Ignazio, Piero and Gianluca are on summer vacation, but in the monthly LA FRECCIA, printed by the Italian Railways, a nice interview has been published which I am now translating for you, and what about the wonderful cover?? ❤❤❤
Gianluca, Ignazio and Piero. Three different characters, three different depths of thought, three personal voices which, thanks to a truly special chemistry, made up of glances and nods of assent, complement each other perfectly merging into a single voice, that of the Il Volo group.
At less than 30 years old they have lived unique experiences, bringing their passion for music all over the world. Simplicity is true elegance and Gianluca Ginoble, Ignazio Boschetto and Piero Barone are full testimony to this.
For 6 days, on 2,3,4 and then on 6,8 and 9 September, they will be at the Arcimboldi Theater in Milan with Tutti Per Uno (All For One), a show where their voices will come together to tell their story and their values, directly contact with the public.
Those who come from far away and don’t want to miss the event can take the Frecciarossa, the official concert train.
What does ALL FOR ONE mean to you?
IGNAZIO= It is the desire to show our three personalities. We presented it at the Verona Arena with two episodes on Canale 5 and it was a great television success. In September we take it to the theatre, a more intimate place, which allows us to have the spectators close.
GIANLUCA= We love our audience, who have been following us for almost 15 years. The great fortune is to be able to go on stage and express who you really are. We were born as child prodigies, over time we have evolved, proving that we are not meteors. Now the time has come for artistic maturity, to show what we are individually. We are three leaders, each with its own identity. It is important for us that the public perceive it.
What is left of those three children?
PIERO= Fortunately, the child in each of us is still there, capable of being surprised by each concert, by each result obtained.
Without him, the passion for this profession would also end.
We have a great fortune in common, that of always trying to think big, all three of us committing ourselves in the same way. All for one was a great commitment, because we wanted to highlight our individual vocal characteristics without distorting the sense of the group.
There is no perceived “routine” in your shows. It’s different every time.
PIERO= It must be like this, the saddest thing is getting used to it. Every time you look your audience in the eye from the stage, you know they are there to share your art.
GIANLUCA= We are constantly evolving, every day we see things with different eyes and we try to convey new emotions.
What are your best qualities?
IGNAZIO= Surely the stubbornness, stubbornness and discipline in achieving a goal. This characterizes all of us. We are three independent artists who always want the good of the group. Sometimes it is normal that we go a little out of line, but the beauty is in transmitting authenticity with our music.
GIANLUCA= It was difficult to consolidate success. Our need, in this phase of our career, is to demonstrate that we are not just three tenors, also because my vocality is a baritone, but three singers. This is the goal for the next few years, especially in Italy.
You started and continued with a popular repertoire, was it a choice?
PIERO= Honestly, at 14 it’s very difficult to choose what to sing. We met by chance on a TV show, nothing was planned and someone decided to put us together. We didn’t even know each other, let alone decide the repertoire. We achieved our first successes thanks to the popularity and strength of the songs we sang, transmitted by our grandparents and part of Italian culture.
Growing up we felt the need to have our singles and some unpublished works, such as Grande Amore, from 2015. Today the repertoire also depends on the country in which we perform: in Japan they love classical music more, while in South America they prefer our unpublished works.
GIANLUCA= The concert schedule in Warsaw is totally different from that of Mexico City. In Tokyo we sing with symphony orchestra, while in South America we are accompanied by band and orchestra.
In the United States we range from aire d’opera to Elvis Presley. And an incredible thing is that in 2011 we had a nomination for the Latin Grammy Awards with a Spanish repertoire. The public likes this dynamism.
IGNAZIO= Among other things we have a lot of fun, because that’s what we like to do. It is the fortune of those who have transformed their passion into a job.
How do you divide the tasks among you?
GIANLUCA= There are those who deal more with management, those who have a more creative and artistic vision, those who dedicate themselves to sound. There are roles, but everyone can intervene on everything. We have respect and esteem for each other: after all, only in this way can we move forward.
How do you always agree?
IGNAZIO= You have to be intelligent, have the ability to accept the ideas of others and look for a meeting point when you are in conflict. Wanting the good of the group has always been our strength.
The next goal?
PIERO= We would like to expand our repertoire of unpublished works. Grande Amore was a turning point that allowed us to do a lot, leading us to duet with great guests in Tutti Per Uno, to create something beautiful together, always with the aim of surprising our audience.
