Sunday 26 December, Santo Stefano (with us 25 and 26 December are always holidays), on RAI 1, during the program DOMENICA IN, conducted in the studio by Mara Venier, Il Volo was a guest.
A pleasant hour, where Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca sang and talked, a really nice interview, which had already been previously recorded, to make sure that that day, everyone was with their own family.
Here is the video and its translation.
Click on the photo below to view the video.
MARA = I would start immediately with them, I thank them very much, they are indeed ambassadors of Italian culture and music in the world and thanks to Rai Italia, we are seen all over the world and I want to greet all the Italians living abroad and me I would start immediately with Il Volo.
(Applause. A video begins with the most important stages of Il Volo’s career)
But how wonderful this video is, how many very famous people they met.
Well we will be here, we will present the latest wonderful project of Il Volo, which is entirely dedicated to the great Ennio Morricone, but let’s start immediately like this: IL VOLO.
(Enter Gianluca, Ignazio and Piero, applause, kisses and hugs)
Guys, start right away with the first performance, then let’s talk about everything, everything.
GIAN = Come on, we are ready, here we are. (the song SE begins, from Cinema Paradiso)
MARA = Well done, well done.
PIERO = How beautiful.
IGNAZIO + GIAN = Thank you
MARA = I’m excited, maybe it’s Holy Christmas …. she turns to Gian: “Everything’s fine, dear”.
GIAN = Very well.
MARA = Very good, very good.
PIERO = This is too much. (He refers to the constant applause of the audience.)
MARA = No, it’s never too much. But have you seen the video we sent?
IGNAZIO = Absolutely yes, and it’s always exciting to see it.
PIERO = There were the images of the film Nuovo Cinema Paradiso.
MARA = These are taken from the film Nuovo Cinema Paradiso, which together with Il Ferroviere(another Italian film) are the films of my life (he means that they are his favorite films). I know the lines of the film by heart.
PIERO = It is also my favorite movie.
MARA = Mine too.
PIERO = I watched it during the lockdown, I dedicated a Sunday afternoon to this film, I don’t deny you that I cried.
MARA = When he looks at all the kissing film clippings …..?
PIERO = For me, the most exciting moment, as a Sicilian, when he says to him: “Don’t get nostalgic, never come back” …. there an emotion came to me ….
GIAN = It’s normal, it’s a bit like what we experienced, leaving what was ours ….
MARA = Sure, maybe because of this. Do you recognize yourself a little …
PIERO = So much ….
MARA = However it is a wonderful film, great Peppuccio Tornatore, great director, great friend, a kiss. (applause)
So guys, I saw in the first video, during your presentation, and I must tell you that I was quite excited, because the path you have made, who has it happened to?
Maybe in Modugno, I don’t know, I really think about the greats, the myths.
What happened to you in a few years is simply wonderful (applause)because you bring Italy to the world. And Italy is not just pizza, spaghetti and mandolin(stereotype of Italy), it is also something else and you are bringing something else, your talent, your voice, I wanted to tell you.
IGNAZIO = This has always been our goal, to make our culture known, however in this album, we give prestige to what was the maestro Ennio Morricone, and as you can see from the cover, we also remember Sergio Leone’s films (western director and friend of Morricone).
MARA = Beautiful.
GIAN = Remember the movie The Good, The Bad and the Ugly ….
MARA = Beautiful also the photo inside, though. Look at these three children.
PIERO = Can we have a marker to autograph this album to Mara?
MARA = Really? Immediately, live? Come on, yes!
IGNAZIO = I’ll go.
MARA = Look, by magic, there is also the marker, “Aunt Mara” and this too (she also gives the CD and asks that they be dedicated to aunt Mara, as Mara often calls herself by young people).
IGNAZIO = The dedications are made by Gianluca.
GIANLUCA = Since I have the most beautiful writing, I write.
PIERO = I write like doctors, doctors’ recipes (prescriptions) ….
MARA = … that it is not clear what you write.
IGNAZIO = While Gianluca is writing, let’s go back to the previous discussion ..
MARA = Among all these important characters, myths, true myths, is there anyone who has moved you more? Saw Barbra Streisand ….
PIERO = The editing you did is really beautiful, but each of us has his own indelible memory, personally, singing in front of Pope Francis in Panama, during the youth day, I think it was one of the most important and profound moments.
MARA = Of course, I believe it. Then he has a great charisma, I spent two afternoons with him, one afternoon for 4 hours always with him, and the incredible thing is that it’s like talking ….. (the photo of the boys with the Pope appears in the background) There they are !! …. because he is a simple man, it is like being really, with a grandfather.
IGNAZIO = I think that a figure like Pope Francis, we needed it, also to approach the youngest, I speak as a boy who does not practice, but, thanks to Pope Francis, I have re-evaluated the religious world.
MARA = Of course, when there are men like that, then he is a real revolutionary, guys.
GIAN = Maybe he’s looking at us, let’s say hello.
MARA = We greet Pope Francis: “Happy St. Stephen Holiness!” ….. but he only wants to be called Pope Francis.
So guys, I start where we started, because it’s beautiful, then do your whole wonderful journey.
(Begins a 2011 video of the LA VITA IN DIRETTA program , conducted by Mara Venier, with guests of the very young Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca. In the video Mara says that three of them are 48 years old and then asks who wanted the name Il Volo and Piero replies that it is a metaphorical name and that they decided it together.)
Have you understood? In the end I wished you to fly high, but you took me at my word !!!
GIAN = I still remember the first moments. It was one of our first interviews. I still remember the excitement of doing the interviews, we didn’t know what to say, sometimes we got tangled up, we didn’t really know how to behave with the cameras. It’s amazing how, over time, things can change, in 10 years our life has changed in an incredible way.
MARA = Incredible. Have you ever thought about all this guys? (she drops the felt-tip pen)
IGNAZIO = I’ll take care of it.
