I started the translation of this radio interview with Gianluca, immediately after it happened, but then, the events with the postponement of the tour and the sale of tickets to Verona, I never finished the translation.
Now I have finally finished it, I’m sorry you had to wait a long time. This is an interview made by Radio Roma by the spouses “Perrollas”, Federico Perrotta and Valentina Olla.
Woman = The adrenaline has risen a little, we feel we are on an international stage, because detonating, was the news that we have hosted Gianluca Ginoble of Il Volo, who very courteously lent himself ……
Man = Yes, but make a fair presentation ….
Woman = I try …. Ladies and gentlemen, it is a great honor for us to be able to chat ….
Man = No, no this is not good, something more international is needed: “Cummare e cumpare (ladies and gentlemen in Abruzzo dialect) we are really pleased to have here, on Radio Roma International, Gianluca Ginoble, nu cumpare (meant as a friend, in Abruzzo dialect) from Abruzzo”.
And here he is, hello Gianluca !!
GIAN = Good morning, good morning everyone. I see you speak Abruzzo, we have this thing in common (Federico is from Abruzzo).
Man = Sure, indeed In your honor, I put on a shirt, let’s see if we can frame it, can you read? Look here.
GIAN = So … wait, wait, I can’t see it, wait for the shot …. SUN CAP REAL (laughter…the inscription could be translated about so “I am a real goat” in the sense of blockhead, one who understands little. It is a shirt that students wear when there are 100 days to go to the final exams and they go to S. Gabriel to make gatherings of students where they pray and have propitious parties for the exam.)
Read in this way, it looks like an English word, but NO.
Man = Exactly but this t-shirt is based on fake English, which instead means something else for us.
Were there the 100 days of St. Gabriel for you too, the 100 days before the exam?
GIAN = No, I kept it out. But in S. Gabriele (it is a place with a sanctuary) I went there with my grandfather. Every now and then we go there, take a day in the mountains and then we stop to eat there. I am very attached to my grandfather, so we go together every now and then.
Man = Meanwhile, social networks are going crazy, there are greetings from Argentina, France. There are those from Argentina who are unleashed.
Woman= There is a very young 91 year old fan of yours
Man = A groupie
Woman= 91 years old, Mrs. Lia loves you with all of herself, a very young fan of yours.
GIAN = I greet you, but I also greet another die-hard fan who is Grandma Maura, that’s what I call her, and I greet her, since she is in Rome and is listening and watching me right now.
Man = How nice !! Meanwhile, I wanted to thank your dad, Ercole, who acted as a hook for this live phone call.
Listen, let’s talk about lightness, we are both actors and live artists, is there something you miss, with contact with people?
GIAN = It is our life, that of being in contact with the audience, that of transmitting emotions, and also our audience, in a certain sense it helps us to bring out better what we feel inside and then it is clear we can play or singing at home too, but it’s certainly not the same thing, it’s not like looking people in the face, but we’ll be back soon. I would like to say that we are preparing a concert at the Verona Arena, on June 5th, and it will go live on RAI 1 and will be a tribute to Maestro Morricone. It is a new project, the CD will be released soon and then we will leave for the tour in 2022, we hope, bringing the great melodies of the master.
Woman = Listen, international stages, you have lived them from an early age, the big stages have seen you grow and mature. In the meantime, congratulations for being able to support all this, it is not easy, it is not easy to do it in a group, and we are truly honored by the talent you have and the prestige you bring to Italianness.
We would like to know if you have any anecdotes to share, funny, something that happens behind the scenes, we are crazy about these things.
GIAN = The incredible thing, when we went around the world, from Los Angeles to New York, I come from Montepagano, from Roseto degli Abruzzi, I didn’t speak English and neither did my colleagues, so you can imagine that to be able to have the hair dryer, we said “Phon” and rightly at the reception they gave us the phone, then with our hands we made the gesture of combing and they gave us the comb, and then we blew them on the hair to make them understand !!!
Man = Surely it was also difficult to be understood on tour, by the technicians who spoke another language, at the beginning anything will have happened.
GIAN = Yes, but these are the things that give you the strength to improve, because you can’t always make yourself understood with gestures, you have to learn the language, otherwise it’s hard !!
Woman= Can I ask you if you have been aware of success from the start?
GIAN = Let’s say that little by little you realize that what was initially a game becomes your life, but the memory of when I was a child must remain, because it is what gives you the strength to be truly yourself, without success you change, in fact it doesn’t have to be that something that changes you, and if you can keep the enthusiasm of the child, it makes a difference and people notice it, when you are on stage, when you talk to someone, this is the most important thing, never lose that authenticity, which somehow makes you unique.
I’m talking about the whole group, of course. It is a way to always be yourself.
Man = It’s an important thing, because, as you say, the audience feels it. There are some questions, someone writes to ask Gianluca how he can bear all the tension in cheering on Roma (football team).
GIAN = Look, I have to be honest, since Totti (captain of the team) left, I am no longer able to follow Roma as before.
Man = Have you seen the TV series about Totti?
