Due to the pandemic, numerous concerts were canceled during this period, the arenas are empty, but also the cinemas and theaters. This situation has been going on for more than a year and many show business workers have had big problems for them and their families. I am not speaking only of the great artists, but of the many people who are in the backstage, workers, electricians, editors, audio technicians, etc.
It is really sad for us not to be able to go to the cinema or to the theater or to see a nice outdoor concert, but even more sad for these families to have no income. They are often people with seasonal work and for a year, they have had very little help and have not been able to count on a paid job.
In order to help these people and families, an Italian rapper, Fedez, decided to launch an initiative, creating a Fund to help show business workers.
This beautiful initiative is called “Scena Unita”.
Fedez involved many of his colleagues, and aimed to create a Fund to help show business workers. A concrete, economic commitment, which saw several well-known faces participate, committing themselves at the forefront of putting the idea into practice.
Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca certainly did not remain insensitive to this initiative and they too were part of it. During the press conference for the tribute event to Morricone, a journalist had asked Il Volo about their participation and Ignazio had confirmed.
But we had no doubts about their participation, knowing how much Piero, Gianluca and Ignazio are sensitive to these problems and how big their hearts are.
Fedez a couple of days ago thanked all the artists who participated, publishing the long list of the name, and wrote as follows:
“Every artist present participated in this initiative, donating personally. Thanks to all the artists and brands who have decided to support this cause ….”
The initiative has so far raised about 4 million euros and 1 million 800 thousand have already been distributed.
Guys, as usual, you don’t let us down.
Your altruism knows no bounds.
We are very proud of you.
Thanks from all of us.
What better way to finish, with the words of this beautiful song of yours:
Daniela
Today is also April 25, an important day for Italy, which commemorates the feast for the liberation.
But on April 25, 2009, 12 years ago, the adventure of three small children began: Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca, they sang a song together for the first time on “Ti Lascio Una Canzone.”
Best wishes guys, that Il Volo is always active and a long road ahead of you, studded with many successes !! ❤❤❤
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.
Sometimes whole days go by without anything new happening in our “Il Volo universe”, then suddenly in three days three news and videos that I cannot leave out.
I have already given you the news of the opening at the Arena on June 5th, now there are two beautiful new videos that I intend to translate for you, here is the first.
Michele Torpedine was interviewed this morning April 09, by Marzia Roncacci from TG 2 ITALIA. The title of the special program is “How the Good Singers are Born”.
MR = Here we are ready, good morning welcome back to TG2 Italia.
Today is Friday, we are closing the week, so we are all a little happier. We will keep you company until 11:00 am, today we have a really rich episode “piatto ricco, mi ci ficco”. (Italian way of saying that means: rich dish, I take it).
We want to talk about these characters, who may not often appear, who are behind the scenes, who are however discoverers of great talent, talented people, such as, if I tell you Bocelli, Giorgia, Zucchero, but also the guys from Il Volo: “The talent of Il Volo,” behind all these great characters, who make the history of Italian music, who is there?
There is Michele Torpedine, good morning.
MT = Good morning, Marzia.
MR = So: musician, Michele, right?
MT = Yes, it’s a big word, but it’s okay.
MR = How is a big word? You are very modest, come on.
MT = I’ve been playing for many years, but by musician, I mean something else, but it’s okay.
MR = Do you like it then: talent scout?
MT = Yes, very lucky, but I like it.
MR = I said these names of singers, which would seem almost impossible, instead you are the one who discovered them ….
MT = Because to see me, it doesn’t seem, in fact.
MR = It wouldn’t seem (they both laugh)
MT = Thank you, many are amazed when they see me and think “that’s all?”
MR = They say “Is that all here, Michele Torpedine?”
MT = One imagines that who knows what comes in, a huge, tall, double-breasted man …. and then in the end, I’m all here!
MR = Dear Michele, obviously we are joking, playing, because what we want to do and say today is also with a little irony. But Michele Torpedine really also has a great and beautiful story. In short, you come a little out of nowhere, Michele, you are born in Puglia and when very young you go to Bologna. A modest family and then you at some point you put the gear.
MT = You are very kind and modest …… you exaggerated! But we did it anyway. It is clear that it was hard at the beginning, like all families who come from the south and need to work immediately, maybe you miss school, study, you miss many things, and me and my brothers at 8/10 years we were already at work.
MR = The famous workforce, Michele, especially in the south.
MT = Workforce made up of children and families, however….
MR = But then we will see some photos of you that make us understand that when a person gives his all, and with your determination Michele ….