MARA = Come on, I can do it.
IGNAZIO = I wanted to be a gentleman.
MARA = What love !! I wanted to take this (the vinyl) and show it because it’s beautiful.
PIERO = Actually while we were singing she was afraid that it would be stolen.
MARA = In fact, look, I’m holding it tight. By the way, Monica Bellucci called me (Il Volo was a guest on the previous Sunday for a tribute to the actress Monica Bellucci in connection from Paris).
IGNAZIO = Did she like it?
MARA = She thanked me, it was a surprise, she wasn’t expecting it at all.
GIAN = It was good for us too.
MARA = Really?
GIAN = Sure
MARA = Did you have any feedback?
GIAN = Apart from that, during the interview, Monica Bellucci is Monica Bellucci(as if to say that Bellucci is famously beautiful) .… but Mara Venier ….
PIERO = But Mara Venier is Mara Venier (as if to say that Mara is beautiful too)
MARA = Oh yes, at my age …. guys but I invite you every Sunday ….
IGNAZIO = You have to thank that I am already busy, otherwise I would make you a ruthless court (what a seducer).
MARA = Where is your girlfriend?
IGNAZIO = She is far away.
MARA = Very far?
PIERO = No, she’s near here, around the corner.
GIAN = Exactly!
PIERO = In Brazil.
MARA = But you really had to find her in Brazil?
IGNAZIO = Love does not know distances, it does not know religions, races.
MARA = Is she Brazilian?
IGNAZIO = Yes. Traveling, you meet different cultures, and this has given us the opportunity to get to know the whole world and also arrive in Brazil, where I later met what my love is, however ….
MARA = But why Ignazio, didn’t you join her now for Christmas?
IGNAZIO = Work calls and we are very professional.
MARA = Like me.
IGNAZIO = Exactly. Unfortunately or fortunately, in life you have to work and there are priorities.
MARA = I am very happy.
IGNAZIO = And we are young ….
MARA = You have time, now, as soon as the broadcast is over, you can join it.
IGNAZIO = Yes, I’m going down (He means Brazil. Actually the program is recorded in this way Ignazio at Christmas reached his love in Brazil.)
MARA = So guys, let’s talk again ….. why are you looking at me like this Piero, you look at me and you make me laugh.
PIERO = I respect you, you are fantastic. See you go to the programs, that feeling with the presenter, it is fundamental, it is crucial to make sure that the best part of us comes out.
MARA = Sure.
PIERO = Because you know, behind the artist, behind the singer, many at home cannot perceive the personality, because there is always the fear of making a mistake, or how much to talk, with you it is unfiltered.
IGNAZIO = Also because you always talk, so we are fine.
MARA = That’s not true !! I always make you talk and above all I listen, what a bad Ignazio. (Ignazio laughs) I’m not sending you to your girlfriend, I make you stay here, even for New Year’s, I don’t let you leave. (applause and laughter)
Ennio Morricone, why? You are very young, boys and here are some pieces that will truly remain in history.
GIAN = Let’s say that we have had an artistic evolution over the years, it all started with O SOLE MIO, then slowly, even with Grande Amore, we tried to have our own repertoire, then in 2016 a Tribute to the Three Tenors with Plácido Domingo, and this time we decided to pay a tribute, however, on the soundtracks of the films, which are a little detached from what is the real tradition of Italian music, because in any case Morricone is a genre in itself, an international genre, which has made history …
MARA = Oscar winner!
GIAN = Exactly, and therefore he wrote a music that has made generations dream, and it is also a way to make him known to the youngest, who may not be able to connect the music with the composer at first glance. So for us it is really an honor, we also thank the family, the teacher Andrea Morricone ….
MARA = The son.
GIAN = …. who immediately supported the project, and also his wife Maria Travia, who also gave the possibility to have her son (Andrea) write a text on the first sung version of the Ecstasy of Gold by Il Buono, the bad, the ugly.
MARA = Beautiful !! Now I’ll show you June of this year, the Verona Arena, I remember that we made a connection, just to launch your concert, let’s see this clip together.
(A video starts with Your Love from the Verona concert. In the video, Andrea Morricone says: “It is really exciting to hear my father’s music playing in this splendid Arena, it is really fantastic.” Ignazio says:
“Maestro Morricone means a lot to us, he is a symbol of Italy in the world, on this stage with the great maestro Andrea Morricone, is an honor.”)
How wonderful! (applause)
PIERO = Mara, those images are really strong for us, because the first images we saw are taken from the concert on June 5th and it was the first concert, right after the lockdown ….
MARA = Sure.
PIERO = ….. with 50% of the capacity of the Verona Arena.
IGNAZIO = 6 thousand.
PIERO = Yes, 6 thousand people, so we got on stage after almost two years of pause and silence, so there we really understood that for an artist, for a singer, the audience is oxygen.
MARA = Sure, absolutely. How have you lived through these two years of pandemic and I keep saying that we must still be very careful. Yes, we must not give up.
IGNAZIO = Never.
MARA = You who are used to traveling the world, never stand still.
GIAN = We tried to live it definitely not in a passive way. It is not easy, because many families have certainly suffered, and there have been people who have not been able to manage, especially young people, adolescents, who perhaps miss the most delicate period of their life and therefore, in some way, be still, not having a place in society, being able to understand what to do in the future and instead stopping, was certainly difficult for young people. And we also try to be an example for the young people who follow us.
MARA = Absolutely.
GIAN = We certainly haven’t stopped, you need to have a spirit of adaptation, when life puts you to the test anyway.
MARA = Look Gianluca, when I invite my guests, especially artists, musicians, even important ones, I always asked them, during the pandemic, during the lockdown, what they did, and the majority always told me that they continued to write, and moreover, they have also had the concentration, in these months, even so difficult, also of pain, of insecurity, of fear, in the end, but many have told me that they have been creative.
GIAN = They gave vent to creativity.
