So often I write about the journalists who have no respect for Il Volo and treat them very rudely. But today I want to write about a journalist who is a champion for our guys.
Marino Bartoletti has always been A True Defender of Il Volo.
Marino Bartoletti is a true friend to the guys, often standing up for them on television and defending them before the Sanremo jury. A distinguished Italian journalist and writer known for his integrity and refinement; Marino deeply admires Il Volo. In the realm of entertainment and communication, he emphasizes that “the value of affection, esteem, and sincerity is immense. Human relationships and friendship hold great significance.”
To give you a bit of background, Marino Bartoletti is a renowned journalist, a profound music connoisseur, and an expert on the Sanremo Festival. Above all, he is a man of great culture and humanity.
In a January 2024 interview with Paola Stranges of italiani.it, Marino discussed his illustrious career and his latest book, “The Supper of the Gods.”
Marino explained,The Great Old Man is a creation that gives me immense satisfaction, reflecting a lot of who I am. It’s a story about a provincial boy who, even before he grew a mustache, wondered about the fate of our entertainment, music, and sports champions. I’ve envisioned the Great Old Man, Enzo Ferrari, who has spent over forty years in his world, contemplating a celestial dinner with people he admires, including those he has known and others he wishes he had met.
He continued, Ferrari, as the Great Old Man, sets up this ideal dinner in Olympus, even if his strong personality sometimes clashes with the other Great Old Man up there. Despite this, the dinner turns out well, with carefully chosen characters sharing true stories.
Paola:Sanremo is upon us for the first time in a different guise. Will the magic of music reach the audience from home?
Marino: …. After thirty years it will be the first time that I don’t go there, I will watch it from my home. Sanremo has to do it, they have been doing it for 71 years or at least it is the seventy-first edition. It started in 1951, it’s almost my age, I think I’ve seen almost all of them since the age of reason, I’ve seen more than thirty professionally. I am wary of those who distrust Sanremo because it means that they have not understood its social as well as artistic value. It is right that it should be done, not for commercial reasons which also exist, but for this very reason artistic value and for this social value that must be preserved. We think that just sixty years ago, the organizer threw some singers into the fray so there was someone who tore his clothes saying: “But who is this Celentano, who is this Giorgio Gaber, who is this Gino Paoli with dark glasses, who is this Milva, who is this Little Tony, who is this Pino Donaggio, who is this Umberto Bindi, who is this Edoardo Vianello, they were the ones who made the fifty years of history of Italian pop music next one. We old people have to be careful, at this moment I am seized by a flash of irresistible youthfulness.
In November 2017, during a book promotion event in San Lazzaro di Savena near Bologna, Marino was pleasantly surprised when Piero and Ignazio along with their manager Michele Torpedine, showed up to support him. Marino noted, Although Gianluca Ginoble couldn’t attend due to prior commitments, he sent a heartfelt message. It was heartwarming to see these incredible artists, who were performing in Buenos Aires and soon traveling to Miami and Kiev, supporting me despite their busy schedule.
Marino expressed his appreciation for their presence, stating,Their talent and dedication to promoting Italian music worldwide is admirable. They are preparing to release a new album after a successful tour in Central and South America. I always feel a deep sense of joy seeing them, not just for their talent but for who they are as people. They are genuine and wonderful individuals.
In April 2018, Marino had dinner with Piero and Ignazio at a tavern. He humorously remarked about Ignazio’s habit of blasting their CD in his car, saying the volume was so high it could be heard from the Madonna di San Luca Church (high on the hill) in Bologna. Marino reflected on their time together, appreciating their simplicity and enjoying their stories. He found it amusing when people who had never met them labeled them as ‘pretentious’ or ‘arrogant.’
Marino described Piero as more serious with unexpected bursts of irony, while Ignazio was a sweet trickster who, by the end of the evening, shared a video of a model airplane he built with his dad, humorously lamenting how it used to fly better when they had less money.
Marino also gifted the group a beautiful sketch by Giorgio Serra, affectionately known as ‘Matitaccia.’ He proclaimed, We all shared smiles. Please, keep being ‘bad’ in the eyes of those who don’t yet appreciate you. But never change! If you continue to achieve success worldwide, it’s simply a sign of your exceptionalism. Those who doubt you will eventually come around because you truly are BRAVI.
Marino admitted, Initially, I had some reservations about them. However, after meeting them during my book presentation, I was struck by their authenticity and courtesy. They were generous with their time and open to chatting with everyone present—qualities that are rare these days. Their compassion and skill make their global success well-deserved. Well done.
So, where did this relationship begin?
In an August 2019 interview with Luca Maggitti, Marino Bartoletti discussed Il Volo. Maggitti reflected on Bartoletti’s initial visit to Roseto, noting how this place had become special for him, particularly because of his connection with Gianluca Ginoble.
Marino said:Everyone knows of my respect for him, but it’s more than that—it’s a deep friendship and affection.
Maggitti then asked,What makes Il Volo so special? They’ve completed eleven consecutive world tours and continue to fill theaters everywhere. As a music expert and journalist, why do you think they’re so beloved and famous globally?
Maggitti also questioned why some journalists still fail to fully grasp their success and talent. He acknowledged his own attachment to them as stemming from affection, friendship, and admiration, but also recognized their embodiment of great bel canto: skill, and the ability to showcase Italian genius abroad. He wondered why this same genius isn’t more appreciated in Italy and what more these young men need to prove.
Bartoletti:I could answer you by reversing the question, that is, by asking me how there are still people (even our journalist colleagues) who still do not understand, this success of theirs and their talent. I admit that I am attached to them by affection, friendship and admiration towards them, but they have everything that is asked of bel canto, skill, the ability to transmit the Italian genius abroad. But it’s the same Italian genius that should be better understood in Italy, and then I wonder, what else do these guys have to prove?