GIAN = Yes of course, I saw him with my father. Since Totti left, I can no longer have that passion, I follow football, but it was he (Totti) who tied me to the team, more than anything else, by the way I greet him, maybe he is listening to the radio.
Woman= What a sincere statement of admiration ….
GIAN = Of love …
Woman= Yes, of love, even if in my opinion, there is an undisputed queen, Ilary (wife of Totti), a great woman.
GIAN = Of course, they are a beautiful couple.
Man = Beyond the declarations of love, we are flooded with declarations of love for you, and seeing you so beautiful, in the early morning, I love you too, (laughter), I too make this declaration to you.
Woman= Yes, because here in chat they arrive: I love you, I dedicate my life to you, I greet you, it seems they are for us , but they are all for you.
Man = We went to a concert in Civitella di Chieti, we were between 8000-9000 people that evening and there was a beautiful dedication to your family and your land, which is always present in your stories, Abruzzo and then the grandfather, if I’m not mistaken, with whom you have a special relationship.
GIAN = I am proud to be Abruzzese, I love my land, by the way my two colleagues always make fun of me, because wherever we go, I always put Abruzzo in the foreground, and they tell me, but the region (Abruzzo) pays you?? We are strong and kind (the people of Abruzzo) there is nothing to do. It is clear that I am very attached to my roots, to Montepagano, Roseto, the sea, my family, especially my grandfather. Grandfather is the love of my life, grandfather Ernesto is my great inspiration.
Woman = I want to ask: to go up on such prestigious stages, with Barbra Streisand, was there any time when your legs trembled?
GIAN = These are sensations that help you express your best, without those, you can’t give your all on a stage. Even when your voice trembles while you sing, it is that natural emotion that you feel.
Woman= It is wonderful to talk to you, your availability, your normality, denotes that if you are a great artist.
Man = Is it because we are people of the country, do you want to understand it?
Woman= He carries on the theory of Abruzzo, you are great because you are Abruzzese, my husband is really terrible.
Man = I want to know something, when you get angry, because things are not going well, do you shout in English, in Italian or in your mother tongue?
GIAN = (He speaks in Abruzzo) What are you saying? In Abruzzese, when you get angry you speak in Abruzzo tongue.
Getting angry in English makes no sense. (laughs)
Man = It doesn’t even have the same strength.
GIAN = No, no.
Man = Well, we are very happy and to thank you for your availability towards us, I read the greetings from “I am Carmen and I write from Spain”.
Woman = It must be said that the affection of fans from all over the world has arrived. They can’t wait to see you live again, I think the part of contact with the fans during a concert, is missing a lot, but on June 5th it starts again.
Man = Back on stage at the Arena with a concert which will then be live on RAI1.
Well, Gianluca, what to say a greeting from everyone, it was a great pleasure, a very strong hug and we hope to see you soon.
GIAN = I hope to see you soon, maybe …. let’s eat two rustelli (he says it in Abruzzo, it’s about roast meat)
Man = But the good ones, the ones on the coals.
GIAN = Well done, well done.
Woman = Thanks Gianluca, and happy Sunday.
GIAN = Goodbye !!
Gianluca, always available, on May 19th, also made another connection with the fifth grade classes of Cologna Spiaggia (town of Abruzzo). Here’s what the school’s Press Office published after the connection with Gianluca.
“Never stop believing in your dreams, pursue your goals with commitment and everything will be possible” 🤩
This morning a really exciting interview: GIANLUCA GINOBLE Il Volo meets the pupils of the fifth class of Cologna Spiaggia. When a dream comes true …
It was an exciting meeting, GIANLUCA in his naturalness told about himself and, aware of being a model for the boys, he sent them important messages based on values such as love for grandparents, the care of true friendship, pleasure. of reading, the tenacity and determination in achieving one’s dreams.
A heartfelt thanks from the students and teachers of the fifth class of Cologna Spiaggia! ❤️❤️❤️
Bravo Gianluca for these beautiful messages given to children, who in this period of pandemic have really had to endure restrictions and prohibitions.
Meanwhile, the Paris concert has also been canceled.
There is news on other concerts but honestly it is nothing official.
Here is the newspaper article that I translate for you.
The entourage of the trio of most famous tenors in the world has announced the new dates of the concerts of the Best of Tour of “Il Volo”, initially postponed from 2020 to 2021: the new calendar is being updated, but the live shows are already scheduled. Germany, Croatia, Poland, Bulgaria and Romania. The concert in Opatija (Opatija) which was to be organized on July 1st 2020 will take place on July 4, 2021. The hope is that the health situation is such as to guarantee a show in the name of normality, including tourists.
Lovers of opera, Neapolitan music and cross over with Piero Barone, Ignazio Boschetto and Gianluca Ginoble will have the opportunity to spend a memorable evening at the Open Air Abbaziano. The flight will later perform at the Atlas Arena in Lodz, Poland on July 10th – tickets are already available online. Finally, the Best of Tour, which originally was to pass through Bulgaria and Romania in July 2020, will now touch Plovdiv on 6 July 2021 and Bucharest on 8 July, again this year.
