After Sanremo and Eurovision, the guys were riding high! Italy opened its eyes, and their fate was sealed! The Grande Amore Tour had them spinning but perhaps their proudest moments were PALASPORT 2016 at home with the Italian people. I like to go back and watch these videos because I can see how much the guys enjoyed these concerts. I thought about how the guys are preparing for the upcoming World Tour. So, I went back Through the Field of My Mind, and I pulled some of these videos. Then I remembered an article by Daniela where she wrote about an interview with some of the people behind the scenes and it was very interesting so, I decided to put it all together and relive PALASPORT 2016
These last months the Morricone project has brought the guy’s center stage doing one interview after another. Endless interviews! It was the same after Sanremo. In that period the guys had so many interviews and they had to repeat the same answers over and over again.
I decided to give the guys a break and let someone else do the talking. So, instead of all those questions and answers let’s look at an interview by the technical team from 2016 while we listen to the wonderful voices of Il Volo!
The date is 2016 and the Grande Amore Tour is under way between Italy, Europe and America.
The guys are already into the tour but there is always the fine-tuning for each concert. The crew is together, and they will lead us through the technicalities but without all the long technical parts.
This interview was written for the Sound & Lite newspaper.
IL VOLO – Live Palasport 2016 by Douglas Cole
They call this “Pòpera” a resurgence of opera in the field of popular music and a phenomenon that, in our humble opinion, returns a little faith in the ability of the general public to discern a true capacity for musical performance … because taste apart, the talent and work necessary to develop virtuosity with the lyric voice as an instrument are undeniable. So far, in this latest return of classical singing, the foreign public has been more receptive than the Italians.
Il Volo became the first Italian group in history to directly sign a record deal in America, before that in Italy.
Since the release of the first album, this trio has been almost constantly on tour in North America, South America, Europe and Italy.
In 2012, in addition to a tour in Latin America and the Il Volo Takes Flight tour in the United States, the group also did a very rare (and very successful) tour with Barbra Streisand, which cemented their fame in American pop. Since then, every year they do at least two Il Volo tours on at least two continents.
Having been taken away to America at the very beginning of their career and despite a large number of concerts in Italy, since the beginning of last year with the almost fortuitous victory of “Grande Amore” at the Sanremo Festival and with the consequent representation of Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest (third place, but with the prize of the press), Il Volo was still rather unknown in our country (Italy).
2015, on the other hand, marked the true return to the homeland, with their new album Sanremo Grande Amore which earned a triple platinum record, and a very successful summer tour, culminating in a big event at the Arena di Verona in September, re-transmitted in prime time on RAI 1. Well … better late than never: welcome home, guys!
I absolutely love this video because the whole audience sang with them. It really was a welcome home, Sign of Approval!
We crossed this tour more or less halfway, on a date at the Unipol Arena in Bologna, where we found the production manager,Eliana Dalila Biondi.
Elinana:I have been working for Michele Torpedine since 2011. In 2013, during a tour in South America, Michele asked me to follow the production. I am Argentine and, as a matter of language, I was the right person for the role. In that case we did a tour with local productions, 28 dates in 50 days …
This year, instead, it was decided to take the step, organizing the tour in the arenas. We have prepared this project together with Francesco de Cave (lights and show-design) for a world tour, which starts from Italy and then goes to the United States and then back to Europe.
Douglas: With the whole production?
Eliana: In Italy and the United States with the entire production, while in Europe we use local production materials, and we bring the direction, with us.
Douglas: Is this production a big leap forward compared to last summer?
Eliana:Yes, because this summer fundamentally focused on natural scenery: Taormina and other picturesque places where there was no need for much. The guys really don’t need much … they do the show. (Truer words were never spoken)
Douglas: The boys already seem very good at working the stage with professionalism!
Eliana:They are very confident of their abilities, in a positive sense, so they are never arrogant. They’ve been doing this job since they were 14, so they grew up on music and the stage. They have security dictated by experience. On stage they create a very nice atmosphere, thanks to their jokes and complicity with the public they have created over time and in many live performances.
Douglas: How many are you on tour?
Eliana:About sixty, and if we add the orchestra of as many as 34 elements in each city … we arrive at a beautiful number.
Douglas:Are the orchestras different at each stage?
Eliana:Unlike last summer, where there was always the same orchestra, this year due to a calendar issue we chose to take local orchestras.
Douglas: Logistically, for orchestral music rehearsals, how do you do it?
