This was not the story I had planned for this week, but the events of this last week presented itself as the story that was needed.
And what a story it was….
Finally, Eurovision came back to Italy and the guys were invited to perform at the Eurovision 2022 semifinals. The excitement mounted. The guys were ready to go. They were presenting their new English version of “Grande Amore” ~ “You are My Everything,” for the first time!
On the morning of rehearsals, the guys showed up at the theater and presented themselves for COVID tests! Piero ~ Negative! Ignazio ~ Negative! Gianluca ~ Positive!!! How can it be. Just the day before he was negative. A big disappointment. Gianluca had to return to Montepagano and go into isolation.
So that’s how the event started for the guys but for us, it was just like any other day. The guys were going to Eurovision, after seven years, and we were so excited for them.
Of course, Gianluca never missing an opportunity to post a photo, let us know he had arrived in Torino.
The morning of rehearsals, we waited to see the three arrive on stage but, the clock was ticking, and no guys. `
Then the news started to break. One of the trio tested positive!
The chatter begins!
Which one. No one was saying. People start to speculate. Of course, they put Gianluca at the bottom of the list because he already had COVID. If not Gianluca then it had be one of the tenors. But which one?
Then word came out that two would perform. So, the chatter starts again, and we all speculate. There were so many stories out there it was hard to keep up with it!
Finally, we receive word that there will be a press conference. The minute Ignazio and Piero walked up to the mike we knew the answer.
The Interviews
Things really started to move after that. So many interviews. So many questions! We can’t talk about all the interviews, so I chose one that I thought was really good….
Radio 102.5 interviewed Piero and Ignazio in Torino and Ginaluca in Montepagano. This interview was informative and sometimes very funny. It is very long but I will give you just a piece of the interview. (If you would like to read the whole interview, please go to www.ilvoloflightcrw.com and read Daniela’s story ESC 2022 An Important Evening)
Man: They are connected with us, in this moment Ignazio and Pietro (he gets the name wrong) of Il Volo, good morning.
Woman: Good morning, Ignazio, good morning, Piero.
Ignazio: We are Peter and Paul. (Ignazio tries to point out that the man got Piero’s name wrong. He called him Pietro)
Woman: Piero and Ignazio, Piero and Ignazio, good morning.
Man: Ok, are you okay?
Ignazio: We are in an unpublished version.
Man: You have become a duo, but be careful, because from Argentina (meaning from afar) he is connected with us: Gianluca Ginoble. (Gianluca is actually in Montepagano)
Gianluca: Argentina: mucho gusto!
Man: Mucho gusto: Carramba what a surprise. (They are referring to a very successful program “Carramba what a surprise” that united people over great distances)
Woman: First question, how are you Gianluca? I see you in great shape.
Gianluca: And less badly, if this is Covid, welcome to Covid.
Woman: (she and the man begin a sentence together) We can say, excuse a moment, (she turns to her man colleague), we can say one thing: what bad luck Gianluca!
Gianluca: Okay, but look, apart from that I’m sorry to see this situation. Yesterday I went away suddenly, now I’m at home, here in Abruzzo. Having to leave the Eurovision stage and leave the boys….
Woman: No, oh well ….
Gianluca: We didn’t miss the train, the passage (on TV) is the most important thing, but not being able to live this life experience, this strong emotion, in front of 200 million people, is really frustrating. It will strengthen me I must tell you.
Woman: Yes, it will certainly strengthen you, the period is what it is, I have to tell you, but you will be there in some way.
Ignazio: But not on stage …
Man: You stay wider.
Ignazio: We are wider.
Gianluca: They will be IL VO–…
Man: Actually, there are 6 letters, (IL VOLO) so 2 + 2 + 2 minus 2 the account returns. But it is an opportunity, let’s say in bad luck as Federica said before….
Woman: Let’s say things as they are!
Man: ….to experience augmented reality, correct?
Ignazio: Absolutely.
Man: What did you invent, Ignazio? (Meaning how did you resolve the problem)
Ignazio: Later I’ll tell you what we came up with. But also, the good fortune of doing Eurovision sitting from the living room, is not for everyone!
Woman: Got it!
Man: Gianluca’s luck you mean?
Gianluca (interrupts): It also happened in 2012, remember?
Ignazio (interrupts): May I?
Woman: Go, go, let’s put order
Ignazio: Thanks to the technology of 2022 we were able to make a video which will be behind us. I must say thanks to our production who did a great job and also all of Eurovision’s production.
Woman: Listen, can you tell me how things unfolded yesterday? Have you taken the control ordinance test?
Gianluca: I took the test before leaving, the day before yesterday, and it was negative.
I take the flight from Rome, I arrive in Torino, I land, and we do the test as soon as we arrive at the sports hall and unfortunately, they tell me that, I was POSITIVE.
