Last week I wrote about the guys being The Epitome of Success. This week, I would like to add to that story by talking about a man who made it all possible, the man who lives In The Shadow of Il Volo.
In 2021, the man in the shadows wrote a book, “Ricomincio Dai Tre” (I Start Again from Three). If you follow Il Volo, you certainly know who I am talking about, their manager, Michele Torpedine. At concerts we see a patch of grey hair and we all say, “There’s Michele.”
But who is this man? And where did it all begin for him?
“Ricomincio Dai Tre” is Michele Torpedine’s autobiography. I said this about the guys’ book and, I will say it about Michele’s book, “If you can read Italian, you need to read this book.” It was so good, I read it in one weekend. I will say a lot of the people he talks about, you probably will not know, unless you’re Italian. Having said this, it is a very good read!
Let’s start by first looking at how the guys came to know Michele.
The day the guys came together singing, “O Sole Mio” on Ti Lascio una Canzone, Michele was at the end of his career. For him it was truly over. All he had done for so many now seemed in vain. But with this vision before him, three amazing teenagers, he was able to see a new light. A light that would start the wheels rolling again. A light that would reveal truth. A truth that never before was revealed to him. A truth he searched for his whole life but would only find in his relationship with Il Volo.
What was this truth? For the answer, let’s go back to the beginning that is the beginning for Michele. Let’s listen to what Michele has to say about his humble beginnings….
In my story, you will find pieces of true stories of artists, such as Andrea Bocelli, Il Volo, or rather, among their stories, you will find mine, that of an Apulian child emigrated to Bologna, the boy who from a studio apartment in a small white house (the Apulian houses are often white), went to the oval room of the White House.
I loved music, I still love it, the world of music, less.
I was born on 12th May 1952 in a small town in northern Puglia. I don’t remember anything about this place, because I moved to Bologna when I was 5 months old.
My father was called Salvatore, he was a tailor, he was severe, hard.
My mother’s name was Titina, I lost her when I was 27 years old. I carried her down in my arms, wrapped in a sheet, to the mortuary chamber. She was 51 years old. Hunger, misery and cancer, this was her life, she struggled like a beast, then from one day to the other she fell ill and flew away in less than a year, I still haven’t managed to forgive her for leaving me so early.
In Bologna, we came in search of work and survival, we are poor, but really poor. We were five people in one room.
At the age of 8, I start to work, with a shoemaker, straightening the nails that were extracted from the soles. At 12 I started working as a bartender, then as a waiter and bellhop.
My brother Nino, at the age of 17, assembled his first battery of drums (drum set), I, who was five years younger than him, began to follow him and learn. I began to work in the evening. I would go to the places where you can play. At the age of 14, I became part of a local orchestra.
At 16, my first dream came true, a friend of mine called me on a Sunday afternoon and told me that he was given the task of hiring six bands to open the Jimi Hendrix concert and asked me if I wanted to take part. I accepted immediately; I was excited.
Our band is the last one to play before Hendrix enters. Bad fate because people couldn’t wait any longer, so they threw booze and popcorn at us.
Things began to improve. They call me more and more often.
One evening, all together, we go to see a concert of musicians playing with Ray Charles, the place is packed, that evening he is there too, Ray Charles, at a certain point they tell me they don’t have a drummer and they asked me to play. My legs were shaking, I was paralyzed with fear, but then I calmed down and played.
Michele says that the battery (the drums) is his life, not women, nothing for him is as reliable as a drum set. Michele continues….
Everything goes well, time passes, I was good, but not a genius, I understood that it is better to change.
One day someone proposed that I be a road manager, that is the one who contacts the local promoters, pays the musicians, takes the money, checks that everything goes well.
I plan a series of concerts for artists like Paoli-Vanoni, a great success, things are getting better and better, from one day to the next I became a millionaire, and people began to ask for me.
I started a partnership with Zucchero Fornaciari. He is a good soul singer, nobody in Italy sings like that. Time passed and Zucchero became very successful, one day he came to me with a beautiful and sad song: “Miserere”, and he says, “this song should be sung with a tenor … let’s try to ask Pavarotti?”
Pavarotti was in America. I have to bring him a demo of the song so he can listen to it. I contacted all the tenors I knew but nobody wants to do a demo with Zucchero, with them pop was not contemplated by the classical tenors.
By pure chance, a friend tells me that in Tuscany, in a club, in the evening, there is a blind boy who plays the piano and is very good, he also sings tenor songs, his name is Andrea Bocelli.
It was the first time I met Bocelli. No one believed in him, not even himself.
Bocelli agreed to do the demo but, he was fearful because Pavarotti would hear it. He is very good and likeable. He sings the demo in a special way. I tell him to persist with music and he replies that he has won a receptionist competition and that music will remain his passion.