Eliana: There is a lot of work that is done upstream. All the material of the repertoire is collected, and our musical director sends it in advance to the orchestras who do the tests independently. Then there were also rehearsals with the Maestro who, whenever possible, anticipated the production to be able to listen and guide the orchestras before the concert … maybe even the morning of the show or, even, in the case of back-to-back long, a few hours before the concert!
Douglas: I ask Alessio Guerrieri, stage director, if it is difficult to manage, such as artists, Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca.
Alessio:Absolutely not! Indeed: they are very good. They are not used to doing great tests … in fact when Francesco De Cave arrived, who was new to the production and was planning the show, he asked me: ‘But how will we explain a show to them in two days?’ I reassured him by telling him that he had to do only the lineup and explain the dynamics of the show: the artists would do exactly what was required of them, every time. In fact, they come from a lyrical musical setting and training, so they have a completely different kind of discipline. Since they have to do a precise warm-up routine, they have to eat and do everything according to a fixed schedule. If the show is at 9pm, for example, you know they have to eat at 6pm, and they do the same things every day. They are very square, and this is our luck. It is also important as a form of respect. If they give me the time of the show, I send the orchestra at 8:55 pm and the artists are on stage at 9:00 pm. To date we have never started a minute late. They are very professional and attentive to these things. And I assure you that it is not at all obvious.
Douglas: (Asked the sound engineer, Enrico Belli.) How much does the show depend on the orchestra?
Enrico:Very much of course for classic songs. They are songs that the singers sing singularly (in fact they don’t always sing in three, but they also make duets and solo pieces) mostly on classical works that almost completely depend on the orchestra and the piano.
Douglas: We also ask the lighting operator, Emanuele Vangelatos, for an opinion.
Emanuele: In the show there is a good balance between the most static scenes, used on classic, beautiful, colored pieces, developed in depth along with the video, and the more dynamic ones of the pop songs, in which we also push a lot, because we have projectors able to move the scene a lot.
The pieces of the solos, which are almost all purely lyrical, are in fact illuminated with very static and intimate, almost theatrical scenes. When there are the pieces in trio, plus pop, there is a director behind them, and the director has also coordinated and agreed about the movements of the artists on stage.
Paradoxically, says the engineer, despite their young age, they have several years of experience on stage. The presence is there, and the public greatly appreciates it. Everywhere we did the full: it is a confirmation of the fact that they are also strong in Italy.”
Despite my personal tastes, I respect the musical talent of any kind without reservation, and I appreciate a majestic performance of any kind. I didn’t know Il Volo before and when I was told what kind of concert it would be, I was very afraid of having to suffer the evening.
Instead, it is a really pleasant concert. It was taken for granted that the boys were good at singing, but the lineup includes so many songs with an almost universal familiarity that the interest never drops – even during the moments of speech, in which the artists show total control of the stage and the audience. I am amazed by the audience, made up equally of teenage girls and elderly men out for an annual evening, often with the two categories combined in groups of grandparents with their grandchildren: universal appeal!
The mix is very well done, with an orchestra that even seems to come from recorded tracks (called as a compliment!) and a very sensitive hand in following the dynamics of that type of voice taken with handheld microphones. The sound in the room is very beautiful, especially in the platea (the central and lower part of the theater). We believe that a couple of delays would not have done any harm to offer a greater direct reflection relationship at the back of the room.
The visual spectacle is truly remarkable. The effect of the video that comes out and incorporates the orchestra is really effective. The inevitable central staircase to the Broadway, with skyline in LED, immediately imposes the tone of the show, but it is anything but a static set design. Even the light design is very flexible: sometimes it offers bandstand show lighting, with colorful or white scenes combined with graphics and lights, in others it looks like a pop or rock music show with backlight.
I think Daniela said it best when she said, in the original article, “I was pleased to read the admiration towards our guys, from the technical team that supports them on their travels.
It is a very important thing and makes us understand the harmony in the team, also due to the seriousness of Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca, guys sometimes jokers, but also real professionals.”
Exactly right Daniela!
And now we await the World Tour. With less than two months to go, I’m sure the guys are busy putting the finishing touches on the setlist. I’m sure it includes many songs we are familiar with and the wonderful new songs from Il Volo Sings Morricone. And as was mentioned earlier, all the material of the repertoire are collected in advance, and the musical director sends it in advance to the orchestras who work independently. When they arrive on stage in March all teams will be ready to go!
I want to sum this article up by saying, our guys have total control of the stage and the audience. The music in each concert is framed and the setlist is run according to their audience. In some cases, the music in Italy will be different from that of North America or South America but the classics always remain. But above all Italy may have been the last to get on the bandwagon but I’m sure you noticed when they did, they went all out! The trio becomes an auditorium of singers!