MARA = Exactly, they gave vent to creativity, exactly.
PIERO = We, too, created this album during the pandemic.
MARA = The album was born right there.
PIERO = Yes, because for us, the worst enemy has always been time, we have never had the time to concentrate or dedicate ourselves to taking care of all aspects of a project.
For this album, we worked a year and a half, the initial part via ZOOM (internet) with video calls. Then we went to the recording studio, zoomed in with the linked producers from Stockholm. We wanted it at all costs.
GIAN = Then it is clear that we always try to see the positive side, because from 2009 to today, we have always been 7-8 months a year out (abroad), on tour or promotion of the record, in short, it is our life. But in these two years, the positive thing is that we have been more with our families, we have cultivated relationships, met love, maybe we have been more with our friends. So we rediscovered what was our “old life”.
MARA = Exactly.
GIAN = Because anyway it’s like jumping on two different tracks every now and then, Il Volo and then ….
MARA = And then I imagine that when you are away for months and months, abroad, traveling the world with the tour, in short, your family, but also your country, in the end you miss them.
IGNAZIO = We always say that these years have been the result of positive and negative things.
Personally I am a person who has a hard time falling asleep at night, because my head is constantly thinking, about everything there is to do, I store a lot of information. But I realized that sometimes stopping, even if difficult, stopping is good, also to understand what you want from life, what you are doing.
MARA = Reflect, a moment of calm.
PIERO = You live everything with frenzy.
MARA = Especially you.
PIERO = We never stop, only at Christmas. For us, Christmas, on the 24th evening, we have to go home, and it is as if time stopped.
MARA = And this is beautiful, can I tell you? Coming home on the 24th is beautiful.
IGNAZIO = then on the 26th we come to Rome! (Domenica In is recorded in Rome).
MARA = Let’s go on guys, now there is a beautiful piece always taken from Morricone, “Once Upon a Time in the West”.
PIERO = It is the song we sang in Sanremo, this year we were guests in Sanremo.
MARA = So now you will let the guests of “Zia Mara” hear it.
On 11 December, as we all know, Il Volo was in Dubai during EXPO 2020, postponed to this year due to Covid.
Il Volo was a guest in the Italian pavilion, and performed a free concert, was invited to worthily represent Italy and Italian bel canto. Really a great honor.
In the afternoon there was a short press conference of which I will translate the part relating to Il Volo.
At the beginning, at the microphone is the Undersecretary of the Italian Culture Ministry, Lucia Bergonzoni.
LB = I want to leave the word to the guys of IL Volo, who tonight will be the great guests I really cared about, because I think they bring the Italian spirit to the world, and are truly the example of Italy and of the young people that we want.
P + I + G = Good evening everyone.
MAN = As announced by Undersecretary Lucia Bergonzoni, tonight we have a very important concert and we have the three protagonists here.
All together they are called Il Volo, but they are Gianluca Ginoble, Piero Barone and Ignazio Boschetto.
I leave the floor to them, so they can also tell us how much beauty they brought here tonight, and what you will go around presenting to the world with your tour that you are preparing.
The word to you.
IGNAZIO = Thanks!
Over time, this Italian spirit has grown in us, we have learned to love our flag, to love our culture and traditions and what we have always done is to sing the melodies of our traditions, starting from the opera, which was born in Italy and we, as young boys, try to bring it to the younger generations, to make known to the whole world, to the whole new generation, our culture, our Italian tradition.
PIERO = Tonight we are honored to sing and attend this event.
We will sing the songs that are part of our culture, of bel canto, from O Sole Mio, to Nessun Dorma, our song Grande Amore. Soon after we will continue with a world tour, clearly we are coming out of a very difficult period, it is still a slow road, but we are proactive and therefore we are really happy to be back on stage.
We will be touring the songs from our new album which is a tribute to maestro Morricone, who is also an Italian patrimony, so we are truly honored. Thanks to Undersecretary Lucia Bergonzoni for thinking of us, and we are really happy to be here.
GIANLUCA = Yes, because at our age, we feel even more privileged to represent our country with our voices, in such an important event, the most awaited of the year, unfortunately it has been postponed due to Covid, (in fact it is Expo 2020). It is a difficult moment but this unites us, as music unites, so we hope with our voices to bring to life a moment of positivity but at the same time of liberation, a moment of joy for everyone, singing, as Ignazio and Piero said, the melodies of our culture.
We follow in the footsteps of the greats, like Luciano Pavarotti, who really brought this music, bel canto, out of theaters, breaking all barriers. So we too, humbly, try to bring this music to the new generations, it has always been our goal and always will be.
So thank you!
PIERO = Tonight there will be many young people on stage, congratulations for the idea of giving space to these two young talents, this is a great showcase for these two young talents, the guitarist and the violinist, therefore, when there is space for new talents, for art, we are always happy.
Thanks and see you later. (applause)
GIANLUCA = I just wanted to add that we are remembering, with a new repertoire, with a new recording project, the greatest composer in the history of Italian music, the great maestro Ennio Morricone. One year after his death, we celebrate him with a new project and we will also sing some songs from the repertoire of the most famous soundtracks. This tribute is called Il Volo sings Morricone.
MAN = In fact, I was approaching the microphones just to ask you this question.
We started this celebratory day that the ministry had it organized in Cinecittà (Cinecittà is the set of Italian studios where the best Italian films were shot), so we started talking about cinema, we close with bel canto, but the bel canto that returns to the cinema.
So my questions are: “How did you come up with the idea of paying this tribute to Morricone? Where will you take your project, and how will this tour take place? What will this tribute be like, with which songs and in what way?”
PIERO = The idea to pay a tribute to maestro Ennio Morricone was born during one of the many meetings during the lockdown. We used the time available, because during all these years, 13 years of career, time is our worst enemy, because we never have time to work well on the details of new projects.