I flew to Philadelphia to give Pavarotti the demo and he immediately told me that he will never sing a song of light music. I asked him to at least listen to the demo and he agreed. I explained to him that the boy who sings is not a tenor but a simple boy who plays with passion and Pavarotti asks me if I’m kidding him, because for years he hasn’t heard such a beautiful voice.
I went home and call Bocelli and I incredulously propose a contract to him. Bocelli doesn’t believe it’s all true.
At first it was difficult, nobody wanted Andrea. Too risky! There were always so many bad reviews in American newspapers, but people loved him, that’s the only thing he has always counted on.
The live reaction of the people was a show in the show. Andrea was a great interpreter of emotions he knew how to take on the feelings of ordinary people. This was its added value: to be a common mortal with a divine voice.
As to women, Michele says…
Women, I love them, but I’m afraid of them. I can’t trust the exclusive relationship with a woman. I am not so naive as not to understand that beautiful women are with me even for what I do, I am wealthy, I ride in beautiful cars and, I have some power. I never married, but I was almost married. How it ended makes me feel bad today. I was 30, she was from Bologna, beautiful and intelligent. We decided to get married.
I will only say, he cheated and, it was over! Too bad!
As with everything, Michele goes back to his mother….
My mother, who I loved very much, left me early, too early, without giving me a way to show all my love for her. My mother could not share with me that little bit of success, of well-being, that I wanted to give her after so many hardships. I had everything from her, and she, she had no way to say with pride “That is my son.” I feel guilty about this.
But there is another woman who has always been important in my life, and it is my sister Liliana, a little friend, a little mother, and always with me even at work, especially in the most important moments.
I must admit that other female figures have been very important in my career. At the beginning, Cristina Gelsi, who followed me in the 16 years with Bocelli. And, now Barbara Vitali, omnipresent in all my activities, almost my alter ego, lives traveling the world to assist Il Volo.
So, let’s talk about the guys and their relationship with Michele.
In an interview with La Vita in Diretta, Michele was asked, “What has changed, Torpedine?”
I have many enemies, which will increase after this book but, I met the right people: Gianluca Ginoble, Ignazio Boschetto and Piero Barone.
Yes, as you can tell from the title of the book, when I met them and put them together as a trio, they were so young… to think that ten years have already passed! With them and with their families, good people, a relationship was born that goes far beyond the professional one.
Together we joke and laugh, then we get serious, enjoying worldwide successes: but the human side, their being real and clean, for me is an added value, which is priceless. And, especially in this environment, is a rare commodity.
So true! This is something we always say about the guys. Something we admire! Their integrity and values are priceless! We admire that they are able to remain grounded being in this environment.
Where there is gratitude, there is Il Volo! Michele continues…
It’s so hard to be told ‘thank you.’ For this reason, the boys, Gianluca, Piero and Ignazio are different: grateful, so much so that I had to tell them to stop making my name and thanking me during interviews or at the end of the concerts, everything seems prepared.
But, of course, we know it’s from the heart! That’s who Il Volo is!
Asked about whether or not Michele would “Fancy a family.” He replied….
I have no children or wife, I married music. Perhaps the ugly will come later when I turn around and find no one. But at the moment I’m fine with that!
We wonder what Michele expected when he signed Il Volo?
Another great story started, a new story at a time when it seemed to me that there was no future for me, for my profession: a breath of oxygen in my environment.
After years of disappointment, loss of trust and gratitude, missing or denied, with Ignazio, Piero and Gianluca, Michele rediscovers the values of gratitude. Michele says….
The boys allowed me to really go back to my job.
So where did Michele begin with the boys? He started in a place where he always wanted to be.
Let’s start with trust because they trust me first of all; the administration of an entire world tour, with important figures to move on which I could take what I want if I were dishonest. But they trusted me and so did their parents, to whom, moreover, I have committed myself to teaching everything, the mechanisms, the things that move, the figures, the relationships. All.
So how does Michele describe this trust?
If I had to define the story of Il Volo with a dominant feeling, I would call it, Un Grande Amore – A Great Love!
Many have arrogated the merit of the success of the three boys, which is certainly the result of great teamwork, but it is above all the result of intelligence, humility and generosity of the three families who have not only never hindered my work as manager, but were supportive in the best way: Ercole and Lenora Ginoble parents of Gianluca, Vito and Caterina Boschetto father and mother of Ignazio, and Gaetano and Eleonora Barone who gave life to Piero.
To sum up his life, Michele says,
Many disappointments, mainly human and partly, even professional.
At some point, I found myself feeling more disappointed than ever with music, with the environment I mean. There was never gratitude around me. I found myself tired, eager for simplicity, for pure things. The horizon seems closed to me. One night I was at home, sitting on the couch, and three boys, fourteen, fifteen, appear on TV. Of course, they are good, and if I tried to really put them together. A trio, here’s what I could do: Il Volo.
I think those three determined boys saved me from depression and from the desire to leave everything. Three teenagers, yes, but already great, in all respects. Already great since I first saw them: Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca.