Now I want to cheer you up a little with this beautiful clip of Gianluca singing in the car, together with his friend Giuseppe Di Stefano.
And finally, enjoy this nice video on the Il Volo alphabet !!
There is one last piece of news, Sunday 30 May, Il Volo will be the guest of the television broadcast DOMENICA IN, where they will advertise the Verona event and on 2 June, for us a national holiday, Festa della Repubblica, they will sing the national anthem, from Verona.
That’s all for now.
I can’t believe that in a week I’ll be in Verona and I’ll be able to see our young men live again.
I will also see some dear friends again.
Hope the staff will let us film.
I cannot wait.
I think you all know that Italy won Eurovision 2021. I’m happy with that, but hard rock is certainly not my genre, but all music is beautiful and must be respected. Il Volo also nicely sent its “good luck” to the Maneskin in the race.
Things here in Italy continue to improve, we hope to continue like this. I too had my first vaccine.
It’s all a succession of news and I will try to make order.
Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca were in Verona, together with the mayor of Verona, they held the press conference for the presentation of the June 5th event in the Arena. I will summarize what was said by the mayor of Verona and the director of RAI1, the network that will broadcast the event.
MAYOR = “Welcome to Il Volo in our city. It is an important day because we are presenting this concert which has a number of important meanings.
The request by the Veneto Region on the possibility of giving concerts at the Verona Arena for 6,000 people was accepted.
The Arena is not only the symbol of Verona but of music, in an open theater, on an international level.
It is the date of a restart, a reopening and great music that can be enjoyed live. On June 5, you have the honor of restarting the music with the presence of thousands of people.
For the city of Verona it is an honor to host you and be the city where everything can start again.”
RAI 1 DIRECTOR = For the flagship network of the Public Service, it is an honor to go to this special evening which means a lot for the artistic world and for the country.
As soon as Ignazio, Piero and Gianluca came together with their agent to offer me this evening, I accepted it immediately.
Rai Uno wants to remember Morricone, who has done so much for our music and culture, and the thing that seemed interesting to me is that it was reinterpreted by three young people who represent.
The idea that they were born in a talent show and have climbed, achieving such great success all over the world, makes us proud. It is the world of hope, justice and public service that Rai represents.
It is nice to think that three artists like Il Volo want to pay homage to Morricone. I think they have a lot to tell, even beyond singing.
I asked them to perform on their repertoire songs as well (“‘O Sole Mio”, “Grande Amore”, etc.), to the Italian people to review how their virtuosity has changed. They are now adults, really for Rai Uno it is an honor and we will be alongside, with great joy, for this first normal event. We will give a taste of the arrival of Il Volo on Rai Uno, on 2 June, with the National Anthem, after Tg1. I believe that the identity of this trio is consistent with the identity that the flagship network must have.”
RAI 1 VICE DIRECTOR = “I just want to reiterate and underline the welcome to Il Volo on Rai Uno. Il Volo is strongly Rai Uno, it has the artistic and value characteristics of the channel’s entertainment.
From the Festival to today, it has punctuated and punctuated the Rai Uno schedule.
It is no coincidence that they have always had a leading role. An extraordinary adventure that started some time ago that gives us the opportunity to enjoy new stages like this one to pay tribute to Ennio Morricone with great singers from Il Volo.
Such an important story for Italian music and cinema, Ennio Morricone has won 10 David di Donatello and two Oscars.”
ARENA ARTISTIC DIRECTOR = “I’m excited I got to know Ennio Morricone very well. Being able to open the season of live and television events with this event has always been my hope. I thank Gianluca, Piero, Ignazio for their commitment and desire to return to the Arena.
We will give, to the three of them, a numbered statue representing a divinity with the Arena of Verona on his head.
I hope it is a good omen for the resumption of events at the Arena which, I hope, will never stop.”
Gianluca: “We are honored to be able to represent this rebirth. For us it is a great journey, a wonderful adventure, immersed in the notes of Morricone, one year after his death. Lately we believe we have had a personal growth that also involves an artistic maturity that we try to show to all of you. We were born as child prodigies, after 12 years of career we are satisfied with the work we are doing. We are really happy to be able to do it.”
PIERO: “Finally we can sing, after a year and a half we couldn’t take it anymore. Our work, I always say, is a dream job. We are incurable dreamers. Every wish is finally coming true. On June 5 we will give a message of hope, there is a great desire to get on that stage and see so many people working with us: from the technicians to the orchestra, to the many collaborators.”
IGNAZIO: “The Arena is one of the icons of our Italy, one of the few symbols like the Colosseum or Venice that are regularly remembered. The one on June 5 will be our only concert in 2021 . At every event we organize we make ourselves crazy: I think of the concert in homage to the three tenors with Placido Domingo with us on stage or when we sang a few meters from the Pope.”
Piero Ignazio and Gianluca then gave these answers to the press:
The aim is to make Ennio Morricone’s music and culture known even to the youngest.