We have dedicated two years to Ennio Morricone, in the recording studio, it is the first time that we pay him a tribute, with the support and trust of the whole Morricone family, starting with his wife Maria, whom we thank and his son Andrea Morricone, he too is a composer, his is the music of Nuovo Cinema Paradiso.
So it is an album with all the melodies of Ennio Morricone sung, and we will take it on tour, around the world, we will start in March, we will do RCMH and we will continue with another 100 concerts.
MAN = Congratulations on a nice idea, another example of Italy that goes around the world and makes itself proud, of Italian cinema that promotes all the beauty of Italy, the Italian industry, the made in Italy.
It is really a pleasure and an honor to have you here today (to Il Volo), I won’t let you talk too much because later you will have to use your voice for something a little more interesting.
IGNAZIO = I don’t want to add anything, I was listening. (Lucia Bergonzoni returns)
LB = I want to thank all the people who worked to make today’s day work, even the commissioner of the pavilion and the many people who no one imagines, but who have to work for an event like this to work.
Now I call on the stage also Gibboni and Dalia (they are the violinist and the guitarist who won the competition with the highest marks), so we take a picture together.
IGNAZIO = Of course!
Final thanks.
And here is Il Volo with Lucia Bergonzoni.
And now, some photos during the concert:
Relaxing moment
Unfortunately, even if there was a link for the streaming connection to follow the concert, this did not work and there are only a few clips from the concert, grouped here in this video.
But also on 11 December, Il Volo was also a guest in a very nice and hilarious broadcast in Colonia (German), on the television channel ORF1.
It is a television quiz, by title “Quiz Ohne Grenzen”.
Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca, after singing The Ecstasy of Gold, had to perform live and without a backing track, some very famous songs in certain films (avoiding to sing the refrain) and the two competitors had to guess the title of the film.
Really fun and our boys have lent themselves with skill and sympathy to this beautiful game.
You can try to guess the titles too, I did it!!
Of course this quiz was previously recorded, because, as we all know very well, Il Volo was present live in Dubai!!
Click on photo below to view the quiz show video.
Therefore, on the same day, I felt proud to be represented in such an important event as EXPO 2020 by Il Volo and at the same time I admired them and laughed in the TV Quiz in Cologne (Germany).
Of course, the name Il Volo is very apt, in a moment Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca “flew” from Germany to the Arab Emirates, what spinning tops, what men!!
Gianluca, Ignazio and Piero are doing a lot of promotion to their latest CD and therefore, there are many appointments and many interviews, unfortunately I cannot keep up with these rhythms, but, as you may well know, many things are repeated and therefore, of each new event, I try to give you a brief summary, translating the interesting parts instead.
The last event where they were guests, which I translated for you, was Radio Italia live, but, again on Radio Italia, they also had another interview entitled “A tu per tu” (Face to Face). Some questions are the same, but they also said some interesting things that I translate for you:
It begins with greetings to the listeners of Radio Italia.
(In the video, from time to time you will see glimpses of Il Volo singing, they are clippings of others hosted at Radio Italia.)
Piero talks about the Morricone project.
Gianluca talks about the tour and says they will sing, in addition to Morricone’s new songs, also the songs of their success over the years.
He says it’s wonderful to travel the world and have the affection of the audience every night, he says they are privileged.
Piero says they are preparing themselves with singing lessons, healthy eating, and body workouts.
Ignazio says that it is not easy to prepare the suitcase for a world tour because in some countries it is hot, in others it is cold, so they will have big suitcases, if it were possible to bring a walk-in closet it would be better.
Gianluca confirmed that they have an archive of unreleased songs and are waiting for the right moment to publish them.
The project of the Three Tenors and this of Morricone, serve to consolidate their career, then, later on, he lets it be understood that they will release an album of their own of unreleased tracks. They are working hard for it.
Piero talks about the collaboration with the various artists on Morricone’s record. Gianluca says that Piero is single and that he and Ignazio are engaged. Ignazio admits that it’s good to be in love.
The day after Il Volo was a guest on two other radio stations.
Let’s start with Radio 2 Social Club.
(Click on the photo below to view the video.)
It’s a very nice interview, the two radio hosts are Luca Barbarossa (with the blue shirt) and Andrea Perroni, they both are very good friends of our boys.
At the beginning, in the “off the air” Gianluca and Ignazio arrive and say that Piero is in the bathroom!! 😁
Luca then marks Gianluca behind him saying he is engaged! Then they make fun of Ignazio because he has a coat and it is hot in the studio, but Ignazio says that he is an elegant person and always dresses like this!! 😁
Piero says they just got back from Madrid where they promoted the CD.
On stage, they talk about the Morricone project and then sing Se Telefonando.
Luca makes a lot of compliments for the voices of the boys, then says that they are promoting the CD all over the world and therefore they will ask them some technical questions and the first is: “Which one of you is engaged?” 😁😁😁
Then Luca asks how they will do with their distant girlfriends while they are on tour and Gianluca replies that sometimes they will take them with them every now and then. Then Luca says “They are not hand luggage !!” 😁😁
Gianluca apologizes, he could have expressed himself better.
Luca confirms that Gianluca’s girlfriend is Eleonora Storaro and asks Gianluca if he is happy to talk about her and he replies that she is and then tells Luca: “But you like to gossip” 😁
So they talk a little about tennis with Ignazio and Piero and also about football with Gianluca.
Luca asks where they will sing in the US and they also reply RCMH, so Luca remembers that an Italian journalist had said that Il Volo performed in the world but only in pizzerias.😑
Piero replies that they laugh at these criticisms.
PIERO: “A criticism made with intelligence is constructive and important. In these 13 years, those who have written badly about us, those who have offended us, then got to know us and changed their minds, in the end we cannot like everyone.”
Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca perform SE from Nuovo Cinema Paradiso.
Luca asks about their success in Japan and Piero explains that luck would have it that a very famous ice skater performed his exercise on one of their songs: Starry Night and from here many emails of requests from Japan arrived.