In concluding Michele says…
I started from a studio apartment in a small white house and passed to the Oval Room of the White House, received by Clinton and Bush. Who knows Ricomincio Dai Tre – I Start Again from Threemay become a film!
Maybe it’s time for me to go back to my old career and write the screenplay!
So, what haven’t I talked about in this story. Oh, yes, how do the guys feel about Michele?
When Michele was involved in a legal matter, the guys went to bat for him. They said….
We know you well. You have been by our side for more than 10 years. You have defended us from everyone, you have fought for us, you have taught us so much and above all you love us. You always made us understand who we should trust and who preferred to use us for their own interests and for their own personal glory. We are proud to have chosen you and to have renewed our trust, for 10 years, day after day. This is truth that no sentence can hinder. For the rest, just have patience: in the end the truth always comes. In life and in courts.
What did we learn from this story? We learned Michele is a very sensitive man who lives in The Shadow of Il Volo!
Join me next week as I go back Through the Fields of My Mind and open the door to a new adventure!
IL VOLO USA Tour 2014 Philadelphia PA Mann Center
If you would like to share a story with me, please email: susan.flightcrew@yahoo.com
To read more Il Volo stories visit us at www.ilvoloflightcrw.com
Excerpts from “Ricomincio Dai Tre” by Michele Torpedine.
In the beginning the guys were called “awesome opera singers!” That’s how they described them. No, not in Italy! Here in America!
I love looking back at the beginning of their career and watching how they grew! One of the nice things about living in New York is you get all the interviews and promos firsthand!
In the late summer of 2011, the guys were getting ready for their first North American Tour. This involved a lot of preparation and a lot of appearances on TV talk shows to pave the way! I remember watching them on “Good Morning America” and thinking this is going to be an amazing journey for them. They have so much going for them but above all they had their youth which was an asset! Their voices were enticing and, they were adorable! Every teenage girl was going to fall in love with them. So would their mothers, and above all the grandmothers! It was the beginning of a journey that was going to take them to every corner of the earth. They would steal the hearts of all who came into contact with them. And, given their age, we could count on their music being around for a long time. That was the thing about their music, it came from the past and fit right into the present and would go well into the future. Everyone would come to love it! Yes, there were others who sang the same songs but, they were not Il Volo! Only Il Volo could pierce our hearts with their beautiful voices and leave us memories that would grow with age and expand with every new song!
During the last days of summer in September of 2011, the guys were taping the “Today” show. They were teenagers and they were belting out their favorite song “O Sole Mio” in front of projections of stained-glass windows. Their appearance capped a few months that brought them from “American Idol” to the morning talk shows to the final episode of “Entourage.” The idea was carefully designed to expose them to both mothers and daughters, before their first North American tour, which included theaters like the Beacon Theater in Manhattan.
In the NBC studio at Rockefeller Center, a sleepy-eyed Gianluca, 16, crooned the opening verse, and Piero, 18, and Ignazio, who was turning 17 the following Tuesday, released ringing high notes. Hoda Kotb, “Today’s” co-host, put her hand on her heart and smiled wistfully behind the cameras.
“We are Il Volo,” Ignazio said at the end with a heavy accent and a dimpled grin. “It means ‘flight.’ Thank you for flying with us!
After the taping Hoda said, “Believe me, everyone’s going to come running. They’re going to beat down the door.” How right she was!
The theory, Arias for teenagers, the crossover dream was being masterminded by some of the most savvy executives in the music business: Jimmy Iovine, who helped turn Eminem and Lady Gaga into superstars; Ron Fair, who nurtured the careers of Christina Aguilera and the Black Eyed Peas; and Steve Leber, a management legend who worked with the Rolling Stones, Aerosmith and AC/DC and has come out of pop retirement to try to make Il Volo explode. And explode they did!
The group was introducing the same Italian pop standards and power ballads that performers like Bocelli used to rocket to superstardom. The difference, of course, is age: theirs, and that of their potential audience.
“In the beginning all of us thought that because of their kind of music, the audience would be from 35 and up,” said producer Tony Renis. “But now we realize that they can conquer the kids. The younger generation all over the world. The kids are used to rap but they never had the chance to listen to this kind of music. But now Il Volo is spreading a new kind of feeling. They are conquering every age.”
The group caught Mr. Renis’s eye in the spring of 2009, when the three boys were competing individually on “Ti Lascio una Canzone,” an Italian version of “American Idol.” A shrewd producer on the show, Roberto Cenci, suggested they combine forces, and their renditions of modern classics were hits.
“These kids were singing ‘O Sole Mio,’ and I heard such amazing, beautiful voices that I didn’t believe it,” Mr. Renis said. “I thought it was fake. They were singing with such mature voices, like men of 50 or 60 years.”
