Here I am with the second part of this beautiful interview.
I assure you that you will not be bored.
Enjoy the reading!!
MARA = Come back here. (long applause) You are guys, but you have a great responsibility, because you have immense talent …
GIAN = With this song we also had the opportunity to show the beauties of our country with the Frasassi Caves.
MARA = Yes, there was the video.
GIAN = I also want to say this thing, because for us it was a great honor, to be able to work with maestro Vittorio Storaro, who is a “cinematographer” and not a “director of photography”, which is a small detail.
MARA = What’s the difference, for those who don’t know?
GIAN = There is a big difference. In America they say cinematographer …
MARA = …. three Oscars, he made all the films of Bertolucci (another Italian director who won the Oscar for The Last Emperor), Vittorio Storaro …
GIAN = … exactly three Oscars …. because every time it is a life lesson, not only artistic, but his wisdom has given us wonderful moments …
MARA = Sorry if I interrupt you, Gianluca, but I have a backstage video and I would like to send it and then you all can comment on it.
Let’s watch it together.
(the video of the Frasassi Caves backstage starts)
In the video: Gianluca’s voice = The melodies of the great master Ennio Morricone are the protagonists in this wonderful setting that are the Frasassi Caves.
Ignazio’s voice = Sharing this fantastic place also with maestro Vittorio Storaro was a great emotion. (applause)
MARA = It is so beautiful that it seems unreal, it seems magical.
PIERO = Have you ever been there?
MARA = No, never been.
PIERO = Look, time stops there.
MARA = But where is this place, exactly?
GIAN = Near Genga, in the Marche region.
MARA = Ah, in the Marche.
GIAN = Yes, this place is one hour from my house, I’m near Roseto degli Abruzzi.
MARA = So did you know this place?
GIAN = Yes, I had already been there, because schools often organize trips with pupils to make excursions.
MARA = It’s a magical place, I want to go there.
PIERO = We had the privilege of having the caves just for us and Vittorio Storaro, to shoot the video.
MARA = Illuminated by Vittorio Storaro.
GIAN = Think about the power of Bel Canto, associated with a wonderful place, it is the perfect soundtrack, but then it allows us to join idols, like Vittorio Storaro, or as before, you saw us joking with Woody Allen, it is the prestige of Bel Canto. As you know it all started with Pavarotti, then with Bocelli, so we, humbly, always try to follow in their footsteps, to bring this kind of music higher and higher.
IGNAZIO = I’ll tell you an anecdote. In the caves, we were collaborating with the master Storaro, and he was still trying to get an extra emotion out of us. So when there were our solos, he would say to Piero: “Piero concentrate you, try not to think about anything, as if there were no one, the caves, the emotion …”
GIAN = He (Storaro)was also a director on that occasion, just for us.
IGNAZIO = …. “let the emotion out” …. ok, Piero, does his (solo), Gian does his, it’s up to me and I ask: “Give me some more advice, master …”
MARA = You are giving HIM to the master. (in Italy it is a sign of respect)
IGNAZIO = Absolutely … and he tells me: “Ignazio, forget where you are, it’s just you, the camera and nothing else around.” I followed his advice.
PIERO = He added “…and think of a person dear to you ….”
MARA = Think of a person dear to you?
IGNAZIO = Yes. The playback of the song was over and I cried and I cried for 15 minutes …
PIERO = He burst into tears.
MARA = Who were you thinking of?
IGNAZIO = Your Love is a song that means a lot to us, also because we performed in Sanremo three days after my father’s death, so it means a lot to us.
MARA = The memory!
IGNAZIO = By now, I associate that song with that moment and therefore I was in tears for 15 minutes.
GIAN = The whole album is dedicated to Vito ….
PIERO = … to Ignazio’s father.
On this occasion Ignazio proved to be a great man, because three days before our performance in Sanremo, we received this terrible news by phone, and we all expected a NO, from Ignazio, we thought we would stay at home. Instead he, as a great professional, arrived in Sanremo, sang, did his duty. He has my highest esteem. ❤(appaluse)
MARA = Who knows how you were inside, love.
IGNAZIO = I think that the greatest happiness of a parent is to see their children happy.
GIAN = There was a backstage part that I would like to tell and that moved us all.
During the rehearsals Fiorello (co-host of Sanremo), approached Ignazio and hugged him for three minutes, they hugged tightly, I’m telling you, because unfortunately he also experienced the same situation ….. and by the way we say goodbye to the great Fiorello, hello Fiore !!
MARA = (turning to Ignazio) Were you far away, when your dad passed?
IGNAZIO = I was in Bologna, we were, there. Before, we talked about the pandemic, and the lockdown, there are positive sides, I was lucky enough to spend a year and a half with my whole family, and that’s what we hope all the young people, all the boys of our age, have done – have the opportunity to spend time with their families, and to understand how important their support is.
MARA = I think so.
PIERO = But in these years…. we have been together for 13 years …
IGNAZIO = We are together, that is, we work together ….
MARA = But there would be nothing wrong, Ignazio ... (being together can be meant sentimentally)
PIERO = No, no, we are together
IGNAZIO = Of bad, nothing, but Piero, it’s not that I like him so much. 😁
MARA = Are the two of them engaged? (Piero and Gianluca). About you (Ignazio) we learned that you have a girlfriend in Brazil …
GIAN = The two of them who ??
MARA = Not the two of you together, although there would be nothing wrong with that.
GIAN = No but imagine, there would be nothing wrong …
MARA = Do you, your fiancée, have it?
GIAN = Yes, yes, I do.
MARA = You have her! And you Piero?
PIERO = No, I …
GIAN = Piero no.
MARA = Is he single?
GIAN = Piero is single, the only single, that’s right.
MARA = He is in love with Bellucci, he is waiting for Bellucci.
IGNAZIO = Morricone was one of the most beautiful projects we have ever thought …
MARA = Do you want to change the subject?
