How many different ways can you say Masterpiece! Capolavoro by far was the highlight of Sanremo! I know the guys didn’t win but what they brought to Sanremo was a winning team, a winning performance and the best video clip of Sanremo 2024!
It truly deserved the Casa Sanremo ~ Soundies Award 2024! And of course, compliments to Leandro Manuel Emede Director, Nicolo Cerioni Creative Director and Cardigan srl Producer of the video!
Leandro Manuel Emede said, “Thanks to the jury of music and film experts of Casa Sanremo and to the President of the National Syndicate of Italian Cinematic Journalists (Sngci) of the Silver Ribbons for choosing our video clip as Best Video Clip Sanremo2024.”
The award for the best video clip was presented by Vincenzo Russolillo to Il Volo. The idea of this award was born from Russolillo himself and the award represents the first award in Italian history dedicated to the video clips of a song competing at the Sanremo Festival and intended for record companies.
When presenting the award to Il Volo, Russolillo said, “Your work has been selected by a high-quality jury, chaired by Laura Delli Colli, President of the National Union of Italian Film Journalists (SNGCI) of the Nastri d’Argento.”
Russolillo continued, “from the stage of the Lounge of Casa Sanremo, I deliver the Soundies Awards 2024 Award, on behalf of the Municipality of Sanremo from the hands of Councillor Sara Tonegutti, together with a voucher for the production of the next video clip to be made in the territory of the Municipality of Sanremo.
The trio takes music to new heights through video, exploring the stars and the mysteries of infinity. A visual odyssey that combines the musical talent of Il Volo with the grandeur of space, offering a sensory experience that defies the boundaries of imagination.”
It truly was a magnificent video. Even when we didn’t know what the song was about we were enthralled by the video and when we finally saw it, we were totally floored! It went beyond words!
We knew it was the best video and their performance was A Masterpiece, and it should have sent a message to the press.
So let me back up a minute and tell you what we all know and certainly what the guys knew.
I know the guys saw the writing on the wall even before they entered the competition. I’m not saying that they must win because they are Il Volo; what I’m saying is you should be judged fairly.
Il Volo has never been judged fairly by the Italian press! More so than anything else, it hurts the Italian fans because the Italian fans love them! What Il Volo presented this past week was phenomenal. Their performances surpassed every other performance at Sanremo 2024! Their elegance! Their presence on stage! Their never-ending voices! Voices that touch our souls! Voices that give every song meaning because every song they sing comes to life with their voices!
People all over the world love these guys and yet a hand full of press choose prejudice to judge them instead of integrity! It begs the question, what did three teenage boys do to bring down your wrath and cause you to never find a kind word for them in fifteen years? Where is your integrity?
I truly wish Angelina Mango the best of luck. She deserved to win as much as Il Volo deserved to be judged fairly!
Let’s take a look at their first performance at Sanremo 2024 !
There were many interviews last week. In one of those interviews, the guys told us there will be a PBS special taped at the pyramids in Egypt in June. What amazing news! It seems this is what they were saying when they said they were preparing something nice for their American friends.
I thank Daniela for all the beautiful translations she did this last week. You can read all these translations in Daniela Perani’s column on Flight Crew!
I have just a few excerpts of interviews I wanted to bring to your attention.
Immediately after performing Capolavoro for the first time, the guys went to the Radio 2 box to be interviewed by Eva Stokolma and the journalist, Gino Castaldo. In the past, Castaldo has never had a good comment for our guys. One question Castaldo asked the guys summed up the interview and said a lot about their presence at Sanremo 2024.
Castaldo: I have a serious question. You have been international for a long time, you move from one stage to another, crazy performances from New York, the world is your audience. Is it possible that Sanremo is still so exciting for you who now have the world in front of you as spectators?
Ignazio: But you know better than us that around Sanremo there is a whole machine that rotates and it’s crazy, there’s a lot of work this week and if you’re not strong you risk being overwhelmed and sucked in by the anxiety and tension that the week takes its toll on you, after a year and a half of work, as Gianluca said.
Gianluca: It’s an emotional factor, we were born here, so we become children again when we go up on that stage, all those childhood anxieties reemerge as if it were the first time.
Castaldo concluded by saying, “Good work, have a good week.” A compliment from Castaldo. I’m surprised the guys didn’t faint!
Beyond the compliment, the answer to Castaldo’s question really says a lot about their performance at Sanremo. The emotions of singing on the Ariston Stage brings back beautiful memories of their first performance; a performance that also includes the “childhood anxieties,” as Gianluca said! If there were anxieties, I never noticed them!
The second interview with Eve and Castaldo really blew everyone’s mind. Listen to Castaldo’s comments.
Castaldo: I will tell you, and I was commenting on it, that your song grows with every listen.
Ignazio: Come on!! But this is great news.
Gianluca: Coming from Gino Castaldo (who has always been negative against Il Volo)…..thanks, coming from him it’s incredible.
Eva: But it’s the truth.
Ignazio: I have to say one thing, I had a lot of fun tonight. It’s something I immediately said to them (Gian and Piero), we hugged each other, and I told them: ‘Thank you because I had fun.’
So Castaldo is beginning to change his tune. Will other members of the press do the same. Don’t hold your breath!
After the first interview, the guy’s left Radio 2 and immediately went to meet Fiorello. You had to know this would be fun.
Of course, Fiorello said they had to sing. And what do they sing? What they sing every time they meet Fiorello. Their old go to Sicilian song ~ Tirichitolla.
As always the guys had fun with Fiorello!
Ignazio: I would say let’s spin the wheel and see what comes out.
Piero: Tell us about a Horror date.
Gianluca: When I met them for the first time in my life. Alright guys, let’s move on.
Piero: Dance….nooooo
Gianluca: But we don’t know how to dance.
Ignazio: I’ll show you.