They are boys who have reached their tenth year, and sold out everywhere, even here in Italy. I can only say that I admire them very much, that I admire their “spirit of sacrifice” which is extraordinary, because they could “sit on their laurels”, instead they continue to improve, to improve. This year they were very good, even in Sanremo where they achieved third place, so very elegantly. I would like the Italian guys to look more like them, especially as the families of the Italian boys were more like the families of Gianluca, Piero and Ignazio, because I always say this publicly, that the strength of these guys is what they have behind them, family, culture, education, humility.
Marino has always been there for the guys, and they truly appreciate his friendship and his love and affection for them. He is by far A True Defender of Il Volo. We need more journalists like him.
Join me next week as I go back Through the Fields of My Mind and open the door to a new adventure!
For your listening pleasure, Il Volo in Moscow their Concert 2019.
We received the great news on Sunday that the guys will go to Sanremo in 2024. This is what we were all hoping for, and we are all so happy that the guys will be Chasing the Lion again!
For the new fans and the fans who don’t know what the Lion is, I will give a brief description of the Sanremo Music Festival.
The Sanremo Music Festival, officially the Italian Song Festival is the most popular Italian song contest and awards ceremony held annually in the city of Sanremo. It is the longest-running annual TV music competition in the world on a national level; making it one of the world’s longest running TV programs.
The award for winning the contest is a trophy of a Lion.
The songs selected in the competition are original songs (never previously published) in Italian (or in an Italian dialect), and the three most voted songs are awarded. Other special awards are also given, including the Critics’ Award, created ad hoc by the press in 1982 to reward the quality of Mia Martini’s song, and named after the singer in 1996, after her death.
Il Volo’s “Grande Amore” won the Sanremo Music Festival 2015.
During the final night of the song contest, held on February 14, 2015, “Grande Amore” finished in first place, receiving 56.1878% of the votes and won the competition!
So that is what the award is about and now I will tell you how the guys came to the competition and how they won it!
First let me apologize to the fans for breaking the story I’ve been writing the last few weeks. I’m sure Ignazio will not mind that I am not writing his next episode this week.
In order to understand how the guys came to do the competition, we must first go back to 2014 and understand what was going on in their lives.
Before I begin, I must tell you this is my favorite story in their book. The story as told by the guys is so interesting. They were young and they were very intelligent. They knew what they wanted and what they needed and went for it! Bravo! They stepped up to the plate and did what other groups could not achieve in their lifetime careers!
Since I am not writing Ignazio’s story this week, I will let him begin to explain what happened in 2013 that caused their decision in 2014….
Ignazio begins….
After the Latin American tour (2013) we started promoting the Christmas album.
My house began to fail me. Being four months away, changing cities, hotels and planes almost every day is not easy. From the age of sixteen, finding yourself catapulted into a world completely different to the one I was used to, was not a simple thing to manage. At first no, actually the first two years I thought ‘What a beautiful life!.’ Then I realized that ‘all that glitters is not gold.’
To get satisfaction and achieve the goals you have set yourself, you have to give up many things and work hard. Stay focused on your work. It’s not easy.
Many people say: ‘But these guys never get tired?.’ Well, yes, we get tired too, sometimes. Personally, there was a time when I thought only of friends. I wanted to go out, I never answered the phone, the emails, the messages, I was out of this world.
It was thanks to my family, to the boys and to Michele that I realized that I was neglecting what was always important for me: the Music!
Gianluca….
True, Ignazio is right. It was not easy, and neither is it now.
In those years, in 2012 and 2013, no one knew us in Italy, we were just the three children who had come from Ti Lascio Una Canzone.
But in America, in South America, in Europe we were very well known. And not only there.
After the release of our first CD, we went on tour even in places that none of us could have imagined we would go to: Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and New Zealand. In Singapore we also had a gold record with that first CD.
In 2012 we arrived in Norway, one of the few European countries that we had not yet touched. We participated in the concert dedicated to the Nobel Peace Prize – that year went to the European Union – in Oslo. A fantastic evening that allowed us to meet Gerard Butler and Sarah Jessica Parker, who were the presenters, and an artist like Kylie Minogue.
And then, in 2014 we were twice in Moscow, once guests in a concert by Toto Cutugno and once with a concert of our own, and at the beginning of 2015 we were in Beijing, guests of a TV program for the Chinese New Year.
So, before Sanremo, we lived two lives, two completely different lives. Abroad we were stars, and we came to Italy to rest. I took refuge in Montepagano, Piero in Naro, Ignazio in Marsala. It was nice to come back to ‘normal’ life.
Even if we felt that something was missing, that it was bad to be so successful outside of our country and not be able to have it in Italy.
Ignazio continues….
2014 was not our best year!
In fact, along with Eurovision, one of those things that I do not like to talk about, but we’re telling the truth, so let’s tell it all. That year the contract with Universal expired, so we started looking for a new record company.
Universal makes more pop, hip pop, rap and for us it was time to look for a label that would make a more classical and more suitable music genre for us.
It’s just that finding a new record company is not something you do in two days.
We did not sleep at night.
We talked with Michele about it until late in the evening to look for solutions.
The first thing that came to mind was to take charge of everything. Not that we could stop because we were looking for a new record company. We had earned and then we would have invested those profits on ourselves. So, we continued to work on the projects we had, new records and tours. We were planning a new tour in Canada and the United States for that summer. We could do it.
We learn that being brave has brought us luck because, after a few months, an email from Sony Latin arrived: they were interested in us.