I had to leave, immediately and go home.
Man: But you look well, you are fine, apart from slightly tired eyes which I believe is more from anger than from Covid ….
Gianluca: Oh yes.
Man: Pietro (he’s still using the wrong name), we didn’t hear you.
Piero: I listened.
Ignazio: Why do you call him Pietro, understood? He is Piero.
(Just a little aside here. As you know, Ignazio does not handle it well when someone says your name wrong or changes it. You will remember in an old interview, the interviewer kept calling them Il Bolo. Finally Ignazio lashed out at him with a few choice words saying the name is IL VOLO, IL VOLO not Il Bolo)
Man: Oh, sorry, yes Piero sorry, but is it Piero as a first name or is it Pietro?
Piero: I am Piero by baptism.
Man: So, I was really wrong (he finally got it) sorry!
Piero: I was interested in these moments, I’m happy to show how deep our relationship is.
When the(positive) news arrived, the common thought of all three of us was: ‘Guys, it doesn’t matter what is happening, the important thing is to bring this home, bring this event home.’ It could have happened to anyone of us. We are in a rather delicate period and therefore, in this situation, yes ok, as Ignazio says technology in 2022, but there a common goal, that is to carry forward our name, IL VOLO, and bring home such an important passage, music, is such an important message, we couldn’t have done it without the technology.
Yes, the technicians did a great job, but the priority is our relationship, our common goal, which is our strength.
Woman: Exactly, this is very true and in any case it is news and tonight everyone will be waiting to see what you have invented and in the end you always have to look at the glass half full, see the positive side of things, as far as situations are concerned, clearly not like this in the specific, which in the end, as you can see, is resolved, but like the one that the world has experienced in these two years.
Listen, you will bring the new (English) version of Grande Amore.
Piero: Yes, we contacted our friend Enrico Melozzi, you know we are always used to hearing the classic version of Grande Amore, it’s not easy to make another version, you know it’s really difficult to do a good job ….
They play a clip of “You Are My Everything.”
Man: Standing ovation for Il Volo!
Woman: Guys what a bomb! (A bomb is a good thing in Italian)
Man: Strong, strong. Strong this version.
Woman: Really beautiful!
Gianluca: And then from a charge, especially singing it on the Eurovision stage, we can’t wait to perform, and we will give our best to try to surprise and excite people.
Piero: This joke is beautiful Gianluca!
Man: Yes, this joke is beautiful! Fantastic. Anyway, you will be there, and it will be exciting to listen to you again tonight.
Gianluca goes digital!
And, so, the announcement is made that Gianluca would join them digitally! That makes sense because during COVID, the guys performed for us from their separate homes. It was great.
According to the executive producer Rai Claudio Fasulo, and Ignazio’s explanation in the interview, they found a solution to their problem by setting up a digital link which allowed Gianluca to sing in a sort of half virtual performance. There but not quite there!
The Staging
The stage needed to be set up to allow for Gianluca’s digital performance, but it also needed to allow space for Piero and Ignazio to move around.
So, what was on the stage? Columns, Fountains & Fireworks! The background consisted of the sun which sometimes was stationary and sometimes rotating. This rotating sun and the celestine columns were used to center Piero and Ignazio. Gianluca was on the edge of the sun just behind the columns.
Because the video of Gianluca needed a lot of space, the stage was tight, and Piero and Ignazio could not move around the way they normally do, but everyone was so interested in the song going back and forth between Gianluca on video and Piero and Ignazio on stage that no one noticed they weren’t moving around the way they normally do.
How did it all come off?
It seems to me every performance for the guys now is a spectacular event! Remember how they came on stage in Verona in a spectacular display of colored light! In Verona it was red and gold, and now it was blue and white! This seems to be the draw and the secret.
Their performance began with a spectacular show of lights, fireworks and fountains all alive! The stage was alive in blue lights and white fireworks! And the fountains danced below the main stage.
In the middle of the spectacular firework display and dancing fountains, Piero and Ignazio arrive on stage.
Ignazio greets Torino….
Ciao Torino!
Projected on the wall behind the columns and sun is Gianluca and he begins to sing….
The song!
The new arrangement of “Grande Amore” by the maestro Enrico Melozzi, captures a new feeling in the English version “You Are My Everything”. Melozzi replaced the violins with the electric guitars revolutionizing the arrangement and giving new life to a song that marked the career of Il Volo. The guys left behind the bel canto and presented a new unexpected energy. The guys turned “rock.”
The song speaks for itself. “You Are My Everything” captures the feeling of Grande Amore while presenting a new and truly amazing song. The words are very deep and capture the essence of a “great love.” The “rock” piece gives new light to an old Classic made popular by Il Volo. Like everything they do it is spectacular!
