After giving you a quick overview of the whole concert in the Arena on June 5th, here I am back to you, to tell you every moment.
Jo Ann has already translated the “chat” of the boys and Susan has already given you other explanations.
I will recall to you the smallest details of my beautiful evening and I will linger for a long time, because I do not want you to lose even a moment of this fantastic concert.
I start by telling you that Saturday started with the best wishes, a beautiful day, the sky of an intense blue, and so much emotion for the concert that I would see in the evening. A perfect start.
I have already told you other times that Verona is very close to Brescia where I live (only 50 miles), so my husband and I would have gone in the early afternoon and returned after the concert.
Here in Italy there is a curfew at 11pm (from 16 June it will be abolished), but the government had given special permission only to those who were in the Arena for the concert, to return to their homes by 02:00 am.
Right after lunch, I tried to rest, knowing that the evening was long and certainly exciting. But the sky turned gray, the sun was gone, and a little later it started drizzling. An annoying drizzle, but light and really boring. Damn, I hoped it wouldn’t rain in Verona, I was thinking about the guys, after so much work and such a long stop, this inconvenience was not welcome.
The light rain, which almost did not wet the earth, came and went. Every now and then a few drops and then nothing, just to make everyone nervous.
Ready for the evening, and with the best expectations, my husband and I left for Verona.
Arriving, without any problems, we park the car quickly and head towards the Arena.
It goes without saying that Verona always has a magnificent charm. It is a beautiful town that preserves the flavor of the ancient.
Among the old alleys of beautiful Verona, we can all still think of Romeo running to go to his Juliet. The great entrance gate with the scalloped walls, which still continue through the city, and which once closed the whole city, are magnificent.
After the city gate the huge Piazza Bra, with the beautiful buildings that surround it and in the center, the ARENA is imposing and memorable.
The first thing I have to do is contact my friends who are waiting for me to be able to greet me, some of them who have really come from far away, from the US.
The first one we meet, right in front of the Arena, is Laura with her husband Ugo, they are Italians, from Trieste, but Laura met me through Flight Crew, they are our readers and it is really special that we met like this.
Soon after I go in search of my American friends.
Here they are, beautiful and happy, together at the coffee table, looking forward to the evening, Deborah, Wendy and Joanie, whom I already knew personally and Judith, whom I had never met.
Only a few words of greeting, unfortunately, because Nonna Maura is waiting for me in front of her hotel, but what a pleasure to see my sweet friends who have faced such a long journey to be here.
Yes, because Il Volo is also this, the pleasure of meeting each other, of making friends from one end of the world to the other.
So let’s go to Nonna Maura’s hotel, I remind you that she is 90 years old and arrived in the morning by train from Rome. Fantastic Maura, she would not miss a concert of Il Volo and her beloved Gianluca for anything in the world.
Also Maura and I met thanks to Flight Crew, isn’t that great?
The weather continues to give us a few drops of rain, so my husband goes back to our car to get some rain dusters, in case they were needed and then we approach the Arena, the entrance time has already started and the adrenaline starts to rise.
The controls to enter the Arena are meticulous. There are different entrances depending on the places awarded. They check us for fever, documents and related tickets, and if we have the FFP2 mask (only that is allowed) then they see the camera that my husband is holding and tell him to take it in the car, because otherwise they won’t let him in. So my husband goes back to the parking lot to deposit his camera. When he comes back, we can finally enter the Arena.
We reach our seats, we are in the central row, right in front of the stage, row 11, excellent position. Between one occupied seat and another, due to Covid rules, an empty seat is expected.
The orchestra pit (the space between the stage and the first row, where the orchestra is usually placed) is empty, but in the center a round stage is positioned, as if it were a protruding extension, of the current stage, on it already in placed, 3 microphones with the auction, it is clear that often the guys will sing from there, and it is right in front of my position.
On the rear stage, the whole orchestra is positioned. A huge backdrop that continuously changes color and position with two large lateral pillar columns and two large lateral videos, completes the scene. The whole at the top is covered by a roof in which hundreds of lights are placed. If it rains, at least the guys will be protected.
Everything has a really great impact.
A voice on the speakers often reminds us that we must keep the masks well worn and that we cannot leave our seats to greet other friends.
While we wait, I look for the various scattered friends and raise our arms, we greet each other in the distance, and then, we wait patiently for the scheduled time to arrive.
