignazio- He, who used to take a bath, after the jun tour I also found him on holiday. 😂
DANIELA= Ah ah ah, you can see it’s the charm….well let’s move on. Who is the one who also tastes insects, and who also brings pasta in their suitcase?
GIANLUCA= I eat, I chop everything.
PIERO= In fact, look how thin he is.
IGNAZIO= Indeed…
GIANLUCA= Then unfortunately I feel my stomach…
DANIELA= You too, eat, taste….(to Piero and Ignazio)
IGNAZIO= Yes, everything, everything, perhaps he (Piero) is much more traditional.
GIANLUCA= No, it’s you (Ignazio) who didn’t eat the head of the fish in Japan….
IGNAZIO= But how do you eat the head of a Sardinian??? Excuse me, poor thing… there was the Sardinian who looked at me like that 😂😂
DANIELA= Because it’s not the food, but how he looks at you… I agree 😁
PIERO= I ate the spicy jellyfish, good, it seems like a softer squid. 😳
DANIELA= You throw yourself into the kitchen quite a bit. Go on. Who is the one who launches into languages he doesn’t know and the one who stops at English at most? (put that way it seems like a slightly mischievous phrase)
PIERO= Wait, wait, formulate this sentence better…😂😂😂
DANIELA= Wait, I didn’t understand it either….
GIANLUCA= So it’s a bit ambiguous…🤣🤣
DANIELA = No come on!! Guys, who even speaks languages they don’t know?
PIERO= Well, it’s better…😁
GIANLUCA= Well…..it’s hard for us mischievous people…😂😂
DANIELA= Really mischievous…🙄
IGNAZIO= Gianluca is the one who holds back, that is, he learns immediately but if he then has to speak a language he doesn’t know he holds back… Piero and I gesture and make ourselves understood in all possible ways…😁
DANIELA= Ignazio our Italian gesticulation, we only understand it in Italy.
IGNAZIO= No, no you’re wrong.
DANIELA= Oh yes?
PIERO= Even the temples in Greece understood it.😁
GIANLUCA= Think about one time, once for a sandwich, we didn’t speak English the first few times and we said “un panin prosc.cott” (a sandwich with cooked ham, but all said truncated) 🤣🤣
DANIELA= You got it!!
IGNAZIO= That was my father in Los Angeles, I asked him for a turkey sandwich and he arrived with cooked ham and I tell him: “Dad, how did you tell him cooked ham?” and he: “And what do I know, I asked for a panin prosc.cott…..and they gave it to me”😂
DANIELA= They understood it! Miraculously it was understood. 😁
Okay, then: who goes from one disco to another and who goes to sleep after dinner because they have to get up at dawn, perhaps to play sports?
GIANLUCA= Disco….what? Disco hmmm…
DANIELA= No, well, I mean to be late…
IGNAZIO= Gianlu!
GIANLUCA= No, not me, not me…
IGNAZIO= Come on, when you go to Milan you go to all the parties more than for work…😁😁 Finish it..😉
GIANLUCA= What are you saying….
PIERO= Look how white you are….😁
GIANLUCA= They made me pale???
DANIELA= No, they’re making fun of you, Gianlu, it’s not true!!😁
Ok, let’s do something, we did the travel quiz….
PIERO= Do you know what time I went to sleep last night?
DANIELA= Tell me..
PIERO= At 9.40pm.
DANIELA= Not like that though…
PIERO= Yesterday I was tired, I wanted to watch television and I fell asleep.
DANIELA= Okay, come on, but stay awake tonight, because we still have to play here.
GIANLUCA= No, he switches off at 9.40pm, while he sings he does this look..(Gianluca lies down) 🤣
PIERO= 5 minutes left (in fact it’s really around 9.40pm)
DANIELA= We have to hurry.
GIANLUCA= He has the switch, then it turns off.😂
DANIELA= Thanks guys, come back to the stage of the Isy Bank Music Place, because this evening there are these three extraordinary artists with us: Il Volo!