Gianluca: Well done, well done, better if you sing!
Gianluca: Tell us about a surprise you loved giving or receiving.
Unexpectedly at the station, as soon as she gets off the train, you wait for her there with a rose in your hand…nice.
Piero: I don’t like surprises, neither giving them nor receiving them.
Gianluca: Can you tell us the worst joke you’ve ever suffered?
Piero: In Bologna I faked a burglary at home, I called my brother, he left work, came home and it was a joke. I’ll let you imagine what happened.
Ignazio: You’re an asshole!
Gianluca: How you love to show affection to others.
Ignazio: Gianluca bothering me.
Gianluca: Yes, I hug, pinch, kiss, I’m very carnal.
PIero: I dedicate the song Capolavoro.
Ignazio: He dedicates it and I sing it.
Piero: Can I do the last one? Tell us about a trip you loved taking. Guys, everyone go to Japan, it’s the best trip you can do in your life.
Ignazio: It will also be a little strange for those who go for the first time because the sushi tastes completely different from what we are used to.
The first time I thought the people had fallen asleep at the concert, but instead they were attentive.
Someone backstage says he’s going to Japan in March.
Piero: In March? We’re going in March too.
You saw, he said he’s changing the date.
Gianluca: If there’s a flight I won’t go!
But getting back to their performance. They followed Capolavoro with Who Wants to Live Forever.
Talk about a phenomenal performance. Together with guitarist, Stef Burns, the guys gave a version of Who Wants to Live Forever that even Queen would envy! When I heard what they were going to sing I had visions of a performance that would bring the house down! I was right to some degree! It certainly brought my house down!
When they performed Who Wants to Live Forever, it was flawlessly executed. They were being evaluated for their performance. These are the words of one of the journalist…
Il Volo’s “Who Wants To Live Forever” with Stef Burns: on the singing level they are, as always, impeccable. But there always remains that musical feel that doesn’t fit well with the tastes of the contemporary world. They always seem out of time. Rating 6.5.
So, I must raise the question, did the journalists and radio stations fail to recognize the mastery displayed in their performance? And, in the case of televoting, some switchboards did not meet the evening’s demands, leading to the unfortunate scenario where the votes of numerous fans were not accurately represented.
If the switchboard didn’t fail, would there have been a different result! I certainly think so! As to the press, the above comment says it all. You’re great but you’re not getting our vote! I think that sums up the press!
Their performance of Capolavoro and Who Want to live Forever certainly were the highlight of Sanremo even if the journalist refuse to recognize it!
For me Sanremo 2024 was all about Il Volo. As I said in the beginning it doesn’t mean you win because of you are Il Volo but, in truth, Il Volo was the winner for so many people! Their performance was unsurpassed. They were the highlight of Sanremo 2024 and that’s why they are A Masterpiece!
As to my feeling about last week. I think every performance, every interview, every photo taken was A Masterpiece! They brought joy to our lives and gave us moments that will live in our hearts forever. They were Sanremo 2024!
Before I close, let me quote from Capolavoro!
Truly! You were the only light to make sense And this life with you It’s a Masterpiece!
You are our Masterpiece!
Join me next week as I go back Through the Fields of My Mind and bring to you the next exciting adventure of Il Volo.
Capolavoro is available on all digital platforms including Spotify and Amazon Music
Who Wants to Live Forever is available on all digital platforms including Spotify and Amazon Music
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.
The auditions and rehearsals are over and finally, we have the guys together at the Ariston Theater and they are about to meet but before they meet, I want to tell you a little more about the journey they took to get here and what this new adventure will be for them but, even more so for their parents.
For Piero and Ignazio, great sacrifices were made.
We know Ignazio’s parents worked hard and gave up all they had to make Ignazio have the opportunity to have singing lessons. In the end, thanks to someone dear to them, Ignazio finds himself on the stage of Ti Lascio Una Canzone.
From a very young age, Piero worked endlessly for a classical education which would lead him to the stage of an opera house. Thanks first to his grandfather, who paid for the piano lessons, and the sacrifices of his parents, Piero found his way to the stage of Ti Lascio Una Canzone.
As we know, Gianluca never had singing lessons and never competed in any singing competition. He was discovered while singing with his choir and that led him to the stage of Ti Lasio Una Canzone. So, there was no sacrifice by his parents but don’t think this is where the story of sacrifice ends.
No, the story just begins on the stage of Ti Lascio Una Canzone. The Big Sacrifice follows.
But let’s begin with the fourth night of Ti Lascio Una Canzone.
With O Sole Mio in hand, the boys set out for night four of Ti Lascio una Canzone.
It’s April 25th, 2009, and these three teenage boys who only met a short time before are getting ready to turn their world upside down. They are one step from stardom!
The first time they sing together everyone is amazed. Who wasn’t amazed, Roberto Cenci! He knew exactly what he was doing. He realized by putting these three voices together he would create an amazing sound! How right he was!
So, let’s turn to Piero who will tell us how the guys first sang together….
I remember Roberto Cenci calling us all three to the center of the stage during the rehearsals.
‘Piero, Gianluca and Ignazio, come here.’
They start ‘O Sole Mio’ and we sing as we had divided the parts. Gianluca begins with the first verse and then it’s my turn, I attack with ‘Ma n’ato sole,’ (but another sun). This ‘Ma n’naaaato’ with the note kept so long and vibrated, as we still sing it today, was born in that first test because I learned, ‘O Sole Mio,’ by listening to the Three Tenors, that is Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo and Josè Carreras. And Pavarotti made those three words of refrain with a very, fast, but difficult beat. I did not have that technique, so I did it slowly. Then I asked: ‘Roberto, sorry, can I do it my way the ‘ma n’ato sole?’ He answers ‘Yes.’ And I say, ‘Unplug the orchestra when it’s time and come behind me.’
Ignazio tells us about the reaction to their singing it on that Saturday night….