Gianluca also explains the collaboration with Vittorio Storaro and Luca, reiterates that Il Volo worked with many famous people, such as Placido Domingo, with whom they recorded a beautiful song: Il Canto which was written by Luca Barbarossa!!! 😁😁
Thanks and final greetings.
On the same day, Il Volo was also on Radio 1.
They are housed in a studio adjacent to that of the two presenters.
They begin by remembering the 13-year career.
They thank Torpedine and talk a lot about the new Morricone project. (They all repeat things that have been said several times).
Ecstasy of Gold is broadcast (while in the video there is silence).
They continue to talk about Morricone and his music, how they chose the songs, how they thought of interpreting them and the responsibility they feel when they start such an important project.
They talk about Bel Canto and the pride they feel carrying this type of music around the world, especially now after the obligatory stop.
Final greetings.
So Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca participated in an online interview, with Marco Montemagno in connection from Brighton, Ignazio from Bologna, Gianluca from Rome and Piero does not say it but I believe from Naro.
Piero says he had to put five books under the PC otherwise the shot was not good and then Ignazio teases him because he says he looks like he is in the office.
They talk about the 100 concerts and Marco says it is a very heavy commitment and asks if they will also go to Brighton.
Gianluca recalls that in this period of Covid, Il Volo was also present at conferences, to give voice to those categories of the show that have had such a long stop.
Marco asks if they will go to England and Gianluca replies that they have tried to enter the English market, have promoted and have also sung at the Palladium and also at the Royal Music All, but then they have given priority to other places and admits that they should return to England.
Piero asks Marco how many years he has lived in Brighton and he replies 9 years old, he married an Englishwoman, so they chose to live in England, but he is very happy.
When asked which are the markets of Il Volo, Ignazio replies that they are America, South America, Eastern Europe, Russia, Japan, it is a musical genre that manages to take more different cultures, fortunately.
Piero explains about their first meeting and the fact that they just didn’t think they had this great success.
At the beginning it was quite easy, even if they were not known in Italy, in 2015 they participate in Sanremo and since then they have also been known in Italy and for them, meeting people on the street who recognize you and smile at you, is the most satisfying thing.
Gianluca confirms that each audience has a different treatment. Each country has a kind of audience, warmer, more attentive, more exaggerated and it is nice to discover different traditions and different attitudes.
Piero says that Europe is complicated, because each state has very different cultures and every night, during the first 3/4 songs, they have to understand what kind of audience they have.
Ignazio confirms that for their type of musical genre, England has always been a little more difficult market than other countries.
Then they talk about the physical preparation for such a long tour and Piero explains that they have to take singing lessons to make sure that the voice is always at the same level throughout the tour and Ignazio explains that the vocal cords are like rubber bands and must always be held trained to avoid breakage.
Marco asks, in addition to the most obvious figures in the tour (management), what is the key figure that is needed for a tour like theirs and the boys answer that he is definitely the person who arrives first in the morning on the stage and who leaves for last in the evening, he is the backliner, he takes care of following all the details, even the water in the backstage, and the bread they need to clear their throat. His name is Alessio Guerrieri and he is in great demand in his field.
Marco says he is a ping pong enthusiast and Ignazio approaches his face, to show a small scar on his left eye and tells that while they were playing ping pong in Turkey where they had gone for a private event, Gianluca with whom he was playing as a couple gave him the ping pong paddle over his eye.
Gianluca is sorry about what happened, he says it looked like a crime scene, with a lot of blood.
Ignazio says that a medical guard comes and says that there is a need to go to the hospital to put stitches but Ignazio refuses, because it was during the Covid period and therefore they made a very noticeable bandage around his head and it is returned to Italy like this. (Remember, Ignazio wore a patch over his eye and we didn’t know why, now we know.) 😘
Gianluca is very sorry, but he says that Ignazio has improved since he received the blow, and therefore perhaps he will give him another one.😁
Then they talk at length about the Morricone project.
Marco asks how they manage personal relationships between them.
Piero says they didn’t know each other, at first there were also tantrums and tensions, then they learned to have tolerance, they don’t argue, they always look for a meeting point. They have three different roles in the management of Il Volo, they have a lot of understanding and they get along very well.
They are aware that when they make mistakes they apologize, and for Piero, apologizing is a noble way of being a man.❤
Ignazio adds that they have also learned to have gratitude, to be aware of being grateful, to something, to someone.❤
Marco asks if their popularity has been strong from the start or if they have had strange moments.
Gianluca admits that it was a slow process, at the first copy-signing there were four people in Rome, immediately after their participation in the Ti Lascio Una Canzone program.😁
Piero laughs, remembering that the people of their team went to them saying: “Excuse me, will you sign the CD?”😁 Gianluca says they made fun of them!!😁
But things change with time, and there was also the risk of being meteors.
For this reason we have always remained humble and our families have been very important to us.
Piero asks Marco what he thought when they asked him to do an interview at Il Volo (which he obviously didn’t know) and he replies that he was happy, because he never followed them directly for their type of music, but he has always admired their great success, in particular he greatly admires those who are successful outside Italy and he has always had admiration for them, because they have shown that they are not a meteor.
Ignazio confirms that what they do is extremely difficult, it is not an immediate musical genre, it does not go on the radio, streaming or in commercials, where you have more chances to make it known. It takes a lot of perseverance, dedication, work and it is very demanding. There have been times where they’ve had to swallow and work hard, but it’s nice when you don’t go the easy way of what others do and keep your personality, and they’ve always been consistent with who they are. They are this and who follows them, follows them for what they do.❤
Gianluca admits that they have a loyal audience. Their fans are very fond of them, because they have seen them grow. It is like a big family.😘
So they talk about Il Divo which is a musical group similar to Il Volo, they are not Italian but they sing in Italian. In Italy everyone wants to sing in English, while abroad Italian singing is very welcome.