GIANLUCA= This last song, after Capolavoro…. no, it is the most important of our career, you know very well what it is because it is our first unreleased song, among other things, of 2015 and we had the great privilege and honor of winning the Sanremo festival, nine years have already passed….
PIERO= And since that day, since we sang that melody (he sings Hey Jude)
GIANLUCA= Are you also like Troisi? (an Italian actor)
PIERO= We have to say goodbye. So we say goodbye, we have to say goodbye guys. First of all we thank all of you (Ignazio disturbs), we would like to thank….enough Igna….
GIANLUCA= Enough Igna, come on, come on…1-2-3.
PIERO= Serious moment……we would like to first of all thank all of you this evening for being here on such an important evening for us…
GIANLUCA= And if I may, thanks to Radio Italia for all the support (Gianluca is unable to say the word and makes a raspberry)….🤣😂
IGNAZIO= The ciupporto (Ignazio also says it by distorting the pronunciation)🤣
GIANLUCA= It happens even to the best, it happens even to the best…..let’s do it again!!
PIERO= And then let us thank our record company, Sony Music for the support, the support they give us every day.
GIANLUCA= Thanks again to all the authors who contributed so that this album could be….
IGNAZIO= We don’t know, but do you pay for it? Because he always says he thanks you, but you pay him a lot a month (to say thank you), I want a percentage too!! 😂🤣
GIANLUCA= Let’s end all thanks.
PIERO= We close by thanking our entire team, all the structures that collaborate with us, our manager Michele Torpedine, Barbara, everyone, everyone who with us there are no holidays, they also work on Sundays, thank you, thank you for dedicating your time, your support and above all your seriousness to us.
GIANLUCA= And thanks also to my brother Ernesto who was also part of the direction of this project, thank you for everything, we love you! 😍
IGNAZIO= And we wanted to say a big THANK YOU to you who listen to us from home, but above all to you who came here this evening dedicating GRANDE AMORE to you. ❤️
MANOLA= They have performed on the most important stages all over the world and tonight we had them here in the Isy Bank Music Place protagonists of a live Radio Italia wow, incredible.
DANIELA= Did we sing?
MANOLA= But I no longer have a voice…at a certain point I felt like the fourth member of Il Volo…
DANIELA= Yes, you sing so well….Daniela Cappelletti and Manola Moslehy will meet you at the next Radio Italia live, again here in the Isy Bank Music Place, so goodnight to everyone.
MANOLA= Bye.
(some photos published by Radio Italia)
What a fantastic evening, what emotion, how beautiful the new songs, how friendly our boys, everything was beautiful.
I won’t add anything else, I’m waiting for your comments!!
See you soon to tell you about another live event!!
Just so you don’t think I’ve lost my mind; I’m doing this story in between black outs. I’ve lost my lights four times today. So, I decided to take an old story which happens to be my first story and post it so you will have a story this week. It’s four years ago this week that I wrote it!
I couldn’t get into my photos so there are none. I did get into videos, but the videos really don’t relate to the story but I’m sure you’ll love them anyway.
Four years ago, after learning that the guys were going home because of COVID, I started checking the fans pages to see what I could find out. What I found out was people were very concerned that the guys were going into the COVID zone, Italy. Little did we know that we would follow them.
Just Went Gold! Congratulations guys!
The guys did what they had to do. They left to be with their families.
I was not a person who went on fan pages. I was always too busy to stop and read all that people had to say. But suddenly, I wasn’t busy. In fact, I was completely shut down. No business, nothing! That’s what led me to start reading the fan pages. After a few days I realized that the fans were making themselves crazy over the guys going back to Italy so, I decided to write an article about it. I posted the article on Facebook and some of the administrators of the Il Volo fan groups started to message me. Can we post your article? Then they followed up with can you write another article. Well, I had nothing to do so I said yes!
At one point I received a message from Daniela Perani who asked if she could post my article on Il Volo Flight Crew! I said yes, and four years later I have my own column (every Wednesday) and the rest is history!
So, today, four years later, I am posting the original article which Daniela posted. I’ve included her remarks so you can get a feel for how this all went down! So here I am Talking About Our Guys ~ Four Years Later.