IGNAZIO = Is it understood ?? 😁
MARA = You are smart, eh !!! But when you can, with aunt !!! (she means that the aunt, that is Mara, discovers the smart ones)
IGNAZIO = (He gets up and sings to Mara, hugging her) “I’ll take you and I’ll take you away.” (applause)
MARA = Come on, another film I loved is Sacco and Vanzetti, directed by the great Giuliano Montaldo, starring Riccardo Cucciolla and GianMaria Volontè.
PIERO = For this piece, we studied a lot, because we didn’t know so many things ….
MARA = Wonderful movie.
PIERO = The story is truly poignant, because unfortunately there is injustice.
MARA = Exactly. Great movie.
GIAN = We are here, eh !!
PIERO = I was telling her about Sacco and Vanzetti …
IGNAZIO = We felt a little lonely.
MARA = Here he is (Piero), I brought him to you.
PIERO = This song is called: HERE’S TO YOU. (applause, here’s to you begins)
(applause and standing ovation at the end)
MARA = Well, you wonderful ones! I just want to say that this is an important film, an important theme, it is the story of two Italians, two emigrants who were unjustly condemned, and we at this moment want to greet all our compatriots who cannot be here.
I + P = Absolutely.
GIAN = And it is also nice to remember that soon we will be on tour, from March in the United States, we start in RCMH on March 4th, and then we will reach many people who have been waiting for us for two years since the last tour that unfortunately we had to stop due to the Covid.
MARA = So you will reach our compatriots, and not only !! But then I will also say all the dates.
Let’s move on because there is another beautiful song.
PIERO = There are many (dates)
MARA = Yes, a lot.
PIERO = More than 100 concerts in six months.
MARA = But when are you leaving?
PIERO = March 4th …
MARA = And are you coming back?
PIERO = In December
MARA = Next year (2022)
PIERO = Yes, and we will sing in Italy, we will do concerts in the summer and concerts in the winter.
MARA = How long are you away?
PIERO = From March to December no stop, only 7-8 days in July
MARA = Are you going back to Italy?
PIERO = Yes, at home.
MARA = Love !!
GIAN = At least, a little sun, a tan, otherwise we will be pale, tired, with travel …..
MARA = Let’s go on, now they make you listen to another beautiful song, music ….
PIERO = What is it?
MARA = SE TELEFONANDO
IGNAZIO = Another of my favorites.
MARA = I like it a lot too.
PIERO = Do you know how it was born?
MARA = Maurizio Costanzo (he wrote the words)
PIERO = Yes, but Ennio Morricone was at the post office paying a fine, a bill, I don’t know what it was, he heard the sound of the ambulance, the siren of the ambulance “ta-ta …. se telefonando” and from there makes you understand the genius of the master Morricone.
MARA = What a beautiful song.
PIERO = Magnificent.
MARA = Why him, great musician, great author, but then this is a song that everyone can sing, in truth.
IGNAZIO = Absolutely. But then the genius of the master Morricone was that he was inspired by silence, for him silence in his works was fundamental …
PIERO = Determinant
IGNAZIO = I like to compose, and sometimes, removing is more difficult than adding.
MARA = It’s true.
IGNAZIO = The essential is something difficult to achieve. It can only be reached by those who are geniuses, like the maestro Morricone.
MARA = How wise have you become, aunt’s love. (she hugs Ignazio)
IGNAZIO = Mamma mia, I’m getting emotional!
MARA = Come on, come on, come on, SE TELEFONANDO, Il Volo!! (starts Se Telefonando)
(applause and standing ovation at the end)
MARA = IL Volo, on Domenica IN, which makes us spend the wonderful Boxing Day !!
Good, good guys, good, good guys (she applauds the guys).
Now I’m sending something with you, from here, from this position. Last year was December 25, 2020, exactly one year ago, and where were you? In St. Peter’s Square ..
P + G + I = Yes, St. Peter’s Square.
MARA = With ???
PIERO = Nobody, there was nobody. Ours is a dream job, we are dreamers and we saw that surreal situation, lockdown, at home at ten, and we wanted to wish the whole country a Merry Christmas from there. We got organized, with the director of RAI1.
MARA = Stefano Coletta.
IGNAZIO = Let us wish him well for Santo Stefano.
G + P + I + M = Greetings director !!
PIERO = And so from there, we made these four songs, to wish a Merry Christmas, with St. Peter’s Square completely empty.
MARA = Let’s see it then. (start the video of Merry Christmas from San Pietro 2020)
In the video: Gian = On this very special day, in which, even if we are close, we are forced to stay away, we wanted to find a way to wish you a Merry Christmas.
Ignazio = With music, in this extraordinary square.
PIERO = The hope is that Christmas, with its magic, can bring a smile to your homes, and warm your hearts.
MARA = How beautiful !! It’s beautiful, I think you have performed everywhere, but I think this was an emotion …… (addressed to Piero) at one in the morning did you tell me?
IGNAZIO = In fact there was still a curfew, so thanks to the Municipality of Rome, and the Vatican who gave us permission to be able to register it. So as not to create a crowd, we did it after curfew, we finished at 1am.
I want take this opportunity to reiterate that the mind that thinks these things is Michele Torpedine, who has all these fantastic ideas.
MARA = That we say hello to Michele (she blows a kiss), where is Michele? It should be around here!
PIERO = Do you think that Luciano Pavarotti called him (Torpedine) Great Boss, and he too (Ignazio), jokingly also called him Great Boss.
I’ve never done, it but I told him: “The day you make us sing in front of Pope Francis, I’ll call you Big Boss”, and now I have to!
GIAN = Behind every singer, there are people who allow them to be able to fully express their art, surely he is the person …..
PIERO = Can you turn the camera? He is there, behind …(Michele is nearby)
MARA = No look, let’s do one thing: “Come here, Michele, we’re talking about you” (applause)
PIERO = Great Michele.
MARA = (drags Torpedine on stage). Sorry, they were talking about you.
MT = You know that these things embarrass me, I’m not used to it.