Mr. Iovine and Mr. Fair signed the guys to Geffen Records after hearing a clip that Mr. Renis played for them. Their debut album, “Il Volo,” a mélange of songs in Italian, English and Spanish calibrated for the widest possible appeal, was assembled over the next year and released in Italy in November 2010.
The label’s connections landed the guys a spot on “American Idol.” They also did a cameo on the final episode of “Entourage,” with their song “Un Amore Così Grande.”
Meanwhile, when Anthony Rugiero heard Il Volo sing, he was struck by the group’s similarity to both opera’s The Three Tenors and the pop music world’s Jonas Brothers.
“I was amazed,” said Rugiero. “It was, like wow! They are treating these kids like the Jonas Brothers in Italy and they’re singing opera, like The Three Tenors. You look at them and it’s like, these guys have it all. It’s too good to be true.”
Rugiero, who heard the group sing in Italy, knew Il Volo could help his charitable endeavors. He had been looking for a way to raise funds for Boys’ Town of Italy, Italian Language Inter-Cultural Alliance and the Volterra-Detroit.
“I was thinking, how can I get a group together that’s big enough that it would reach all age levels? I thought about singing groups and was trying to think of who I could get, when I see these young kids in Italy,” Rugiero recalled. “They take classical music and put a little something into it. These kids are wonderful.”
Rugiero, who also is a board member of the Detroit Opera House, was determined to bring the group to Detroit as a fundraiser for three organizations and began working on a plan to produce the concert himself. After Live Nation bought the group’s North American concert tour, Rugiero suggested a benefit dinner that would be held in conjunction with the show on Sunday, October 16. Concert promoters liked the idea.
This video is the best example of how they were able to steal the hearts of the American people. The video shows them on a simple stage with limit musicians and their voices shine!
“I purchased the first 20 rows, center section, all premium seats,” Rugiero said, describing seats at the Fox Theatre. “We hope to have a great evening.”
Fiat was the sponsor of the event, along with several Italian-American business leaders including Tom Celani and Anthony Soave.
The Volterra-Detroit Foundation supports The University of Detroit Mercy School of Architecture and Comune di Volterra, which had formed a partnership to provide a new educational opportunity in the City of Volterra, Italy, for students in metro Detroit. Through the partnership, U.S. students can study in Italy for no additional fee, after paying their regular college tuition.
“I love programs that bridge the gap between Italy and the U.S.,” Rugiero said.
Rugiero didn’t get to produce the concert but he was able to use it as a fundraiser for three worthy organizations.
Back in New York, the “Today Show” was not their only talk-show appearance. They were on “The Tonight Show,” “Good Morning America,” “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and CBS’s “Early Show” in May, when their album was released in the United States. And they were preparing for a PBS special.
In the meantime, their album made its debut on the Billboard 100 chart at No. 10. The Italian and American management teams butted heads about where, when and how to spend the boys’ time. Should they stay in America a full year and play smallish clubs? Make one-off appearances all over the world? Play theaters seating 1,000 or 3,000?
“No one had a real game plan,” said Mr. Leber, who persuaded the families to bring him and his son, Jordan, on to help manage the group as it rolled out. “They need to tour, tour, tour, tour. The kids and the parents were nervous about going on the road. But the most important thing was to go on the road.”
So, on the road they were. Each of the boys was accompanied by one parent, a substantial sacrifice, since all three left their jobs to join their sons, and none are wealthy: Piero’s father is an auto-body mechanic, Gianluca’s a truck driver, and Ignazio’s mother owned a pizzeria that her 25-year-old daughter was running in her absence. None of the three spoke English.
The group had already been to Singapore, New Zealand, Sydney, Miami, jumping on the red carpet at the Venice Film Festival. With the upcoming North American Tour, it was necessary to get a new wardrobe. The guys were taken to Dolce & Gabbana on Madison Avenue to shop for a tour wardrobe. When they arrived at the store, Barbara Vitali told the sales associate, “We have to balance the repertory they are performing with the teenagers that they are.”
The scene in D & G was confusing! A series of slim blazers failed to fit Ignazio, who has lost more than 30 pounds but remains wide in the shoulders. Ignazio sang “All Nylon” to the tune of “All Night Long.” Gianluca emerged from the dressing room in tight black velvet pants and a shiny black blazer. Piero ended up with boots spattered Pollock style.
“They’re very, very different from one another,” Mr. Fair said. “Gianluca’s like a young Tony Curtis or a Mario Lanza, almost a Presley character, handsome and dark and Italian with fabulous hair. Ignazio is a crowd pleaser and a people person, adorable and funny. Piero is more studious, very serious.”
Three hours and well into five figures’ worth of clothing later, the group headed to theBorgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, site of the tour’s first performance of the guys first full concert ever. They allotted two days for preparation.