Daniela’s comment:
Reading, here and there on the various sites and fan pages, I found this beautiful article written by Susan De Bartoli. Several fan pages have recognized the goodness of this beautiful article by publishing it. Since maybe not all of you who follow Flight Crew may have read it, I thought I’d post it here too, and I asked Susan for her confirmation to do so. Here’s what she wrote.
Over the last few days, I’ve been thinking about how our lives have changed in just two weeks. It’s surreal! I try to distract myself but it’s difficult to get away from it all. So, I decided to focus on something else. I can usually get lost in my writing. You know before I started my travel business in 1990, I worked in the motion picture industry. I used to critique films. It was a good job but, I decided I wanted to do more with my life so, I quit my job and I spent two years writing. The best years of my life. So, where am I going with all of this?
Like most of you, right now, I spend a good deal of my day listening to those three amazing guys sing and I said maybe I should do a review of what’s been going on in their lives for the last 10 years. I think, over the last few days, I must have watched hundreds of video clips including interviews and some full concerts and now I’m ready to Talk About Our Guys.
Let me start off by saying these three young men are extraordinary! They are remarkable, exceptional, persons. And, they have revolutionized the music industry. Let’s take a look at each one.
Gianluca is known as the Velvet Voice! I don’t who coined the phrase but, that is right on. Let’s use our senses to understand what that means. Take a piece of velvet and hold it in your hand. Now take your other hand and gently pass your hand across the velvet. What do you feel? You feel a smooth even surface that is crisp with no breaks in it. The sensation is so good that you automatically go back and do it again. And every time it’s the same. It’s pleasing!
Now take Gianluca’s voice, let the notes pass into your ears, what do you hear? A crisp, smooth, even voice with no breaks in it. The note barely passes into your ear, and you are going back for the next note. It’s always pleasing!
Gianluca is a lyrical baritone. He is exceptional because he can sing from the lowest to the highest note in the baritone range. Most baritones are limited in range. Gianluca’s voice is huge. He has a very rich chest resonance which creates a feeling of depth and drama in his voice.
A baritone voice is very romantic, very pleasing to listen to and is always inviting. Most songs are written for baritones. Gianluca starts, almost, every song. Why? In order for a song to be received well you must draw your audience into it. Gianluca’s voice draws you in in a romantic way and you hang on to every note. He can mesmerize you with songs like “Mi Mancherai” where he reaches into the depth of your being. His interpretation of “Surrender” is electrifying.
But, when Gianluca sings, “She’s Always a Woman”, he takes your breath away. The highs, the lows, the emotion, the expression. His voice expands like nothing I ever heard before. He has total command of the song. You walk away with your senses lifted to another level.
Let’s talk about Ignazio, who I call the bridge. He is a lyrical tenor. He, like Gianluca, is exceptional because he can sing from the lowest to the highest note in the tenor range. And God knows he can, easily, hit the high C. Waiting for it and knowing it’s going to happen is so exciting! He brings so much to the production, and I’ll talk more about that later!
A lyrical tenor has a warm graceful voice which is bright and strong but not heavy and it can be heard over an orchestra. Ignazio’s voice is smooth, clean and clear, with an acute extension. His voice has the ability to increase the baritone voice of Gianluca while softening the spinto tenor voice of Piero.
Ignazio has many faces. He is very whimsical in his songs as in “Libiamo ne’ lieti calici” from La Traviata. In the aria “Una Furtiva Lagrima” from L’elisir D’amore, Ignazio makes you feel the innocents of Nemorino’s love for Adina.
In his dedication to Pino Daniele you hear an interpretation that is emotional and a delivery that is so amazing that you get the sense that Daniele wrote his songs for Ignazio.
Ignazio’s voice is the one that brings it all together!
I certainly look for every excuse to include one of my favorite songs. Nobody else can sing it like Ignazio! Just thrilling! “Quando l’amore diventa poesia.”
And finally, Piero. Piero is a spinto (meaning pushed) tenor. A spinto tenor has the brightness and height of a lyric tenor, but with a heavier vocal weight enabling the voice to be “pushed” to dramatic climaxes with less strain than his lighter-voice counterparts. His voice is warm, graceful, bright, and can be heard over an orchestra.