MARA = Come on. Listen, we are almost at the end of this beautiful segment, I don’t know how to thank you.
How do you handle these boys, Torpedine?
MT = How do you manage three dynamites like this, they go it alone, just say yes or no to things.
MARA = Now you all go, go around the world for months …
MT = Around the world, we hope that everything goes well with Covid.
MARA = We hope, we hope so.
IGNAZIO = We thought we would leave you with a Christmas song, since they told us that Christmas songs are sung until the Epiphany.
MARA = Come on, the witch is here. (herself)
PIERO = White Christmas.
MARA = White Christmas, Il Volo, and I take Michele away. (White Christmas song begins)
Thanks guys, (applause), thanks, thanks. Happy New Year!
IGNAZIO = We want to thank you.
MARA = Thanks to you.
IGNAZIO = We wanted to congratulate you for the new year.
PIERO = We never had the opportunity to spend all this time together, you are really human !!
GIAN = Thanks for believing in us.
MARA = You gave me a great gift, guys.
IGNAZIO = And you gave us a great gift, because talking about each other, is not always easy.
GIAN = Best wishes to you too who are following us, hoping that it will be a 2022 of normality.
IGNAZIO = We wish you to collect all the most beautiful, unthinkable and imaginary fruits, because “nothing is impossible”.
MARA = And it’s true !!
GIAN = He is also international, him.
PIERO = Only optimism !!
MARA = Come on guys, but see you, you go around the world …
PIERO = See you in concert in Italy …
MARA = At the Arena ??
PIERO = In June at the Verona Arena and Taormina …
MARA = And so, see you in March. They go and then they come back: Il Volo !!!
I have no words after this beautiful interview, it was long, but not boring at all.
I believe that when our young men open their hearts, we only know of good feelings.
This is also what we like about them, their way of being, unites us and brings us closer and closer to their human side, they are not only excellent artists, there is much more.
On November 17, Il Volo was a guest on Radio Italia, only Italian music, for the promotion of their latest CD.
The event was led by Mauro Marino and Manola Moslehi. It was a great interview and Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca also sang two songs live.
In November two years ago, I was able to go to Radio Italia and it was wonderful. Unfortunately this year, due to COVID restrictions and also the afternoon hours, I was unable to go, too bad.
Here is the video and its translation.
Please click on the photo to view the video.
MAURO = Here we are in the Reward Music Play, complete with an audience, welcome back, well arrived, purely female audience, I must say.
MANOLA = Of course, also because today’s guests are three beautiful guys, so even the eye wants its part.
MAURO = Exactly, and for the eye, we also greet the friends who follow us on Radio Italia TV, Manola Moslehi, Mauro Marino, and then let’s call them, we are standing here on stage, because in front of these microphones, soon, yes, will perform live, the three guys from:
MANOLA = IL VOLO !! (applause, enter Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca).
MAURO = Here they are, take a seat, please, please. You can sit down.
Manola ran away and I don’t know why.
I + P + G = Hi, hi.
MAURO = When you are ready ….. here they are: IL VOLO (Manola returns to the stage)
MANOLA = I thought they sang right away, do you understand? I didn’t want to waste time.
MAURO = Are you ready?
IGNAZIO = Very ready.
PIERO = But we haven’t warmed up our voices.
MAURO = Try to do it now.
PIERO = How do we do it? Let’s start like this?
MANOLA = Come on, come and sing.
GIAN = We are yours today …..
MANOLA = Sing, sing ….
MAURO = It’s just that you don’t have microphones (the microphones in front of the boys are just for singing), it’s just for that, then you tell us everything when we get off here in front.
PIERO = Can you come near here? ….
MAURO = I can come, but I can’t give you my microphone, you know the rules (this are the new rules for COVID the microphone is personal and must be disinfected before being used by another).
MANOLA = Piero has to ask for things …
MAURO = Tell me, what is it I have to do, tell me.
PIERO = Are we on live?
MAURO = We are on live, yes, yes.
PIERO = Ah,on live without warming our voice, beautiful.
MANOLA= But no, go , go live!!
GIAN = We greet all those who look at us with their mobile phones from home !!
MAURO = I know what you will do SE TELEFONANDO, right? You let us listen to it and then we talk about it. Il Volo on Radio Italia.
(starts SE TELEFONANDO live)
MANOLA = Live on Radio Italia only Italian music, Il Volo, strictly live !! Wonderful guys.
MAURO = Thanks guys. So, we wanted to specify that they sang from the vivo, you already said it …
MANOLA = Yes, yes.
MAURO = … and they haven’t even warmed up their voices, so now guys, you are machines that go automatically …
MANOLA = Think if they had warmed up their voices …
MAURO = Great, thanks guys !! Here are the microphones, perfect and I sit down too, voila!
MANOLA = (To the audience) Did you like them?
YES!!
IGNAZIO = Here we are.
MAURO = So, there is a new album, dedicated to the great maestro Ennio Morricone, besides you have just sung this song, everyone knows that the song (the text) was also written by Maurizio Costanzo (great Italian television entertainer) and the music, is also by Ennio Morricone, we wanted to remember this because it is with this song that you opened today’s appointment.
IGNAZIO = You know how this song was born, don’t you?
MAURO = I know the story, but you tell it.
IGNAZIO = No, no, Piero tells it. 😁
MAURO = Come on Piero.
PIERO = When the idea of dedicating an entire album to Maestro Morricone, and the project was born, started for us, an extremely complex course of study, because when we entered the world of Ennio Morricone, on tiptoe, we discovered that he had written nearly 500 melodies.
IGNAZIO = More than 500 compositions.
PIERO = Not only soundtracks, we discovered that he made the arrangement of IL MONDO and also of SE TELEFONANDO.
IGNAZIO = ABBRONZATISSIMA (Ignazio mentions a very famous Italian song from the 60s)
MAURO= Also!