I have to say one journalist said it best, “The power of the three voices would have been enough to make the moment.” I think he was complementing the guys while not appreciating the whole effect.
I agree to some degree because their voices are spectacular, but we appreciate all the added effects. The effects were spectacular but, in the end, given their magnificent voices, the effects were not needed. That is to their great credit! Their voices are all that is needed!
The reason for the spectacular show….
Within the confines of Eurovision, this presentation makes us understand what Eurovision all is about. Power, stage, lights, wardrobe and cameras. And this song fit in perfectly!
The performance of Il Volo, on a stage amid Columns, Fountains and Fireworks, brought back visions of Eurovision 2015 and what is now their great classic “Grande Amore.” The fans at home and abroad identify the Italian music of Il Volo with ‘bel canto’ and now they have a new and more modern version of “Grande Amore” in “You Are My Everything” which crosses over and presents the “more rock” style of Il Volo.
And what better way to end the show than Ignazio giving a shout out to Gianluca….
Ciao, Gianlu….
An absolutely fantastic performance!
Join me next week as I go back Through the Fields of My Mind and open the door to a new adventure!
If you would like to share a story with me, please email: susan.flightcrew@yahoo.com
To read more Il Volo stories visit us at www.ilvoloflightcrw.com
There was a lot of expectation for Il Volo’s participation in the Eurovision 2022 semifinal, especially after the news of Gianluca’s positivity at Covid had spread, which forced him to return home immediately and leave Ignazio and Piero alone , who with the production team and technology, allowed everything to happen, with Ignazio and Piero on stage and Gianluca from home. The result was excellent, as can be seen from the video below.
Please click the photo below to play the video.
I would say it was a beautiful performance, they really found a solution to make the performance happen, the projection of Gianluca singing from home is remarkable and thanks to the technology and the production team everything was solved.
The new version of Grande Amore is excellent, it is not only sung in English, but also in Italian and this does not distort the original song, even the musical arrangement is a little more modern, but it is not alien to the first more classical version, in short , it seems to me an excellent result.
The voices of our Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca are always excellent, all at the top !! ❤❤❤
At the end of the performance Piero and Ignazio thank the Turin public and Ignazio greets Gianluca with …………. hello Gianlu !!!!
Demonstrating, as if there were the affection that always binds these three young men and heartening Gianluca that surely he will have been heartbroken by everything that had happened.
But let’s go back to the morning of May 11, when everything was still “normal”.
Piero Ignazio and Gianluca are on their way to Turin, where there will be rehearsals for all the artists and guests of the second evening of ESC.
Unaware of what was happening to them, the three headed to the Eurovision entrance where, to access, it is mandatory to take the test.
It is certainly not the first they do and they are calm because they are negative.
In fact, Ignazio and Piero are negative, but Gianluca is POSITIVE!!!! But he is fine, he has only a slight cold, everything seems impossible but it is so, unfortunately.
We can only imagine Gianluca’s desperation, certainly before leaving Montepagano, he had taken a test and it was negative and now he is POSITIVE.
Although there was certainly a lot of desperation, Gianluca could not do anything but lock himself in isolation in a room, waiting for a car to take him back to Montepagano, while Piero and Ignazio had nothing left but to find a solution together with their staff.
While the news was making the rounds of all the fans pages, the Il Volo team and the ESC production quickly thought of a solution.
Covid, has accustomed us to connections from home and therefore, it was immediately thought of being able to make a performance with Piero and Ignazio on stage and Gianluca from home.
Great thing, ESC could still have Il Volo!
The various interviews begin, naturally there are only Ignazio and Piero.
Naturally Ignazio and Piero try to play down the situation nicely, cheerfully answering the questions, but it is certain that their thoughts go to Gianluca and his misfortune of this case. ❤
Here is the news given by the RAI1 news program.
WOMAN = News of these hours, one of the components of Il Volo tested positive for Covid, he will perform anyway, he will do it digitally, our correspondent Leonardo Metalli met the other two.
LM = I seem to notice that Gianluca is missing, what happened?
IGNAZIO = Nothing, we couldn’t take it anymore and we got rid of it …😁😁
PIERO = We kicked him out, that’s enough!😁😁
LM = The truth!
PIERO = He tested positive at Covid, so he is in isolation, but fortunately in 2022 with technology, we will be able to tread the Eurovision stage in Italy.
MAN = The only version you haven’t made of Grande Amore, a little rock, a little symphonic …
IGNAZIO = Yes, a different version from the one before, in a slightly more rock style, naturally we will miss Gianluca on stage.❤
The voice will be there, that’s for sure.
We have it here Gianluca, in the little heart.❤
PIERO = He will watch us on TV, bye Gianluca ❤
This interview is also really nice, I translate for you.