“We like the surprise effect. It will be an evening dedicated to Ennio Morricone but there will also be songs from our repertoire that are part of the career. If you remember well: The Mission, Once Upon a Time in the West, New Cinema Paradiso … We hope to be up to it.
The evening will also be broadcast by PBS, the American network.
“For a better result of the audio we decided to record the CD in the studio, not live. We have the pleasure of collaborating with the Sinfonietta, Ennio Morricone’s orchestra. It is a studio album. We decided to anticipate this concert even though the album will be released later.
Our tour will start in March 18, 2022 from New York.”
(Il Volo with the mayor)
“We changed the location from Rome to Verona, because the Arena is the largest open-air amphitheater. In Rome, it would have been more difficult to manage this situation. In St. Peter’s Square we sang for Christmas, with Christmas songs. In San Pietro there were no conditions to ensure safety.”
“During the pandemic, we tried not to passively experience this bad time. We have always tried to be productive. It was a difficult time for everyone. We canceled the world tour but we are very optimistic, determined and ambitious by nature. The strength to believe in one’s dreams and goals. We got to go back to the recording studio and dedicate ourselves to ourselves and our music. Everyone should try to mature and study from all points of view.”
“Perhaps this is the best project of our career,” says Gianluca Ginoble, at the end of the press conference.
Tickets will be on sale from Friday 14 May at 4 pm on the TicketOne circuit. Those who have a ticket for the 2022 tour will have the opportunity to buy the ticket at a special price.
What can I say, a beautiful conference and many beautiful and deserved words for our beloved trio Il Volo.
You read that right, the tour will start on March 18 in NY, surely it will be in Radio City Music Hall.
The greeting of our boys:
PIERO = Hello to all the friends of Arenalive.it.
GIAN = We give you the great news, the appointment in Verona on June 5th, both here in presence and on TV. It will be a great event, a contribution to Morricone.
IGNAZIO = They have already said everything, I greet you, and we are waiting for you.
REPORTER = Is this event more of a burden or more of an honor?
IGNAZIO = In reality it is a bit of everything, for responsibility it is an honor and pride.
PRIDEbecause Morricone’s music is a heritage of Italy, it is part of our culture and it is an honor for us to spread his music through our voices, and to bring his melodies all over the world.
HONOR because we do it in a very particular historical moment, where, until recently, it was uncertain to sing again in front of an audience and now, thanks also to the work of the mayor of Verona and many other people, we are able to sing in the Arena with the presence of 6000 people, so it is a great hope that soon they will be back on tour.
REPORTER = You said something extraordinary in a press conference, which is the most important occasion of your career.
GIAN = Yes, because for us it shows a certain artistic maturity, we are always looking to surpass ourselves. In our career, born as child prodigies, it is clear that to acquire a certain credibility, it takes time, with patience you reach everything and we work hard for this.
REPORTER = What kind of signal will come out of this show in the Arena?
PIERO = More than anything else we have always had the strength not to be disheartened.
It will be a concert of hope, there has always been talk of “we will make it” and when we will return to normal and therefore we must start and all the ideas are materializing. Finally we will be on stage, finally we sing.
REPORTER= There is expectation on the part of the public, but also on your part for this concert.
GIAN = For us who do it, we are very happy, I also imagine people who really want to go back to see a live concert, so it will be a great shared happiness.
This, on the other hand, is the promo video for the concert on June 5th.
GIAN = A beautiful adventure begins, a beautiful journey.
PRESENTER = Il Volo celebrates the great master ENNIO MORRICONE
PIERO = Silence because they are recording.
PRESENTER = In an event evening, on the notes of his unforgettable music.
IGNAZIO = I must say that they are all different and all beautiful.
(the song the boys mention is taken from the Cinema Paradiso soundtrack)
PIERO = We are close to the finish line.
PRESENTER = Il Volo, a tribute to Ennio Morricone, coming soon on RAI 1.
I have no more words, but only many positive thoughts.
When I hear our boys talking, I always denote a great composure and maturity, certainly not so common to many other artists.
They are “great” and they want to prove it with their wonderful commitments, which they inevitably carry out with great honor.
Now I have only one fixed thought ….. to be able to get tickets for June 5th !!!
Some stories just write themselves and the author stands by with pen in hand, looks down at the paper and says yes, yes that’s exactly what I wanted to say! And you can’t even remember writing it but it’s there and it’s so spot on! Life writes its own stories! Certainly, life wrote this one about three teenage boys. Teenagers! Think of your kid outside playing basketball or soccer. Could you imagine that he would walk off the court and into the limelight? I’m thinking your fondest hope would be that he would clean up his room.
How do you explain three amazing voices coming together on the same stage, at the same time? I have only one explanation. La Forza del Destino! It was fate! It was a plan! It was God’s plan!
Watching the guys recording these last few weeks brought back fond memories of the beginning. Before Sanremo, before Barbara Streisand, before Notte Magica! In the real beginning….
In the beginning there were three guys named Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca. They were ordinary guys!
Piero loved his motorbike! “When I arrived at the roundabout in the center of the city, voom, I did a wheelie with the motorbike.”