MANOLA = Also, it’s true! (she refers that even Abbronzatissima was set to music by Morricone)
PIERO = Lots of songs. Since we had the support of the entire family of Ennio Morricone, including his son Andrea Morricone, he told us several anecdotes, including the birth of SE TELEFONANDO. His father was queuing at the post office, to pay the electricity bill, and he hears the ambulance and the sirens of the ambulance “ta-na-na”, is born: SE TELEFONANDO.
MANOLA = What a genius though, it couldn’t be otherwise. How was your first meeting with him?
IGNAZIO = It was in 2011, because in our first album there was a song, it was a medley between Once Upon a Time in America and Malena: E PIÙ TI PENSO. So, he (Morricone) was recording, working in the studio at that time, and we met there and then in 2011 we collaborated, we sang E PIÙ’ TI PENSO in Piazza del Popolo directed by him and so it was nice. There is also the anecdote that we always tell, that Gianluca gives a YOU to the master in front of the orchestra and everyone OH OH, and he says: “Don’t worry, kid, I’ll take care of it.” He was a man of few words, he showed little, but a lot.
Then, unfortunately we had little time and opportunity to spend time together and get to know him more, but it would have been really interesting and beautiful.
MAURO = While you were talking and singing before, we looked at you, out here, and we said: “We saw these three who were kids, now you are men, now you are men.”
PIERO = It’s the beard that makes the difference
GIAN = Three years ago we were 24, in three years we are 30.
MAURO = Perfect.
GIAN = The 30th begins to approach.
PIERO = Sorry, if we had 24, how do we get 30? Where did you go to school??
GIAN = Oh yes, in three years we will be 30, we are no longer children.
MAURO = But it’s nice to see this transformation, from boys to young men.
IGNAZIO = This transformation from ugly (to Piero) to beautiful ….
MANOLA = So, in reality, it sounds strange to say to three still very young people, that you have 12 years of career behind you, one is at least impressed, I mean.
PIERO = You know that we, the pre-COVID, just before the COVID were celebrating 10 years of career with a world tour. On March 11, we suspended the tour to suddenly return to Italy, and we will be back on tour exactly after two years, so it’s a 12-year career, but two years homebound as if time had stopped.
MAURO = In stand by.
IGNAZIO = A little like those birthdays that last a week, we the ten-year that lasts two years.
MANOLA = So, we have an incredible event in Piazza Duomo (Milan) it was 2018, you were very tanned, you were, but you are still beautiful, I wanted to know from you, looking at that image there, with that crowded square, what a feeling you have on.
IGNAZIO = I was hideous.
MANOLA = That’s not true!
PIERO = But it’s strange, it’s a strong feeling to see the audience, we’ve been missing that feeling for a while.
Now we are restarting with the tour, with the events, it is a slow, uphill process, but soon we will return to that feeling of serenity that we saw a little while ago.
MAURO = We all wish it a little, we said it before while we were waiting for you, together with the friends who are here (audience), there are not many, because you have to keep your distance, but see people live, meet people, for those who do yours craft, it is crucial I guess, especially for you.
You were talking about tours, then we will talk together about the tour, which will start in March, meanwhile, here they are launching the pens ….
MANOLA = The lady from the audience threw a pen …
GIAN = But it’s Hermione Granger’s magic wand (Harry Potter’s little witch)
PIERO = (he took the pen and this one has a big fake diamond on the end) Oh my, it looks like Queen Elizabeth’s pen.
MANOLA = We explain to friends who listen to us on the radio, that a lady from the audience threw them a very discreet pen, with a diamond ….
IGNAZIO = (Ignazio took the pen in his hand) Madam, is this diamond real? Ah, is that true? (he puts the pen with the diamond in his pocket)😁😁
MAURO = The pen is gone …😁
IGNAZIO = Another pen, thanks.😁
MAURO = Let’s go back to the album, because rightly I saw that, looking at the cover, the friends who follow us can see the image here in the background of the stage, (meanwhile Piero is unwrapping the vinyl record), it reminds us a little of Sergio Leone’s films obviously (director of many westerns with Morricone’s music).
GIAN = But it was totally inspired by that world there. Shooting that world from “Sergio Leone” and those Morricone’s music, is a return to the past that is eternal, that will never die. The vintage taste that really takes everyone, especially the generations who lived through those times, but also young people, who maybe discover something they have never heard or seen.
MAURO = Indeed, she is very beautiful and this (the vinyl record that Piero is discarding) I will tell you immediately, I will steal this, tell Torpedine, where he is around here: “Torpedine, this is for me, thank you “, 😉 your producer.
So 14 songs, you said before that Morricone composed more than 500 songs etc., how did you choose these 14?
PIERO = This was the most difficult phase, choosing the songs, because there are so many. It is clear that we have chosen the most famous ones, those to which we are most connected, for example personally a song that I have always loved, is the one taken from the film NUOVO CINEMA PARADISO, “SE” (meanwhile Piero signs the vinyl record.)
I am linked to that film because you know, it is about this Sicilian child who goes to Rome, to chase his dream, so when I sing it I feel that strong emotion.
Then, together with Andrea Morricone and our producers, who are Swedish, also very knowledgeable about Morricone’s repertoire, we finally found a meeting and this 14-track setlist was born.
MANOLA = Furthermore, this new album was preceded by a concert at the Verona Arena, and directed by the son of Maestro Morricone, Andrea, also an incredible experience.
IGNAZIO = Yes, it also went on the air (the concert) a few days ago, on November 10th for Maestro Morricone’s birthday. It was a great experience, because we were finally back in concert after almost two years in front of an audience, it was the first concert in front of an audience and certainly singing all those melodies, many of which tell true stories, such as Here’s to you, which is one of my favorite songs, which talks about the story of Sacco and Vanzetti and a huge injustice. So it was exciting, both for the songs sung and for the situation in which we found ourselves, after a year and a half, to go back to the concert in front of people, we were also preparing the album, which is now out, so it was a lot nice.
MANOLA = We were talking about your 12-year career before, but there is a moment in your career, even at an international level, that you remember with more affection ….