They certainly have universal appeal!
And for your listening pleasure here is the complete concert from Milan. Part 1 and Part 2
I must say I enjoyed reliving PALASPORT 2016 and I hope you enjoyed it too!
Join me next week as I go back Through the Fields of My Mind and open the door to a new adventure!
Gianluca, Ignazio and Piero are doing a lot of promotion to their latest CD and therefore, there are many appointments and many interviews, unfortunately I cannot keep up with these rhythms, but, as you may well know, many things are repeated and therefore, of each new event, I try to give you a brief summary, translating the interesting parts instead.
The last event where they were guests, which I translated for you, was Radio Italia live, but, again on Radio Italia, they also had another interview entitled “A tu per tu” (Face to Face). Some questions are the same, but they also said some interesting things that I translate for you:
It begins with greetings to the listeners of Radio Italia.
(In the video, from time to time you will see glimpses of Il Volo singing, they are clippings of others hosted at Radio Italia.)
Piero talks about the Morricone project.
Gianluca talks about the tour and says they will sing, in addition to Morricone’s new songs, also the songs of their success over the years.
He says it’s wonderful to travel the world and have the affection of the audience every night, he says they are privileged.
Piero says they are preparing themselves with singing lessons, healthy eating, and body workouts.
Ignazio says that it is not easy to prepare the suitcase for a world tour because in some countries it is hot, in others it is cold, so they will have big suitcases, if it were possible to bring a walk-in closet it would be better.
Gianluca confirmed that they have an archive of unreleased songs and are waiting for the right moment to publish them.
The project of the Three Tenors and this of Morricone, serve to consolidate their career, then, later on, he lets it be understood that they will release an album of their own of unreleased tracks. They are working hard for it.
Piero talks about the collaboration with the various artists on Morricone’s record. Gianluca says that Piero is single and that he and Ignazio are engaged. Ignazio admits that it’s good to be in love.
The day after Il Volo was a guest on two other radio stations.
Let’s start with Radio 2 Social Club.
(Click on the photo below to view the video.)
It’s a very nice interview, the two radio hosts are Luca Barbarossa (with the blue shirt) and Andrea Perroni, they both are very good friends of our boys.
At the beginning, in the “off the air” Gianluca and Ignazio arrive and say that Piero is in the bathroom!! 😁
Luca then marks Gianluca behind him saying he is engaged! Then they make fun of Ignazio because he has a coat and it is hot in the studio, but Ignazio says that he is an elegant person and always dresses like this!! 😁
Piero says they just got back from Madrid where they promoted the CD.
On stage, they talk about the Morricone project and then sing Se Telefonando.
Luca makes a lot of compliments for the voices of the boys, then says that they are promoting the CD all over the world and therefore they will ask them some technical questions and the first is: “Which one of you is engaged?” 😁😁😁
Then Luca asks how they will do with their distant girlfriends while they are on tour and Gianluca replies that sometimes they will take them with them every now and then. Then Luca says “They are not hand luggage !!” 😁😁
Gianluca apologizes, he could have expressed himself better.
Luca confirms that Gianluca’s girlfriend is Eleonora Storaro and asks Gianluca if he is happy to talk about her and he replies that she is and then tells Luca: “But you like to gossip” 😁
So they talk a little about tennis with Ignazio and Piero and also about football with Gianluca.
Luca asks where they will sing in the US and they also reply RCMH, so Luca remembers that an Italian journalist had said that Il Volo performed in the world but only in pizzerias.😑
Piero replies that they laugh at these criticisms.
PIERO: “A criticism made with intelligence is constructive and important. In these 13 years, those who have written badly about us, those who have offended us, then got to know us and changed their minds, in the end we cannot like everyone.”
Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca perform SE from Nuovo Cinema Paradiso.
Luca asks about their success in Japan and Piero explains that luck would have it that a very famous ice skater performed his exercise on one of their songs: Starry Night and from here many emails of requests from Japan arrived.
Gianluca also explains the collaboration with Vittorio Storaro and Luca, reiterates that Il Volo worked with many famous people, such as Placido Domingo, with whom they recorded a beautiful song: Il Canto which was written by Luca Barbarossa!!! 😁😁
Thanks and final greetings.
On the same day, Il Volo was also on Radio 1.
They are housed in a studio adjacent to that of the two presenters.
They begin by remembering the 13-year career.