They confirm that The Three Tenors took the opera out of the theaters.
Marco asks how, after the fiftieth concert, they manage to maintain the freshness of the first one and Piero replies that you must love what you do, then you must always be aware that the people in front of you have come for you, and even if they were 10 people they deserve the best from you.
They then confirm that their audience is transversal, from children to grandparents.
Marco asks if they had any unforeseen events during the concerts and Piero says that in Budapest, after the twelfth song (usually 25 songs) his voice went away. They suspended the concert for 20 minutes. Total panic, they called his voice teacher on video and after 20 minutes the voice came back and they finished the concert.
Ignazio also tells a similar story and says that they sing completely live, while they know that other singers also have pre-recorded songs.
Piero confirms that fortunately there are three of them and a glance is enough for them to understand if something is wrong and therefore one of the three plays the part of someone who is not well, there is a great mutual help.❤
Then, laughing, they remember singing the refrain of “Tous le visages de l’ amour” over and over in Switzerland, because they couldn’t remember the words.😁
Piero also remembers when in Taormina during a concert, he teased Ignazio because his favorite football team was losing the game for 4 goal at that moment and Ignazio was angry😁
Then they say that on stage they move with awareness that they must occupy the whole scene.
Piero explains that before a tour there is a long work of patience, to plan all the trips, everything must be accurate and before, when they were younger, there were people who did it, now even the three of them take part in this.
Marco asks which are the strangest characters they have met and Piero explains that the strangest moments they had in 2010, when their little ones, were invited to Jimmy Iovine’s parties in America where there were so many famous people, an incredible time.
So they talk for a long time about the various television series.
In the end, Gianluca hints that they are thinking of making a documentary, perhaps about their life? Who knows!
Good luck from Marco and final greetings.
Furthermore, on Saturday 4 December Il Volo was a guest on Canale 5 in a new program: UA, conducted by Claudio Baglioni (He presented Sanremo in 2019).
Here is the video of their moment.
(Click on the photo below to view the video.)
I have tried to give you an overview of some of the events in which Il Volo attended, but there are many others.
Some things that I have translated to you are really interesting and some very nice, these young men never cease to amaze us.❤
As I write to you, I am waiting for a television interview with them.
The event that was supposed to take place in Austria has been canceled due to Covid, but on 11 December there will be a short Il Volo concert in Dubai and it will be possible to follow it in streaming at this link:
By popular demand, IL VOLO will give its first concert at the Millennium Amphitheater in Dubai 5 years after their first performance at the 2016 Globe Soccer Awards. “Il Volo Live in Concert” will be a once in a lifetime event where Piero Barone, Gianluca Ginoble and Ignazio Boschetto will rebuild their careers bringing the best of their repertoire to the stage: from the traditional Italian “bel canto” like the iconic song “‘O Sole Mio”, to evergreen American songs like “My Way”, from the single “Grande Amore” with which they won the 2015 edition of the Sanremo Song Festival at the famous Turandot aria “Nessun dorma”. The repertoire will include pieces from their latest album “Il Volo sings Morricone”, a passionate journey into the art of one of the greatest composers of the 20th century. A playlist structured as a “best of” contains the careers of three unique voices who have crossed national borders, selling millions of records and making their way onto the international top hits lists.
(Ministry of Culture Special Project, produced by Cinecittà, supporting partner D&G)
But there is still a little final pearl, what about these beautiful photos of our boys in Times Square in NY?
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!
It had been a long time since we had seen a nice interview with “Uncle Bruno” in Porta a Porta, a really long time.
So enjoy the video and the translation I made for you!
Please click on the photo below to view the video.
VESPA = Tonight there will be a tribute to Ennio Morricone, then we will talk to these three guys we have met since childhood. Let’s see this tribute to Morricone.
(Ecstasy of gold video begins)
(Vespa went to interview Il Volo in a hotel in Rome)
Glad to see you guys, we haven’t seen you in a while.
GIAN = Welcome, this time it is you who came to visit us.
VESPA = True, true. We are already ready for the interview, a marvel.
GIAN = We were just waiting for you. (The Ecstasy of gold video continues and ends)
VESPA = Ignazio Boschetto, Gianluca Ginoble, my fellow countryman, and Piero Barone. We met outside and we haven’t seen each other since …..
I + G + P = Two and a half years.
VESPA = Two and a half years! And you have been stuck for 2 years for Covid on tour?
GIAN = We were on tour in March 2020 in the US and we canceled the last two concerts and …..
VESPA = And you ran home under the protective wings of your parents.
GIAN = Yes, it was March 13, in full lockdown, we came back during the worst period ..
IGNAZIO = We managed to catch one of the last flights that departed from America.
GIAN = A last minute flight.
VESPA = And now, after 2 years, you will be back in 100 cities around the world.
PIERO = There are 116 concerts.
VESPA = 116?
PIERO = 116.
VESPA = Where do you start from?
PIERO = Let’s start from the US.
VESPA = When?
PIERO = In March, exactly, US-2 months, Europe, Italy many concerts …
VESPA = Italy where?
PIERO = Italy we will play a part in the summer season and the second part in the sports halls, therefore in the winter period.
VESPA = In short, there is a lot ..
PIERO = Then we will go to Japan, New Zealand and Australia and finish the world tour in South America.
VESPA = Well, a nice little program.
PIERO = We are excited.
VESPA = But that wonderful video that you introduced us, was a tribute to Morricone, IL VOLO SINGS MORRICONE. So you will sing Morricone’s songs.
IGNAZIO = Yes, on tour ….
VESPA = And then your classics you will sing also in tour
IGNAZIO = Absolutely. Absolutely, the idea was born from the tribute we paid to Verona on June 5th, and from there the idea of a lineup also for next year’s tour was born, so it will all be centered on Morricone, and the rest will be the frame, the songs that have been important to us in recent years, such as Nessun Dorma, rather than O Sole Mio, or Grande Amore.