The following morning’s rehearsal began well. The boys sounded fresh as they warmed up; the echo of one of Ignazio’s high notes stayed in the ice-cold air of the theater for five full seconds. But Gianluca missed an entrance — he had, as usual, been on his cellphone with his girlfriend — and things quickly dissolved into backstage shouting.
The next day was the opening show, and the boys had still not run a single song all the way through. Mr. Leber arrived, doling out hugs. “This is not music,” he said. “This is a happening. This is an event.”
And it was. It got off to a rough start. The lighting careened from darkness to glare. The sound mix, including the vocal track augmenting some of the group’s harmonies, was murky; the video projections — a mixture of slow-motion Italian film clips and animations — were distracting. The boys seemed unsure of exactly where to stand and how to move.
Then they opened their mouths. The first song was “Il Mondo,” a sweeping heart tugger. Like many of the numbers in Il Volo’s playbook, it started quietly, with a verse from Gianluca. It built and built, until Ignazio, oozing delight at being onstage, let loose a startlingly full and mature high note.
A girl literally screamed with delight!
Gianluca glanced at Piero with relief in his eyes. The audience gave standing ovation after standing ovation.
Next stop, Toronto. In contrast to the Borgata show — which, like much of the tour, was organized by the American concert-promotion monolith Live Nation — the Toronto appearance was the work of a local promoter, Mimmo Pellegrino. It was at Roy Thomson Hall, where the Toronto Symphony Orchestra plays and, which is about three times the size of the Borgata theater.
The Borgata show had, as Mr. Leber had predicted, the feel of an event – sold out, electric. In Toronto about a quarter of the seats remained empty. Some odd scenic elements had been added, like three enormous white masks that were revealed at the end to be swivel chairs. The audience response was warm, but it was hard for even the loudest of the recorded string arrangements to fill the big space.
The audience at both shows was mostly older, but there were the seeds of what could become a classic boy-band phenomenon: that girl screaming in the audience at the Borgata, high-pitched shrieks of “We love you!” in Toronto, a high school senior who asked Piero to be her date for homecoming. (He said yes.) And maybe, just maybe, they will inspire young people to try “real” opera. The thought was, if Il Volo can persuade teenagers to notice and care about vocal production in a classical — or at least classic — style, who knows?
“By January they could sell 1.5 million records around the world,” predicted Mr. Fair, who arrived at the theater in Toronto just as the boys were exiting the stage. “Everyone will know who Il Volo is. It’s going to be a gigantic live act. Tickets are going to sell like crazy. And then a song will come along, like a Coldplay-type song, a pop record that’s introspective and beautiful, and everyone on the more pop end of things will know them.”
But before everyone knew them there was a degree of fame and it was pleasant and inviting. There was some discussion after the Borgata show about whether the boys should exit through a back door. They decided instead to greet the public, and as they walked into the lobby, what can only be called a polite mob ensued, just the right size and just the right amount of enthusiasm. The boys thanked everyone graciously as they signed autographs and posed for photos.
Earlier in the day Ignazio was doing a sound check onstage with the band. Steve Leber watched from the seats. As if on cue, Ignazio hit one of his shining high notes. Mr. Leber smiled. “Our game plan is working,” he said.
And it certainly worked well. The crowds grew and, the enthusiasm grew and, it has never stopped working since then. The 2011 North American Tour was just the beginning of their success in America. A success that ten years later continues not just in North American but around the world.
And over the last year the call from our guys and the world was Let the Concerts Begin.
2022 should prove to be the best year yet! Welcome Back guys! You have really given us great pleasure with your Tribute to Ennio Morricone and we look forward to its arrival in North America and around the world!
Join me next week as I go back Through the Fields of My Mind and open the door to a new adventure!
Excerpts from an article in the New York Times by Zachary Woolfe on Sept. 29, 2011
Today I would like to share a letter with you from a lady named Marilyn Andrews in Seattle.
In 2020, at the height of the covid pandemic, my husband passed away from a long illness. I had been caring for him for several years prior to his passing. I loved him so deeply, but yet, after many months, I had been unable to grieve for him. Let me describe my husband, and you may be able to make an association with someone else:
Professional singer; glorious baritone voice; a repertoire of thousands of songs; offered a chance at fame on national TV (but turned it down over concerns for impact on the family); opened a show for Tony Bennett; musically inspired by Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Mario Lanza, the Three Tenors, etc.; private in nature but a consummate perfectionist in public performance; intelligent, serious, articulate, a philosopher of the mind; handsome, part time model with a stunning smile; fit and athletic runner and weight lifter; self taught in many things, including guitar and piano; a lover of beautiful clothes (Armani in particular); a lover of all things Italian – culture, art, history, wine. Above all, lover of family. The list could go on….
In the fall of 2020, I happened to hear a televised concert of Il Volo on TV. I loved the music and began to follow the group online and joined the fan club – my first and only one ever. As I read more about Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca individually, I was startled by the many things Gianluca and, my husband had in common. “How odd”, I thought. The more I learned, the more things I found they had in common, the stranger it became, and so the more I followed.