Fortunately it does not rain and it will not rain all evening. There is a good temperature, everything seems to be going well.
At a certain point the boys enter the stage, normally dressed in jeans and a jacket. We are amazed, but they greet us smiling and tell us that they are waiting for the connection with the evening news. Meanwhile, they smile, they tell us they are excited, we take advantage of them to take pictures of them.
The boys look at the audience and recognize their American friends, greet them and say “you came up here for us”, they are happy with this and then on the other side, Alicja from Poland and they say “Ah, also from Poland”.😁
Here is what appeared during the television broadcast.
The guys say they are happy and honored to be doing this concert, so they say hello and invite people home to watch the evening.
After the connection with the TG1 news, the boys greet us and go to change their clothes and get ready. A voice tells us that we have to wait for television time, because this concert is live.
Meanwhile, I see Nonna Maura in the front row, lucky her, she is right in front, I’m really happy for her. Ercole and Eleonora arrive, Gianluca’s parents go in front of the front rows and Eleonora stops to greet Maura.
I also see Michele Torpedine in front of the stage.
Ernie also passes in front of me and also Gaetano Barone, whom I then see, joins his wife already in the front row.
Shortly before the concert begins, Caterina and Nina Boschetto also arrive. Nina is now leaner and prettier with longer hair than usual.
People continue to enter and the Arena is filling up with the 6,000 admitted people.
It begins to get dark, the lights of the stage come on, every now and then you can hear the voices of Piero and Ignazio who from behind the stage make the warble (warmup) for the voice: iiiiii eeee aaaa ……
In silence, the 70 members of the orchestra take their place on the stage and in the orchestra pit (i.e. in front of the stage) the choir takes place, making two wings on either side of the central round stage.
Here we are, everything is starting, what emotion!
The preview is projected on the screens, where Piero Ignazio and Gianluca, in the back of the Arena backstage, meet the actor Marco Giallini and talk about Ignazio’s shoes, nice skit, the boys say they are excited.
And here they are, the lights create the atmosphere, three silhouettes can be seen at the end of the scene, it’s them !!! 😍
The boys advance and the music begins, the applause that welcomes them is a little hesitant, I think we are all a little inhibited due to the Covid restrictions and also the live television. But Gianluca, in a strong and confident voice, begins to sing.
His voice is beautiful and Ignazio and Piero follow, and everything becomes magic. Chills on the skin, the beautiful music of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, fills every corner of the Arena and the voices of our boys, rested after the long period of inactivity, are stronger and safer than ever.
The scenography is beautiful, while the boys sing, on the screens and on part of the scenography, the images of the film scroll, the lights constantly change colors. The voices of the choir rise high.
Piero Ignazio and Gianluca are very elegant in their beautiful midnight blue D&G tuxedos with lapel pins, a beautiful elegance that is increasingly rare in today’s young artists.
The boys are also visibly excited.
The song is beautiful, at the end there is a big round of applause.
Ignazio is the first to speak, these are his exact words.
“Good evening!!
You really can’t understand how happy we are to return after a year and a half of silence, to wait for this very day to arrive. Surely all the guests of honor are all of you tonight. Thank you so much for coming, thank you very much.” (applause)
The emotion of the boys is evident, Gianluca admits that their legs are shaking.
Piero thanks the Morricone family.
And we proceed immediately with the second song “YOUR LOVE”.
This song, for all of us, is full of profound meaning, given the moment it was sung in Sanremo. It is really moving to see Ignatius who, from the beginning of the song, caresses with his fingers the ring he wears in his right hand, a wedding ring, which we think belonged to his beloved father. Even his eyes often close, as if to make eye contact with the one who is no longer there.❤
It is a very intimate and touching moment, as well as the beautiful music and the words, which seem to be written on purpose:
“….. Your strength has made me strong,
though life tore us apart
and now when the night seems long,
your love shines in my heart …..”
(video made by Deborah Georgini Beaupre)
And then, immediately below here is a tribute from Notte Magica, Ignazio asks the audience who was there that evening, of course I raised my hand !! Piero remembers the beautiful evening in Florence in Piazza Santa Croce, remembers the master Placido Domingo who directed them and begins “NESSUN DORMA”.
