MY FIRST IL VOLO CONCERT
LONDON PALLADIUM
3 JUNE 2016
In the central English town of Stratford-on-Avon, a little over 450 years ago, during the reign of Good Queen Bess, a son was born to John Shakespeare and Mary Arden. They decided to call him Bill but as an adult he preferred to use the long form of his name, William. He grew up to be something of a writer and enjoyed more than a little success. When he was not writing sonnets, he was composing plays or acting in them.
Mr Shakespeare had a great love for Italy and many of his plays were set there in times ancient or modern. Well, the middle ages were modern when he was writing! You may have heard of many of his Italian plays – the Merchant of Venice, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Romeo and Juliet, Titus Andronicus, Coriolanus, Antony and Cleopatra and Julius Caesar. He also wrote a play set in our town – the Merry Wives of Windsor! Like the Bard, I also have a strong affinity with Italy and my Italian bride has since become “a merry wife” here in Windsor.
In Julius Caesar, the soothsayer warns Caesar to beware the Ides of March. When that date arrives, Caesar teases the soothsayer by reminding her of her warning; “The Ides of March are come,” he says. “Aye Caesar, but they are not yet gone!” she replies. If you know the plot, Caesar does not enjoy a merry evening in Rome that fateful day. He should have stayed in Britain where he was one of our earliest tourists in 55 and 54 B.C. But, I digress and must return to the plot.
Unlike Caesar, my wife and I had been looking forward to the “3 Nones of June” for more than six months – ever since we bought our tickets for the London Palladium. As it was the only date in England, we could not do anything about it being on a Friday. My wife had to work and I was entered in a golf competition for which I was the defending champion. I arranged an early start time and played two rounds before rushing home to Windsor to rendez-vous with my wife. With such a full program for the day-time, we were able to maintain a semblance of calm until the last moment.
Thankfully, we had only a short drive to the railway station and then it was “all aboard” the iron horse to London town! Descending into the subway (the famous London “Tube”) we came up for air at Oxford Circus station about 150 yards from the Palladium. We had just enough time to wolf down a sandwich and then we headed immediately to the theatre where a host of patrons were already waiting to enter. We heard lots of Italian voices but also plenty of English ones. As befits citizens of Royal Windsor, we had secured our places in the Royal Circle in the middle of the third row. The first two rows were not on sale when we booked and we assumed that these tickets were reserved for a few VIPs.
The Palladium is one of London’s most famous venues and all manner of famous artists have performed there over the years; e.g. the Beatles and Frank Sinatra; but, in reality, a veritable Who’s Who of show-business. The atmosphere inside the theatre was electric. Promptly at 7.30 the “warm-up” act came on stage. He was a charming guy who played electric piano and had some interesting percussion instruments set up on his computer. He was given a warm welcome by a generous and kind-hearted audience. We all fell a little in love with his boyish manner and his obvious enjoyment of appearing before such a packed theatre.
By 8.00 p.m. his set was over and the crew started to arrange the stage for the evening’s main event. By now, my wife and I were unable to contain our excitement and we were not alone! We saw the orchestra and backing musicians take up their places – sixteen member of the orchestra and four members of the band – including Giampiero Grani on the piano-forte and Giovanni di Caprio on guitars. Giovanni was sporting his usual severe haircut – as in he does not have any! The theatre lights were not just dimmed; they saved a few dollars on the electricity bill and it was pitch dark!
Then, the opening bars of “Per te ci sarò.” The stage lighting kicked into action and mid-way through the intro, we saw the guys assembled at the top of the steps and the audience went wild as they were finally able to release some pent-up tension. I recorded the song and you can view it later! I could hardly believe the power of the guys’ voices which I was experiencing “live” for the first time instead of via a CD or DVD recording; or over my “home cinema” sound system when they were on television. The music coursed through my whole being and entered my soul. I was captivated. I decided that I could not spend my precious time recording the show on my cell phone. It was too distracting. The music needed my undivided attention. “Volare” and “il Mondo” followed and the concert was in full flow. Two solos for each guy and three duets so that every pair sang once. They showed off much of their English repertoire but we were lucky to hear “l’amore si muove” and “L’immensità” along with some other songs in Italian.
During their first interlude the guys gave a witty and humorous explanation why they would speak in English for the evening. They did their normal interaction with the audience and they also made fun of some English accents. I have recorded a couple of these and hope that Crew members across the USA and elsewhere will enjoy them.
As everyone always says, two hours simply flew past; and, all too soon, it was time for ‘O Sole Mio! There was only one encore – Grande Amore, of course!! And strangely, there was no place for “Surrender” in the set. However, it was an evening never to be forgotten. Even more importantly, it is an evening that must be repeated as soon as possible! The guys were clear that they hoped to return to London before too long. Whatever the future, I shall go to see them in Italy at the first available opportunity. After so many months on the road, they will have a well-deserved break over the summer. Once they have been refreshed, I will be standing by with my passport at the ready!