Sometime in the winter of 2020, I viewed and heard Gianluca’s performance of “Mi Mancherai” in Rome on YouTube. At that time, I knew virtually no Italian words, and so had no idea of the song’s meaning. But upon hearing it, something inside me just broke. It was such a jolt that I actually felt it physically. The timbre of the song, the sadness and the passion with which it was delivered instantly touched my soul at such a deep level that I cannot even describe it. I wept, and wept and wept, and realized that I was finally, finally grieving for my lost husband. Two days later, I searched online for an English translation of the song. And the tears came all over again, as I learned that the song is about losing someone so very close to you that you are overwhelmed with the “missing” and the sense of loss. It was quite literally a musical expression of grief – my grief. Without realizing it, I had been led, seemingly step by step, to the music of Il Volo, then to the character of Gianluca, then to his song, then to the expression of my grief. How could this even be possible – that a complete stranger helped me begin to overcome my deepest loss? I have no idea. But I somehow need to thank Il Volo and specifically Gianluca for the gift that he gave me, even without his knowledge of it.
Over time, I am healing. And I have begun the process of reinventing myself. Hesse says that “the true profession of man is finding his way to himself.” That is what I am doing. With my previous background in international business, I am learning Italian, working remotely here in Seattle for an Italian company in Vicenza, and planning a different life for myself. I may not stay in the U.S.; it is possible I may choose – Italy? Spain? Portugal? All of these changes involve a great deal of new thinking, new learning, and a lot of courage, but as I heal, I am becoming a true lioness!
Today the music of Il Volo brings me no tears, only incomparable joy. I have never had the opportunity or pleasure of seeing and hearing Il Volo in concert, but I hope to do so in the future, in Italy or somewhere in the world. It is highly unlikely that I will ever meet Gianluca in person. But if I did, I would shake his hand, thank him, and let him know that he has helped me more than he will ever know. “All things are possible.”
Here we are at the final part of the concert. There will be some things that you may not have seen, because they do not exist in the RAI video.
After the electrifying experience of VOLARE, while I am still flying on the clouds …. the actress Laura Chiatti returns to the stage who says that as a muse, she has to make a request to them, she wants to hear the beautiful UNAMORE COSÌ GRANDE. How could we blame her, it is a beautiful song that Ignazio, Piero and Gianluca sing excellently, so we are very happy to listen to it.
I admit that the choreography behind our boys, although beautiful, is a little deviant, also because it has nothing to do with the song, but the voices of our boys are truly formidable.
The boys continue, apologizing to the Arena audience for their backs, because they speak directly to the people at home and confirm that they have always admired the American genre and then introduce the beautiful MY WAY.
I must say that I have always considered the top performance of this song, the one made by Gianluca and Piero, but I admit that tonight, in trio, they gave their all, everyone interpreted and all together were simply stellar!!!
Such an intimate moment, the three of them sitting on stools and for us audience the possibility of being able to admire them in all their beauty, as well as hearing these magnificent voices.
Ignazio continues with renewing his thanks to the Morricone family and in particular to the maestro Andrea Morricone who directed them in some pieces.
Piero announces that Maestro Andrea has written a piece for Il Volo, an unpublished one: I COLORI DELL’AMORE(The Colors of Love).
It was a wonderful surprise, an unprecedented one. Beautiful music and beautiful words, it is a song very suitable for Il VOLO, which performs it with a lot of feeling. I hope to hear it often in concert. Here are the beautiful words:
Strade buie e vuote un solco dentro me Passa il tempo con la mente senza un se Le mie foglie cadono sopra di te Sono bruciature dentro l’anima Notti insonni senza fiato a scrivere Un suono in lontananza serve a vivere Vetri appesi alla speranza di chi c’è Sguardi trasparenti e pieni di perché
Ritornerai accanto a me Ti spoglierai dentro di me E rivivrai il tempo di una realtà con me
Sono i colori dell’amore di passione e libertà in mano un fiore e poi due attimi di noi immagini di un film istanti senza età Semino parole irraggiungibili Occhi già bagnati senza brividi Due gocce di sudore cancellabili Un urlo si dirada siamo liberi
Abbraccerai la luce che si accenderà dentro di me Sono i colori dell’amore di passione e verità in mano un fiore e poi ci siamo solo noi viviamo dentro a un film E il tempo svanirà
E il tempo svanirà…
Dark and empty streets a furrow inside me Spend time with the mind without an “if” My leaves fall on you They are burns inside the soul Sleepless nights out of breath to write A distant sound serves to live Glasses hung on the hope of whoever is there Transparent gazes full of whys You will return next to me You will undress inside me And you will live again the time of a reality with me
They are the colors of love of passion and freedom in hand a flower and then two moments of us pictures of a movie ageless moments I sow unattainable words Eyes already wet without shivering Two erasable drops of sweat A scream disappears we are free You will hug the light that it will light up inside me They are the colors of love of passion and truth in hand a flower and then there is only us we live in a movie And time will fade And time will fade …
Great applause and the boys once again thank Maestro Morricone, the orchestra Filarmonia Veneta and also Maestro Rota who has alternated with Maestro Morricone.