VESPA = What is your most successful song by far? Absolutely absolute.
GIAN = It is clear that 80% of our songs are still “covers” (successes of others), songs from the past rearranged, but having our song which was an unreleased song which is Grande Amore, allows us to have that extra pride of having our own song which is now part of the bel canto repertoire. (the video of Grande Amore in Sanremo starts)
VESPA = Morricone: three very young (Il Volo), with a great teacher, who has dominated for many years, especially film music, but not only, what was your first meeting with Morricone? When did you meet him?
PIERO = The first meeting with Morricone took place in the Forum studios in Rome, the studios he founded …
VESPA = Year ??
PIERO = Year 2011, during the recording period of our first album.
VESPA = 10 years ago
PIERO = We crossed him for 7-8 months and talked in the corridors. We must admit that we, then, did not have the awareness of who we were in front of.
VESPA = And how was the songs born?
IGNAZIO = For pandemic!
GIAN = We tried not to live this period passively, try to be optimistic and stimulate creativity. This project was born from a common idea, we definitely wanted to surprise, to make something unique and therefore, especially the choice of the repertoire, it was difficult but at the same time stimulating, because singing The Ecstasy of gold for the first time, with a text in English, written by his son Andrea Morricone, allowed us to enter the master’s world and each time we discovered something new.
VESPA = You have also collaborated with another great Oscar winner: Vittorio Storaro, our great friend. How did you relate?
IGNAZIO = We have been looking for an idea to develop together for years. Maestro Storaro came up with this idea, a tribute to the maestro Morricone, with a video of : YOUR LOVE …
GIAN = Once Upon a Time in the West soundtrack …
VESPA = A Morricone classic.
IGNAZIO = …. and the idea of the Maestro Storaro was that everything comes from the womb of the earth and hoping that this period of pandemic can be useful to many people and that art can help to restart.
VESPA = So now we will hear a co-production: Morricone – Storaro – Il Volo, mamma mia, let’s hear.
(the beautiful video in Frasassi, begins)❤
Il Volo Sings Morricone
PIERO = We would like to explain the title, because we have chosen Il Volo Sings Morricone.
Because Maestro Morricone is not only a man whose work is celebrated, but Morricone has created a genre of his own, and it is a whole world to discover, and we feel honored, we have entered the repertoire of all the works of Ennio Morricone in tiptoe, with the utmost humility and we are satisfied with this work, and giving voice to its melodies, is a very big responsibility, but it is a great satisfaction.,
VESPA = So, tomorrow 10 November is the anniversary of the birth of Maestro Ennio Morricone, who was born in 1928, and Il Volo will celebrate it, together with Rai 1, they broadcast in prime time, the replica of an extraordinary concert that you have made this summer at the Arena di Verona and which had extraordinary numbers of audiences these days, exceeding 5 million listeners.
Now we will listen to “Se Telefonando”, which is a very curious co-production, with the words of Maurizio Costanzo (well-known Italian TV presenter), the voice of Mina (very famous Italian singer), so beware guys (nobody dares to imitate Mina, considered sacred monster of Italian music), and the music of Ennio Morricone.
PIERO = There is a nice anecdote, by Ennio Morricone, because when we started studying the repertoire, but above all the person who was Ennio Morricone, we discovered the birth of Se Telefonando.
Morricone was doing the queue at the post office to pay a bill, he hears the ambulance, and from the notes, from the sound of the ambulance, Se Telefonando is born.
VESPA = Think a little like a sound, somehow sinister, anonymous….
PIERO = It makes you understand the genius of this man.
VESPA = … a song can be born, one of the most beautiful songs, Let’s listen to it.
(starts Se Telefonando from the concert of the Arena)
Guys, how did you find me? Good?
IGNAZIO = You are in great shape.
PIERO = Perfect. Last time in New York you were jogging with us, at 7 am you had already done two hours of jogging.
(begins a video of Il Volo and Vespa in New York).
VESPA = I’m thinking back to you, now seeing you, I’m thinking about how you were 8 years ago, when you first came to Porta a Porta.
GIAN = But you were one of the first to believe in us and we had wonderful experiences with you, in New York with Woody Allen, then Maestro Vittorio Storaro told me wonderful stories with Woody Allen with whom he collaborated.
PIERO = You know that you are always in our thoughts, because you personally gave me great advice.
I am an addict of the news, I am too curious and every day I always watch all the news and it is a piece of advice you gave me 6 years ago, about culture, reading books, because I asked you for advice on a book and you advised me: “Read all the news every morning, from the first to the last page.” It was difficult, a trauma the first few days, and now I can’t do without this.
VESPA = See that good I am, I also give good advice!
PIERO = I tell it, that always was Bruno Vespa who gave me this advice.
VESPA= Now we see Il Volo as they were as young boys, even if they are still children, I really find them still young in an embarrassing way.
Wait a minute, let’s go to December 17, 2013.
(the video of that evening starts, Un Amore così Grande)❤
VESPA = How have you changed over the years? I remember that you (Piero) at the Metropolitan had some good ideas, did you carry them out?
PIERO = Always, my course of study continues, you know very well that I am a great admirer of opera. I am curious, I like to discover, new works, new arias, it is a path that I am taking on a parallel track.
VESPA = But when will you feel ready to do a work?
IGNAZIO = He has to hurry up, because we too want to hear something ….😁
VESPA = Eh, exactly !!
PIERO = But it is something that goes slowly, I am not in a hurry, the priority , the focus, the maximum concentration is on the Morricone project.
VESPA = And you Gianluca what do you want to do when you grow up?
GIAN = What do I want to be when I grow up? Let’s say that IL Volo is the priority. Our success, it must be recognized that it is the group …
VESPA = The three tenors too ….
GIAN = Artistically there are dreams in the drawer, maybe we will start …. I would like to study acting, but time, in reality there is none, there is little, because as Piero said, we must also chase dreams, personally , but the priority is the group, of course!