Piero has a powerful voice that easily reaches the higher notes. Every note that comes out of his mouth reaches us with such intensity and remains with us for a long time. It’s the voice that reaches out to you and demands your attention.
Think of Piero singing “E Lucevan le Stele” from Tosca. Or singing the beautiful Spanish aria “No Puede Ser” from A Tabernera del Puerto. From the first note Piero pierces your soul! His passion comes through in his music. Arias are very dramatic and, Piero brings all the drama of the aria into his performance. Always a showstopper!
Now let’s put the voices together. Gianluca starts most songs because he is a baritone, and most songs are written for baritones. As I mentioned he draws you into the song. Gianluca will sing (in most cases) to Ignazio and Ignazio to Piero. This is how the three voices become one. Select one of their songs. Now close your eyes and listen to them sing. What can you say about this song? You can say, that is Gianluca or Ignazio or Piero singing. In the progression of the song, you hear the voices blend to form a symphony for your ears. Their voices are very distinct.
Most groups sing and you hear just a song but with Il Volo you are surrounded by voices. And the individuality of their voices entices you and it stays with you. “Musica che Resta”. (Music that Remains) Think of what Piero says when he introduces one of the solos, “After we were together a while, we realized we had three different voices.” He wasn’t saying that they suddenly found out they had different voices he was saying we are Tres Voces un Alma (three voices and one soul) and, we need to show you those voices individually.
Let’s look at how they described one another when they first started out. I think Ignazio said Gianluca was the serious one, and Piero was the Intelligent one and Gianluca and Piero said Ignazio was the funny one. So, let’s take a look at that.
Gianluca, in most cases, is the spokesman for the group. I’m not sure if this is by chance or choice. He seems to always take the lead when they are in interviews. And he is constantly monitoring the conversation. A good example is the video that was going around recently. It’s the one with the story about the shrimps. The boys were appearing on a Spanish show and Piero was telling the story about Gianluca and Ignazio’s food fight, when they were teenagers, and he mistakenly used the Spanish word cama (bed) instead of the Spanish word cara (face) which turns the story from them throwing shrimps into one another’s face into throwing shrimps at each other in bed. Gianluca picked up on this and immediately corrected the mistake while Ignazio and Piero got hysterical laughing.
Piero is the intelligent one perhaps because he thinks everything through. In interviews he thinks before he speaks, and his answers are always intelligent. He’s very serious and you can tell he thought out the answer before he spoke. And I’m sure that’s what makes his performance so great!
And, Ignazio, the funny one. And that he is! But is it really about the joke? Or is it more about the production. Let’s turn to the production.
The stage is simple. One sign that says it all – Il Volo. There’s the orchestra. Guitars, drum, piano, violins and whatever other instruments are needed for the performance. I want you to stop and think about the performance. We know these guys have three amazing voices but, what if they got on the stage and for two hours, they did nothing but sing. I don’t think it would work. A performance needs the ability to move on. There’s no change of scenery and no intermission so how do you move the performance along? Ignazio!!! The joking he brings into the performance provides the levity to relieve the seriousness of the performance. He brings a certain ease and suspense to the performance. The audience is always wondering, what will he do next. But is it always about joking? I want you to think about what I’m saying. Ignazio is constantly moving around the stage. He’s dancing and keeping the rhythm. He’s swinging the microphone around and constantly nodding towards the orchestra, Gianluca and Piero. Is that the lead up to a joke? I don’t think so. Let me tell you what you are looking at. Ignazio is following every note that is sung or played on that stage. His mind is in motion. He is sensitive and passionate with the music. He has the ability to see the music as it is happening. He knows where every instrument should come in and out. That’s why you notice little things like him smiling, nodding, pointing towards the musicians, Gianluca or Piero. He also grabs the baton from the conductor, sometimes to joke but more often to conduct.