WOMAN = IL VOLO!
PIERO = I often watch this program, it’s the one with the mirror …. hello Serena (she is the host)
COVID DOES NOT STOP THE MUSIC
MAN = The news of course: there is no Gianluca and so what will this performance be like for two?
IGNAZIO = We will have more space on stage for sure😁 …. no, well, we will miss him. ❤ This morning he tested positive and, as is done in these cases, immediately in isolation and we are already working with the production to be able to do the exhibition, certainly Gianluca’s voice will not be missing. It is an anomalous situation …
MAN = Has this ever happened to you before?
IGNAZIO = Yes, once.
PIERO = Yes, in Portugal, but we went on the air anyway, he is always the problem (Gianluca due to a heavy snowfall in Montepagano was unable to reach the others in Portugal).
We will clearly sing GRANDE AMORE. Returning to Eurovision, we wanted to do something different, we called our friend Enrico Melozzi who gave a rock key …..
MAN = He is also a friend of our program.
PIERO = Enrico, he is a great professional. He did a good job, we are very happy, we hope to surprise our audience, we will give our best.
IGNAZIO = See you this summer on tour, I take this opportunity to promote ….
PIERO = He is the promotion expert …
IGNAZIO = We will start on June 3rd and 4th from the Verona Arena …
MAN = A little thing ….
IGNAZIO = …. then there will be Taormina, and then we will do cities like Torre del Lago, Benevento, Ferrara, Agrigento, and therefore we can’t wait to return, after two and a half years.
MAN = Last thing, you have listened to the songs in the competition, who do you like?
IGNAZIO = I like England.
MAN = What a voice, Space Man.
IGNAZIO = I’ve been following him for two years on social media. His voice control is crazy.
PIERO = I like Portugal, it’s called Saudace, really beautiful, congratulations.
MAN = Thanks guys, good luck. I get in the way, I do the third, what do you say?
We greet Gianluca and Serena.
I + P = Hi, hi everyone.
And here is the comment by Enrico Melozzi published on his Facebook page:
Tonight the song #youaremyeverything that I arranged and produced for @ilvolomusic will be presented at the Eurovision Song Contest @eurovision. An explosive rock-symphonic version, which I’m sure you’ll love. I send a big hug to my dear friend @ gianginoble11 is a big good luck to dear friends @ignazioboschetto @barone_piero for tonight’s performance.
Of course our paths will meet soon, once again.
IL VOLO YOU ARE MY EVERYTHING (GRANDE AMORE)
While Gianluca returns to Montepagano in solitary confinement, Piero and Ignazio begin rehearsals.
Radio 102.5, has a nice interview with Piero and Ignazio in Turin and to Gianluca in Montepagano, here it is.
MAN = They are connected with us, in this moment Ignazio and Pietro (he gets the name wrong) of Il Volo, good morning.
WOMAN = Good morning Ignazio, good morning Piero, hello guys, Il Volo.
IGNAZIO = We are Peter and Paul. (Ignazio tries to point out to the man that Piero’s name is wrong)
WOMAN = Piero and Ignazio, Piero and Ignazio, good morning.
MAN = Ok, are you okay?
IGNAZIO = We are in an unpublished version.
MAN = You have become a duo, but be careful, because from Argentina (as if to say from afar) he is connected with us: Gianluca Ginoble. ❤
WOMAN = Hi Gianluca !!❤
GIANLUCA = From Argentina: mucho gusto !!
MAN = Mucho gusto: Carramba what a surprise. (they recall a very successful program that united people over great distances was called “Carramba what a surprise”)
WOMAN = First question, how are you Gianluca? I see you in great shape.
GIANLUCA = And less badly, if this is Covid, welcome to Covid.
WOMAN = (she and the man begin a sentence together) We can say, excuse a moment, (she turns to her man colleague), we can say one thing: what bad luck Gianluca !!
GIANLUCA = Okay, but look, apart from that I’m sorry to see this situation, then yesterday I ran away suddenly, now I’m at home, here in Abruzzo.
Having to leave the Eurovision stage and leave the boys (Piero and Ignazio) ….
WOMAN = No, oh well ….
GIANLUCA = We didn’t miss the train, the passage (on TV) is the most important thing, but not being able to live this life experience, this strong emotion, in front of 200 million people, is really frustrating. It will strengthen me, I must tell you.
WOMAN = Yes, it will certainly strengthen you, the period is what it is, I have to tell you, but you will be there in some way.
IGNAZIO = But not on stage …
MAN = You stay wider.
IGNAZIO = We are wider.
GIANLUCA = They will be IL VO–. 😁😁 ..
MAN = Actually there are 6 letters, (IL VOLO) so 2 + 2 + 2 -2 the account returns. 😁
But it is an opportunity, let’s say in bad luck as Federica said before…..