Ignazio loved to play soccer. “My main project when I went to school was to get home and spend the afternoon playing football.”
Gianluca, also, loved to play soccer! “How did I play soccer? I was good, come on, I did not like losing, I wanted to score goals by force, I never passed the ball, and when I had the ball, I scored.”
So, yes, they were ordinary kids but, they all had something special. They had a special gift from God. Their voice!
What was it that made them different? What was it about this baritone and two tenors that was different from other tenors or baritones? First and foremost, the delivery of these three voices was equal. The crispness and clarity in each voice was defined. They were alike but they were different. They were balanced! Roberto Cenci recognized these exceptional qualities and understood that they could blend into one beautiful voice so, he decided to put the three voices together. The result was they were an immediate sensation and they caused important people in the industry to stop and listen!
Each one separately was captivating, together, they were a gift that God gave to humanity!
The first meeting!
We have to keep in mind that in the beginning the guys were underage so any negotiations and plans for their future was handled by their parents. It was only after the parents first meeting with among others, Michele Torpedine, that the guys were informed that plans were being made for them. After this meeting the parents met again a month later and signed a contract for the guys to record with Universal.
I think Piero put it best when he said, “The day before, I went to my uncle’s workshop and the next day I signed a millionaire contract with an American label.”
The behind-the-scenes video of the guys recording “Tous les visages de l’amour” and, the recent recording of the Ennio Morricone album inspired me to write this article.
Let’s start by listening to Piero talk about their first meeting with Michele Torpedine.
“The day began well, calm, and quiet. I was having lunch at the hotel restaurant and a gentleman with a sand-colored raincoat and graying hair arrived. I heard footsteps behind me and a ‘Hello, Piero’ with this deep voice. You recognize Michele’s voice anywhere. You know, when I speak of that meeting, it reminds me of things I’ve seen in an American movie. It was from this that we started, three fifteen-sixteen-year-old idiots, and Torpedine, who had already become an icon for me. So, he sits with us and we start talking. After lunch, we got ready for rehearsal.
And, so, it begins!
Being teenagers there was always going to be some antics going on.
Gianluca recalls, “We were three children at the park playing. Ignazio, to name one, poured Coca-Cola on the floor in the dressing room and it ended up on Michele’s jacket. Michele turns and says, “Barbara look,” I still remember it, with a face looking like “Oh my God!”
Piero recalls, “And after the Coca-Cola there were plums. Our first meeting with Michele ends with plums flying from one dressing room to the other and Michele comes out with white hair, indeed no, because he already had white hair. No, he comes out with straight hair saying, ‘Are you three, crazy?’
In practice we threw plums from the door of our dressing room, to the one next to us. We had a mess that night.
What has changed from that day to today? Nothing. On tour, in the television broadcast rooms and sometimes even in the recording room, one of our favorite activities is the fruit launch. The best are the grapes (but we also use cherries). Ignazio throws them from a distance and, I have to take it on the fly and catch it in my mouth. It doesn’t matter if the Pope or Bono is in the dressing room next to us, it doesn’t impress us.”
Listen to what the guys had to say about the beginning of their career.
Piero: “At the beginning it was really a dream, even if I do not like repeating it, because you find yourself traveling the world and doing it, from one day to the next. However, I repeat, always without realizing the importance of the thing, without fully understanding what was happening.”
Ignazio: “So, a dream that Piero, in the clouds, has forgotten to say is the most important thing: it was the first time that Italian singers signed a contract directly with an American record company. But it was not that we signed the contract, the big thing was done, but it had yet to start!”
Gianluca: “Piero forgot to mention that ours was the first contract signed directly by Italian singers with an American label, but Ignazio forgot to mention that the first recording studio in which we entered all three together for our great adventure was called the Forum and it was in Rome.”
The first time in the studio!
Ignazio continues: “For us today there are seven takes to sing. At that time there were thirty or forty. You will say, what language does he speak? English, Spanish and, also a little Italian. So, a take is the recording of the single phrase that each of us sings when we record a song. We continue to redo it until we get the best version. In 2009, our first recording, took almost two days to record a song, until it was good. I remember that I made the absolute record of takes in “Smile,” I repeated my part for fifty-seven times.”
Piero: “…It was nice because it was the first experience. We did not sing well because we had no technique, so it was as Ignazio said. We did a take sixty or seventy times.
At that time, we arrived in the studio and we found everything ready. The songs to sing, the subdivisions, the arrangement, this and the other things. After the third album, we did everything together, we created everything with Celso Valli, our producer.
Those first times we did not have this freedom, everything was prepared for us because we did not have the skills to do it.
Now we have them (the skills) and we share the parts, we know each other better and, in the studio, we help each other. It is also nice to see that each of us now has his way to enter the recording room. Gianluca and I sing with the light on in the recording room. Ignazio, on the other hand, enters and the first thing he does is turn off the light. They are small details, but they mean that we have grown and, we have our own way of working.