At the end of the “Nessun Dorma” there was a long applause and the first beautiful standing ovation .
The standing ovation excites the boys a lot, they hug, they thank and Piero says: “So, you make us excited, they have a lot of effect, these applauses, after a year and a half.”
Enter the actress Laura Chiatti and, with the boys there is a nice “curtain” (nice dialogue) that Jo Ann has translated well.
Laura introduces a short video, an interview with Morricone, where the presenter tells that Morricone that he has a very intense relationship with “doing” (in the sense that he works very hard) and Morricone replies that “doing” (in Italian FARE), is not just a verb, but is the union of two musical notes: the FA (F) and the RE (D).
Ignazio presents the song “SE TELEFONANDO”, which, as Susan has well described, was written by Maurizio Costanzo, set to music by Morricone and sung by Mina many years ago. Beautiful and timeless song.
Ignazio explains that Morricone thought of this music, while he was in the post, queuing to pay a gas bill, and then he concludes by saying that he (Ignazio) only goes to the post office to pay the fines. 😁
Upon returning, the exchange of words on Ignazio is beautiful: he is always a disaster, but also he has an incredible voice, then Piero introduces “IL MONDO”.
While Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca sing Riccardo Cocciante enters and they sing together, but what about, Cocciante performs a verse of the song, but when he finishes the verse, Ignazio begins and for me, Ignazio’s voice is truly unique and powerful.
Cocciante met Morricone personally, but he doesn’t want to remember any anecdotes, because he says that the greatness of an artist is in his works. Then he plays a beautiful song of his.
Marco Giallini enters, he says is very impressive to be in front of the audience of the Verona Arena. Together they introduce “SE”, the song taken from the film Cinema Paradiso. A scene from the film starts with little Totò Cascio. The melody is written by Andrea Morricone, (the son who is conductor).
At the end of the short clip, Totò Cascio enters, now an adult. Totò says that during the shooting of the film, Philippe Noiret acted in French, while Totò in Sicilian and Italian and between them a good feeling had been created and he remembers it with affection. Then Totò also remembers the director Giuseppe Tornatore, whom he calls Peppuccio (Giuseppe in Sicilian) and whom he considers as an older brother.
Here are the lyrics of the song SE.
Se tu fossi nei miei occhi per un giorno,
vedresti la bellezza che, piena d’allegria,
io trovo dentro gli occhi tuoi,
non so se è magia, o realtà.
Se tu fossi nel mio cuore per un giorno,
potresti avere un’idea,
di ciò che sento io,
quando mi abbracci forte a te,
e petto a petto noi, respiriamo insieme.
Protagonista del tuo amor
non so se sia magia o realtà.
Se tu fossi nella mia anima un giorno,
sapresti cosa sento in me,
che m’innamorai,
da quell’istante insieme a te,
e ciò che provo è
solamente amore.
Da quell’istante insieme a te,
e ciò che provo è
solamente amore.
Translation:
If you were in my eyes for a day,
you would see the beauty that, full of joy,
I find inside your eyes,
I don’t know if it’s magic or reality.
If you were in my heart for a day,
you might have an idea,
of what I feel,
when you hug me tightly to you,
and chest to chest we breathe together.
Protagonist of your love
I don’t know if it’s magic or reality.
If you were in my soul someday,
would you know what I feel in me,
that I fell in love,
from that moment together with you,
and what I feel is
only love.
From that moment together with you,
and what I feel is
only love.
Sweet words, sweet moment and sweet Gianluca, who touches Ignazio’s shoulder with his hand, as if to encourage him.
There is also a beautiful dance moment with the circles.
What to say, the sound and visual combination is very beautiful, and how much interpretation in our boys, everything is perfect!
Laura Chiatti is now in the audience and tells us about a film that made an era, transgressive (for that time), which talks about love triangles.
Two other guests arrive: on stage Raphael Gualazzi and Nina Zilli and all together they perform the song of “METTI UNA SERA A CENA.”
And after this beautiful performance, Piero announces the advertisement and ends the first part of the concert.
I hope you enjoyed reading every moment of the concert, I believe that by combining what JoAnn and Susan have written for you, you can get a fairly complete overview of what happened, but we are only at the first piece of the concert, if you want to read the rest ………… I wait for you in a few days !!!
Daniela
Credit to owners of all photos and videos.