WOMAN = Let’s say things as they are!
MAN = ….. to experience augmented reality, correct?
IGNAZIO = Absolutely.
MAN = What did you invent, Ignazio?
IGNAZIO = Later I’ll tell you what we came up with. But also the good fortune of doing Eurovision sitting from the living room, is not for everyone !!
WOMAN = Got it ???
MAN = Gianluca’s luck you mean !!
GIANLUCA = It also happened in 2012, remember?
IGNAZIO = May I?
WOMAN = Go, go, let’s put order.
IGNAZIO = Thanks to the technology of 2022 we were able to make a video and send it behind us, I must say thanks to our production that did a great job and also all of Eurovision’s production.
WOMAN = First with some teenage boys, one of them said:
“Gianluca will be in DAD tonight” (DAD means Distance Learning, used in schools and at work, during Covid)
GIANLUCA = Exactly, I’ll be in DAD.
WOMAN = You do Eurovision in DAD.
GIANLUCA = Damn, it already happened in 2012, there was a very heavy snowfall here in Abruzzo, I remember, in 2012 we were guests of the “The Voice Portugal” program, shot in Portugal in Lisbon, and the boys left without me (I remember that Piero and Ignazio, they departed from Sicily), because due to the snow, I could not leave.
So this is the second time they sing without me!
IGNAZIO = The snowfall of 2012 was also unpredictable!
WOMAN = That’s it. Listen, can you tell me how things unfolded yesterday? Have you taken the control ordinance test?
GIANLUCA = I took the test before leaving, the day before yesterday, and it was negative.
I arrive in Turin, I take the flight from Rome, I land and we do the test as soon as we arrive at the sports hall and unfortunately they tell me that I was POSITIVE.
I had to run away, immediately and go home.
MAN = But we see you well, you are fine, and therefore apart from the slightly palled eye (tired), but I think that is more for the anger than for the Covid ….
GIANLUCA = Oh yes.
Pietro (the name is still wrong), we didn’t hear you.
PIERO = I listened.
IGNAZIO = Why do you call him Pietro, understood? He is Piero.
MAN = Oh, sorry, yes Piero sorry, but is it Piero as a first name or is it Pietro?
PIERO = I am Piero by baptism.
MAN = So I was really wrong (finally got it) sorry!
PIERO = I was interested in these moments, I’m happy to show how deep our relationship is.
When the (positive) news arrived, the common thought of all three was this:
“Guys, it doesn’t matter what is happening, the important thing is to bring this step home, bring this event home.” It could have happened to each of us three, we are in a rather delicate period and therefore, in this situation, yes ok , as Ignazio says technology in 2022, but if there is no common goal, that is to carry forward our name, IL VOLO, and bring home such an important passage, music, such an important message, we could not have done it. Yes, the technicians did a great job, but the priority there is our relationship, our common goal, which is our strength.
WOMAN = Exactly, this is very true and in any case it is news and tonight everyone will be waiting to see what you have invented and in the end you always have to look at the glass half full, see the positive side of things, as far as situations are concerned, clearly not like this in the specific, which in the end, as you can see, is resolved, but like the one that the world has experienced in these two years.
Listen, by the way you will bring the new version of Grande Amore.
PIERO = Yes, we contacted our friend Enrico Melozzi, you know we are always used to hearing the classic version of Grande Amore, it’s not easy to make another version, you know it’s really difficult to do a good job ….
WOMAN = Let’s do something, Piero, let’s hear it and then comment on it together, so let’s give a preview of what will happen tonight?
PIERO = Sure, go!
WOMAN = YOU ARE MY EVERYTHING, listen here, guitars instead of violins, what came out ….. (the new version of Grande Amore starts, but in the video you can hear only the beginning )
MAN = Standing ovation for Il Volo !!
WOMAN = Guys what a bomb !!
MAN = Strong, strong. Strong this version.
PIERO = I wanted to say that it is an important day today, because it is the birthday of our manager, Michele Torpedine.
MAN = Happy Birthday, hi Michele !!
WOMAN = Michele, greetings Mik.
IGNAZIO = Despite turning 170, he looks a little less.
WOMAN = That’s right, hi Mik, can we reveal that we once pretended on TV that we were husband and wife?
PIERO = Federica says you pretended to be husband and wife on social media.
TORPEDINE = It’s true, it’s true !!
WOMAN = Okay, these were the altars (little secrets) for an episode recorded one evening a few years ago.
Guys, this new version is cool.
PIERO = Enrico Melozzi did a really great job, because when we heard his idea, the rearranged song, we were surprised, and that’s what we were looking for, I really mean it. Well done.
WOMAN = Really beautiful!