IGNAZIO = When we met you (laughter)😁😁
MANOLA = I wanted to know this ☺….. I thank you infinitely …. and the second important moment ????
GIAN = When we saw you again (laughter)😁😁
MANOLA = For me the interview can be concluded here !! Thanks.☺
MAURO = (to Piero) And what’s yours?
PIERO = Everyone has their indelible moment, personally when we sang in front of Pope Francis in Panama, during the World Youth Day, that was something unforgettable.
MAURO = There is no Manola to keep!😉
MANOLA = Compared to the Pope, I withdraw !!😁
(starts the live of the song SE…..applause)
MANOLA = It is strange to enter at the end of this song, because it seems to disturb me, Il Volo on Radio Italia only Italian music, strictly live, we specify it, because you look like a record, guys, it’s incredible !!
MAURO = Really good.
GIAN = Thanks!
MANOLA = Well done, well done, well done
MAURO = But, among the 14 songs on the album ….
GIAN = This is my favorite ..
MAURO = His too though (by Piero)
GIAN = …. especially for the text, not only for the melody, because this was written by Andrea Morricone, the son of the master, the film (the music) was written by Andrea, but then the text is wonderful, tells a beautiful love story.
MAURO = Exactly.
IGNAZIO = What I often think is that it is totally different from everything there is today, from all the fashion music, which we listen to today, but I think that these melodies are a little like pizza for Italians, that is they are part of our culture, and we must be really proud of them, because the maestro Morricone has spread great emotions to the whole world with his soundtracks to all the greatest films.
GIAN = I imagine that tomorrow we will read in all the newspapers “Morricone is like pizza” ….😑
MANOLA = Yes, but it’s a nice compliment though.
PIERO = I understand what Ignazio means, we want to explain and clarify the title of this project, of this album, Il Volo sings Morricone. Morricone is not a man whose work is celebrated, Morricone is a genre apart, he has created a completely different genre, and is an eternal genre, which will never die.
MAURO = Indeed, the comparison is correct, it is right.
IGNAZIO = It is part of our culture.
MAURO = It is right and then you are the only ones to bring the Italian Bel Canto around the world, and therefore it was right to think of an album of this genre, with the music of the maestro Ennio Morricone, so congratulations for the idea.
What I wanted to ask you, what was the hardest song to sing, among these 14?
PIERO = Maybe “Amalia por amor”, because it is in Portuguese.
IGNAZIO = No, I think that one of the most difficult has always been “E più ti penso”, yes!
PIERO = Even “Metti una sera a cena”, it was difficult …
MANOLA = Gianluca what do you think?
GIAN = I have to tell you that for them (Piero and Ignazio), it was all particularly difficult … (laughter)😁😁, for me a little less …. no, I’m kidding!
IGNAZIO = He faced everything with high chest !!
GIAN = But I must say that it is not only the acute, the high note, it is a matter of interpretation…
MAURO = Bravo!
GIAN = …. they are very difficult melodies, which move away from “Nessun Dorma” or from songs where there is a need for vocal power, without interpretation these songs cannot be sung.
IGNAZIO = For example there is “Here’s to You”, it is a song that we expressly wanted to sing it in a much lower key than what we could have done, because in any case the songs, especially these songs, as Gianluca says, need of a great interpretation and we worked hard on it, in fact, we sang, re-sung and re-sung this song in the studio to find the perfect emotion and interpretation.
GIAN = Then if you live it in first person, as for example in the song SE of Nuovo Cinema Paradiso ….. even better
PIERO = We understand it, that you are in love, the text speaks of love, we understand it !!!😁
MANOLA = It seems to me a beautiful thing.!
GIAN = It is beautiful indeed …😘
IGNAZIO = I understand, but he is becoming a little like Abruzzo, in everything he puts Abruzzo in the middle !! (laughs)😁
MANOLA = Today it is like this, today Gianluca is in the middle (she mean that Gian is made fun of by Piero and Ignazio)
PIERO = When he breaks up, he’ll sing “And the more I think of you” (laughter)
MANOLA = But why should he leave?
MAURO = Later we hope …
MANOLA = But as late as possible! Since these are the last minutes we spend together, let’s talk about the 2022 tour right away. The orchestra from live and your voices that will somehow blend with this incredible orchestra. You will also leave for the US.
PIERO = March 3, from the US, March – April and then the rest of the world.
We would like to remind you that we will sing in Italy in two different periods: summer and autumn.
In the autumn we will do the sports halls and soon we will publish the dates.
MANOLA = Are you excited?
IGNAZIO = A lot
MANOLA = Meet the live audience again …
IGNAZIO = We can’t wait, but we really can’t wait, because we always say that concerts are the maximum expression of an artist, where you can feel really free, because yes, the interviews where you tell about yourself are beautiful, but on stage you can express everything and have that adrenaline, and it’s very different from doing interviews.
PIERO = It is the magical expression of our deepest joy.
MAURO = In the meantime, between now and when you leave for the tour, you can always come here and meet the audience in our Reward Play.
IGNAZIO = Yes, but I don’t want to have that man who hurries everyone (he points to a man behind the scenes), if we come here, we start in the morning and finish in the evening.
MAURO = No, no, don’t worry, we’ll tie him up that day.
PIERO = But you have to redo Palermo (He refers to a summer event made by Radio Italia in a square in Palermo, with great success)
MANOLA = We will do it again, we hope.
MAURO = But surely, if it can be done, it will be done. In the meantime we are waiting for you here, if you come to visit us: Radio Italia live, so at least the friends who are here (audience) can see you sing live, do a kind of dress rehearsal.
PIERO = So let’s do the rehearsal (he shows the vinyl record) This is the new album, close-up on the album: Il Volo Sings Morricone, our new album.
MAURO = Thanks guys, thanks to everyone.
MANOLA = Thanks to IL VOLO.
G + P + I = Grazie mille, bye bye.
Nice interview, and how wonderful those two songs.