Think about Ignazio conducting the Asti Symphony Orchestra while Marcello Rota sang his tenor part. He wasn’t joking, he was conducting. And that’s why everyone was watching him in amazement. And when it was over, they were speechless. Look at Michele Torpedine go across the stage to embrace him. He is in awe of this young man. Ignazio is music! You call him funny I call him brilliant! I am going to make a prediction here! Remember you heard it here first. Ignazio will compose a great opera and will probably also write the libretto for it.
An early interview. Talking from the heart! Very sincere!
Let’s go back to the beginning. When these three young men started out, they were 15 and 16 years old. Think of being 15 or 16 years old and you have a dream, and someone tells you that that dream, needs to be shared. To fulfill that dream you have to leave your family, your friends, your home, you have to go to another country, and you have to share this journey with two people who you really know nothing about except that they had the same dream you did. You have to trust that the decision that was made by you and your family, was the right decision. If not, it’s back to square one! You’re going to be lonely, and you have to learn to survive without the people you love. So, you learn to lean on one another. That dependence turns into a friendship and that friendship into a brotherhood. It enabled them to trust enough to collaborate and perfect something truly amazing. Something that revolutionized the music industry. Let me go further by showing you a collaboration by these three amazing, very, very talented, young men that is so unreal that it boggles your mind. This is a collaboration of love. Stop and listen to this performance of “Por Una Cabeza”.
Look at how they smile at one another during the performance. A smile that says yes that’s it! Their faces are ablaze! Their expressions let one another know that it works. And, finally, when it’s over, they are so excited they can hardly contain themselves. Look at their smiles, their faces are lit up in joy and their embrace says it all! They are brothers who love one another!
Daniela’s final comment:
Susan, I really have to thank you for your nice words, you hit the mark in the description of Gianluca, Ignazio and Piero.
Thanks also for allowing the publication.
We will be happy to have your other posts if you wish.
A hug from the whole Flight Crew family.
Well, obviously, I continued to write for Flight Crew!
How do I see things now. I see the guys more mature with voices that are more amazing each day! The sweetness is still there, and they still share their lives with the fans.
Sometimes it’s difficult writing about the guys because they’ve lived a lifetime and experienced things that most entertainers only experience late in their careers. They are so young and have truly lived a lifetime of dreams. Since the column is called Through the Fields of My Mind, I must talk about the past. Sometimes I think, how many ways can I tell the same story and then, I read your comments and I realize it’s new every time and there is always someone who has never heard the story before. All in all, I still enjoy Talking About Our Guys ~ Four Years Later.
Now for you listening pleasure The Concert in Verona 2015
Join me next week as I go back Through the Fields of My Mind and open the door to a new adventure!
The guy’s new Album Ad Astra is out. It’s available on Spotify, Amazon etc.
If you would like to share a story with me, please copy email: susan.flightcrew@yahoo.com
To read more Il Volo stories visit us at www.ilvoloflightcrw.com
Among the many interviews they gave themselves to, Il Volo was also interviewed by Don Walter Insero, a wonderful interview for the program “ON THE ROAD awaiting the 2025 Jubilee”.
Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca are expected by Don Water in front of the basilica of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere. A very informal meeting where Ignazio, Gianluca and Piero opened their hearts without any problem, talking about life, faith, and religion.
I translate for you..
DWI= Welcome back to ON THE ROAD. We are in Trastevere (Rome area) in front of the basilica of S. Cecilia, patron saint of music and musicians.
This young Roman woman, from a noble family, learned the message of Jesus, became a Christian and, in order not to betray her faith in Jesus Christ, she was martyred in the third century.
Since then this has become a place of silence, prayer, which has welcomed millions of pilgrims who have come to pray at the tomb of St. Cecilia, and this place will welcome the pilgrims of the next jubilee, who will find here an oasis of contemplation and peace.
PIERO= Don Walter good morning.
DWI= Hey hello!
Hi Piero, hello Ignazio, hello Gianluca.
IGNAZIO= A magnificent place.
DWI= How nice to meet you here..
GIANLUCA= It’s a great pleasure!
DWI= …in front of the Basilica of Santa Cecilia, we are on our way ON THE ROAD towards the 2025 jubilee.