GIANLUCA = And then from a charge, especially singing it on the Eurovision stage, we can’t wait to perform and we will give our best to try to surprise and excite people.😁
PIERO = This joke is beautiful Gianluca !!😁
MAN = Yes, this joke is beautiful! Fantastic. (laughter) 😁😁😁
Anyway you will be there and it will be exciting to listen to you again tonight.
PIERO = Let’s play down …
GIANLUCA = It will be wonderful guys !!
MAN = So, counting, Gianluca, if you tested positive yesterday, now for the next 10 days you will be out of order, so how are you planning for the start of the tour?
GIANLUCA = Actually, there was also a concert in Barcelona.
WOMAN = Yes, Sunday.
MAN = Indeed.
GIANLUCA = Oh yes, we have also postponed the concert in Barcelona, then in any case the tour starts in June from the Verona Arena, 3 and 4 June there are two concerts in the Arena, then at the Ancient Theater of Taormina, we will continue in July the concerts in Europe and then we will go to Japan, September and October the US and Canada and then Australia, so it will be a busy schedule.
PIERO = Besides Verona and Taormina we will do many other concerts in Italy, Torre del Lago, Agrigento …
WOMAN = At that point Gianluca will be immunized, he will have antibodies.
MAN = Only skip Barcelona, sorry for Spanish friends, but it will recover …
PIERO = It will be rescheduled anyway …
MAN = It will be reprogrammed and, as we have heard, you will still be our flag bearers.
GIANLUCA = We will come to see you in the studio very soon.
MAN = We look forward to seeing you
GIANLUCA = Not in these 10 days, obviously.😁
WOMAN = No, later, later.
MAN = Maybe even earlier, it depends a little on the contagion, but seeing yourself like this, you are very well, in my opinion already in a couple of days you negativize yourself.
WOMAN = Otherwise let’s put Gianluca’s augmented reality here in the studio too.
MAN = Okay, thanks guys, good evening for tonight.
We are sure it will be a great return for you to the Eurovision Song Contest stage. Thanks to Il Volo!
WOMAN = Bye guys, good luck.
MAN = Bye Piero, bye Ignazio, bye Gianluca, bye thanks.
After the performance of the evening, Gianluca from home wrote to Piero and Ignazio on Twitter:
Last night you were simply spectacular. ❤
The gift of ubiquity is the new symptom. I had proof of that at Eurovision tonight! Il Volo, you have triumphed! I was there with you!
And now let’s enjoy the beautiful photos of the evening.
It goes without saying that the video of Il Volo, published on the ESC Facebook page, had many shares and as many comments and all of people who remembered Il Volo 7 years earlier with great affection and remembered well the missed victory and the beautiful song.
Very beautiful and affectionate comments from all over Europe and beyond. ❤
Not everyone agrees with the new English version, there are those who prefer the Italian version, but Il Volo was great not to present only an English version, but a bilingual one !!
I’ll spare you some comments from the Italian press, some really bad, but by now we’re used to it, and others more benevolent like this one taken from ZON.it:
“The unexpected of the positivity of Gianluca Ginoble, the baritone of the trio, did not prevent Il Volo from unleashing a riot of applause at the Pala Alpitur in Turin. The world-acclaimed group made Europe vibrate with a version completely new to Grande Amore.
The choice to take the stage despite the unfortunate event was courageous. Two winning weapons: on the one hand the text contaminated by English, on the other the contemporary arrangement, a symphonic rock that bears the signature of the maestro Enrico Melozzi. Vote 9.
I want to conclude this participation in ESC 2022 with two short videos, shot in the audience, while Il Volo performed on stage, this testifying to the fans’ GRANDE AMORE for IL VOLO. ❤❤❤
And last night, we were able to see the entire duration of the Il Volo performance in La Notte della Taranta.
Here is the video and what was said:
Click image below to view the video.
On stage there are the musicians and Albano who leads the evening.
From behind the stage the voices of Ignazio, Piero and Gianluca can be heard shouting, almost singing, a phrase in the Apulian dialect (they ask who has olives to sell).
ALBANO = What a beautiful song!
PIERO = Hello Master. Good evening
ALBANO = I am still a student and I want to stay that way.
GIANLUCA = Good evening everyone.
IGNAZIO = (asks ALBANO) What do this phrase remind you of: (pronounce the phrase “who sells olives?”)
ALBANO = (I remind you that Albano was born and lives in Puglia)
Meanwhile it reminds me of the autumn song, I called it, the November song.