MT = The important thing is that they are not photos in a bathing suit, then everything is fine.
MR = But no, we don’t show the photos in a bathing suit, but we put the photos next to the President of the United States.
Listen Michele, great surprise for our audience, we talked about the three wonderful guys from Il Volo, here you are we see you embraced with them (in the photo) and we have one of the three with us, here he is ready . . . Piero Barone!
Good Morning!
MT= Good Morning Piero
Piero = Good morning, hello Marzia, hello Michele.
MR = Piero, I was now telling Michele that you are the man of surprises, did you give us this nice surprise this morning, did we get you out of bed?
MT = No, he is an early riser.
Piero = No, absolutely. Today you describe me as the man of surprises, but it is a program dedicated to Michele and it is right to make dedications to Michele. It is he who has been the biggest surprise of our life.
MR = Really, how nice! Listen Piero, one thing about dedications, if you wanted to make a quick dedication to our great Michele Torpedine, what would you say, in a nutshell?
MT = And here I want you, Piero!
Piero = Michele, to friends and people who do not know him personally, I always describe him as a skilled chess player, he knows how to wait and make the right move at the right time.
His greatest virtue is that of knowing how to teach his trade. But what many don’t know is that Michele is actually the real artist. He in us, makes his dreams come true.
MR = Mamma mia, how beautiful, what Piero says makes us reflect a lot.
MT = Piero is actually right, in fact, maybe I am a failed artist.
MR = But Piero said something wonderful, it is a little like a transposition, from Michele, everything he feels, that he dreams, his state of mind, he transmits, in this case to Il Volo, these three guys wonderful that on this, on their dreams, we go to see Il Volo in Sanremo, with GRANDE AMORE, how beautiful !! Let’s watch. (start of a short video of the first evening of Sanremo 2015).
MR = Piero Barone, what a thrill, this is a great victory you had on the stage of Sanremo, you, so international, what effect does it make you see yourself again?
Piero = I always have the chills to see that performance again and I remember those moments, as if it happened last night, because we had been traveling since 2009, we had concerts everywhere, except in Italy and this thing made us suffer a lot.
Now, thanks to Sanremo in 2015, we did the concerts here in Italy and this was a great victory.
MR = Listen, Piero, I remember a wonderful concert, where I had the opportunity to be the only journalist, the one in Florence. Michele Torpedine, you were there. You invited me, and I had the opportunity to get to know all three guys from Il Volo very well and they are very funny, needless to tell you what we have been able to do!
Having said that, in Florence, I remember, people in tears. Piero, how is it possible that you make people cry when you sing? However, yours is also a particular music, isn’t it Michele?
MT = Bel canto and opera win over everything else, always. You also win with whoever is doing piano bar at that moment there. The opera has its own charm, not surprisingly it has lasted for 300/400 years.
MR = You are right. Piero, what are your memories of Florence? I remember the stage was set up like an opera house, with large red curtains, even though it was outdoors. Stupendous.
Piero = Firenze was a tribute to the three tenors, with the participation of Maestro Placido Domingo, on stage to direct the orchestra and then to sing with us, and also the support of the Pavarotti foundation.
I want to say, but many know it, that the tribute to the three tenors, this event dedicated to the three tenors, is an idea born from Michele Torpedine.
We were in Taormina at the pool in 2015, actually a year earlier, and he came at 8:00 am, for breakfast, to tell us this idea.
MR = Exactly, at breakfast Michele you presented yourself with your idea that was born in the night, I imagine.
MT = I don’t remember the time, but I had prepared myself first because I didn’t want to make a bad impression, and then I didn’t know their reaction, I couldn’t imagine. To do such a repertoire, you have to be up to it, at least to be credible, and they did it in a month.
MR = Incredible, how nice that concert was.
Listen, Michele, what anecdotes you have linked to Piero, to the boys of Il Volo, I imagine so many, in so many years that you collaborate together.
MT = Remember … after almost 12 years, Piero help me, we could tell many things.
Piero = Michele, the first meeting.
MR = The first meeting, come on what happened?
MT = We can’t tell you some things, but the first meeting was wonderful, because we were in the RAI dressing rooms, during the Miss Italy in the world program, it seems to me, in Iesolo (beautiful seaside town).
I arrived there in this place, they were 13/14 years old, almost children, they destroyed a dressing room for the joy of meeting us, they were crazy, you don’t know how they left their RAI studios. A disaster, but it was a wonderful emotion to meet them.
MR = Piero, have you destroyed a dressing room? What behavior is this !!