That Saturday night there was a great standing ovation for us, with ‘O Sole Mio.’ I think that that performance marked the real starting point of our career.
When I had agreed to do the auditions, I was aware that it would be a great experience and would last only two months. But I never expected that we could get all this great success.
Gianluca puts the event in the history books…
The theater came down.
Piero on my left, me in the middle, Ignazio on my right. In the history of music no one had ever seen three children of thirteen or fourteen sing these kinds of songs. So, we must also thank Roberto Cenci because, if it wasn’t for him maybe today, we would not be here. It was nice, it was something…. How can I tell you? It was natural. I immediately enjoyed singing together, there was no problem.
But it was also all unexpected.
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.
Before the big night of O Sole Mio, the guys were already being praised by some very famous singers. These singers were in total awe of our guys. It seemed obvious that they were taking over the show! No one else could come close to them.
Piero did a duet with Al Bano.
Ignazio did a duet with Massimo Ranieri.
Gianluca did a duet with Riccardo Cocciante.
Ignazio did a duet with Fausto Leali.
Gianluca did a duet with Sara Pischedda.
Piero did a duet with Simona Collura.
In his book Ricomincio Dai Tre (I Start Again from Three) Michele Torpedine, their manager tells us what happened that night.
Alone in his apartment, Michele Torpedine was sitting on his sofa with the volume off on his TV. The show he was watching was Ti Lascio Una Canzone. He keeps looking at the screen and he suddenly thinks Ignazio reminds him of Luciano Pavaroti, Gianluca seemed similar to Jose Carreras and Piero is similar to Placido Domingo. He still had not heard them sing. Out of curiosity, he raised the volume and Michele says, “Here I am aware of another element, that is even more important than the first. The three casually put together to sing a song of the program possess an incredible vocality for their age.”
At this point Michele’s head is spinning. He’s thinking these guys are good and again repeats it to himself, they’re good! He thinks, “What if I try to put them together seriously? A trio he tells himself. Here’s what I could do….”
Michele says, “The next day I am a volcano. I want to talk to everyone: producers, managers, families.”
They all performed exceptionally well. They all came in first one night during the performance.
Gianluca won the first night with the song “Il Mare Calmo della Sera.”
Ignazio won the second night with “Quando l’amore Diventa Poseia”
Piero won the fourth night with “Un Amore Così Grande.”
And Gianluca won the final episode.
Piero and Ignazio showed great respect for Gianluca who won the final episode. They may have been disappointed, but you would never know it to look at their faces. Their reaction to Gianluca winning was beautiful! Look at the video….
And the biggest win of the night, they walked off the stage, Il Volo! Well maybe they didn’t have the name yet, but they were certainly on the road to stardom!
But this is just the beginning of the story!
We know that the guys got a phenomenal contract with Universal and began an amazing career. They went to America and all the rest is history!
In the beginning I told you that great sacrifices would be made not only by the guys but also by their families.
When I write about the guys I always think about the sacrifice they made when they became Il Volo. They left behind the best years of their lives. Their teenage years. They left their families and there were times when they weren’t home for months.
In the beginning they had a parent with them because they were underage but once they turned eighteen, they were on their own. We all realized that this happened to them, and we all thought this was a great opportunity but what a sacrifice they made. True but what about the sacrifice their families made. When one parent traveled, the other was left at home to care for the other children.
I can’t even imagine how the parent who was left home with the other children felt. Of course, you feel joy for your child but to say goodbye I’ll see you in a few months. That’s got to hurt. And the parent who went with him had to leave his other children at home. That had to hurt too.
This was a big sacrifice that was made by the parents but there were others who probably hurt even more. How about their brothers and sisters? I’m sure some of them didn’t even understand why their brother had to go away!
All around tremendous sacrifices. I remember Ignazio saying in his story that he didn’t see his sister for five months and it really hurt.
Yes, they went around the world and became super stars, but they paid a high price for it. The Big Sacrifice they made is now in the past. But I’m sure that the guys wished they could have back some of those years to spent time with their families. And I’m sure the families wished they had an opportunity to spend more time with them.
On the bright side of the story, they got to spend a year with their families during the pandemic. The Lord certainly had a plan with that pandemic!
One last note before I leave you today. I just started writing a new book and I need to take some time off to do my research. So, for the next few weeks I will post old stories on Wednesdays about the guys.
In the meantime, you can also read some of the old stories in the archives. Just go to www.ilvoloflightcrw.com and you can either go into the search bar and ask for a particular story or a story about a particular guy. Or go into Galleries on the top of the main page and pull up stories by the year.
I promise I will work as fast as I can to get back to you. In the meantime, Daniela will be keeping you up to date with all the latest news including all that is going on in Sanremo. The guys start rehearsals for Sanremo this week!
Be back in a few weeks!
Let me leave you with the first video of O Sole Mio!
Join me next week as I go back Through the Fields of My Mind and find some really great old story for you!
*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)
If you would like to share a story with me, please email: susan.flightcrew@yahoo.com
What can I say, the new year has just begun and we are still talking about what Il Volo did in the last days of 2023.
On December 29th, the repeat of the concert held in the Arena in May was broadcast on Canale 5. It was, in fact, just a rerun and there were new films on the other TV channels.
It was a success, the highest audience of the evening went to the repeat concert of Il Volo. It was an amazing result and I don’t think any journalist expected it and so the next day many articles were read with the headline “Stunning success of Il Volo also in rerun”.
ITALIAN TV
Canale 5 wins the evening with a nice musical rerun. The concert event of Il Volo which was broadcast for the first time last May, was broadcast again last night 29 December……
And how do you listen! 20% of the share was in front of the TV, equal to 2.7 million viewers.
Let me tell you, I was very happy with happiness, first of all it was wonderful to see that concert again, but the result of the highest audience was really a nice reward for Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca, this is proof that the public appreciates and admires the our three young men.