It was the period of olives, of the olive harvest, a man always passed with a cart and shouted (he sings the phrase in Apulian dialect together with Ignazio)
IGNAZIO = Yes, I remember (Ignazio jokes, he was not yet born)
ALBANO = For non-Apulians, this sentence must be translated: “Who has olives, I have to buy them”, this was the message, and whoever had olives in the house, went and sold them, and that way, people got some money, of course. (peasant people always had at least one olive tree near home, in Puglia, the olive tree is very widespread, and when this man of the cart passed by, people sold him the olives they had picked from their tree)
But the beautiful thing was when I listened to Modugno (he wrote Volare) on the radio, on national radio, and finally he sang in the language, he finally sang in our language (Apulian), and there the pride exploded with all its violence, with all its beauty.
IGNAZIO = So let’s hope, with this next song we will sing, to make you even more proud of your land.
ALBANO = You know that I am proud to have you here beside …..
GIANLUCA = …. and we are happy ….
ALBANO = …. simply because I baptized these two (it refers to Ignazio and Piero, and by saying baptized it means that he has already had the opportunity to sing in pairs with them, during Ti Lascio Una Canzone) and to you (Gianluca) you I baptize this evening.
GIANLUCA = One day, sooner or later, we will sing you and I together.
But it is nice, I can say, that these events make it possible to spread a musical culture like this of the Taranta, and it is right that young people are attached to the roots of these great events.
But we must not lose this desire to carry on traditions, we too, as young people, are proud to be here tonight. (applause)
ALBANO = Do you sing now?
IGNAZIO = Now!
ALBANO = And I listen to you now !!
(Calinitta begins, beautiful song in Grico dialect, mixed between Greek and Apulian)
I found a text translated into Italian by Calinitta (Buonasera), and then, I translated it into English for you, to make you understand the meaning of the beautiful and sweet words sung by our boys with such ardor.
How sweet this night is, how beautiful it is and I don’t sleep thinking about you and here behind your window, my love, of my heart I open my pains to you.
larilò larilò lallero …..
I always think of you, because you, my soul, I love and wherever I go, I will wander, I will stay I will always carry you in my heart.
larilò larilò lallero …..
Yet you never loved me, beautiful, nor did you ever have pity on me; you never opened your beautiful lips to tell me sweet words of love!
larilò larilò lallero …..
The stars from above are watching me and with the moon they whisper in secret and they laugh and tell me: “to the wind throw the songs, they are lost .”
larilò larilò lallero …..
Good night! I leave you and run away you sleep that I left sad But wherever I go, I will wander, I will stay, I will always carry you in my heart.
larilò larilò lallero …..
Really very good Ignazio, Piero and Gianluca to interpret this beautiful song.
Elegant in Dolce & Gabbana suits. I know well that many of you do not approve of sneakers, but you must understand, that here in Italy, Il Volo is accused of always dressing too much in a formal way and therefore sneakers are needed to give a youthful touch.
Ignazio has a long beard, I am not in favor of a beard in general, I prefer a barely hinted beard.
Their voices, that is, always magnificent.
Gianluca, Ignazio and Piero were then interviewed by the official page of La Notte della Taranta.
Here they are :
WOMAN = Let’s start from the basics, how do you say goodnight in Greek?
PIERO = Calinitta
GIANLUCA = Calinitta.
WOMAN = And then, how does this song go on ??? (Gianluca, Ignazio and Piero sing a verse from the song)
GIANLUCA = Right?
WOMAN = Quite right !!
GIANLUCA = So you (inhabitants of Puglia) all speak Grico?
WOMAN = In Greece-Salento yes!
IGNAZIO =(explains to Piero) When the Greeks come here on vacation, the local elders understand them, because the older ones still speak the Grico dialect.
PIERO = Great.
WOMAN = What do you think of La Notte della Taranta?
IGNAZIO = It is certainly one of the most important cultural events in Italy, and welcome, because I always say that Italy is a nation full of different cultures and traditions and certainly these events give space to make known their own traditions and culture, and therefore we are honored to be part of it, alongside ALBANO, an Apulian DOC, which has never forgotten its origins and there is also MADAME (young singer) who is a young woman, like us.
Hence the importance of carrying the roots, ALWAYS, in any situation, in any place.
WOMAN = It will be a rock Calinitta, according to Melozzi (the orchestra master)
GIANLUCA= It is a symphonic rock, which is also the secret of Queen (rock group), if we want to talk also musically about the history of the great artists who have always brought symphonic rock all over the world.
IGNAZIO = Calinitta Queeniana.
GIANLUCA = Melozzi is a great musician, moreover from Abruzzo, I am also from Abruzzo, I always speak of my land, sorry, and therefore it is nice that there is also a little of Abruzzo in this Taranta and I am proud of it.
WOMAN = Calinitta !!
PIERO = Ah, Calinitta ciao everyone!
GIANLUCA = Calinitta.
Only one song, unfortunately, but really beautiful and full of meaning and our young people gave a very beautiful and traditional version.
Furthermore, Ignazio, Piero and Gianluca certainly do not hide their attachment to traditions and origins. Well done.