Piero = We were very happy, the first experiences Michele was there, we saw him as a person on the covers of magazines and in the dedications of many singers.
MT = The great thing was seeing them after years, on stage with the myth of music that is Barbra Streisand. Seeing them with her, doing a 12 concert tour with her, was one thing …..
MR = Of course, I can say Michele that you, these guys, and other names that we will then obviously also talk about them, are truly a source of pride for our Italy all over the world.
Now you said …. seeing them very young, beautiful, good, even this very clean image of guys who have achieved this with commitment, is important. Seeing them with Barbra Streisand singing together doesn’t just happen every day.
MT = But then a duet with her, because it’s a different thing than opening concerts. They were guests on the show and she introduced them, which is wonderful.
MR = Beautiful, here they are. Piero, speaking of international experiences, Michele now remembered you with Barbra Streisand, who have duet with her, which is different than opening a concert, they are always emotions that make you fly, indeed, that make us fly, just like your name says, no?
Piero = These are relationships that are born and built along the way. Clearly if you show yourself what you really are, these characters, these legends, then they appreciate you. The tours are beautiful, even the performances made together, but the relationship that remains even afterwards with these artists is beautiful.
MR = 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 few known ones and they can be counted on tips of the fingers.
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 see in any theater or arena in the world, even in Japan, when the public hears 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.
MR = How nice, Piero, I want to thank you very much for being with us at TG2 Italia, I hope to have you here soon, also with the other two colleagues of course maybe also with Michele.
MT = I think Piero should tell you what will happen in June.
MR = Piero, what will happen in June? Verona? I will be there, I will have a double mask, Piero what will happen in June?
MT = Let’s have Piero say it.
Piero = This lockdown helped us to reflect and work on the next project. We are recording and finalizing the voices of the new album that we will present on June 5th at the Verona Arena. It will be a tribute to the Oscar-winning master Ennio Morricone. We will sing the repertoire of master Morricone, with all the written melodies, among other things of songs that we did not know had already been written by the master. We are very excited about this project that fills us with so much responsibility, but responsibility is perfectly associated with adrenaline and we can’t wait to get on that stage.
MR = How beautiful, how beautiful, we can’t wait. Piero Barone, thank you! June 5th we said Verona!
MT = It will be live on RAI 1.
MR = Live on Rai 1 with the music of Morricone and with these wonderful singers, the three from Il Volo, who are truly a preciousness for the world and for our Italy. Thanks Piero, good job, really thanks.
MT = Bye Piero
MR = Bye Piero
Piero = Bye everyone, bye Michele, bye Marzia.
It was a good interview.
Piero said very nice things about Torpedine and full of gratitude.
Then confirmed by the words of Piero and Torpedine that on June 5 at the Arena, the tribute to Morricone.
Soon we will know something about the admitted audience.
There is a little agitation, but a lot of emotion, in just under two months we start “singing” again !!!
Finally a light can be glimpsed at the end of this long tunnel of isolation and this light is getting closer and closer.
The news came yesterday. The shows in the Arena in Verona will restart. And what a better way to start, “great”??
But with a beautiful tribute concert to Morricone performed by Il Volo.
All true!!!
On June 5, the Arena will reopen with all the limitations due to the virus, but it will be a real restart followed by the opera season and live concerts.
The first concert for the opening will be the tribute to Morricone, performed by our beloved Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca.
This is the official news, and of which I translate the essential parts.
“Live music restarts from the Arena, we are ready to rekindle the amphitheater”
At work to restart, and to ensure that the restart is, on an international level, made in Verona. More precisely, starting from the Arena, temple and symbol of music under the stars all over the world.
The effort is to recover all the shows that could not be staged last season, in the fundamental hope of having an Arena with a capacity of 6 thousand people (usually about 20 thousand people).
“The opening of the season in the Arena, which could also be the first live after the worldwide lockdown, will be entrusted to Volo,which on June 5 will be on the Arena stage with a tribute to Morricone: but in a few days on this we will be able to more precise”.
And so here we are, the great live concerts start again and the first will be entrusted to Il Volo.
Certainly a pity that the concert cannot be held in Rome in the splendid square in front of St. Peter’s Square, but remember that that square has no limits for people and therefore it was impossible, during this persistence of the pandemic, to make the necessary checks and limitations of people.
In the Arena in Verona, the capacity has been significantly reduced. The Arena has numerous entrances, from which people, strictly controlled, will be able to access without problems, and the streets surrounding the Arena are very large spaces that allow the flow at the end of the concert.