I chose the songs from these videos from the concert
GIANLUCA= WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD
PIERO= VOGLIO VIVERE COSÌ
IGNAZIO= MY HEART WILL GO ON
IL VOLO= TRIBUTE TO SERGIO ENDRIGO:
CANZONE PER TE
LONTANO DAGLI OCCHI
The last song is very touching: GIROTONDO INTORNO AL MONDO(Roundabout around the world ) which says that if all the people joined hands, there would be a merry-go-round around the world, a hymn to end wars which are always absurd.
…..and on January 5th there will be a repeat of the second concert, I don’t dare think of another similar result, but it will be fine anyway!
Il Volo then released a short interview about the song they will bring to Sanremo: CAPOLAVORO.
IGNAZIO= Hello everyone, we are Il Volo.
PIERO= And our song is titled:
GIANLUCA= CAPOLAVORO (Masterpiece)
PIERO= Basically it speaks to the moment in which we struggle to see inside ourselves and always look for the answer outside with hope. So hope is our answer.
IGNAZIO= It’s a Hi-pop genre……no I’m joking….it’s definitely pop in our way, certainly with this song we wanted to bring an evolution to what is our musical career.
PIERO= Friends is a big word (he was probably asked if they are really friends and Piero is joking). We are very good friends, this year we celebrate 15 years of our career and it is rare to have such a deep and important relationship, because we didn’t know each other before, we didn’t choose each other, but in 15 years this relationship has always matured and become increasingly stronger day after day.
GIANLUCA= Ama (diminutive for Amadeus) do you love us?
IGNAZIO= But what question is: “Do you love us?”
GIANLUCA= But what do I know if he loves us, we love him. 😁
Then, Piero, Gianluca and Ignazio (who returned from Venezuela with Michelle) gathered in Crotone in Pitagora’s Square, for the end-of-year concert, L’ANNO CHE VERRÀ (The coming year) in which they will participate with some songs.
Here they are at the resort and during rehearsals.
There were a lot of people during rehearsals too.
This video was published by Michele Affidato, a goldsmith from Crotone, friend of Torpedine, with these words:
“Il Volo comes to visit us. I have seen them grow, I have always followed them and I have joyfully shared their success. After years they return to visit me at my showroom together with their manager and my great friend Michele Torpedine.”
Look at the audience’s reaction.
PIERO= We don’t come here often (to Crotone), but we like the way we are welcomed, this warmth, there was no better way to end the year. (Gianluca jokes pretending to be a journalist)
But here we are at the moment of the television evening, the concert that will pass from one year to the next.
Here is the video of Il Volo, that emotion:
HALLELUJAH (short a cappella performance) and GRANDE AMORE
And later they came back and sang a medley like this:
IGNAZIO= ALMENO TU NELL’UNIVERSO
GIANLUCA = LA CURA (even though he had sung ANGELS at the rehearsals)
PIERO= LIBIAM NE LIETI CALICI
These photos were posted by CINGUETTARAI, a kind of comment on RAI programs. I translate:
“The HALLELUJAH sung by Il Volo with the whole audience in the square, in Crotone, has a completely different effect.”
“THE POWER OF GRANDE AMORE HAS REMAINED UNCHANGED SINCE 2015”
Gianluca, Ignazio and Piero thank the Calabria region (Crotone is a city in Calabria).
GIANLUCA= Hello everyone, we are Il Volo, we wish the Calabria Region a good 2024.
IGNAZIO= Happy New Year!
PIERO= Hello everyone, Happy New Year!.
GIANLUCA= I want to send a greeting “on the fly”, a third (because now it’s just Gianluca, therefore a third of Il Volo), to the Calabria Region, thank you for your affection and welcome. See you on stage soon, the Year to come, a good 2024 to everyone.
Piero, Mariagrazia and Gianluca
Il Volo with another trio, Gli Autogol.
And now look at the beautiful Happy New Year wishes we have received.
And finally a very nice interview published by “Quotidiano Nazionale” with this comment:
“Having concluded a 2023 full of problems but also full of ideas for a full restart, we have decided to look at 2024 with new eyes and to focus attention on some good intentions, on objectives to be achieved. For this reason, from today until the 8th January, through representatives of the world of culture, entertainment, science and sport, we present our good intentions for 2024.
First appointment with Il Volo, the interview with Valerio Baroncini 👉”
IL VOLO’S NO TO SELFISHNESS: “UNION IS REALLY STRENGTH. BE KIND ON SOCIAL MEDIA TOO, SO YOU WILL CHANGE THE WORLD”.
The golden group of Italian music comes down from the stage to tell their story after 15 years of success.
A story of talent, passion and friendship becomes a message to kids suspended between dreams and reality.
At least one teenager in a hundred in Italy cannot do without his smartphone and lives permanently connected. We also discussed this with the young musicians of Il Volo, protagonists of 15 years of an amazing career.
Artists see some risks in the digital world, but also extraordinary opportunities.
The music production process, they say, has also become more accessible and democratic.
Nevertheless. “And yet a different path is possible”, say three young men firmly on a terrace overlooking the sea of Sanremo.
A computer on the table: pages scrolling. Words, words, words and photos. Social media as a contemporary diary, window on the world, opportunity, but also a trap.
Three young men and one voice, that of Il Volo, the record-breaking group. To tell today’s kids, but also those of yesterday, that “the path of kindness, of sensitivity against insensitivity, the choice of the right words and a good use of technology are possible. Indeed, they are the first resolution for 2024 full of smiles.”
What does Il Volo expect from 2024?
First you will be in Sanremo, then a new album, concerts at the Verona Arena and a world tour.
IGNAZIO: “We expect a year full of music and we hope to achieve all our goals, but also many surprises”.