But we have to run, let’s leave Puglia, Venice is waiting for us !!
Yes, on the evening, August 28th, in Melpignano in Puglia, the Notte della Taranta took place, which we will see on RAI1 on September 4th. Only 1,000 people were admitted to the event, but something we like has leaked.
First of all I have to correct what has already been said, because the newspapers had written that Il Volo would have played the role of co-host with Al Bano, but the news was false, because Il Volo was expected as a super-guest.
But here they are, in this photo, during last night’s event.
The thing that intrigued me most, is that Il Volo performed in a song that is certainly not part of their repertoire, Piero Ignazio and Gianluca, they sang Calinitta (Kali Nifta is the original title), a typical song of the Taranta and above all it was sung in the ancient language, original of the area: the griko.
Griko is a dialectal language that derives from Greek and was used in the Salento area, in Puglia, the area where the Notte della Taranta is held.
Here is a short video of their performance, which we will see entirely on September 4th.
And some photos of the evening.
Ignazio, Piero, and the master Melozzi.
A short report in the news of TG5.
VOICE = The music of the tambourines, the frenzied dance, and the song, which become tools to drive away, today, as in the most remote past, ghosts and fears.
The Notte della Taranta returns to illuminate the Salento summer. Only 1,000 spectators were allowed into the square of the former Augustinian convent of Melpignano, in the province of Lecce. But the thrill of finding the public, after a closed-door edition (2020), pervades the artists.
AL BANO = Even before the radio arrived, even before the television arrived, this music accompanied us during the span of 360 days, because the other 5 were of rest, from music.
IGNAZIO = Surely seeing the public again, it’s always good, after this period, after all these months, after this very difficult year.
VOICE = conducting the orchestra Enrico Melozzi and Madame, the revelation singer from Sanremo.
Il Volo with Albano
And here is a video, still incomplete, of the exhibition, but longer than the previous one.
Certainly a very different musicality from the usual one of Il Volo, but which has its roots in the peasant culture of the area, and, like any tradition, must be well-liked and maintained, and brought to the attention of the new generations, always !!
Bravo Il Volo who also lent themselves to this message.
A backstage moment with the artists’ signature on the large tambourine.
But there is also more, news has finally been published that reveal something about the video of Il Volo in Frasassi.
Frasassi Caves increasingly protagonists of the international star system. Oscar winner Vittorio Storaro (director of photography and three-time Oscar winner for Reds, Apocalypse Now and The Last Emperor) has chosen Volo as the protagonist of his short film about Ennio Morricone. The performance of the well-known trio, composed of two tenors and a baritone, was shot inside the suggestive caves of Genga.
Piero, Gianluca and Ignazio performed here in an exciting interpretation of “Your Love” (from “Once Upon a Time in the West”). The piece will be screened on 5 September in Venice during the fourth edition of the Filming Italy Best Movie Award, on the occasion of the Venice International Film Festival. “We are honored that Vittorio Storaro has called us to share the indescribable emotion of Maestro Ennio Morricone’s music – says Il Volo. We thank the Filming Italy Best Movie Award for inviting us to the Venice Film Festival to collect an award that is never like today. We want to share with all those who in this difficult period have supported us in our heartfelt desire to pay homage to Maestro Morricone.”
Here are the beautiful words of the director Vittorio Storaro.
“The vaccines and treatments will allow the reopening of art sites all over the world. In the caves of Frasassi the trio of Il Volo symbolically descended into the womb of Mother Earth as did the speleologists who discovered those caves fifty years ago. Through their art, which represents a new root, their song is reproduced, trio after trio. Il Volo fills every place that welcomes them: theaters, arenas, squares and archaeological sites all over the world: the energy of art so regenerates all forms of life.”
So you got it right.
In Venice, on the occasion of the Filming Italy Best Movie Award evening, Il Volo will receive the Special Award, and on that occasion the video made in the Frasassi caves will be screened.
And here is the answer from Ignazio, Gianluca and Piero.
“We are honored that Vittorio Storaro has called us to share the indescribable emotion of Maestro Ennio Morricone’s music – says Il Volo – We thank the Filming Italy Best Movie Award for inviting us to the Venice Film Festival to collect an award that is never like today. we want to share with all those (teams, technicians, musicians, … but also our fans) who in this difficult period have supported us in our heartfelt desire to pay homage to Maestro Morricone.”
A short backstage video of what we will see shot in Frasassi.
Please click on the logo below to view the video.
So we also added a great prize to our boys.
I am really happy with this umpteenth milestone and therefore a new event that we hope will be broadcast and of which we will certainly give you all the possible news.
See you very soon!!
Daniela
Credit to owners of all photos and videos.
Come in and share the love of life, friends and Il Volo!