Between the three of us, we have split up the roles. If there is a problem with the mixer, Ignazio works on it with the producer to fix it. Gianluca is the one who listens to the songs from morning to night and offers: ‘Guys, I discovered this songwriter,’ ‘Guys, I discovered this artist, what do you think?’ I like the managerial part. I like managing, I like to contact people, I like to propose new things to Michele, ‘Why do we not do that?’ ‘Why do we not try to do that?’ ‘How can we get to this person?’ I like us to put our heads together and think of how we can improve. We have a complete professional balance. We have grown physically, but also professionally. Even if we have a new producer, we do not know, we do not have any problems. We know how to talk to him and tell him what we want. This is the most important aspect: being at the same level.”
After this it was off to America for the guys.
Speaking of America! One year ago, we were enjoying the concerts in America! I saw the guys at Radio City Music Hall! Then the world turned upside down!
Pandemic!
What in the world was going on?Literally in the World!
We started hearing about a pandemic. And it seemed the worst of it was in Italy. The guys began to worry. And then, no it was time to leave. Leave now or get stuck in America! It was time! They turned off the lights and went home!
(First message from Il Volo on the Covid situation, sent when they were still on tour in America)
They canceled their last three performances and the next thing we knew they were on their way home. But being true to form, like good children, they checked in with us as soon as they got home and told us they were safe and, they needed to be with their families now.
As you know the guys went into quarantine and stayed there for three and a half months.
Then the quarantine was over and, they left their houses. And something amazing started to happen!
The one thing they wanted more than anything was to get back to work. Well, they did have the commitment with Dolce & Gabbana which gave us a spectacular Sunday event. And there was the concert in Monte Carlo but, something was missing.
At Verona, they showed us what was missing!
But let’s step back a minute!
On the Friday afternoon before the performance, we watched the guys at sound check give a performance to the people who were scattered around the Verona Arena that would rival most concerts. And then later in the evening they returned to the Arena for light check.
Ignazio and Gianluca were making videos with their phones, while Piero was wandering around.
Ignazio get’s Piero’s attention.
Ignazio: “What are you doing?”
Piero shakes his head and asks. “What are you looking at?”
Ignazio (points): “The light that is there.”
Gianluca: “It’s Beautiful.”
Ignazio: “The gorgeous light. Gorgeous! Gorgeous!”
Of course, Piero pulled out his phone and started to video.
But what was it about the lights that got Ignazio’s attention? Well, they were as Ignazio said, “La Luce Stupenda!” “The lights were gorgeous,” but I think he was thinking about the last lights that he saw on stage.
That Saturday night when the guys were entering the Arena before the show they were stopped and asked this question by a woman reporter:
Reporter: “You are International entertainers therefore you know how much the live dimension is missing. But above all you have defined the stage as your natural element. So, how is it for you to return to a live performance tonight?”
Ignazio: “It’s like giving candy to a baby. We are happy because we missed it. We missed it to die for but not only for our personal thing but because this is to me the music slowly restarting with safety measures. But we are restarting it all with Italian music. It’s like I am starting again to grow up on stage and hope that it can be a message of hope for the groups, in the cities, in the emerging local areas who want to start making music. We have to continue making music and we hope for full concerts and full live by 2021.”
It was an absolutely beautiful statement that said it all! What I liked best about this statement was Ignazio saying “It’s like I am restarting it all with Italian music. I’m starting again to grow up on stage…” What did he mean? This time he is starting in Italy not America. He finally feels like he is at home! Bravo Ignazio! You are home.
When the guys arrived on stage, they had a message for the world and all the people in the industry:
Ignazio: “2020 will be remembered as the year where the world would be constrained to be turned off.”
Gianluca: “For the music employees the verb “turn off” means the end of the show, when the curtains close and it is the waiting moment for the next show, but this time the waiting lasted more than expected, the silence was unavoidable.”
Piero: “Now, the world is getting ready to start again! Now the moment has arrived to raise the curtain! Now, we will turn on the music!”
This beautiful statement was followed by the performance of the evening. Their choice of “Nessun Dorma” sent an even stronger message. It’s says we may have to perform under these new world conditions, but we don’t have to change who we are or why we’re here. In this ancient Arena we look to the past while following the path to the future.
Click on the photo below to view IL VOLO’s performance of “Nessun Dorma”.
From their first note the whole arena lit up. Their voices were clean and crisp. Their presence was illuminating. Their notes rose above the Arena into the night sky to let the world know music is back! The final note of their song sent the final message. All three voices rose in unison and their voices sent forth a note that took our breaths away! It said We Have Returned! “Turn on the Lights!”
What is so amazing about this is, over the months since they had left quarantine, they had almost single handedly brought back the music industry in Italy. All the work they’ve done since they left quarantine has been to move things forward in Italy. This includes their most important project the concert in Tribute to Ennio Morricone and the recording of their new album by the same name.
Seeing them back in the recording studio, these last few weeks, has been a joy. Listening to them sing “Your Love,” at Sanremo, even under trying circumstances, gave us hope for the future. This preview gave us a look into the new album which we are all anxiously awaiting. But above all, the guys have Hit the Restart Button! They have played a major part in the restart of the music industry In Italy!