I welcome you to this which is your home, because it is the home of Cecilia, who is the patroness of music, of musicians, of singers, of singers, (at this moment Barbara and Torpedine can be seen behind them) so I have the pleasure to accompany you on this journey.
GIANLUCA= It’s an honor!
IGNAZIO= Thank you, thank you very much.
DWI= It’s music that brought you together, right?
GIANLUCA= Yes, let’s say that music is what gives meaning to our lives, let’s say that everyone uses different tools to discover their own mystery, so we used this great tool that allowed us to dig inside ourselves and make sense to life. We are what we are through the voice and certainly together the strength is greater to convey emotions to the public and excite everyone here.
DWI= When you were very young, true, you discovered this artistic vocation.
PIERO= I believe that recognizing one’s vocation when young is a great privilege. We immediately recognized it thanks also to the support and support of our families, it was they who introduced this musical genre, which is Bel Canto, the genre that we sing, and therefore we owe everything to music.
DWI= And did the families support you in this?
IGNAZIO= Absolutely, I think that especially at the beginning, they were a fundamental part of our growth and, to put it simply (he means simply), I like to say “to keep our feet on the ground”, and they continue to do so today , so we really have to say thank you to our families because they taught us the true value of being a family, what it means to be a family.
DWI= Well, let’s go in then. Look how wonderful. (he points to the painting of the vault)
They prayed and asked Cecilia to pray for us.
GIANLUCA= With singing, which is the best prayer.
DWI= Yes, Bach says that music is a privileged path because it brings the soul closer to God. Is this true for you too?
GIANLUCA= It is the soundtrack of one’s emotions, like the poets who in their madness, like Leopardi (Italian poet) spoke to the moon waiting for him to respond. And it’s a bit like touching the sky with your emotions I think.
PIERO= Whoever sings prays twice, right?
DWI= Saint Augustine says so.
PIERO= And we do it often, singing on stage, almost every day and I think I recognize that we are three hyper-privileged people because what we feel on stage I think is an emotion that cannot be described. It’s not really easy to describe and make concrete, so I think three of us share the same sensations, an advantage for the three of us.
DWI= But can we say that music has brought you closer to God in your journey?
IGNAZIO= In a certain sense yes, also because we started from three small towns, where perhaps we know in small towns there are many more people inclined to believe, to find a foothold in what could be help from a saint, especially in music, like Saint Cecilia, so for us, our parents always prayed to God that their children could one day find their own path with their own talent, so absolutely yes.
PIERO= Personally my first approach to music was thanks to the church.
DWI= Oh yes?
PIERO= Because as a child I always went to church, so I sang in the choir, without inhibitions…
IGNAZIO= I was also part of the choir.
PIERO= I was an altar boy, I sang, so I know all the sacred songs. For us it would also be a great desire to be able to contribute during the jubilee with this magnificent art: music.
WOMAN’S VOICE = Rome, Trastevere district, it is in its beating heart, among its narrow streets, that a jewel full of charm and mystery stands: the basilica of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere. It is here that almost 1800 years ago the young Cecilia, considered the patron saint of musicians, was martyred.
DWI= You sang in the presence of the Holy Father, of Pope Francis, in a meeting with young people and a global family meeting, with your families. What did it represent for you?
IGNAZIO= Look, the first time was in Panama.
DWI= Yes!
PIERO= World Day..
IGNAZIO= World Youth Day and having a million young people in front of us……I remember that after singing we commented on this, that there was an energy, that it was an altar, it wasn’t a stage….
DWI= Sure, sure.
IGNAZIO= A gigantic altar and you could feel this energy, I don’t know, it seemed magnetic…
PIERO= A deafening silence…
IGNAZIO= It was a deafening silence, it’s one of those experiences that really happen a few times in your life and that is given by energy, because in the end I think that people are energy, life is energy, and seeing a million people , in the same place, for the same reason, an energy was created that is truly unforgettable for us.