Sony Music Latin, as you understand by the name, is a label of the record company Sony all dedicated to Latin music. And the label includes, to name a few, Gloria Estefan, Marc Anthony, Ricky Martin and Shakira.
After a few weeks and long negotiations, we went to Miami to sign the contract.
It was unique and emotional because we were underage when we were signed by Universal, our parents signed for us. This was the first record contract signed by our fist!
It was also at this time that Italy began to recognize Il Volo!
Ignazio continues….
Italy made us close in 2014 with a flourish. What started out very badly finished very well: with the Christmas concert in the Senate.
“…the hymn of Mameli was the heart-pounding one… singing in that place, with everyone singing along with us, including Giorgio Napolitano (President) and Pietro Grasso (President of the Senate).”
This is one of my favorite concerts!
We also want to talk about the thrill of singing in front of the highest offices of state! What twenty-year-old boy has something like that happen? It happened to us, and it seems to me a beautiful result, an honor.
The concert was on December 21st. You cannot imagine the emotional feeling to be called ‘guests of honor’ inside the Senate.
The fantastic Filarmonia Orchestra Veneta conducted by Diego Basso. Half the beauty of the song is in the orchestra.
We start with Christmas classics such as Adeste Fideles and White Christmas, but then there was also Caruso, Mattinata, No Puede Ser, Memory and of course our classic ‘O Sole Mio.
The most exciting moments? Everyone! But the hymn of Mameli was the heart-pounding one, the first song, singing in that place, with everyone singing along with us, including Giorgio Napolitano, (President) and Pietro Grasso (President of the Senate). It is one thing that I cannot explain.
And then, of course, the pleasure of shaking hands with the President of the Republic and of feeling that he knows Marsala, he has been there.
In short, in the end, instead of remembering it as the worst year of our lives together, 2014 brought us well: great changes and an important step towards Italy, towards home.
Piero begins….
Meanwhile, the first thing that comes to mind, after so many years of great success abroad, the greatest successes there has been, one wakes up one morning, indeed, three wake up one morning and decide to go to the Sanremo Festival.
When one is famous all over the world, there comes a moment when he must also be able to say: ‘Wow, they love me even in Italy.’ He must be able to say: ‘They also love me in my country.’
You go abroad and, during the interviews, you hear the fateful question: ‘You are loved even in Italy, right?’ and you have to answer no.
No one can understand how much we suffered in those moments.
Also, in meetings with Universal, in the United States, we sometimes tried to say: ‘Why do we publish concerts all over the world, except in Italy?’ We wanted the record company to try to support us in this sense too.
I remember that once, during a meeting with the president, I asked him for the thousandth time. And what does he do? He had a globe on his desk, I’m not joking, he gives it to me and says: ‘Turn it around, then stop it and find Italy at the first shot.’
The problem is that you have to look for it because it is a small country, very small compared to the United States and Latin America or Australia (and we have been on both of these continents). Then I got mad: ‘Oh, no, it’s my country, and the country where I was born, and the country where we come from, you cannot say it’s not important, do not think about it.’
For us, Sanremo was a decisive opportunity to let us be known to Italians, to say to Italians ‘We exist.’ And we are proud and really happy that our music genre was appreciated.
Operatic pop, it’s called, or pop opera, that is – just to be precise – a set of pop music and elements of lyrical music. And where was the lyric born? In Italy, belcanto is Italy.
It made us suffer that abroad we were loved and in Italy snubbed for something that is ours. And a bit like if the pizza was loved only abroad but not here.
Ignazio….
As they say, Piero? A prophet is not recognized in his own land, so we were snubbed, perhaps because they never had the opportunity to really know us and show, once and for all, who we are personally and humanly, as well as being singers.
Then, after a few months of night phone calls with Michele, towards the end of 2014, we finally decided: ‘new year, new life: we go to the Sanremo Festival.’
It must also be said that in the meantime in Italy people were starting to get to know us better as Il Volo, and no longer as the Tre tenorini, thanks to our friend Bruno Vespa who invited us to the Porta a Porta episode on November 20, 2014 on Rai One, we conquered the maximum, of the television ratings of the season.
Then, not to mention Piero, the fussy one, but we have never been three tenors, neither small nor big. Piero is the only one who is really a tenor. He has a more classic voice. Gianluca has a baritone voice, a warm tone. I am the most pop one. Let’s say that these are three different ways of expressing emotions but, we are not three tenors.
However, even if they began to appreciate us in Italy, the fear of participating in the festival was so great. Fear of giving way to people to say: ‘Here, now they want to come and do the phenomena here.’ The only way to not have to hear certain things was to win.
Personally, I did not believe it so much. I have always been a bit pessimistic; you know it by now. But who really believed we could do it, Gianluca!
Gianluca….
Not so much, I believed it very, very much, I felt it inside that we would have won.
I am like that, I’m not immediately enthusiastic about things, or rather of us three, maybe I’m the one who wants to think about it more, but if I have positive feelings, nobody stops me. Let’s say I have a certain sensitivity.
No one trusted, no one believed it. It was I who persuaded Piero to persuade Ignazio to go to Sanremo. Because? I told him: ‘Guys, if we go, we’ll win it, I’m sure, I’m sure.’
I do not even remember anymore how many times I heard it repeated, even from my father: ‘If than, they throw you out, you do not make long faces.’ But I if nothing, am stubborn to the end, and in the end, I convinced them.
Piero….
Yes, even if we thought about the participation really until the last possible day, we were not very sure. But then we said to ourselves: ‘Guys, make it or break it, in the end, we were not anyone here in Italy, at most we would not be anyone even afterwards.’