What is the beauty of life for you?
GIANLUCA= Having special people next to you, who allow you to grow, make you better every day and are able to listen to you.
IGNAZIO= Being able to feel alive every day, with enthusiasm and energy. At our age, everything should be fine. But we grew up fast. We are aware of the great opportunities we have had and, precisely for this reason, we try to aim higher and higher.
PIERO= The beautiful thing in life is to enjoy it. We rush too much, sometimes we need to have the strength to stop and reflect to identify the real priorities.
You don’t have star attitudes.
PIERO= They often define us as three humble boys, actually, I think the right term is educated. We are the reflection of how we grew up, of the values that our families have passed on to us. And we are very similar in this.
GIANLUCA= For people of our age it is important to understand that a secret to living more peacefully is to really put yourself in the other’s shoes: knowing how to respond to a message from a parent who asks you how it’s going or to that of a colleague who could be disappointed. Open up to sensitivity and empathy.
Did your families support you?
IGNAZIO= They have always been part of our growth and our career. And it is still like this today. They have helped us to be consistent, to make efforts and sacrifices without resting on our laurels.
Where did you grow up?
IGNAZIO= Traveling (laughs). I was born in Bologna, then I moved to Sicily to return to the Emilian city (Bologna) after the victory of Sanremo in 2015. Moving from here is more practical.
GIANLUCA= Me near the sea, in a small village of 600 souls called Montepagano, a fraction of Roseto degli Abruzzi, in the province of Teramo. Every morning I had coffee with my grandfather and his friends, who played cards. I have wonderful memories of summers cycling and walking on the beach. We had a normal childhood, then, upset by the sudden change in our lives, we matured quickly.
PIERO= I was born, raised and continue to live in Naro, a municipality that is part of the Agrigento consortium. Knowing that you have a place where you can regenerate after long tours is very important to me. Here people are sincere, they don’t know what ambiguity is and they see me as one of them.
What is the perfume of your childhood?
IGNAZIO= For me it is that of the land behind my house, in Sicily, where I used to play with my cousins building huts, soccer goals and motocross tracks to be covered strictly by bicycle.
GIANLUCA= I perfectly remember the smell of the donut that my grandmother used to prepare when I went to her house. Today my mom does it and the perfume always reminds me of the euphoria I felt going to my grandparents’ house, a bit like the madeleine for Proust. It is my personal search for lost time, for that infantile part that will never die.
PIERO= For me it’s the smells that the ground gives off after the storm, it’s the scent of being in the countryside with my grandparents. A mixture of earth and rain combined with the citrus aroma that came from the lemon and orange trees. Indescribable and never found elsewhere. Perhaps these are precisely the reasons why I can’t adapt to a big city.
IGNAZIO= I know that magic. When I was little and it rained, in the morning my friends and I went to collect snails.
GIANLUCA= And if he ate them raw (laughs).
With your concerts you have had enormous success in big cities of the world. What does it feel like?
GIANLUCA= Being able to express your passion exponentially and knowing that from New York to Tokyo there is someone waiting for you is the most beautiful thing that can happen to an artist. We hope, thanks to our audience, to be able to travel and open our minds to new horizons for a long time to come.
Speaking of travel, what emotion does taking the train arouse in you?
IGNAZIO= I’ve always been passionate about planes, but I must admit that today, the best way to travel in Italy is by train. It is also one of the reasons why I moved to Bologna, with the high-speed train you are in Florence in just over half an hour and in Milan in about an hour. In less than four you can reach Rome and Naples. Once, during a trip on the Frecciarossa, I was able to visit the cockpit, a sort of spaceship. Very cool. I also remember a train journey from New York to Washington as particularly exciting.
PIERO= In Japan we also got on the Shimkansen, the Japanese high-speed trains. But our Frecce are no different, a real Italian pride. We need to stop complaining about the things that don’t work and appreciate the things that work. The Italian railway service is of the highest level and if I can choose which means to travel with, for me it is always the train.
GIANLUCA= I would then add that there is no train without a book and there is no book without a train. Getting on board also means dedicating some time to yourself to think and reflect, read and get lost. You can fall in love on the train, it’s a true metaphor for life. (Piero and Ignazio smile)
What impression did it give you to know that Silvio Berlusconi was a big fan of yours?