Join me next week as I go back Through the Fields of My Mind and open the door to a new adventure!
OK, it was news that I was hoping it would not come, I had to wait a few days to make this post, because the disappointment was really great and the thing had to be metabolized.
Surely you have all already read and are aware of the news, but it seemed right to talk about it together, maybe talking about it seems less bad.
On Monday 3 May, Volomusic (the official website of Il Volo) published the news that all the Italian concerts that were scheduled for 2020 and already moved, due to the pandemic, to 2021, will be further moved to 2022.
TERRIBLE!! 😱😭
Here is the official news:
Accordingly to the current Anti Covid rules, the “10 Years – Live” tour planned for the 2021 is postponed to the next year, 2022.
All tickets already sold will be valid for the new dates.
Please find below the first confirmed dates for 2022, in agreement with the Verona Arena: -3rd June 2022 at the Verona Arena (recovery of 29th August 2021 at the Verona Arena) -4th June 2022 at the Verona Arena (recovery 30th August 2021 at the Verona Arena)
By Within the 15th May 2021, the new 2022 dates will be communicated for the following cities: -Taormina (recovery of 4th and 5th September 2021) -Turin (recovery of 16th October 16 2021) -Rome (recovery of 20th October 2021) -Milan (recovery of 23rd October 2021) Thanks everyone for your support!
❤️ IL VOLO
Within minutes, the tam tam of the news had already gone around the world and I received messages to confirm the news (unfortunately) from one continent to another.
So the nice concert I had to see on August 30th will be postponed to June 3rd 2022 !! And I know of many American friends who already had tickets for Taormina 2020, moved to 2021 and now to 2022.
After having patiently waited for a whole year, and having passed a terrible winter studded with so much bad and very bad news, we began to see a light at the end of this tunnel, also thanks to the spread of vaccines, and instead our hopes were dashed.
Certainly it is not the fault of Il Volo, which is working to surprise us and which has already been denied the concert in the beautiful square in front of the Vatican in Rome, and which still does not know if the public will be present in the Arena in Verona.
It is well known that performing in front of a large festive audience gives you an incredible charge of adrenaline, it is quite another thing to perform “behind closed doors”.
So, the only opportunity here in Italy, this year, to attend a live concert of Il Volo is only that of the tribute concert to Morricone on June 4th.
The mayor of Verona is doing everything in his power to expand the number of people admitted to the concerts, from 1000 to 6000. I read his heartfelt letter that he published, asking for the support of all the government representatives of the Veneto region (where the Arena is).
On May 6, I heard the mayor himself speaking on Radio 102.5. He said that the Arena must restart and that he is responsible, not only as mayor, but also as supervisor for the Arena and therefore he says he has done everything so that there are no contagion problems and therefore he wants people to be admitted, at least 6000, and that their ticket (which will be nominative) is also proof for returning home after the hours set for the curfew (currently 10:00 pm).
Meanwhile, other news has arrived, because it has been published that on 11 May Il Volo will be in the Arena in Verona, and will record a video to announce the concert on 5 June and on that occasion they will also sing “Il canto degli italiani”, that is the Italian national anthem, which will be broadcast by RAI on 2 June, Republic Day here in Italy. Of course, the shooting in the Arena will be done without an audience (too bad).
But why was 11 May chosen to do these shots?
It is not a date chosen at random, but it is a symbolic date of a great anniversary.
On 11 May 1946, the Scala in Milan reopened to the public after the Liberation and the end of the war. Seventy-five years later, in the difficult period we all live in, the Verona Arena is fighting to reopen.
Here is the heartfelt appeal, published by the Verona Arena.
THE APPEAL – “We make this appeal with an objective, within our reach and that of our Authorities: that the Arena of Verona, in order not to die, can welcome at least 6,000 spectators in its shows until midnight – TO THE ARENA IN 6 THOUSAND UNTIL 24.00 – and that its first international event, Il Volo – Tribute to Ennio Morricone, scheduled for Saturday 5 June and broadcast in Italy and the United States of America, can take place with this public presence, to spread abroad an encouraging image of our country.”
And then there is more, in the last two days there have been photos taken in Rome by our boys, in particular, pieces of videos that filmed Gianluca, Ignazio and Piero on a beautiful day in Villa Borghese, in the beautiful park , but why? Maybe a relaxating ride ??
But these little messages that our boys send us (thanks again Gianluca!), Are always small traces to make us understand that they are doing something ………….. in fact in fact here is the news that I have translated from ANSA from Brazil.:
Tenor trio Il Volo surprised fans on Wednesday 5 May by appearing in the gardens of Villa Borghese, a park located in Rome, Italy, to record a video dedicated to Brazil. The content of the clip has not been revealed, but the filming took place between the Italians who practiced physical exercises and the workers who rested for lunch. During the recording break, Ignazio Boschetto, Gianluca Ginoble and Piero Barone greeted and wished “good training” to all the citizens who stopped the race to watch them. At least 15 people participated in the making of the video dedicated to Brazil, a country that the tenors, famous for giving a pop touch to classical music, have already declared their love several times.