So, first problem solved: we go to Sanremo, It’s official.
But then there was the second problem: the song. True, Gian?
Gianluca….
I did not agree to go with that piece. If I think about it now, I’ll say to me that the next time I have to reflect better before judging, try to sing a song and then judge because we ‘change’ the songs, arranging them by cutting them on our voice, and I did not have this fact taken into consideration, despite the song on first listening was not very ugly.
Ignazio….
It’s not that we’ve heard only that, no. Do you think it is easy to choose a piece for Sanremo? We started to do a search and a selection of unpublished tracks. Our policy was: either we go with something strong, or we do not go right.
One day this song comes through Michele: Grande Amore by Francesco Boccia and Ciro Esposito, two Neapolitan authors. As usual, I am pessimistic. I listen to it and it does not make me crazy. Not even Gianluca was convinced. The only enthusiast was Pie …
Piero….
I loved Grande Amore! I did not believe that we would have won, but I was the one who pushed, I and Michele pushed for Grande Amore. Because the audition that we heard was not beautiful, but we imagined if it was made by Celso Valli! and I must say that he had guessed right.
Ignazio….
And I said it too if you let me talk.
I was saying, in fact, that Grande Amore was not as we hear it today. It was always called Grande Amore, but it was totally different. So, we start to think: who can produce the piece? And Michele calls the great Celso Valli. After several weeks of work in the studio, we managed to churn out a song that for us could have left its mark at the Sanremo Festival.
Gianluca….
That’s why when we left for Sanremo I was very convinced: we had the piece, the right project.
Piero….
He wanted to influence us, but we are superstitious …
Gianluca….
Every day at lunch and dinner with Michele and the president of Sony, I said: ‘Guys, we will win Sanremo.’
Piero….
Do you know what a week like this means?
Ignazio….
Piero and I were all day touching iron and the low parts. Gianluca was convinced that the little lion (the Sanremo award is represented by a lion) would be ours? And the two of us tried to keep the situation under control.
Gianluca….
What should I tell you? I am an optimist. They took it something like ‘he makes fun of us,’ but I felt it inside. I do not know why.
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 Una Canzone. 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.
But do you remember how we were dressed before? I remember that time at Una Notte per Caruso, in July 2009, it was the second time we saw Torpedine.
Michele arrives with another white Range Rover, not that of Jesolo, and as soon as he arrives we do not even say hello and we go to see the car. Let’s run, let’s open the car.
Ignazio immediately goes up to the car. We went crazy for the cars, one like that, we did not see every day. The day after we go for a ride in downtown Sorrento, a shopping trip, and we enter into Gucci. Michele spent almost two thousand euros and we with that written number at the counter, we exclaimed: ‘Mizziga! (Damn!) Two thousand euro!’ with wide eyes. And we still have those clothes, at least I personally still have them.
He had bought us a jacket, but above all the need for us to dress all in white and blue.
I had the blue jacket and the white shirt, Gianluca had blue trousers and white shirt, Ignazio the blue shoes and everything else white, Michele the blue jacket. And we took a picture in front of the hotel.
Gianluca….
We were just dressed badly to be the singers by trade, we were children, we came from families of workers. What could I buy? There was not even the need.
Piero….
And then you remember the restaurant? Afterwards we went to a restaurant near the sea. When we finished eating, the three of us took off our shoes and ran to the beach. Michele ran behind us telling us: ‘Guys, calm down. Guys, slow down.’
Ignazio….
Yes, but what does that have to do with it, Pie? We’re talking about Sanremo. What has Sorrento got to do with it?
Sanremo 2015, from 10th to 14th of February, we sang on the second evening, legs shaking, Gianluca’s birthday.
Video with English subtitles.
Among the many interviews, the diary that we kept every day for ‘TV Sorrisi e Canzoni’… We had fun with the diary!
It was a sort of ‘pill,’ a very few minutes, in which we recorded from the 9th to 14th of February (the last episode after the award ceremony). We told about some of the emotions we felt. For example, the time that Gianluca almost stumbles on stage or the happiness of seeing the audience get up and applaud the first night we sang Grande Amore. The recording then, went online on the site of the magazine.
What was I saying? Ah, yes, among the many interviews, the diary that we kept every day for ‘TV Sorrisi e Canzoni,’ meetings and press conferences …
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. I can 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.
You have to admit that is the most incredible story! Every time I read it I find something else about it that amazes me. 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.
The other thing that makes the story incredible is that they did it on their own without the support of the press.
Today things are really good for them in Italy. They have come into their own and much of the press is out there supporting them. As to the others, for the life of me I will never understand what they could possibly dislike about three amazing teenagers who won fame on the stage of Ti Lascio una Canzone.
They traveled around the world and won the hearts of every nation and then risking the possible of losing Italy forever, they took a big chance and finally won the hearts of the Italian people.
Welcome, guys, to Italy, your life, your home! No one is better than you guys! The Italians were always there for you; you just didn’t know it! And they will be there for you for the 74th edition of Sanremo! I can’t wait to hear the song! I have some idea about who it should come from, but I’ll keep it to myself for now! We are all cheering for you! As for me, you already won!
Join me next week as I go back Through the Fields of My Mind and open the door to a new adventure!
Next we week we go back to our story and pick up Ignazio’s story and follow him down the road where he meets his fate.
For your listening pleasure and staying with 2014, I give you The concert at Taormina!
*What I have written here are excerpts from the book the guys wrote about their lives. “Il Volo, Un’avventura Straordinario, La Nostra Storia.” (An Extraordinary Adventure, Our Story) This is just a small piece of each mans’ story. The book is written in Italian. If you can read Italian, I would highly recommend that you read it. It’s wonderful! If not, I can only hope that someday it will be translated into English. Or you can use Google Translate to translate it.