PIERO= And then, on 22 June (2022), being witnesses during the World Family Day, I think it was one of the great objectives of these 15 years together, because from the first day we have always tried to reach those who listen to us and also to those who don’t listen to us, this message of unity but above all this strength that are values, families, because sometimes, perhaps due to the frenzy that we experience during daily life, we forget about certain values, that is, a call with mother, maybe hear the grandparents….
DWI= Sure, sure.
PIERO= And in the end you realize that this important value that is family has arrived.
DWI= What do you remember about the meeting with Pope Francis, Gianluca?
GIANLUCA= Obviously the greatness of a person is demonstrated by his humility, I think, right? And therefore his humility is an example for all of us, many young people who are still experiencing a difficult moment in our era, seeing themselves in a person who can truly be like a family member, asking for advice, admiring him from afar in all parts of the world , I believe that this, however, is the main thing for us artists too, because then music is like a eulogy to madness, if you think about it, because there is no rationality, nothing is created from rationality. All this (looks at the basilica), artists who have been inspired by a spiritual journey, because only through spirituality can something wonderful be created and that’s a bit what we are doing with our music, our creativity takes hold from our madness, from our almost childish madness, if you think about it.
DWI= This masterpiece by Stefano Maderno (Italian sculptor) which describes what he saw when the body was observed and surprisingly, when they opened Cecilia’s tomb, they found her body in exactly that shape you see.
PIERO= Which year are you talking about?
DWI= So, the survey was done in 1599 and Stefano Maderno sculpted the marble in 1600.
PIERO= And she was found like this, in this position.
DWI= Yes, in this position, because a first attempt was made to suffocate her, in what was the “calidarium” (spa), it was a noble house because they had heating and they had the spa in the house and they tried to suffocate her there and instead she was beheaded, three shots were planned, can you see? It excites me, because look at his delicate neck, it has the signs of this cut that his body has maintained, so when Maderno commissioned this work, he knew that the intact body had this sign. Then she bled to death, a terrible death, but tradition says that while she was in agony, she had expressed the desire that this, which was her home, become a place of prayer and the Christians came to pray, the faithful then came and there are also Benedictine nuns who pray night and day, so the prayer is constant.
What does this work inspire in you?
GIANLUCA= It’s a manifestation of pain if we think about it, which is the basis of everything, only through pain does a certain growth in life certainly occur. She is a woman who then based her life on art, certainly, such a young woman and therefore an example for all of us, because even from suffering, as I was saying, important growth can be drawn.
PIERO= I really believe in coincidences. During the Sanremo Festival, the last one we did, we were given a holy picture of Santa Cecilia…
DWI= Oh…
PIERO= ….and we put it behind the cover of our cell phone and during that day we talked a lot about Santa Cecilia and today we find ourselves here in the basilica of Santa Cecilia…
DWI= Who guards her body, so it’s there, she’s buried here…
PIERO= What coincidences…
DWI= Yes, they are those gifts of providence.
And for you Ignazio?
IGNAZIO= I think that there are many miracles in life, for example I live in Bologna and there is a church where Saint Catherine is and even there the body remained intact. These are things that I don’t know… returning to the topic of energy, I am always amazed by these things, maybe there are those who believe more, those who believe less, but one cannot help but believe what life tells us. offers: miracles, energies….
GIANLUCA= That the most religious attitude is to cultivate doubt and dig deeper and deeper into oneself.
DWI= Sure.
GIANLUCA= Not just outside, a constant, spiritual search that leads you, at a certain point in life, to have enlightenment from different points of view, which can be a life dedicated to God, why not!
DWI= It’s true, doubts, questions, are part of the journey of life. The Pope wanted this motto for this upcoming jubilee: “Pilgrims of hope”.
Do you feel like pilgrims? Do you feel like you are searching, on your way or have you already arrived? You are very successful, do you feel like you have arrived?
IGNAZIO= We are constantly on the move.
PIERO= It’s a continuous journey with ourselves, in search of ourselves, always trying to show the best side of ourselves and I believe that faith, like great things, is a commitment, a constant, daily commitment. For our part, this commitment has always been there and perhaps in some difficult moments, because perhaps faith is only remembered in difficult moments, whereas we should also remember it in good moments. We try to do it every day, so yes, we consider ourselves pilgrims.