I have read that even for orchestral players there will be different entrances from singers.
Certainly there will not be the physical contacts we are used to, and seeing the Arena with 5/6 thousand people will be disappointing. There will certainly not be the warm embrace of the audience, but we must be grateful that all this can be done.
Certainly the event, albeit in a large environment like the Arena, will be resized, compared to what was planned for Rome, but at least now we are sure that the concert will take place and there will also be the other two concerts in 2020 moved to 29 and August 30, 2021.
I am very excited, because Verona is practically very close to Brescia, where I live and therefore, even easier for me to reach.
Now we will have to understand how people will be able to book for the event.
And so I will keep you informed about the next news, and, as the Il Volo page published: “Molto presto!” (Very soon) !
This is the first anniversary of my column with Il Volo Flight Crew. Through all the chaos, it’s been a wonderful year for me for many reasons! First and foremost, I had the great opportunity to write about three amazing young men and I got to meet you, the fans, and I had the opportunity to get acquainted with many of you!
Last year at this time, we were thinking this will be over in a few weeks! We know how that turned out! But it seems our greatest concern at the time, was for Italy. Many of you were writing on Facebook how concerned you were for the guys. My column was a direct result of your concerns.
I started by telling you the guys were at home and safe! And, thanks to the generosity of the guys, we were able to follow them on Facebook and Instagram almost daily! My suggestion was we should think about more positive things. So, the column began with us concentrating on where it all began and all the wonderful events in the lives of these young men and even sharing some recipes and interesting facts about the regions they live in.
On this first anniversary I have been invited to start a new column called,Through the Fields of My Mind.In this column, I will be a looking back on some of the memorable moments in the lives of our guys! I will write stories about some of the events that are now forgotten. We will look back while looking forward. I believe or I should say I hope, we are coming to the end of all the sadness in the world and, we are all looking forward to the concerts resuming!
While searching through old videos and newspaper articles I’ve come across some really beautiful pictures and stories that I know you will enjoy as much as I have enjoyed seeing and reading them. I look at the old pictures and I say is it possible that 12 years ago this all began with three teenagers who stole the hearts of the American people.
It seems like yesterday they walked out on that stage at the Detroit Opera House for their first PBS special and sang their way into our hearts. I remember as each one began to sing it took my breath away. All I could think was “If they’re this good now, what will they be like in 10 years?” You know the answer! “Even more amazing!”
The nice thing about all this is we got the opportunity to watch them grow into fine young men. We listened as they grew into their, absolutely, amazing voices. We took them into our hearts and our families. Many of you think of them as your sons and grandsons and refer to them as such even though you have never met them. Many fans have written to me to tell me how the guys helped them through some of the worst moments in their lives. The loss of a spouse or a child! Some said they helped them recover from major surgeries. And some even said, through their music, they helped them through long hospital stays. It was the best therapy anyone could receive. It’s no wonder they feel like they are a part of their families. In some cases, they are the only family that these people have and, our guys don’t even know how much their music has helped these people, especially, over the last year when many of the fans were home alone! But they certainly know how much they are loved by their fans!
I also invite you to share stories with me. Sometimes when I write an article, fans write to me and say, I was at that concert! If you have anything to contribute, I would be happy to read it. I can’t promise I can include everything because my space is limited but I would be happy to hear what you have to say! I have set up a special email for this column. You’re welcome to write to me at: susan.flightcrew@yahoo.com
Let me say one thing that will not be included in my column and which I will not answer questions about in emails. That is anything to do with their love lives. That includes, your opinion of their love lives. First off, I am not privy to any of this information and, if I was, I wouldn’t share it with you anyway. Their love lives are private, as they should be. So, for this one time only I will answer three questions:
Do they have love interests?They certainly do!
Are they flirtatious?All the time!
Do they love their women?Each and every one of them!
And that’s all you need to know and that is my final word on their love lives! If they want you to know anything about their lives, they will certainly share it with you. Actually, they have been very generous with their private lives. They post pictures of their families and events that they attend alone and with their families. They try as much as possible to keep you in the loop! This is something other entertainers don’t do for their fans.
I, along with my colleagues at Flight Crew, will try to keep you updated on all that is going on in Il Volo land. For now, we await the new album and look forward to the June 5th concert, at St. Peter’s Square, honoring the memory of Ennio Morricone.
See you all next week when we start our journey down memory lane passing Through the Fields of My Mind….
Credit to owners of all photos and video.
Come in and share the love of life, friends and Il Volo!