PIERO: “It will be a year of celebration: on 25 April 2024 we will reach 15 years of our career”.
GIANLUCA: “A good intention? Unity is strength: reaching 15 years of career today is really difficult. These are years in which being individualistic and self-centered prevail. This doesn’t happen with us: together we are stronger, this is the message we want to convey to everyone”.
You are young and you speak to young people: what would you say to kids your age who are often accused of having little desire to work or sacrifice themselves? Bullshit or truth?
PIERO: “We believe so much in the individual strength of the new generations. More than giving advice, I can say how we have always tried to approach this profession: with a lot of determination and responsibility. The work must be approached with great discipline. Today young people, unlike our parents for example, have many means at their disposal to experience success”.
GIANLUCA: “Success is doing what makes you happy, achieving full self-awareness. Great results are achieved through great sacrifices, nothing comes with minimal effort.”
Piero spoke about digital as an opportunity. Or, instead, are new technologies a danger?
IGNAZIO: “In music, having such strong technological advancement helps everyone and has democratized production processes, for example. Then, the flavor of analog is different from digital: there are pros and cons, never lose the human touch.”
PIERO: “As with all things you don’t know, you have to be afraid, a healthy fear, but not scared. We must take advantage of the positive side of technology. But don’t lose control.”
GIANLUCA: “Technologies are one thing. Another is people’s intentions. Those make the object dangerous.”
Inevitable to talk about social media. How do you use them? And do you like how you see them used?
GIANLUCA: “For some artists, appearance and aesthetics sometimes seem more important than music. Aesthetics are welcome, but let’s educate young people to nurture and cultivate culture and intellectual sensitivity.”
IGNAZIO: “I use them institutionally, I don’t like them very much, but I can’t pretend that they aren’t useful.”
PIERO: “Due to the role we hold, we have the strength to say what we think and the duty to amplify some messages. You can use social media well if you have something to say. You have to do it.”
The news amplifies this urgency: 2023 was marked by wars, violence, femicides. Communicating becomes fundamental.
PIERO: “Every year we think about good resolutions, we talk and talk again. In 2024, however, let’s put them into action: each of us has the power to change the world. As far as I’m concerned, the promise I make to myself is to cultivate kindness, helping others and not giving space to anger. Kindness, seen as constant work, can improve the world.”
IGNAZIO: “There are bad people, others not bad but influenced by a habit. My good intention, already underway, is to eradicate habits, even in speaking of certain themes.
Often in a futile way we don’t think about what we are actually saying. What, for me, may be a joke, for others may be a wound or a stab.”
GIANLUCA: “The word is a double-edged sword. We must convey a new sensitivity, give positive messages, raise awareness of the insensitive.
It’s a tough and difficult mission, but you have to hit like a chisel on a stone.”
And how can it be done?
PIERO: “I would give some advice: go and see Paola Cortellesi’s film, the ending will shock you. It forces you to think. Then, she is a female director.”
IGNAZIO: “I hope you lose your amazement over this. Woman, man, talent counts. I hope that the stereotype of being ‘surprised’ will pass, and everyone will condemn the scourge of violence.”
Social media and comments: have you ever been hurt? And what would you say to those who suffer certain violence even just verbal?
IGNAZIO: “I have suffered a lot on social media and cyberbullying is still talked about too little.
Today, already at 11-12 years old you have a mobile phone and are on social media: they are real weapons if not used judiciously. I, and people close to me, have received serious threats. The problem is that I discovered they were kids.
Social media is beautiful, I use it to discover the world. Let’s not throw this opportunity away.”
GIANLUCA: “When you decide to do this profession, you have to take everything, just accepting compliments is emotional immaturity.
Insults and threats are a different thing. You can’t control what’s outside of you, so strengthen yourself and raise awareness among others.”
Nice way to end the year 2023 and now we are already in 2024 which promises to be a really busy year for Il Volo.
Ignazio and Michelle are really very nice, the next post will be entirely dedicated to them.
A nice interview with Piero, Gianluca and Ignazio was done by Paolo di Stefano for IL CORRIERE DELLA SERA.
This newspaper dedicated an entire paper page to the interview and it is truly an event because in reality this newspaper has never talked about Il Volo.
Il Volo: “They tell us that we are the children everyone would like to have. But success without initial training risked ruining us.”
The guys from the Il Volo group, Ignazio Boschetto, Piero Barone and Gianluca Ginoble: “Before, only the grandmothers followed us. We tell our peers not to be afraid to cry.”
Who is Il Volo?
Collective singular: trio, trinity, triple alliance. “We don’t even know who we are,” says Gianluca Ginoble, the baritone of the group known throughout the world as an interpreter of Italian “lyrical pop”. Excellent premise from which to start, indeed indispensable given that Il Volo, after almost fifteen years of triumphs, has reached a turning point, a turn from the sky of “bel canto” to something new. And yet if today, almost thirty-year-olds, they still don’t know who they are, they know very well where they come from. Gianluca from Roseto degli Abruzzi, Piero Barone from Naro, province of Agrigento, Ignazio Boschetto, born in Bologna, is also Sicilian, son of the city of Marsala. We are between the deep South and the deep Center. The Deep North is missing, but it does the same. The meeting takes place in Milan with Gianluca and Piero, while Ignazio is connected in shorts from Caracas, where his partner lives. It’s a chat full of surprises. The first is the impressive list of novels read by Gianluca, including those by Faulkner. Then he quotes Murakami’s The Art of Running, when Piero remembers having participated in the New York marathon.
PIERO: We have a past that unites us in many things: for example, the encounter with music for me and Gianluca occurred thanks to our grandparents. For me the music was that of Mario Del Monaco and Claudio Villa. Nobody introduced me to rock. My maternal grandfather drove the truck carrying wheat between one mill and another, but at the age of 45 he lost his sight and spent the rest of his days in an armchair: in total darkness he saved himself with music, today I have his own voice. He felt the need to help me grow and so I did what he couldn’t do, I studied piano, I sang in the town choir….