They thank Torpedine and talk a lot about the new Morricone project. (They all repeat things that have been said several times).
Ecstasy of Gold is broadcast (while in the video there is silence).
They continue to talk about Morricone and his music, how they chose the songs, how they thought of interpreting them and the responsibility they feel when they start such an important project.
They talk about Bel Canto and the pride they feel carrying this type of music around the world, especially now after the obligatory stop.
Final greetings.
So Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca participated in an online interview, with Marco Montemagno in connection from Brighton, Ignazio from Bologna, Gianluca from Rome and Piero does not say it but I believe from Naro.
Piero says he had to put five books under the PC otherwise the shot was not good and then Ignazio teases him because he says he looks like he is in the office.
They talk about the 100 concerts and Marco says it is a very heavy commitment and asks if they will also go to Brighton.
Gianluca recalls that in this period of Covid, Il Volo was also present at conferences, to give voice to those categories of the show that have had such a long stop.
Marco asks if they will go to England and Gianluca replies that they have tried to enter the English market, have promoted and have also sung at the Palladium and also at the Royal Music All, but then they have given priority to other places and admits that they should return to England.
Piero asks Marco how many years he has lived in Brighton and he replies 9 years old, he married an Englishwoman, so they chose to live in England, but he is very happy.
When asked which are the markets of Il Volo, Ignazio replies that they are America, South America, Eastern Europe, Russia, Japan, it is a musical genre that manages to take more different cultures, fortunately.
Piero explains about their first meeting and the fact that they just didn’t think they had this great success.
At the beginning it was quite easy, even if they were not known in Italy, in 2015 they participate in Sanremo and since then they have also been known in Italy and for them, meeting people on the street who recognize you and smile at you, is the most satisfying thing.
Gianluca confirms that each audience has a different treatment. Each country has a kind of audience, warmer, more attentive, more exaggerated and it is nice to discover different traditions and different attitudes.
Piero says that Europe is complicated, because each state has very different cultures and every night, during the first 3/4 songs, they have to understand what kind of audience they have.
Ignazio confirms that for their type of musical genre, England has always been a little more difficult market than other countries.
Then they talk about the physical preparation for such a long tour and Piero explains that they have to take singing lessons to make sure that the voice is always at the same level throughout the tour and Ignazio explains that the vocal cords are like rubber bands and must always be held trained to avoid breakage.
Marco asks, in addition to the most obvious figures in the tour (management), what is the key figure that is needed for a tour like theirs and the boys answer that he is definitely the person who arrives first in the morning on the stage and who leaves for last in the evening, he is the backliner, he takes care of following all the details, even the water in the backstage, and the bread they need to clear their throat. His name is Alessio Guerrieri and he is in great demand in his field.
Marco says he is a ping pong enthusiast and Ignazio approaches his face, to show a small scar on his left eye and tells that while they were playing ping pong in Turkey where they had gone for a private event, Gianluca with whom he was playing as a couple gave him the ping pong paddle over his eye.
Gianluca is sorry about what happened, he says it looked like a crime scene, with a lot of blood.
Ignazio says that a medical guard comes and says that there is a need to go to the hospital to put stitches but Ignazio refuses, because it was during the Covid period and therefore they made a very noticeable bandage around his head and it is returned to Italy like this. (Remember, Ignazio wore a patch over his eye and we didn’t know why, now we know.) 😘
Gianluca is very sorry, but he says that Ignazio has improved since he received the blow, and therefore perhaps he will give him another one.😁
Then they talk at length about the Morricone project.
Marco asks how they manage personal relationships between them.
Piero says they didn’t know each other, at first there were also tantrums and tensions, then they learned to have tolerance, they don’t argue, they always look for a meeting point. They have three different roles in the management of Il Volo, they have a lot of understanding and they get along very well.
They are aware that when they make mistakes they apologize, and for Piero, apologizing is a noble way of being a man.❤
Ignazio adds that they have also learned to have gratitude, to be aware of being grateful, to something, to someone.❤
Marco asks if their popularity has been strong from the start or if they have had strange moments.
Gianluca admits that it was a slow process, at the first copy-signing there were four people in Rome, immediately after their participation in the Ti Lascio Una Canzone program.😁
Piero laughs, remembering that the people of their team went to them saying: “Excuse me, will you sign the CD?”😁 Gianluca says they made fun of them!!😁
But things change with time, and there was also the risk of being meteors.
For this reason we have always remained humble and our families have been very important to us.