I’m sorry that you have waited a long time for this translation, but my PC started to throw a tantrum, several times I had to redo some pieces.
Meanwhile, our young men, tireless, continue the promotion of the CD, they have already been to Spain and Germany and now they will also do two instore, one in Milan and one in Rome.
Finally I am attaching this beautiful video that was published a few days ago, it is Piero who sings the AVE MARIA at his best friend’s wedding, in June of this year. Good viewing!
Everyone knows that Gianluca Ginoble is the most social of Il Volo.
But he doesn’t just post beautiful photos and videos, he never stops promoting his beautiful native region, to which he is very attached.
This time he was invited to L’Aquila (the capital city of Abruzzo) for the presentation of the GIRO D’ITALIA (the most important cycling race in Italy).
Here is his speech:
Host = We have here with us a pride from Abruzzo: Gianluca Ginoble.
Come here with us, a round of applause to this very young talent, thank you for being here.
We brought you into a context a little different from the one you frequent, but sport is still a context of discipline, of sacrifice, to achieve dreams.
You have achieved a dream, a huge dream to cultivate …
Gianluca = There is also one thing in common the symbol of infinity produced by the two wheels (he refers to the symbol of the Giro d’Italia drawn, in which the wheels of the bicycle form the symbol of infinity), which is a little like the Bel Canto, which is an eternal (infinite) music.
I must say that I am honored to be here, in the midst of so many champions, we also have a common friendship, which is the great Marino Bartoletti and that I care to greet him.
Host = He is a friend of ours, we give him a round of applause, because he will surely come back to visit us, he follows us, he loves Abruzzo.
Gianluca = It is a way, as I said, to promote this wonderful land, known all over the world, from the sea to the mountains, and it is certainly a message of hope, to return to live a normal life, with the organization of large events, such as concerts and the Giro d’Italia, return to see the streets full of people, and therefore I am truly honored to be here to represent my land, and I am very proud to be from Abruzzo.
Thanks, I’m really glad to meet you all.
Host = We thank you (applause).
We thank Gianluca who, among the many commitments, managed to have a little time for us.
I would also like to thank his dad, who helped us, he was our hook, we salute him, Ercole. He cares a lot, because it is a family matter to help Abruzzo.
You have been kissed by a gift, you guys are so talented (Il Volo) and you never forget Abruzzo.
What other projects are there? Can you tell us something?
In the music scene, which we remember at this moment is almost at a standstill, it is really difficult for them to go on, which in any case continue to produce, thus allowing musical operators to work. Then we also remember that at the beginning of the pandemic, Gianluca was the protagonist, together with other artists, of a fundraiser, dedicated to show business operators who, with their families, were stopped. Therefore a constant commitment in this sense.
What, what projects are there? Anticipate something.
Gianluca = I want to remember, since the mayor of L’Aquila is also here, that one of the most touching experiences of my life was to be able to interpret, a few days after the 2009 earthquake, we were participating in the program on RAI1 … …
Host = You were very young.
Gianluca = I was fourteen years old and that evening, live on RAI1, I was able to interpret Gounoud’s Ave Maria, and represent my land, even if for this sad cause, unfortunately, but for me, also a way to remember how proud I am to be from Abruzzo.
Now we are leaving again, we are making a great event in June at the Arena …. I shouldn’t say it, damn it, it escaped me …. (because this video was recorded before the official news, laughter of understanding from all), I only said Arena, I didn’t say where.
It is the hope of being able to start again, in two months, then.
It is a project that will be a tribute to the great master Morricone, we also had the opportunity to present him in Sanremo, as guests this year, singing “Once upon a time in the west”. It will be a collection of all the songs, the most beautiful soundtracks of the maestro, then a tour will start and then a record that will be released shortly.
Host = Ennio Morricone was also particularly close to this region, honorary citizen of the city of L’Aquila, and is still close in memory, last year there was a concert by his sons. I must also remember the beautiful performance of Il Volo in the “Perdonanza 2019”, in Collemaggio avenue there were at least 15 thousand people, at the time we could all be close.
Gianluca = But we’ll be back, mayor.
Host = It was a spectacular thing, with Pastore’s lights on the basilica, beautiful and you absolutely must go back.
Gianluca = Yes, definitely.
Host = Let’s have a round of applause and good luck.
Gianluca = Thanks.
Host = Thank you Gianluca from the heart, but really from the heart.
Our handsome baritone often cheers us up with his beautiful selfies, in which we delight in such beauty.
It is he who transmits his love for Luna to us!
He often shows us meetings with friends.
He gives us a glimpse of his house.
He is always the one who keeps us updated on his piano exercises, sending us small pieces of pop songs, truly remarkable.
He is always the first one who tells us about the movements of Il Volo, the last a few days ago, a trip to Turkey, but for what ??? Nothing has been published. Maybe a private event ??
Be careful and safe !!
And he is always the first to give official news, like this one:
#Repost @ gianginoble11 It will be exciting to return to perform, in this particular period, at the Verona Arena, which we are very fond of because, like us, it acts as a bridge between tradition and modernity.
Times remain difficult but it is an important step towards that extraordinary normality that we Italians need most.
We look forward to seeing you on 5 June at the Verona Arena.
See you soon!
Yeah, but he thought to give us only the good news, and to avoid telling us that the concerts scheduled at the Verona Arena for the end of August, are again postponed, for the second time !!
Damn, what a mess, I was hoping to see a concert this year. I still have the possibility of a tribute to Morricone, but they are already saying that it will be done anyway even if the public may not be admitted.
However, our government has said that from April 26, the reopening of the open-air theaters with limited audiences will begin, so there are still good hopes.
Fingers crossed!!
But now I want to give you a moment of rare sweetness, listen to this beautiful video of “MI MANCHERAI” (taken from the film Il Postino), recorded in September 2019 in St. Petersburg.
Yes, Gianluca, you are really full of energy.
Thanks to you, we often get news and photos that help us make certain bad days better
Thank you for always being so present, tireless Gianluca.