IGNAZIO:(he laughs): The most beautiful voice in the world…
PIERO: All three of us got to know music like this, in a natural way, without knowing it, without a conservatory.
How do you explain it?
GIANLUCA: It would have to be studied in a psychology faculty. At 14-15 years old, after being discovered on TV, we spent three months in the USA, we were catapulted not into a new world, but into an absurd world, sacrificing adolescence, friends, family.
PIERO: Commitment and talent. But without commitment, talent vanishes, it’s not enough.
GIANLUCA: We live in a world where we want immediate results with minimal effort. Our lives changed so suddenly, without any training, that we didn’t even notice. Then comes commitment and ambition.
How do you grow up with such early success?
GIANLUCA: We spent more time with each other than with our families. We trained each other, it’s as if we were wearing a mask on stage: but the danger is to keep the mask on even when we’re not singing, because we rarely get to be together to have fun. Only now, as we have matured, has our relationship grown in intimacy and discussion.
IGNAZIO: Success is difficult to manage, even with families. Not everything is beautiful, especially if you start young. We are lucky not to have noticed it. Then, sometimes you stop and say: what happened? We are crazy, me first. I think we are lucky in many countries and I say: at this point why should I limit my life and my experiences?
GIANLUCA: We live from our passion and this overcomes tiredness and stress.
PIERO: The fun is still there, and remains the priority. I don’t think I’m famous and inner balance is a constant work for which I also have to thank the people around me: my brother and sister were sacrificed by the attention my parents dedicated to me. For this reason, today what I do on an economic level is also for them.
What do your parents do?
GIANLUCA: My father distributed medicines to pharmacies in Central Italy, but he left this work to follow me. Mum worked in the factory at Perla.
IGNAZIO: My parents moved from Marsala to Bologna, where my mother started working as a cook in a restaurant, then she worked in a pizzeria for a lot of years. When we returned to Sicily, she opened her own pizzeria. Dad was a bricklayer and wood craftsman. He died in 2021.
Three boys who start singing “Nessun dorma” and “Torna a Surriento”. It seems like anachronistic madness.
PIERO: They often tell us: you are the children everyone would like. Perhaps the message arrived in the most natural form.
GIANLUCA: To be nostalgic has been our luck with the adult public, but over time it can be a condemnation. In fact we are working on unreleased songs to move forward over the next twenty years… We are no longer Il Volo from the beginning, when we all sang the same way. We can do many things: Piero is the lyrical soul of the trio, Ignazio can do everything, he can sing opera but also Steve Wonder, Queen, he is genius and reckless, he has the most elastic voice, he is eclectic. Piero, on the other hand, is the lyrical soul.
PIERO: From 2009 to 2015 in Italy only mothers and grandmothers knew us, then with the new song and with the victory in Sanremo everything changed, we also brought young people closer. I would never have listened to someone my age singing O’ Sole Mio. Abroad we have found people who go crazy for bel canto. Non-Italians abroad: there are none in Japan, they are Japanese who love Italy.
IGNAZIO: We managed to keep the tradition alive. Now it’s time to work on new music, always maintaining that bit of tradition.
GIANLUCA: I have never listened to Del Monaco, I preferred De André or Gaber to virtuosity, who teach me to doubt, to be an empty container and to look at the world.
What does the world seem like to you?
PIERO:Instinctively they say: these people from Volo are always around, they are rich, famous… But we don’t live outside the world, we know that today more than ever we need discipline, responsibility and determination. What unfortunately many of our peers lack. The men then…
GIANLUCA:Males tend to hide their emotions, low self-esteem leads to anger and violence because they don’t manage their emotions and fragility, they don’t ask for help at the right time.
IGNAZIO: It’s as if fragility were a defect for man. The male cannot cry… More and more, to move me, all I need is a film or a nice evening with friends or with my girlfriend.
PIERO:I hear many things said, but for me the discussion must be reversed. It is not the woman who must defend herself from the man, it is the man who must change.
GIANLUCA: Before working on education we must work on education and sensitivity, but often the first to need it are parents. And who educates adults?
And here is the beautiful paper page of the newspaper.
After this article came out, Fiorello (a well-known Italia entertainer of whom Il Volo has already been a guest in the past) also mentioned Il Volo in his new broadcast, where we hope to soon see Ignazio, Gianluca and Piero also invited.
FIORELLO = Now let’s talk about our friends, IL VOLO, look how beautiful they are! (then he reads the title) . “They tell us that we are the children that everyone would like to have, but success without training has risked ruining us.”
Who wouldn’t want to have three children like this, think of three children like this, you have them at home in the morning at dawn (and he sings a piece of Nessun Dorma) ….at dawn I will win…..and they wake you up like this. 😂
They are beautiful, cute, because they already sang like that, I don’t know if you remember them when they were at Clerici (at TLUC), they were really crazy and tonight there is THE VOICE KIDS (new program hosted by Antonella Clerici where singing children participate).
But if you have read the beautiful interview above well, you will surely have read that Ignazio was connected from Caracas where his partner lives……so this makes the news official: Ignazio is in love again and his new love is called Michelle!!
“Il Volo: Gianluca Ginoble and Piero Barone respond to Corriere della Sera, while Ignazio Boschetto connects remotely from Caracas.”
Gianluca Ginoble and Piero Barone of the musical trio Il Volo participated in an interview with Il Corriere della Sera in Milan, facing the journalist’s questions. However, the third member, Ignazio Boschetto, is physically absent and connected remotely, being in Caracas. The newspaper revealed further details about Boschetto’s private life, revealing the presence of his new partner, Michelle Bertolini, former Miss Venezuela International 2013, who lives in Venezuela.