I also recommend you read their second book “IL Volo: Quello Che Porto Nel Cuore” (What I Carry in My Heart)
Just in time for Christmas, the guys released a new EP 4Xmas Amazing Grace, O Tannenbaum, Feliz Navidad and Happy Xmas (the War is Over) order yours now on Spotify, Amazon, etc.
If you would like to share a story with me, please email: susan.flightcrew@yahoo.com
To read more Il Volo stories visit us at www.ilvoloflightcrw.com and don’t forget to visit the Archives.
Last week I was speaking with a friend about the new European Tour and the first thing that struck me was six concerts in Milan! WOW! Who would have thought back in the beginning that the guys would do a tour in Italy, no less six concerts in Milan. Their lives changed in 2015 but they changed even more after the pandemic. Italy finally opened its eyes and gave these three amazing guys the recognition they truly deserve.
Of course, there are those who are always going to be blind towards them because they are also deaf and dumb. Mostly dumb! When I think about where the guys are today, I have to say they’ve all worked so hard to get here. I think after the pandemic they took a new direction, one that opened new doors. It’s like they started all over. I remember Ignazio saying, “We started all over on a stage in Italy.” Yes, that’s what happened. The joy they got standing on that stage in Verona, restarting the music industry, was their new beginning The Second Time Around! They were starting again but this time it was in Italy.
The above words were part of a message that I sent to a friend. After I wrote those words I said to him, “I’m writing this and I’m thinking this is what I should be writing in my column. It’s the story of how these guys reached stardom not once but twice.” Thanks to my friend, I was suddenly very inspired! I came to life! I said, “This will be next week’s column!” Thanks, my dear friend, for the inspiration!
In 2020, like most of us, the one thing the guys wanted more than anything was to get back to work. Well they did have the commitment with Dolce & Gabbana which gave us a spectacular Sunday event. And there was the concert in Monte Carlo but, something was missing.
One Saturday night in September 2020 they showed us what was missing!
But before they got to that Saturday, they took an unusual journey.
Some stories just write themselves and the author stands by with pen in hand, looks down at the paper and says yes, yes that’s exactly what I wanted to say! And you can’t even remember writing it but it’s there and it’s so spot on!
Life writes its own stories! Certainly, life wrote this one about three teenage boys. Teenagers! Think of your kid outside playing basketball or soccer. Could you imagine that he would walk off the court and into the limelight? I think your fondest hope would be that he would clean up his room.
How do you explain three amazing voices coming together on the same stage, at the same time? I have only one explanation. La Forza del Destino! It was fate! It was a plan! It was God’s plan!
Watching the guys on the stage in Milan for the beginning of their European Tour brought back fond memories of their beginnings. Before Ti Lascio una Canzone, before Sanremo, before they turned the music back on! In the real beginning….
In the beginning there were three guys named Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca. They were ordinary guys!
Piero loved his motorbike! “When I arrived at the roundabout in the center of the city, voom, I did a wheelie with the motorbike.”
Ignazio loved to play soccer. “My main project when I went to school was to get home and spend the afternoon playing football.”
Gianluca, also, loved to play soccer! “How did I play soccer? I was good, come on, I did not like losing, I wanted to score goals by force, I never passed the ball, and when I had the ball, I scored.”
So, yes, they were ordinary kids but, they all had something special. They had a special gift from God. Their voice!
What was it that made them different? What was it about this baritone and two tenors that was different from other tenors or baritones? First and foremost, the delivery of these three voices was equal. The crispness and clarity in each voice was defined. They were alike but they were different. They were balanced! Roberto Cenci recognized these exceptional qualities and understood that they could blend into one beautiful voice, so he decided to put the three voices together. The result was they were an immediate sensation and they caused important people in the industry to stop and listen!
Each one separately was captivating, together, they were a gift that God gave to humanity!
Where did it all begin?
We have to keep in mind that in the beginning the guys were underage so any negotiations and plans for their future was handled by their parents. It was only after the parents first meeting with among others, Michele Torpedine, that the guys were informed that plans were being made for them. After this meeting the parents met again a month later and signed a contract for the guys to record with Universal.
I think Piero put it best when he said, “The day before, I went to my uncle’s workshop and the next day I signed a millionaire contract with an American label.”
Yes that’s how it happened. They stepped on the stage at Ti Lascio una Canzone sang one song together and their fate was sealed. Immediate stardom! But a stardom that would not take them around Italy, no! It was a stardom that took them around the world! They were an immediate success in America. They appeared on every morning and night show. Every station you turned on spoke of three Italian teenagers who were stealing the hearts of the American people! They certainly stole my heart!
But what about Italy. Let’s listen to what Ginauca had to say about that….
Before Sanremo, we lived two lives, two completely different lives. Abroad we were stars and, we came to Italy to rest. I took refuge in Montepagano, Piero in Naro, Ignazio in Marsala. It was nice to come back to a ‘normal’ life. But… we felt that something was missing, that it was bad to be so successful outside of our country and not be able to have it in Italy.
This was what they suffered in the early years. More than anything they wanted to be recognized in Italy! They never even hoped for the success they had in other countries, they just wanted to be recognized.
So now I will flash forward eight years and tell you about The Night the Lion Roared….
We know 2014 started out as a bad year for the guys but suddenly things were happening. They signed a new recording contract. They were invited to sing at the Italian Senate. This was an event of immense importance for them. It said Italy was finally noticing them so, it only made sense that it was time to take a giant step!
Time to go to Sanremo!