Mamma mia, what a nice surprise for those who had the pleasure of seeing them and maybe making the video with them.
It will be a nice surprise also for the Brazilian fans, who will see Il Volo on video, we hope it can be seen by us too !!
This photo, taken by Gianluca (thanks Gian), I can’t believe it was posted by Ignazio!
Beautiful and smiling, Piero Ignazio and Gianluca, at the Rome airport, impossible to know the direction, but in the meantime let’s enjoy their smiling faces and we notice with joy that Ignazio’s eyebrow is healed and there are no piercing !!😁😉
That’s all for now, lots of bad and good news, I must say this post started out sad, but then, seeing their smiling faces in Rome cheered us up, a smile was also formed on our faces, that smile that will make us wait patiently for the moment when we will see them again. ❤️
Daniela
🌸 Auguri per la festa della mamma!!
UPDATE May 8
This post was ready to be published, when the organization of the Verona Arena published that they had the green light to admit 6000 people, so good news, now I hope to be admitted to purchase these tickets !!!
The Arena communiqué ends with these words: “With the Il Volo event, live in Italy and also broadcast in the USA from the Arena on June 5, we want to give an encouraging image of Italy.”
This photo instead was published today by the president of the Marche region. There are with him: Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca in Genga. Genga is the place where there are the beautiful and famous Frasassi Caves !!!
This photo was taken in front of the Abbey of San Vittore. Could there be a collaboration with Il Volo?
Il Volo, in these days has returned to continue their work. The rehearsals for the Morricone event must continue.
Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca have reunited in Milan, where they can also work in the recording studio.
A jump to Sony ….
and at work in the recording studio.
Together with Saturnino (musician and composer) perhaps for some collaboration?
Dinner in hotel.
(dinners are allowed at this time in Italy, only if you are a guest in a hotel)
I want to try to explain this little skit to you:
An aperitif was poured to the boys and Piero welcomes it as if it were a romance and sings:
Piero = Morelli, what a generous wine, I swallowed too many glasses (and raises the glass together with Gianluca)
Gianluca = Gian tonic (he gave his name to the aperitif)
Piero = (still singing) I go out in the open (because in the evening in Italy, at this moment, you can drink an aperitif but only outdoors)
Ignazio = (after hearing Piero and Gian with opera tones, he speaks in Sicilian) Damn, Morelli I’ll drink the Gian tonic !! laughs
Morelli = Damn, you’re in a bad way tonight !!
A few moments of leisure with the owners Morelli and great chef La Mantia.
Repost from Morelli hotel:“Thanks Il Volo for letting us fly with your wonderful voices.”
Morelli (with glasses) is the owner of the hotel, La Mantia is a famous chef who, due to the pandemic, has closed his restaurant in MIlan, and his friend Morelli has made available to him the use of the kitchen of his hotel.
And now a nice moment for American friends !!
Our tireless Gianluca delights us with two short videos:
from the hotel terrace with a panoramic view of Milan
and in the beautiful Piazza Duomo in Milan (our original video preview was blocked, please click on the link below)
Guys, seeing you so smiling fills us with joy and makes us face the days better.
As for the reopening of the concert season at the Verona Arena, there are still many difficulties, because since April 26 the government has allowed the reopening of the theaters but with a maximum of 1,000 people. The mayor of Verona wrote and published a long letter to the parliamentarians of the Veneto (his region) asking them to intervene on this and save the Arena season. I remind you, that the Arena contains about 20 thousand people and making shows with 1,000 people is really senseless, also there is always the curfew at 22.00 (10:00 pm).
Here is an excerpt from the mayor’s letter:
“I bring to your attention, both in my capacity as Mayor and President of the Arena di Verona Foundation, the problem of the ‘opening’ of the Arena Amphitheater and its ‘capacity’ in anticipation of the start of the next opera and extra-opera season In fact, the draft of the Law Decree relating to the ‘reopenings’ starting from next April 26 provides for a capacity of the theaters not exceeding 50% of the maximum authorized. (1,000 people).
It is clear that with these limitations it will be necessary to review the entire Arena programming for the summer of 2021 which foresees for the extra lyric, as the first event on June 5, 2021, the performance of Il Volo broadcast also by an important American television station with more than 90 million viewers, while the premiere of the opera season with Verdi’s ‘Aida’ was set for 19 June 2021.
About a month after the start of the Arena season (opera and extra opera), it is not possible to change the ambitious programming already prepared in every detail and on which the organizational machine has already started.
Therefore, I ask you to take an active part in all the appropriate locations, in order to allow the next Arena season to take place.”
We don’t want to disturb you during the recordings or rehearsals of the tribute concert, but keep in touch with us fans, seeing you is a joy and knowing that you are working for us too, makes us so happy.
As for the Morricone tribute concert, we sincerely hope that everything goes as hoped and that the audience (even if only 6,000 people) will be able to attend live.
The Flight Crew will keep its readers informed on the evolution of all this.
Daniela
Credit to owners of all photos and videos.
Come in and share the love of life, friends and Il Volo!