Piero asks Marco what he thought when they asked him to do an interview at Il Volo (which he obviously didn’t know) and he replies that he was happy, because he never followed them directly for their type of music, but he has always admired their great success, in particular he greatly admires those who are successful outside Italy and he has always had admiration for them, because they have shown that they are not a meteor.
Ignazio confirms that what they do is extremely difficult, it is not an immediate musical genre, it does not go on the radio, streaming or in commercials, where you have more chances to make it known. It takes a lot of perseverance, dedication, work and it is very demanding. There have been times where they’ve had to swallow and work hard, but it’s nice when you don’t go the easy way of what others do and keep your personality, and they’ve always been consistent with who they are. They are this and who follows them, follows them for what they do.❤
Gianluca admits that they have a loyal audience. Their fans are very fond of them, because they have seen them grow. It is like a big family.😘
So they talk about Il Divo which is a musical group similar to Il Volo, they are not Italian but they sing in Italian. In Italy everyone wants to sing in English, while abroad Italian singing is very welcome.
They confirm that The Three Tenors took the opera out of the theaters.
Marco asks how, after the fiftieth concert, they manage to maintain the freshness of the first one and Piero replies that you must love what you do, then you must always be aware that the people in front of you have come for you, and even if they were 10 people they deserve the best from you.
They then confirm that their audience is transversal, from children to grandparents.
Marco asks if they had any unforeseen events during the concerts and Piero says that in Budapest, after the twelfth song (usually 25 songs) his voice went away. They suspended the concert for 20 minutes. Total panic, they called his voice teacher on video and after 20 minutes the voice came back and they finished the concert.
Ignazio also tells a similar story and says that they sing completely live, while they know that other singers also have pre-recorded songs.
Piero confirms that fortunately there are three of them and a glance is enough for them to understand if something is wrong and therefore one of the three plays the part of someone who is not well, there is a great mutual help.❤
Then, laughing, they remember singing the refrain of “Tous le visages de l’ amour” over and over in Switzerland, because they couldn’t remember the words.😁
Piero also remembers when in Taormina during a concert, he teased Ignazio because his favorite football team was losing the game for 4 goal at that moment and Ignazio was angry😁
Then they say that on stage they move with awareness that they must occupy the whole scene.
Piero explains that before a tour there is a long work of patience, to plan all the trips, everything must be accurate and before, when they were younger, there were people who did it, now even the three of them take part in this.
Marco asks which are the strangest characters they have met and Piero explains that the strangest moments they had in 2010, when their little ones, were invited to Jimmy Iovine’s parties in America where there were so many famous people, an incredible time.
So they talk for a long time about the various television series.
In the end, Gianluca hints that they are thinking of making a documentary, perhaps about their life? Who knows!
Good luck from Marco and final greetings.
Furthermore, on Saturday 4 December Il Volo was a guest on Canale 5 in a new program: UA, conducted by Claudio Baglioni (He presented Sanremo in 2019).
Here is the video of their moment.
(Click on the photo below to view the video.)
I have tried to give you an overview of some of the events in which Il Volo attended, but there are many others.
Some things that I have translated to you are really interesting and some very nice, these young men never cease to amaze us.❤
As I write to you, I am waiting for a television interview with them.
The event that was supposed to take place in Austria has been canceled due to Covid, but on 11 December there will be a short Il Volo concert in Dubai and it will be possible to follow it in streaming at this link:
By popular demand, IL VOLO will give its first concert at the Millennium Amphitheater in Dubai 5 years after their first performance at the 2016 Globe Soccer Awards. “Il Volo Live in Concert” will be a once in a lifetime event where Piero Barone, Gianluca Ginoble and Ignazio Boschetto will rebuild their careers bringing the best of their repertoire to the stage: from the traditional Italian “bel canto” like the iconic song “‘O Sole Mio”, to evergreen American songs like “My Way”, from the single “Grande Amore” with which they won the 2015 edition of the Sanremo Song Festival at the famous Turandot aria “Nessun dorma”. The repertoire will include pieces from their latest album “Il Volo sings Morricone”, a passionate journey into the art of one of the greatest composers of the 20th century. A playlist structured as a “best of” contains the careers of three unique voices who have crossed national borders, selling millions of records and making their way onto the international top hits lists.
(Ministry of Culture Special Project, produced by Cinecittà, supporting partner D&G)
But there is still a little final pearl, what about these beautiful photos of our boys in Times Square in NY?
What can I say: incredible!!!!
But that’s not all, see you next update!
Daniela
Credit to owners of all photos and videos.
Come in and share the love of life, friends and Il Volo!