But this story doesn’t start with Sanremo, nor does it end there! Sanremo was the door opener!
The Decision to go to Sanremo was a difficult one!
So where do you begin to make the decision. Well, you have to start with….
Who’s in and who’s out!
Who’s in?
From day one, Gianluca wanted to go. He was so convinced that they would win that he never backed down from it. He had no doubt in his mind that they would win.
Who’s out?
Always the pessimist, Ignazio. He said “No, we can’t win. It’s too hard.”
So that leaves Piero! Piero at first was not on board but Gianluca persuaded him. Gianluca said, “No one trusted, no one believed it. It was I who persuaded Piero to persuade Ignazio to go to Sanremo. Because I told them: ‘Guys, if we go, we’ll win it, I’m sure, I’m sure’”.
Piero said, “We said to ourselves: ‘Guys, make it or break it, in the end, we were not anyone here in Italy, at most we would not be anyone even afterwards.’”
Decision made! It’s official the guys go to Sanremo!
Then there’s the second problem, the song! After much searching, its Grande Amore!
The Win
Ignazio:In short, the final evening arrives, February 14th. I realize from my shirt that in a week we have eaten more than we sang. 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…. ‘The winner of the Sanremo Festival 2015 is … Il Volo!’
So what did the win at Sanremo do for them with the press? As I said before they are “deaf, dumb and blind!” Mostly dumb!
But this win set the guys on a new path. They began to do concerts and tour around Italy. They began to feel like they were finally home. The Italian people loved them. They always loved them.
And then, One Saturday night in September 2020 the guys showed us what was missing!
Pandemic!
It’s 2020 what was going on in the world? Literally in the World!
We started hearing about a pandemic. And it seemed the worst of it was in Italy. The guys began to worry. And then, no it was time to leave. Leave now or get stuck in America! It was time! They turned off the lights and went home!
The first message from the guys on the Covid situation was sent when they were still on tour in America.
The last three concerts would be cancelled, and Il Volo will go home!
They canceled their last three performances and the next thing we knew they were on their way home. But being true to form, like good children, they checked in with us as soon as they got home and told us they were safe and they needed to be with their families now.
As you know the guys went into quarantine and stayed there for three and a half months.
Then the quarantine was over and, they left their houses. And something amazing started to happen!
The one thing they wanted more than anything was to get back to work. Well, they did have the commitment with Dolce & Gabbana which gave us a spectacular Sunday event. And there was the concert in Monte Carlo but, something was missing.
At Verona, they showed us what was missing!
Let’s start with September 11th 2020, the Friday afternoon before the performance, we watched the guys at sound check give a performance to the people who were scattered around the Verona Arena that would rival most concerts. And then later in the evening they returned to the Arena for light check.
Ignazio and Gianluca were making videos with their phones, while Piero was wandering around.
Ignazio get’s Piero’s attention.
Ignazio: What are you doing?
Piero shakes his head and asks. What are you looking at?
Ignazio (points): The light that is there.
Gianluca: It’s Beautiful.
Ignazio: The gorgeous light. Gorgeous! Gorgeous!
Of course, Piero pulled out his phone and started to video.
But what was it about the lights that got Ignazio’s attention? Well, they were as Ignazio said, “La Luce Stupenda!” “The lights were gorgeous,” but I think he was thinking about the last lights that he saw on stage.
That Saturday night when the guys were entering the Arena before the show they were stopped and asked this question by a woman reporter:
Reporter: You are International entertainers therefore you know how much the live dimension is missing. But above all you have defined the stage as your natural element. So, how is it for you to return to a live performance tonight?
Ignazio: It’s like giving candy to a baby. We are happy because we missed it. We missed it to die for but not only for our personal thing but because this is to me the music slowly restarting with safety measures. But we are restarting it all with Italian music. It’s like I am starting again to grow up on stage and hope that it can be a message of hope for the groups, in the cities, in the emerging local areas who want to start making music. We have to continue making music and we hope for full concerts and full live by 2021.
It was an absolutely beautiful statement that said it all! What I liked best about this statement was Ignazio saying “It’s like I am restarting it all with Italian music. I’m starting again to grow up on stage…” What did he mean? This time he is starting in Italy not America. It was their rebirth! He finally feels like he is at home! Bravo Ignazio! You are home.
When the guys arrived on stage, they had a message for the world and all the people in the industry:
Ignazio: 2020 will be remembered as the year where the world would be constrained to be turned off.
Gianluca: For the music employees the verb “turn off” means the end of the show, when the curtains close and it is the waiting moment for the next show, but this time the waiting lasted more than expected, the silence was unavoidable.
Piero: Now, the world is getting ready to start again! Now the moment has arrived to raise the curtain! Now, we will turn on the music!
This beautiful statement was followed by the performance of the evening. Their choice of “Nessun Dorma” sent an even stronger message. It’s says we may have to perform under these new world conditions, but we don’t have to change who we are or why we’re here. In this ancient Arena we look to the past while following the path to the future.
From their first note the whole arena lit up. Their voices were clean and crisp. Their presence was illuminating. Their notes rose above the Arena into the night sky to let the world know music is back! The final note of their song sent the final message. All three voices rose in unison and their voices sent forth a note that took our breaths away! It said We Have Returned! “Turn on the Lights!”
What is so amazing about this is, over the months since they had left quarantine, they had almost single handedly brought back the music industry in Italy. All the work they’ve did after they left quarantine had been to move things forward in Italy. This includes their most important project the concert in Tribute to Ennio Morricone and the recording of their album by the same name.