~ Bernard
Here is a comment I didn’t want you to miss. It’s a nice wrap-up from our newest Flight Crew Member, Bernard Duffy. ~M
Thank you Lynn, Jane and Marie for such a warm welcome! I hope to post on the site from time-to-time.
2015 was such a great year for Il Volo. During 2014, their accomplishments were coming more and more to the attention of the wider Italian population – thanks to certain TV presenters like Massimo Giletti (in his Sunday afternoon “magazine” show called “Domenica In”), Bruno Vespa (who presents the most important daily political and current affairs program, Porta-a-Porta, in the late evening) and of course, the incomparable Antonella Clerici, who was always available to praise the boys on any occasion. Then, there was Carlo Conti, who was given the task of organizing the Sanremo festival 2015 and persuaded the group to take part.
As everyone visiting this site already knows, “Grande Amore” really caught the imagination of a huge proportion of the Italian public – young and old, men and women – and the telephone vote made sure of their victory. It may not be clear to Americans, but Sanremo is a very “big deal” in Italy. The songs are performed in prime time all through the week from Tuesday to Saturday. Some are eliminated and some of those are then brought back under a process known as ripescaggio (which is the Italian translation of the French word “repechage”) and means literally “fished back” out of the elimination pool. It is a system that is also used in sport for giving losing competitors a second chance.
The grand final on Saturday evening is a great event in Italy’s cultural calendar. A number of other countries show it via the European Broadcasting Union, which also organizes the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC). On the Sunday, all of the most important programs on RAI Uno are broadcast live from Sanremo and there is endless analysis of the results, live performances of some of the songs, interviews with the prize-winners and speculation about whether the winners will take up their right to represent Italy at Eurovision. As you know, il Volo went to Vienna and were placed third in the ESC under the jury system; but, on the popular voting by telephone, they were a clear first with 100 points more than the second song! And, remember, no one living in Italy was able to vote for them. No telephone voter can vote for their own country’s song!
Their tour of Italy over the summer was sold out everywhere. Huge crowds turned out for personal appearances and promotional events at book and music stores. The tour culminated with the concert at the Arena of Verona. When introducing his aria – e lucevan le stelle – Piero called it, “the temple of opera” because of the summer season of opera performances that attract visitors from all over the world. During the broadcast of the concert on RAI Uno, the audience share broke records for the era of multiple channel and internet broadcasting. At its peak, they came close to 40% audience share for the whole of Italy!
I predict that 2016 will see even greater success for them. How lucky we all are to have them and to know that we were in on the “ground floor” while they were constructing the huge edifice that is their current success! We can all share in it on this site! As Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca put it, “Fasten your seat-belts and enjoy the flight!”
Best wishes to everyone!
~Barnard
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Just as I was getting ready to post this morning, we received another notable comment from Bernard. So I’ll add it too! ~M
I thought that some of you might like to read an English translation of the newspaper article that can be found at this link.
IL VOLO IS AT ROSETO – PLAQUES AND PHOTOS BEFORE THE CONCERT.
Gianluca Ginoble and Piero Barone greeted the children of the Le Orme (Footprints or Tracks) Center which had honored them with a plaque, and tomorrow evening, Wednesday 6 January, with Ignazio Boschetto, they will be at PalaMagetti for the concert that will open their Italian tour.
ROSETO DEGLI ABRUZZI. The evening before the concert, a round of greetings and little surprises for Roseto. Thus, yesterday evening, Gianluca Ginoble (the “home town” singer) and Piero Barone, two of the three parts of the trio, il Volo, made a visit to the children of the “Le Orme of Roseto” association, where the autistic children, who are patients of the association, are housed and where they (il Volo) were honoured with a plaque. The other element of the threesome, Ignazio Boschetto, probably remained in his room at the Bellavista hotel of Roseto. The trio will appear on the very day of the Epiphany, 6 January, at 9.00 p.m., at PalaMagetti of Roseto, from where they will set off with the initial date of their Italian tour. A homage to the Abruzzo region from where, at the age of 16, Gianluca Ginoble (now aged 20) set out in search of success and fortune. Other concerts will be held in Sicily, the region of Piero and Ignazio. “I am really happy to return to Roseto, where every year I come to bathe in the sea and go to eat spaghetti with clams at Massimo’s (restaurant)” said the charming Piero Barone.
The heading for the video reads as follows:
ROSETO, VISIT WITH HONOR CEREMONY FOR IL VOLO.
Roseto degli Abruzzi (province of Teramo), Honor ceremony and visit of Gianluca Ginoble and Piero Barone, singers from the trio Il Volo, at the center of the Le Orme association, where the singers received a plaque from the children. Photos and selfies on view from the opening date of the Italian tour in Gianluca’s home town. Piero: “Always happy to return to Roseto.”
~Bernard