How do you begin to tell a story, more like a fairy tale, about three teenage boys who conquered the music industry?
They came from Italy from very different regions, very different families, very different backgrounds but, they had one thing in common, the ability to capture audiences with their amazingly, beautiful, voices.
Thinking back over the years, I realize they have put so much energy into such a short period of time. Twelve years of a lifetime but, in reality, they did it in five years! How is it possible that these three men could do, in such a short period of time, what most men cannot do in a lifetime? The secret is in the voices!
Going back to the beginning, I remember what Gianluca said, “I thought there were three hundred thousand boys singing like me, and instead that night I discovered that there are only two: Ignazio and Piero.” Of course, Gianluca was referring to the night they sang together for the first time onTi Lascio Una Canzone. So, let’s begin there!
When they came together as contestants on Ti Lasacio una Canzone, they never dreamt that they would walk off the stage as stars! Individually, they sang with some very famous Italian singers, Al Bano, Massimo Ranieri, Fausto Leali, Adamo, Piero Mazzoccheti and, they were singing their songs and these men were in absolute awe of these teenagers.
From the first note that came out of their mouths, everyone recognized how unique their voices were. Roberto Cenci the artistic director and director of Ti Lascio una Canzone recognized the importance of these three voices. He recognized that the voices were different but alike in their uniqueness. Cenci understood if you put the voices together, they will blend beautifully and, they will be very appealing. How right he was! An experiment that turned into stardom.
And how did Michele Torpedine put it?“The three casually put together to sing a song of the program possess an incredible vocality for their age.” Watching them on TV Michele is 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?” Michele and everyone else felt they were incredible!
But it needed much more than just a feeling and it went beyond incredible. It needed something to come to life. It needed a new idea. It needed to be different because they were different. So how do you make it different? Bel Canto!
Bel canto is Italian for “beautiful singing.” From the mid-18th century through the early 19th century, Italian opera developed what is now known as a bel canto style. Composers began to write long, sustained vocal lines intended to show off the beauty of the voice.
Well, that works! They certainly have beautiful voices!
If you start with the premise that bel canto can make the difference, then you need to find the best way to present it! First, have them sing all the Italian classics. If you look at the music industry at the time you have to say “it won’t work” but, it did. Why? It worked because their voices were unique, the presenters were teenagers, and the world was waiting for something different. The difference was they needed to go back to what was and present in a different light. A unique idea. A little risky for sure but, a lot of very talented people in the industry felt it could work. And it did!
Bel canto for sure! But those voices that embody bel canto needed to go beyond and so where do you go? In their concerts they sing beautiful arias because they have beautiful operatic voices but, they will tell you, they do not sing opera. So, they reinvented the idea of opera. Just as bel canto reinvented opera, so did they reinvent it with their Operatic Pop. Always light, free flowing, ethereal! They took away the rigidness and left the beauty of the words which they present in their special ways with their special voices!
A few days after I finished this article, Michele Torpedine appeared on the Marzia Roncacci show. During the interview Marzia surprised everyone with an appearance by Piero. She asked one very important question, that is the question I just presented. So, I would like you to hear it in Piero’s own words.
Marzia: Listen, Piero, and also Michele, how do you explain this great success of yours, of three young people, because you are now very well established, even abroad, it is not so easy, there are only a few who are known and, they can be counted on your fingertips.
Piero: Our success is the echo! It is the resonance of the music we sing. As Pavarotti did in the past, bel canto is the winning weapon. Bel canto is the most popular Italian music in the world, and it is nice to hear in any theater or arena in the world, even in Japan, when the public hear these melodies, written right here in Italy, they go into ecstasy. Our voices also contribute, it is clear, and to hear young people with these voices …. but it is clear that if we didn’t sing this kind of music, it would be much more difficult.
Piero is very modest! Their voices are very important. They brought bel canto back to life in a unique way! Bravo!
So, let’s move on! Where do you begin?
America!
Their first stop was Miami. It was like stepping into a dream for them. Everything in America was different from Italy. The streets, the houses, the cars, everything was different. But above all, they really could not comprehend all that was happening to them. After Miami they went to Los Angeles.
In Los Angeles, they were invited to participant in the charity event “We Are the World 25 for Haiti”.
They took Los Angeles by storm. This is truly the beginning of IL VOLO!
By now, they were in a whirlwind!
Piero recalls, “We were fifteen and sixteen when we found ourselves in this American dream. We had signed a contract with a record company that includes famous artists like Beyonce and many others. We were invited by the record company to a party. We turned and saw, Quincy Jones; we turn around and we saw Rihanna; we turned and shook hands with Lady Gaga. We talked with them, some singers who were idols for us and for our peers.”
In fact, the guys only began to understand that something was changing when their first record came out. The boys had met all the big names and performed with them in We Are the World, but reality had not yet set in. Let’s hear what Ignazio had to say about this….
“It was already in May 2010 and the Il Volo album was about to come out all over the world. Maybe I was too small and naive, but I did not feel the anxiety of the job like today. The first major television show we appeared in, in America, was American Idol, the world’s most famous music talent show.”
And what a performance that was. They sang “ ‘O Sole Mio” and in that moment, they captured the hearts of thirty million people. Not to mention Ignazio giving five to Steven Tyler. But that’s another story!
During the last three episodes of American Idol’s tenth season, they performed and promoted their first album, Il Volo.The international edition of the album was released on April 12, 2011.
In its first week, the album reached the tenth spot of Billboard 200 and topped the Classical Albums chart. The album also entered the top ten in other countries, including Belgium, France, Germany, New Zealand and the Netherlands, and it peaked at number one on the Austria Albums Chart. It would later be certified platinum by the Federation of the Italian Music Industry.
Back in Italy, in their hometowns, the people were ecstatic. These three teenagers had achieved what only a few Italian artists had achieved, success in America!