Listening to them sing “Your Love,” at Sanremo, even under trying circumstances, gave us hope for the future. This preview gave us a look into the new album which we are all anxiously awaiting. But above all, the guys Hit the Restart Button! They played a major part in the restart of the music industry In Italy!
Now they are on a new journey! A new direction which led them to the stage in Milan where six concerts would be performed buy three amazing guys who only a few short years ago thought that Italy was only a place to rest their heads after a long tour abroad.
TheSecond Time Around in Verona led to a new adventure which included a new direction with their music. They came back this last season and introduced us to the new Il Volo. The three teenagers who stole our hearts in 2009 have now become three young men who are showing us their hearts in their music. They are opening up their hearts and showing us their emotions. Individually and together, they are the greatest singers in the world!
For your listening pleasure.
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!
If you would like to share a story with me, please email: susan.flightcrew@yahoo.com
To read more Il Volo stories visit us at www.ilvoloflightcrw.com
Looking back over the last thirteen years, I see many changes along the way but never a departure from their style. They may sing different songs, but they never depart from their operatic pop. They introduce new music, but they never depart from where they started. They present the old with the new.
Their music is Operatic pop or popera. What is this movement? It’s singing Opera in a more classical style. While opera is very strict and regimented, popera is more ethereal it has a lighter feeling, and it moves freely. It takes away the hard edges of opera and replaces it with a more ethereal feel while still presenting the drama and the high notes of the opera.
This along with the classical Neapolitan songs became a big draw. Why did it work? One reason, three amazing voices! If the voices weren’t there, it wasn’t going to sell.
So, let’s begin this Musical Journey….
I’ve been writing about the lives of Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca from the day they were born to the present day.
As I wrote each story, there were certain highlights in some stories that I thought should be put aside and revisited in another article. These were, what I consider, moments to remember.
Of course, before I begin, I have to mention the fourth episode of Ti Lascio Una Canzone and the boys singing, “O Sole Mio.” They walked out on the stage, sang “O Sole Mio” and walked off stars!
The rest is history!
Their musical journey begins in Los Angeles….
February 12, 2010 “We Are the World for Haiti”
I’m sure many of you have never seen the official video of We Are the World 25 For Haiti. It’s amazing! Look at our guys singing with some great American singers! Legends! Just the beginning of their journey but the guys would become legends in their own right!
In 2010 shortly after arriving in America, the guys were invited by Quincy Jones to join “We Are the World for Haiti,” together with 80 international artists such as Celine Dion, Bono, Lady Gaga, Carlos Santana, Barbra Streisand, Enrique Iglesias, Usher, Natalie Cole to name a few. Il Volo were the only Italian artists to be invited. The three voices from the background caused such a sensation. “Who was that?” Everyone present couldn’t believe what they were hearing but, “Who were they?” Soon they would find out!
May 2011, Il Volo, American Idol
By far the performance that set them on the road to success! There was no turning back after this! They stole the heart of America!
October 25, 2011, the recording of “Tous le visages de l’ amour”
For me, this is one of those moments that you don’t forget. Look at these amazing teenagers. They are singing in French perhaps for the first time. Look at how professional they are. This is only two years after they met! Each one is developing his part and by the end of the recording they bring their three amazing voices together.
2012 “Back to Brooklyn Tour” with Barbara Streisand
In 2012 Barbra Streisand invited the guys to be an integral part of her “Back to Brooklyn” tour. They performed with her in America and Canada. They were not an opening act, no, they shared the stage with Barbara. To the guys this was a dream come true!
2014 Latin Billboard Music Awards
In 2013, “Más Que Amor” was certified “Gold” in Mexico and Argentina. And this catapulted the guys into the Latin market. From that day on they took the Latin market by storm.
In February 2014, at the Latin Billboard Music Awards they receive two nominations “Top Latin Albums Artist of the Year, Duo or Group” and “Latin Pop Albums Artist of the Year, Duo or Group.” At the awards show they were awarded as “Best Group of the Year in the Latin Pop Album” category and they also won the “El Pulso Social Award,” as the artist who dominated interactions on social networking sites during the Billboard Awards. This is unheard of! Three Italian kids taking over the Latin market! What a win!
December 21, 2014, The Christmas Concert at the Italian Senate
Ignazio wrote in their book: “We want to talk about the thrill of singing in front of the highest offices of state! What twenty-year-old boy has something like that happen? It happened to us, and it seems to me a beautiful result, an honor. You cannot imagine the emotional feeling to be called “guests of honor” inside the Senate. We were accompanied by the, fantastic, Filarmonia Orchestra Veneta conducted by Diego Basso. Half the beauty of the song is in the orchestra.
The most exciting moments? Everyone! But the hymn of Mameli was the heart-pounding one, the first song, singing in that place, with everyone singing along with us, including Giorgio Napolitano, (President) and Pietro Grasso (President of the Senate). It is one thing that I cannot explain.
And then, of course, the pleasure of shaking hands with the President of the Republic and of feeling that he knows Marsala, he has been there.
I have to say that when the guys sang ‘O Sole Mio with the children signing in the background, I got very choked up. It was very emotional for me! And the whole Senate seemed to be emotional too! An absolutely beautiful moment!
2015 Sanremo Music Festival
On February 14, 2015, the guys participated in and won the Sanremo Music Festival with “Grande Amore.” This is the top award in the Music Industry in Italy. With this win the guys really came home. They were finally recognized by the Italian people. This win also gave them the opportunity to represent Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest 2015.
2015 Eurovision
As Italy is a member of the Big Five, Il Volo went straight into the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest, which was held in Vienna on May 23, 2015. Grande Amore came in 3rd with 292 points but, they won the televote with 366 points and won the Marcel Bezencon Press Award, as best song according to the collective voting of the accredited press.