VESPA = And you Ignazio?
IGNAZIO = Well, I’ve always had the dream of making my music known, because I like to write.
This year I had one of the greatest satisfactions, I wrote the theme song for Makari, this fiction that was a champion of ratings …
VESPA = Good!
IGNAZIO = Yes, and behold, Il Volo has always been the priority and will be the priority. But it is also possible to give free rein to ideas, thoughts…
VESPA = But it’s nice to hear someone else sing your own song, in my opinion, you write it and someone else sings it….
IGNAZIO = Actually, we sang it, so: perfect.
GIAN = He said in general, as an author, as a composer.
PIERO = You will never get rid of him. ( Ignazio).
VESPA = But how is he? (Ignazio)
GIAN = He is the most exuberant.
PIERO = No, he is the most messy. Ignazio is disorder itself.
GIAN = Yes we (him and Piero) are more precise.
PIERO = There is the interview with Bruno Vespa at 6:00 pm, 9:00 pm, 10:00 pm, he, 5 minutes earlier, still sleeping …
VESPA = He comes fresh fresh.
GIAN = We let’s go to wake him up singing!
IGNAZIO = It’s just that I have sleep problems. I can’t sleep at night, I go to bed too late, and when I wake up too early, I struggle…
GIAN = We are in New York, Piero and I are going to run in Central Park, Ignazio is waiting for us at the hotel and we have breakfast together.
VESPA = I understand, Ignazio is waiting for you.
Let’s try to understand better with this video, who are the guys from Il Volo.
(start a video)
VOCE DI DONNA = It is a long tribute to the maestro Morricone, the latest Il Volo album coming out these days.
An overwhelming journey, in 14 songs, into the art of one of the greatest composers of the 20th century, including reinterpretations, additions of lyrics and even an unpublished piece.
And to think that Piero Barone, Ignazio Boschetto and Gianluca Ginoble were little more than kids, when they came to visit us for the first time in Porta a Porta at the beginning of their success.
An atypical boy band, which first established itself abroad with an important recording contract in the US, and only later in our country.
In America, thanks to the intuition and guidance of the inseparable manager Michele Torpedine, they lined up an admirable series of records, they perform, the only Italians at the We Are the word for Haiti concert, invited by Quincy Jones himself, next to stars the likes of Barbra Streisand, Bono and Lady Gaga.
They are guests of Ellen DeGeneres between applause and standing ovations. They even light up the Christmas tree at the Rockefeller Center.
And then world tours, millions of records sold, the Nobel Prize ceremony in Oslo.
In Italy, however, success was not long in coming, also consecrated by the victory at the Sanremo Festival in 2015.
Success also repeated with the podium 4 years later, which sees them win third place, with the song “Musica che Resta”, written among others, also by Gianna Nannini.
With the first money they help parents, they continuously thank life and the opportunities received. In short, bel canto, family, values, sobriety and respect, especially among them, principles that are not taken for granted in particular in the entertainment world, which become one of the weapons of their celebrity.
They hand down great classics without changing them, modernizing them visually, it is the boys in sneakers who sing Nessun Dorma and O Sole Mio, to use their words.
From March 2022 a tour with over 100 concerts awaits them, an expected reunion with the public after the stop of the pandemic, to continue to proudly bring Italy and its beauty around the world.
VESPA = So guys, are you ready ?? Between now and March, when will you leave, what do you do?
PIERO = Now there will be the promotional tour of this album, IL Volo Sings Morricone, we will leave in a couple of days for the US, Spain ….
VESPA = So, this album that came out last week, at the same time all over the world ….
GIAN = Exactly, all the melodies of the maestro Morricone, from Nuovo Cinema Paradiso ….
VESPA = But do you realize, for heaven’s sake, since I have seen you grow … simultaneously all over the world, it means that on the same day, in Shanghai, in London, in New York, in Sicily, in Abruzzo….
GIAN = Also in Abruzzo, exactly.
PIERO = The greatest satisfaction is to be back on tour. Yes, the album is beautiful, and tell what we did in the recording studio. But an artist needs the stage, it’s a need you can’t do without.
VESPA = It’s true.
GIAN = This time, after two years of silence, more than ever. We will tour the melodies of maestro Ennio Morricone, with a large orchestra, and also singing the most beautiful songs of our repertoire. We would like, to give you Morricone’s cd …
VESPA = Thanks, thanks guys! Good luck, you deserve everything you’ve had and much that you’ll still have.
G + I + P = Thanks !!
VESPA = Goodnight.
As you heard in the interview, on 10 November, in memory of Morricone’s birth, RAI1 re-proposed the concert in Verona.
Before the concert began, Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca, had posted this short video.
IGNAZIO = Today is November 10th, it is a special day, the day when the master Ennio Morricone would have turned 93 years old.
He is no longer here with us, but it is as if he were.
Silence never fell on him, because he left us a world full of music.
GIAN = We were in this place where everything talks about him.
It is his recording studio in Rome, which has been his second home for many years. It is here that he recorded most of his unforgettable soundtracks.
PIERO = We have dedicated, with respect and love, a concert with the music of the master, which aired last June.
Tonight RAI1 broadcasts it again, as if it were a way to thank him and thank him in a very small part, the immense gift he gave us.
G + I + P = Happy Birthday, master! ❤❤❤
Really a pleasant chat between friends, we hope that Bruno Vespa will make us these surprises again, inviting Il Volo a Porta a Porta.
The best wishes for a happy birthday made by our boys to Maestro Morricone are very sweet.
The promotion of the new CD continues, there will still be new meetings and new translations.
Unfortunately, the concert scheduled for November 27 in Austria was canceled due to Covid.
We still haven’t gotten out of this pandemic. 😑
Daniela
Credit to owners of all photos and videos.
Come in and share the love of life, friends and Il Volo!