By now, every program in America wanted them. The phone was ringing off the hook! They appeared on The Tonight Show, Good Morning America, The Ellen DeGeneres Show and The Early Show. There was no stopping them. The people of America had spoken and what they were calling for was, Il Volo. And slowly, the rest of the world also recognized their achievements.
The chatter began about these three teenagers with voices like “angels!” But what’s most important is what happened to the boys! These boys who came to America thinking, “who will know us there,” were now becoming a household name. And how did that happen, a little thing called PBS…
Next week we follow the guys to Detroit where they stepped on the stage at the Detroit Opera House and sealed their fate!
We continue to follow their footsteps Through the Fields of My Mind….
NOTE:I would like to thank Daniela for the wonderful translation of the interview with Michele and Piero. If you haven’t read it yet, go towww.ilvoloflightcrw.com to read it!
BIANCA MAGAZINE, has dedicated the cover to IL VOLO and inside there is a nice article by Omar Gelsomino, which I now translate for you.
IL VOLO, WE SING OUR TRADITION IN THE WORLD.
When we saw them on TV for the first time, they were single beginners at the second edition of TI LASCIO UNA CANZONE. Since then Piero Barone, Ignazio Boschetto(both Sicilians, the first from Naro, in the Agrigento area; the second from Marsala, in the province of Trapani) and Gianluca Ginoble, from Abruzzo, have come a long way and since 2009, they have “taken off” as IL VOLO. This is the name of this extraordinary trio that in 10 years, from the talent of Antonella Clerici onwards, signed a contract with Universal and then with Sony, sang for the greatest personalities in the world, dueted with international stars, done and continue to do sold-out tours in every part of the globe, and in 2015 won the Sanremo Festival with “Grande Amore”.
We saw them at the cinema with “Notte Magica”, a concert film that marked the stages of the silimar “A Tribute To The Three Tenors”, recently in a film “Un Amore Così Grande”, and now engaged in their “Musica Tour”.
Three different personalities, but who are you really?
We are three guys with a great desire to make music and share what we love doing. Three boys, with completely different personalities, united by the passion for the same musical genre, a little forgotten, and we are trying in every way to bring back again among the “young”.
From a talent to global success. How do you experience it?
We live it with a lot of tension, as it gives you the incentive to produce new things, to make music, to never give up.
Our typical day is marked by the 24-hour workday, we can’t imagine our life without this work, the last thing the artist does is get on stage and sing, before the whole job is behind.
The people who are close to me every day, see me one day nervous, one day very happy , one day thoughtful, one day tense, we all have the stimulus and the question mark of tomorrow, but we must always enjoy the moment. (Piero’s words).
If you look back, what and how do you see yourself?
We see three very privileged boys, looking at our past we cannot but believe in destiny.
If one of us had participated in the first or third edition of that program, IL VOLO would not have been born.
Since then, thanks to Michele Torpedine, our current manager, we have done a lot of work.
How you have changed?
On the positive side, but also on the negative side (they joke).
We have grown humanly and professionally.
It is clear that each of us has his own needs, he wants to spend the holidays alone, he wants to be more alone.
We cannot complain, clearly as any marriage or cohabitation there are moments of discussion, the most mature thing for a group and for any relationship is to find the right compromise, a meeting point.
How do you feel, being ambassadors of the Bel Canto in the world?
It is a great responsibility. Pavarotti, Bocelli and Il Volo share the same songs.
People living in the wild cannot wait to hear “O sole mio”, “Torna a Surriento”, “Nessun dorma”, “Libiamo”.
Our success is due to the echo and strength of the Italian musical tradition.
Among the celebrities you have met, who has impressed you the most?
Each of us has his favorite, when we signed the tour contract with Barbra Streisand we didn’t realize how important and great the meeting was.
A magical moment that I will carry throughout my life and tell my grandchildren, it was two years ago, when we were next to Placido Domingo (We grew up listening to his music, I always listen to him because I am an opera lover, points out Piero Barone.), an icon of classical music who gave us advice on how to sing.
It is the luck of our work, a way of life, it leads you to sing with Placido Domingo, a moment of extreme difficulty and two days later you find yourself in front of the Pope in front of one million people!
There are mood swings and moods that are difficult to control.
When you look in the mirror, the most important thing to do is to think, “What can we do tomorrow?”
We think of tomorrow, never cradle ourselves in success and what it gives you, and never say, me, me, me.
You returned to Sanremo celebrating ten years of career, what did you feel?
We felt so much emotion to sing there. The edition of TI LASCIO UNA CANZONE in 2009, took place right at the Ariston Theater, so that stage saw us being born. Last year we went as guests, this year instead as competitors.
The stage is a moment of sharing, whether you are a guest or a competitor, people are there to listen to you, the rest are just circumstances.
Tell us about “Musica Che Resta”, the song you brought to Sanremo and your new album Musica ……
This album is particular because it contains our other musical tastes, explains Gianluca, we believed that it was necessary to satisfy our three tastes and our personalities: “Be my love” is close to Piero, “Arrivederci Roma” is more my genre , while “A Chi Mi Dice”, to Ignazio.
“Musica Che Resta” is a fairly representative piece for IL VOLO, so we called Gianna Nannini, because it was missing that rock feel. When we sing this song, we perfectly express our vocals and we can’t wait to go back on tour, in June and July, among other things we will do two concerts in Sicily, on July 21st in Palermo and July 23rd in Taormina.
In what spirit did you start this new tour?
With a smile. With this tour, we celebrate our 10-year career in front of our audience, our fans, those who have allowed this.
The public is the reason we live.
We consider ourselves privileged and for this reason we thank them, because they allows us to share our gift, our voice and our passion.
What are your future plans?
There are so many, but IL VOLO’s goal is to confirm and consolidate everything we’ve done in the past.
A really nice interview, with questions that are by no means trivial.
The boys always respond impeccably, and their answers make us discover more and more their personalities who have matured, but who have not deviated from the main road.
It’s very nice to read about you guys.
Until the next interview!
Daniela
Credit to owners of all photos.
Come in and share the love of life, friends and Il Volo!