The gossip that had been circulating in the previous weeks turned out to be true, confirming that the 29-year-old singer has a new flame, with whom he is deeply in love. Ignazio Boschetto visited his girlfriend in Venezuela, thus confirming his relationship with Michelle Bertolini.
Before this relationship, Boschetto was linked to the Brazilian dancer Ana Paula Guedes, but the two would have ended their story in the autumn of 2022. After a period of singleness, Ignazio found love again alongside Michelle Bertolini.
Michelle Bertolini is a well-known figure in Venezuela, born on June 15, 1994. She has had a multifaceted career, having been a professional tennis player, model and beauty queen. After a knee injury that forced her to leave competition in 2012, she has become an established presence in fashion. In 2013 she was elected Miss Venezuela International, representing her country at Miss International 2014.
Currently, Michelle is active in the restaurant industry, having founded Kiko Sake Sushi, and is dedicated to producing wines with her family through Vinos Bertolini. Ignazio Boschetto seems to be deeply involved in the relationship with the 29-year-old, demonstrating his interest and affection for the Venezuelan public figure.
What can I say, the beautiful Michelle is a true “career woman”.
She lives in Caracas but is often in Italy to follow the wine sales.
It seems that the conditions are all there for a “Great Love”, we will see over time, for now we are happy for the two of them! ❤️❤️
Meanwhile, in recent days, Il Volo flew to Germany to participate in Helen Fischer’s show.
The show will naturally be broadcast during the Christmas holidays.
But here is a short video of the participation.
But now here we are at the most important news, which…deep down we’ve all been waiting for…..it’s official:
IL VOLO WILL BE COMPETING IN SANREMO!!!!
Here is the moment on the RAI 1 news when presenter AMADEUS announced the competitors of Sanremo 2024.
And here is the moment in which Ignazio, Piero and Gianluca, flying back from Germany, got the news live.
GIANLUCA= Here we are, here we are….
PIERO= Gentlemen, we’re going to Sanremo!!!
GIANLUCA= Let’s go!
PIERO= Hi guys, see you in Sanremo!
IGNAZIO= Ciao!
What can I say, even if we were waiting for the news we are all amazed.
They always said that they would participate as contestants only if they found the “right” song.
So trust in our three young men and support in everything, also because in the interview they themselves spoke about changes, about turning points, without departing too much from their style.
Surely, given their past with Sanremo and with the Italian press which has always turned the public against them, the three of them will need all our support and all our love. 💗
Let’s sharpen our nails, volovers and get ready to vote for them!
Despite the sad event that hit the Boschetto family, IL VOLO confirmed its presence in Sanremo.
It will certainly not be easy for our boys, and in particular, obviously for Ignazio, the sad loss is so close.
The various Italian newspapers have given the news, and I propose to you this one from Il Quotidiano.net
SANREMO 2021: Unforgettable Morricone. The song of Il Volo for dad Vito.
On stage at the Festival for dad Vito, who would have liked to hear him once again on that stage. After a short illness, Ignazio Boschetto’s father from Il Volo died last Sunday in Bologna, but tonight the trio will still be on the stage of the Ariston with his homage to Morricone, under the orchestral direction of his son Andrea, to collect the (virtual) applause of the publication of this 71st edition.
Due to the Coronavirus, this year the Sanremo Festival will take place without an audience and with strict controls at the entrance of the singers in the theater. Inside, an uncontaminated environment has been created that must be kept as such by everyone. Before entering, each singer will have to measure their fever, have a mask and show a badge that will declare the result of the swab (test) performed.
And here Ignazio, Piero and Gianluca on their arrival at the Ariston theater.
MAN = Il Volo is coming, immediately the line to you!
WOMAN = Exactly, you can see live the controls of Il Volo, which at this moment are detecting the body temperature and then there is the screening of their pass.
(Piero and Gianluca arrive)
Temperature ok? You also have the negative test of course.
MAN= Can you give Ignazio a greeting and a hug from me?
PIERO = Here he is.
WOMAN = Ignazio is coming too, obviously we need to do the checks.
PIERO = (Ignazio arrives) They greet you from the study.
IGNAZIO = Hello
WOMAN = (to Ignazio) A hug from Alberto (man)
MAN = A hug to you three, are you excited for tonight?
PIERO = A lot, a lot. We are very excited.
GIANLUCA = It will be an honor for us to be able to pay homage to the greatest composer and artist, perhaps of all time, the great maestro Ennio Morricone, therefore, we will give our best.
WOMAN = I can say that in here they can take off the mask.
PIERO = But ……
WOMAN = You prefer to keep it, ok!
MAN = Let’s have a big “good luck” we look forward to Il Volo tonight on the Sanremo stage.
Guys, I hug you, hello Ignazio, my friend! See you tonight. (It is evident that the man sent messages of affection and closeness to Ignazio).
We are all in great expectation, we want to hear and see our dear guys, especially after all the bad times they are going through, especially for Ignazio and his family.
The tribute to Maestro Morricone began with a solo by the trumpeter, Nello Salza, who performed “The Good the Bad and the Ugly” and the musical performance of the orchestra which, led by Morricone’s son, Andrea, performed “Metti una sera a cena” (Put a night in dinner).
And here we are at their moment, I had great tension and emotion in listening, they deeply moved me, they performed YOUR LOVE, taken from the film “Once Upon a Time in the West”.
MAGNIFICENT! Chills on the skin, pure emotion.
Amazing how Gianluca first, and then Piero, touch Ignazio to instill their closeness.
Ignazio starts the song by singing with his eyes closed and at the end of it he wipes his eyes. ❤
Incredible voices!
But here’s what was said.
AMADEUS = And now YOUR LOVE, which will see the extraordinary participation of IL Volo.
(the song begins, Andrea Morricone conducts the orchestra)
AMADEUS = Il Volo in Sanremo 2021. I put myself between you so I give you a microphone to speak.