PIERO= When in 2015 we participated in the Eurovision Song Contest, he supported and supported us. Many ideas and projects were then born from his ideas, so much so that our manager Michele Torpedine defined him as the fourth member of Il Volo, always present behind the scenes.
We recently closed an agreement with Mediaset for next year. A perfect harmony has been created with the company and knowing that those who have always led it appreciated us, is a reason for great happiness.
We are sympathetic to the family for the loss they have suffered. You can have all the talent in the world, but if you don’t have someone who believes in you, it becomes very difficult.
Which foreign country stole your heart?
GIANLUCA= In my case Japan. Eastern culture allows you to experience something very different from what we are used to.
IGNAZIO= Every country leaves us something. In South America, for example, fans chased after our cars for a photo with us.
PIERO= In my opinion you can steal something from every culture. It has to do with that attitude that drives us to look for the best in each country and take it away with us. The entrepreneurial mentality of the United States, the great respect towards the neighbor who lives in Japan. South America’s ability to face life with a smile. Of Italy, a foreigner would undoubtedly appreciate the quality of life.
Can you always find time for selfies and autographs?
GIANLUCA= An artist has to worry when they no longer ask him for a photo together.
IGNAZIO= We are first of all people and then characters. Sometimes you have days in which you are dazed, as we say in Sicily, moments in which you have little energy and appear less available, but that is not the case. We are always happy to meet our audience.
What do you love in people and what do you hate?
GIANLUCA= I borrow the words of Erich Fromm, the great German psychoanalyst. He said he couldn’t bear people who were amorphous, soulless, incapable of having a constructive dialogue or sharing ideas. Here, also in my opinion, those are the negative people. Instead, I love to surround myself with those who allow me to grow artistically and personally.
IGNAZIO= There are many people like those described by Fromm. If Amedeo Modigliani were still alive, today he would have painted thousands of faces without eyes.
PIERO= Instead I appreciate more than anything else the education that rewards and will always reward.
We conclude by thinking about one of the joys of life: food. Are you more for the table or for the kitchen?
IGNAZIO= I prefer to stay in the kitchen all my life.
GIANLUCA= I, on the other hand, am more of a table type. I like starred restaurants, two or three hour tastings accompanied by a good glass of wine. We had lunch in Massimo Bottura’s restaurant, an unforgettable experience.
PIERO= I have a wonderful relationship with food. I need to eat, I play a lot of sport and I don’t give up anything at the table. I run often, I’m also preparing for the NYC marathon.
IGNAZIO= It’s true, we don’t know who he’s running from, but he always runs.
Gianluca, Andrea Radic (interviewed), Piero e Ignazio.
Here instead is the video made by Andrea Radic who interviewed Il Volo and in the end, after meeting them, wanted to say a few things.
RADIC= Dear friends, Il Volo in its splendor, Gianluca Ignazio and Piero, from September 2 at the Arcimboldi in Milan, the first time in a theater in Italy, with a wonderful show, you can’t miss it, and in August on the Freccia (the train), our chat.
I really discovered how much humanity, passion, professionalism there is in these gentlemen.
GIANLUCA= See you on all trains, then.
PIERO= You can read our interview on all Frecciarossa trains.
IGNAZIO= And if the newspaper is on the seat, first remove it, don’t sit on it!
RADIC= Exactly (laughter). Great.
GIANLUCA= See you at the theater!
To go from Bologna to Caserta, Ignazio also used the Frecciarossa train, and guess what he found on the seat? 😁
And in this video, Ignazio promotes Italian trains a bit.
IGNAZIO= Frecciarossa arrived. I’m in Florence, I’m going to Naples (Reggia di Caserta).
This is one of the reasons why I travel with Frecciarossa: comfortable, it avoids queues on the motorway, I hate traffic. Crazy, then it’s easy to reach Milan for our concert in September at the Arcimboldi, from any city, Turin, Bologna, Rome, from any city Frecciarossa, come to Milan, stroll around the Arcimboldi theater, perfect!
And then I must say that they have good tastes (he shows the newspaper with their interview) 😁
And here is the promo video published on the Facebook page of the Italian railways, which presents the newspaper that all the people who will travel on the Freccia train in the month of August will find this newspaper for free.
Truly a beautiful interview with excellent questions which our sweet young men answered as always with maturity and great knowledge of things.
Let me know what you think!
Daniela 🤗
Credit to owners of all photos and videos.