DWI= Sure. Ignazio, you?
IGNAZIO= I agree, perhaps as I said before, there are those who are more attached, he (Piero) is very attached to the church, to religion, I am a little less…
GIANLUCA= You are still looking for the point of this journey…that’s right, we are still young…
IGNAZIO=…..precisely I define it as my path, because I am a person who always tries to be amazed by things, so for me the path is to always remain amazed and hope to find answers in what I experience.
PIERO= Also because each of us has a different experience, a different past, we are three strangers who met 15 years ago, but each of us has experienced moments in our lives that have also marked us.
DWI= Sure and that you agree.
GIANLUCA= In life we have always been empty containers, because we almost had no home, always maintaining our roots and values, but from the age of 14, travelling, learning about different cultures, made us feel, as I was saying, empty containers. Having a personal spiritual journey, not children of our culture, of our society, therefore reading, really reading what is written in the Bible, not believing in a belief, what is there, why do I have to believe, I have to inform myself, I have to understand what really happened and what are the ideals of this great religion that for millennia has guided millions of people of all generations of antiquity. So get informed, read, understand well what the great content of this great story is.
DWI= (they meet the Benedictine mother) How is mother? Nice to meet you, you are the mother Abbess MariaGiovanna: Piero, Gianluca and Ignazio. This year they were in Sanremo and they gave him an image of Saint Cecilia which they kept on their cell phone and so today they were happy to be here praying to their patron saint.
MOTHER= Best wishes, best wishes, may God bless you and guide your path.
I+P+G= Thank you, thank you very much, goodbye.
DWI= How beautiful your cloister is.
MOTHER= Yes.
DWI= The jubilee is in a few months, how are you preparing, how do you want to experience this jubilee?
IGNAZIO= We are 29/30 years old, and this will be our first jubilee that we will actually experience, because the last time we were only 4/5 years old, we didn’t even know what it was, so we will live it with curiosity, hope because in these years we have been cultivating this word – is very much hope, hope for something better, hope that something can really change and there are many people who, in any field, in music, in politics, in religion in their own way are trying to change. Look at Pope Francis, who I have so much admiration for, such a humble person who plays such an important role and it’s not always simple, right?
DWI= Sure.
PIERO= In some way our greatest desire is to be able to contribute with our art, with music, also because in the past we have had the opportunity to live these unique experiences.
I believe that the year of the Jubilee, the opening of the Jubilee is a very important moment for everyone.
IGNAZIO= It was a wonderful experience and we want to thank you.
DWI= Thank you, I thank you, thank you Piero, thank you Ignazio, thank you Gianluca. Thank you because with your art you sow hope in this time that is in some ways so difficult and dark and music is this universal message that reaches all hearts.
Can I ask you to take a selfie so I can immortalize this moment!
IGNAZIO= Sure
PIERO= Wait, like this.
GIANLUCA= Higher, higher..perfect!!
What can I say, I don’t know about you, but I was very touched by the mature and absolutely relevant answers to the topic that our three young men gave.
Messages of hope and love, faith, energy and life.
I am deeply happy to be able to once again see the versatility of Piero, Gianluca and Ignazio who, just as in singing, can move from interviews with “light” topics to interviews with “deep” topics, without any problem.
I also really liked the lowered tone of our kids’ voices as a sign of respect for the place where they were.
Congratulations once again guys!! ❤️
The INFORM newspaper published this page on the event, in four languages, which I attach.
In the interview we talked about two events that occurred with Il Volo in the presence of the Pope and therefore I thought I would attach them and review them together.
Il Volo at the world meeting of families 22 June 2022
Il Volo a Panama, World Youth Day 2019
And after hearing and reading the beautiful words of Gianluca, Ignazio and Piero and listening to their beautiful voices, what better time in view of Easter to wish you all the best wishes from all the Flight Crew staff.
HAPPY EASTER
from the bottom of our hearts and may it bring peace to this troubled world.
Credit to owners of all photos and videos.
Come in and share the love of life, friends and Il Volo!