The extended play Sanremo Grande Amore was released in Italy on February 20, 2015, and it was certified triple platinum by FIMI. The people speak!
July 1, 2016 “Notte Magica” Piazza Santa Croce in Florence
2016-2017 were the years dedicated to the “Notte Magica” project, the tribute to the 1990 event where the Three Tenors, Josè Carreras, Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti, enchanted the whole world from the stage of the Baths of Caracalla.
On July 1st in Piazza Santa Croce in Florence Il Volo presented on stage “Notte Magica – A Tribute to the Three Tenors,” which was broadcast in prime time on Canale 5. The guys were joined by Placido Domingo who conducted the orchestra. This marked the beginning of the world tour of “Notte Magica – A Tribute to The Three Tenors” which debuted on March 4, 2017 at the Radio City Music Hall in New York. The show was sold out. After 15 stops in the United States, all sold out, the tour is extended to Europe from May 5, 2017, for 29 performances and from September it extended to Latin America. The concert “Notte Magica – Tribute to the Three Tenors” was filmed and broadcast in the United States by the national television network PBS, and in Italy by Canale 5 and, starting in June, it was broadcast in over 500 cinemas in Italy and around the world.
Jul 5, 2017, Ignazio Conducts the Asti Symphony Orchestra
During the rehearsals of the last date of the Notte Magica Tour in Naples, Ignazio stepped in as conductor of the Symphonic Orchestra of Asti while Maestro Marcello Rota sang Ignazio’s tenor part! They sang “Libiam ne lieti calici.” Ignazio had everyone in awe of his performance as a conductor. The guys enjoyed singing with Marcello who usually conducts for their Concerts. Gianluca enjoyed it so much that he hugged Marcella in the middle of the song! All good sports! They all had lots of fun! A unique performance!
Jan 27, 2019 World Youth Day
If you ask the guys after winning Sanremo, which truly brought them home, “What was your greatest performance,” they would probably answer, singing for the Holy Father at World Youth Day. I know for Piero it was one of the most amazing events in his life!
June 5, 2021, The Tribute to Ennio Morricone
When I wrote about this event I said, “I’m going to use the word phenomenal a lot in this article.” Let’s relieve the opening of this fantastic concert!
I can write at least five pages just on the opening of the concert. If I wrote what I felt, saw, experienced in this concert, I would have to write a book!
Let’s set the scene!
The first note and we immediately know it’s “The Ecstasy of Gold.” The whistle of the wind!
The setting is gold! Then white! Then gold! Look at the gold flecks that come in and out! The orchestra vibrates! Each note intensifies our senses. We’re drawn to the back of the stage. To a tunnel where we know our guys will appear! The focus is always rear center stage! The lights change to intense red and now we are looking at the stage from the back of the arena. We are coming forward. The shadow of Il Volo turns into a force that is coming towards us! Thetheme of the concert is set!
Listen to the intensity of their voices! What force! Watch their motions. Look at Gianluca! Watch his body react to the music! The fist that comes at you saying this is the punch, just the beginning. Listen to how Ignazio rides the note that guides us into the story! Now we’re sailing on the wind! Piero intensifies the moment with his powerful voice that says the journey has begun! Follow us!
The scenery is in motion again. In the background, the movie comes into view and blends with the voices! Everything on the stage comes to life! We’re now inside the film. Even the guys are taken by the movement around them. They look around and they are feeling the moment! Andrea Morricone steps up the music and we step back and look, in amazement at what is before us!
What exactly is before us? A work of art! A Titian painting. In Venice there is a very magnificent painting by Titian called the Assumption. It is a painting in motion! Believe me, when I tell you what you are looking at on that stage is a Titian painting. Titian was known for his movement in painting! Titian was 24 years old when he painted the Assumption. Our guys are in their mid-twenties and they have painted the scene before you. If you don’t know the renaissance artist Titian, Google him! You’ll understand what is going on here!
Now let me explain what is before you. Movement. Lots of movement.
Take a look at the stage! You the audience are the spectators! You’re being drawn to the stage. You watch the guys’ approach and, you are in awe of their presence. You feel the intensity of the music, you and the guys are pulled into the movie. The music is all around you! Their voices are a force in your head. You look up in amazement! You are a part of the scenery! You are a part of the orchestra! You are a part of the movie! You are a part of ~ Il Volo! You have arrived and you are ready to follow the guys no matter where this journey leads you! It’s only the beginning! Fasten your seat belts. Phenomenal!
You will note this is out of order. Let’s backtrack…. I want to show you what has happened with these guys over the years. As I said in the beginning, they were with all these legends in the music industry. Now they have become legends! But what I want you to see is in the beginning they worked with many people to start on this amazing road. Now they have moved to another place. A place where they present themselves. A place where they bring all the magic together! We see this in The Tribute to Morricone, but this started long before then. Let’s go to Luna Park October 2019. Here you will see a magical moment!
October 30, 2019, Il Volo at Luna Park Buenos Aires Por Una Cabeza
I will end by going back to the beginning. This last moment tells me how far the guys have come and how the strangers became brothers.
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. You will notice that the whole Orchestra is in awe and Giampiero Grani can’t stop smiling. 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 faces lit up in joy and their embrace says it all! They are brothers who love one another! This is truly a moment to remember!
It’s ironic that when I started this story, I was randomly choosing moments in their lives that were very memorable. There are so many memorable moments, but I had to limit how many I could use. I had no idea when I started this musical journey that I would end up with thirteen events. How appropriate! One for every one of the Thirteen Amazing Years they’ve been together!
Join me next week as I go back Through the Fields of My Mind and open the door to a new adventure!