There is a nice standing ovation for everyone. They were all flawless.
Ignazio says that we are at the last passage. Oh NO !! It was all so beautiful and so fast that I didn’t even notice the passage of time.
The notes of LIBIAM NE LIETI CALICI begin, we end up in joy with a very festive lyrical air, taken from LA TRAVIATA.
People immediately start clapping their hands to the rhythm. There is a beautiful atmosphere of joy.
In the background scenography the interior of a theater is projected, beautiful, it seems to be in the balconies of an important theater, even the choir takes a position.
Ignazio’s ringing voice begins joyfully, Gianluca and Piero immediately follow and then the choir. How wonderful, an apotheosis for what we hear and for what we see, we all clap our hands in time, with Ignatius directing us from the stage.
All standing for a beautiful and well-deserved standing ovation.
The notes of THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY begin and Ignazio shouts “Grazie mille Verona !!!”,the boys thank the people, they are visibly happy.
In the RAI video, the closing credits start.
Ignazio says it was a wonderful evening, “After a year and a half you gave us oxygen, thank you very much for being with us.”
Thanks to all participants, Torpedine, Barbara Vitali and Eliana Biondi (staff) and the families of the guys.
Ignazio warns us to stay connected, because there will be a goodnight greeting (after the midnight newscast). Luckily, so there is still something !!
Last verse is sung of THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY, and the concert is all over.
Gianluca says: “See you soon for a surprise.”
Ignazio brings his right hand to his heart, Piero greets everyone with his arms raised.
Standing ovation!
The boys go backstage, amid the applause of the people, but only the time to have a drink and perhaps wipe their foreheads, and here they are again on stage, accompanied by Marco Giallini.
As the short midnight news is being broadcast on RAI1, they are back on stage to keep us company, so that we don’t get bored waiting for them ….. what sweets !!!😘😘😘
The boys thank Giallini for his support. You must know that in Italy, it is known that Giallini is a lover of hard rock, therefore, a completely different genre from that of our boys. Giallini takes the opportunity to greet and give his esteem to the drummer Bruno Farinelli who is always on tour with our boys, remember, I did an article about him.
Then to pass the time, Ignazio says he can tell a joke and the others agree, as long as it makes people laugh.
Ignazio says: “Do you know what lipless cows do ???”
“UUUUUUUU”
….. Gianluca: “But it didn’t make anyone laugh !!!!”
These guys are really too strong and nice !!!😁😁😁😁😁😁
The RAI operators communicate that it is resuming live and so the boys resume thanking Giallini, who was an important presence for them, because Ignazio says it is their first live broadcast and he has given them great confidence. Giallini thanks and tells them to sing the last song to say goodnight to everyone. Giallini greets and goes out. If you watch the RAI video, you will see that at this point Piero makes a sign with a hand, behind Ignazio and Gianluca, to someone behind the scenes, as if to say “wait”.
Piero takes the floor to announce an absolutely moving and certainly not agreed moment. These are his exact words.
“We want to say something important for the three of us. This concert was dedicated to Vito, who we miss so much and is watching us from up there.”
Gianluca hugs Ignazio who closes his eyes. People applaud, Ignazio thanks with joined hands. Piero bit his lip, moved and Gianluca too has tears in his eyes. The three friends hug each other.
The applause and the standing ovation continue.
The fraternal affection that binds Gianluca, Ignazio and Piero is evident and in these moments it is very strong. It is a very, very moving and unique moment.❤❤❤
CONRADIANAbegins, a beautiful song set to music by Morricone and the words are by Andrea Bocelli.
I admit that I had never heard this song before, but I must tell you that it is wonderful and the words, beautiful.
Notice Ignazio, in the beginning, his face is absorbed.
The music of the violins is poignant and the choir raises the voices, wonderfully the voices of Gianluca, Ignazio and Piero, united in the last verse.
Long applause, still standing ovation, the three boys embraced, thanked and greeted and started backstage.
The RAI live broadcast ends, but it’s not all over, not yet !!
People continue to applaud and start saying BIS BIS (which means you want to hear a song again) and shortly after, the boys come back, the RAI connection is over, so they feel free from the impositions of the live broadcast.
They start singing the whole song of THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY. Ignazio has already got rid of his jacket, immediately also Gianluca and then in the end also Piero.
Without any inhibitions, all three run to embrace the maestro Rota, a truly genuine gesture. (Which artist would do it this way?)
They are visibly satisfied and as the last notes are over, Ignazio stretches out his arms to look for his friends-brothers in a final contact.