Thank you guys for being here, not only obviously from the Morricone family, but from the whole audience of the festival, even in an obviously difficult moment (he puts his hand on Ignazio’s shoulder to make it clear that it is a difficult moment for Ignazio ).
We are happy that you are here.
GIANLUCA + PIERO = Thank you.
IGNAZIO = Grazie mille.
AMADEUS = You are three much loved boys. This evening is a special evening, because it is also the evening of the Italian voices that make Italian music known in the world, before you here there was , Laura Pausini, now you, and I think this is a satisfaction, also a pride, a considerable responsibility.
IGNAZIO= It has always been our goal, since the first day we walked this stage, because we were born on this stage (Ti lascio una canzone)
AMADEUS = Let’s take a step forward and go in front of the microphones.
IGNAZIO = For us this evening was a great emotion, because for us Maestro Morricone means a lot, he is a symbol of Italy in the world, and for us to be able to remember him, to be able to start this project on this stage, with the great maestro Andrea Morricone it is an honor. (Andrea sends a kiss)
AMADEUS = There is a project that you rightly remember, on June 21 (maybe it’s a mistake because it’s June 5) you are planning a great concert dedicated to master Morricone, right?
PIERO = That’s right, we are working on this recording project, dedicated entirely to maestro Ennio Morricone, and we wanted to thank maestro Andrea Morricone and all his family, for their trust and support in this project we are working on.
AMADEUS = It’s Il Volo’s tribute.
GIANLUCA = Yes, it is a very accurate choice of songs, because we will sing soundtracks in both English and Italian from Once Upon a Time in America, to Nuovo Cinema Paradiso. We can’t wait to start this new journey, thank you very much again. (addressed to Maestro Andrea Morricone)
AMADEUS = And it will be yet another journey that will lead them to appreciate the music, in this case of Maestro Morricone, all over the world, as always. When there is Il Volo this happens. Il Volo in Sanremo. Thanks guys, thanks.
G + I + P = Thanks, see you soon.
AMADEUS = Thanks to maestro Andrea Morricone, thanks.
It was a great performance, the voices were wonderful, they touched me deeply.
I seemed to sense deep emotion also in Gianluca, Ignazio very tight and tired, Piero emotionally the strongest.
Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca, very elegant in their beautiful Dolce & Gabbana suits.
Always impeccable and suitable for various occasions.
After the performance, they went to a side room for an interviewed by Rai Radio2 and the critic Gastaldo, who always gave them very low marks in Sanremo where they were as competitors.
I don’t translate everything, because they are already known, but this time Gastaldo tipped his hat to pay homage to the master Morricone. Then Il Volo confirmed the June event saying that there will also be televisions from America and Japan to televise the event. Finally they said that their CD entirely dedicated to Morricone will be released and that they hope to return to America towards the end of 2022.
While Radio Italia instead publishes this photo below with the words: “The best moments of the evening”
The comments of some newspapers, of which I give you a brief overview..
IL MESSAGGERO
Now the three tenors represent an Italian pride in the world, and in this capacity they are guests at the 71st Italian song festival. So much emotion during their performance, a performance that certainly represented for the three also a dedication to Ignazio’s father, who died too soon. Strong the warmth of the social networks to surround them during the performance: many appreciate the decision not to give up their expected participation in the Ariston, a presence that, given the conditions, deeply moved the fans and the whole audience.
After the emotion of Laura Pausini, the Sanremo Festival takes off on the notes of Ennio Morricone. The homage to the maestro is entrusted to the trumpeter Nello Salza, who plays the theme of “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”, to his son Andrea Morricone who conducts the orchestra in “Metti una sera a cena” (Put a night in dinner), to the voices of Volo , in a preview of the concert event, scheduled for June, ‘Il Volo tribute to Ennio Morricone’.
“I am happy that you are here, even if in a very difficult moment – says Amadeus, ideally clinging to Ignazio Boschetto who has just lost his father – in an evening dedicated to the great Italian music in the world”.
OF HER
IL Volo – Ennio Morricone is great, we love him, and Il Volo proves to be up to par in paying homage to him. Conducting the Sanremo orchestra is the son of the great master and the emotion is great. Piero Barone, Ignazio Boschetto and Gianluca Ginoble give us one of the most exciting moments of the second evening of Sanremo 2021.
And finally a comment from the critic Monina, who has always spoken ill of our boys, but did not know them.
During Sanremo 2019 he met them and changed his mind, on them, on their skill.
Here’s what he wrote about them.
IL VOLO – voted a 9 rating
Now, I don’t think I am exactly the best person to point out that in the world the Italian music that is recognized as such is not that of Pausini, but that which has its roots in our remote past, which flirts with the arias, which marries important melodies, the Bel Canto, to put it in a couple of words that summarize what there is to be summarized. But so much so, and it is quite clear to many that in the world these three boys have made their way precisely by virtue of their being solidly good and equally solidly healthy carriers of those instances that see us as Verdi’s children, Puccini but also di Caruso and so on. I am not the most suitable person, because I usually deal with other things, but I believe that this truth must be recognized once and for all, and today more than ever. They were good at paying homage to the maestro Morricone, but more than anything else they are good and that’s it. (how to say they are indisputably good)
Ok, there were some nice comments, but honestly, after such a beautiful and exciting performance, I expected a lot more from the Italian press, luckily, someone, like Monina, is recognizing their artistic value.
It doesn’t matter guys, people are with you, we all recognize your value, your indisputable skill, your great elegance and professionalism, for having been there despite everything.
The audience, ordinary and non-ordinary people, bow to you and are proud of you.
The road ahead of you is not easy, it never has been, but you have always shown us that you can overcome obstacles, with strength, will, hard work.
Keep it up, we love you. ❤️❤️❤️
Daniela
Credit to owners of all photos and videos.
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