A tender hug between Gianluca and Ignazio while Piero greets everyone.
It’s over.
The boys say goodbye to everyone and quickly run backstage, now it’s all over.
The people who during this last song, had gathered near the stage all standing, greet and thank by applauding.
Slowly we reach the exit, greeting all the friends we see to the right and left.
It was a wonderful evening. The concert was perfect and Piero, Gianluca and Ignazio sublime.
The boys did not spare their strength, always remaining present, all three, from start to finish.
It was the reopening concert, the one that had to give the message that everything is back to normal, the first concert at the Arena after a year and a half of silence.
But it was also the concert of memory, of all those who are no longer there, primarily Vito.
And finally it was also the evident renewal of the affection that binds Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca, a deep affection of true friendship, of brother friends.
Now our thoughts are when will the next concert be?Fingers crossed!!! It will be soon!!!
A few days ago they were inMexicoand now, in one flight, they are inRussia …. but of course, of whom I speak, they areIL VOLO !!!!
Here they are in ST. PETERSBURG, beautiful this video by Gianluca.
Almost total change of program, different songs, different language.
A few days ago they sang in Spanish with repertoire of Mexican and Spanish songs and now songs in English and new repertoire, all in a couple of days …. I would say that few can do it !!
And I want to delight you with three fantastic solos, which give us the greatness of these guys.
IGNAZIO = “MEMORY”
PIERO = “WHERE DO I BEGIN”
GIANLUCA = “BRIDGE OVER TROUBLE WATER”
What to say, these fantastic performers amaze us every time. How wonderful to hear their wonderful voices.
Every time I hear a different song from the program, I think “It would be nice to hear it here too.”, it would take a concert at least four hours long.
“CARUSO”
And here we are at the end:
“GRANDE AMORE”
And now immediately, rushing to Moscow.
MOSCA
Beautiful concert, as you can see from these beautiful videos.
“O’ PAESE D’O SOLE”
“MY WAY”
“DELILAH”
“UN AMORE COSÌ GRANDE”
“MI MANCHERAI”
“GRANDE AMORE”
(finale)
Greetings from Moscow, even from our beautiful Barbara. ❤️
Fantastic, even Russia, has suffered your charm.
You are bringing “great love” everywhere.
Your skill combined with your sympathy, conquer everyone.
You are a little over half way, for the concerts already defined.
Always keep these great performances, we always support you:
Today I want to talk about a very discreet and very special person for IL VOLO, Barbara Vitali.
All of us fans know her and her role, but certainly not because she is an exhibitionist, yet she plays a very important role for Gianluca, Ignazio and Piero, but little is heard of her, but her presence can be sensed, it is like a shadow that follows our boys and watches over them.
When Gina suggested the idea of making a post dedicated to Barbara, I immediately accepted, because I liked the idea a lot, but I must say that in my search for news about her, I found almost nothing. Yet she plays a very important role, but it is certainly not the person who loves fame. Her task, very well done, does not require footlights, but requires a lot of patience and also a lot of firmness.
And so I remembered when I read an interview with Torpedine. He said that in the beginning he had to deal with three kids, who came from different cities and he immediately thought of a person who was able to maintain relationships with the various guys, solve their adolescent problems, and try to get them in agreement – three guys, surely with different characters and also doing “bridge” between their parents, mothers and fathers who had to be reassured …… in short, a role, not at all easy, a ROAD MANAGER, but with many shades more than the usual road managers.
And Barbara plays this role very well, always present for “her boys”.
Always ready to go with them. It must not have been easy, at the beginning, to channel three kids from different cities, in a single point from which to set off all together for long flights to distant destinations, and then, the long stays in America, luckily there was always support at least one parent for each boy. And she, always with them, almost a second mother.
In short, a SPECIAL person, who knew how to establish excellent relationships with as many as six parents, who love her and respect her, and who immediately understood the importance and seriousness of this person.
And the fans who had the pleasure of meeting her, they were fascinated, an exquisite person.
Not to mention the guys who love her.
The drawing below, which depicts a kitten, was made by Gianluca and the dedication says:
“To Barbara, I love you so much, Gianluca.”
Taormina, 23 August 2015 – The XXI International “Rosario Livatino – Antonino Saetta” Award, dedicated to the memory of the two judges of Canicattì, victims of the mafia, was assigned to Piero Barone, Ignazio Boschetto, Gianluca Ginoble de Il Volo, to their road manager Barbara Vitali.
The three boys are now young men, but she is always with them, the problems to be solved are different, but her presence is always welcome, an indispensable support for IL VOLO.
Dear Barbara, we fans thank you for everything, because surely on the formation of the character of the guys, your advice will also have influence, your presence went far beyond the working relationship, has taken over, the mutual affection and esteem, these are fundamental parts between you and Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca.
Thank you so much !!
Daniela
Credit to owners of all photos.
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