Tag Archives: Ignazio

As only John can tell it, with “Joy and Warmth”

February 15, 2016 mariecrider 69 Comments

John From CT

The moment that I had been waiting for since last October had finally arrived. My first Il Volo concert!

My career as an ilvolover began exactly a year ago when a group of coworkers and I decided to learn Italian. I wanted our lesson plans to include topics of interest and all of us agreed that “traditional Italian music” should be a part of our studies. My first Google search produced a YouTube video of “O Sole Mio” by you-know-who. Before this moment, I had never even heard of Il Volo, and when I sat down with my fellow students to watch a couple of videos of the guys, everyone was floored. The rest as they say, is history.

The Oakdale Theater in Wallingford, CT is the perfect venue for this type of event, with a 4600 seat auditorium which is wider than it is deeper. Except for a few rear seats in the upper balcony, we had a full house. As the concert approached, those seats were discounted down to $33 by LiveNation so even someone with a limited budget would have been able to participate. Our seats were in the 7th row from the stage, nearly perfectly centered, and with an incredible view.

JOHN’S IL VOLO CONCERT RULE #1: BUY THE BEST TICKETS THAT YOU CAN POSSIBLY AFFORD. Although not everyone has the means to buy a $225 ticket for a meet-&-greet, the difference between a $75 standard ticket and a $125 ticket in the tenth row center is not out of reach for most people. Don’t eat for a week, skip 10 visits to Dunkin Donuts, do anything you can to get yourself up front. Even though we are all there for their voices, the additional joy of seeing their faces, their expressions, their gestures etc. up close adds an incredible dimension to the whole experience which cannot be enjoyed as much when it is projected on a side-mounted video screen from several hundred feet away. If you are not going to attend an M&G, this is the closest you are going to get to the guys, and the incremental cost is worth it.

We were lucky to be at one of the few concerts with a full orchestra conducted by Il Maestro Diego Basso; I counted about 22 musicians and to their credit, they were incredible. I know that some of the concerts have had or will have a recorded soundtrack with a lesser amount of live musicians, but don’t let that disappoint you in any way. The opening number, “Ouverture”, appeared to be a recording accompanied by a handful of musicians, and it sounded great for what it was. If you are an audiophile who demands pure symphonic perfection, an Il Volo concert is not for you anyway; for the 99.99% of the rest of us, it will do just fine. The sound level and quality were perfect but of course this is also dependent on the acoustic qualities of the venue.

We have read several negative comments elsewhere about the laser / strobe / LED lighting effects. Honestly, I did not find these to be any trouble at all. Occasionally a beam of light would hit me in the face, but in general we had no problem with the more intense lighting and in any event it was only present during the more animated numbers and not during the quieter pieces.

JOHN’S IL VOLO CONCERT RULE #2: DO NOT WASTE PRECIOUS TIME TRYING TO RECORD THE CONCERT WITH A SMARTPHONE. Time after time, I saw many others holding up their phones for extended periods of time watching the concert on a 2-inch by 4-inch screen. For what? So you can have a collection of grainy, poorly-lit, jittery videoclips of the most incredible voices of our generation? If you can afford an iPhone and a monthly AT&T bill of $150, then you can afford to buy the beautifully recorded PBS concerts from Pompeii & Detroit. If you need to prove to someone that you were there, take a picture of your ticket and put it up on Facebook.

The songs included the following – “Il Mondo, Volare, L’immensita, Io che non vivo, Tonight, En Aranjuez con tu amor, E lucevan le stelle, Piove, Beautiful that way, Delilah, Caruso, My way, Quando l’amore diventa poesia, Unchained melody, Eternally, O paese do sole, Anema e core, No puede see, O sole mio, Grande amore” etc etc. Each piece featured the perfect combination of all three, of duets, or of solo performances. Piero’s two operatic pieces and Gianluca’s “Anema e core” had me shaking my head in astonishment; Ignazio’s solos and duets were truly world-class, and their soaring voices in ALL their numbers were as close to perfect as is humanly possible, especially for a group of 20-ish year olds. I was a bit disappointed that they did not perform some of my recent favorites including “La vita, L’amore si muove, and Canzone per te”, but since it was my first concert I was glad that I was able to hear some of their earlier works in this setting. The Connecticut audience was an older, more reserved crowd, with many ethnic Italians, many first-timer Americans, and a handful of younger 20-ish and 30-ish attendees who appeared to be having a great time as well. I expected everyone to stand up and sway to “Volare” but nobody did. They guys received about 15 standing ovations, which I had never experienced in any kind of live performance of any kind. The mix of English, Italian, and a couple of Spanish selections was appropriate for this audience as well; the in-between banter and comedy was mostly in English and was entertaining without being excessive; our resident clown Ignazio was hilarious while providing smooth transitions between the songs. The evening featured 1 hour & 55 minutes of musical and vocal bliss for anyone of any age.

JOHN’S IL VOLO CONCERT RULE #3: LEARN SOME ITALIAN. We all know that Italian is a beautiful language and that even a description of a root canal procedure can sound romantic, exotic, and heavenly simply because it is in Italian. Understanding the lyrics when Gianluca croons “Te voglio bene” (I love you) or when Piero cries “E muoio disperato” (I die in desperation) or when Ignazio proclaims “Quando vivo, vivo solo in te” (When I live, I live only in you) makes a huge difference – I cannot stress how knowing some of the language will add immensely to the concert experience, as well as when you are listening to their music at home. If you cannot take professional language classes, then get yourself a Berlitz Phrase Book for travelers, enroll in low-cost classes at a nearby school or community center, or if you can navigate online then download free language podcasts that you can play on your computer, tablet, or smartphone. And if you ever get the opportunity to travel in Italy you will have a more fulfilling experience if you can communicate to any extent in Italiano. All of my fellow students were so happy that we could get more of their message in their native tongue than if we simply had imagined what they were saying or were reading about it afterwards. In preparation for the concert, we took a bunch of their songs and dissected the lyrics line by line, using the website LyricsTranslate as a starting point. I went to the extreme of copying every one of their songs on to my Notes app on my iPhone, so I can constantly have all their lyrics in Italian, English and some in Spanish with me at all times; this proved to be a great tool for expanding my vocabulary as well.

Finally – the Meet & Greet. For most of us, $225 (and more in some venues) is a lot of money. $100 of that amount was for my M&G upcharge and the reality is that all you are going to get is about an hour of waiting around nervously in a semi-circular conga line with a bunch of other fans and about sixty seconds of “semi-quality” time with your idols. I will repeat this to who ever asks: It was the best $100 I ever spent in my life. For most of us with “regular” lives, sharing even one minute in person with someone who has brought you so much joy in life is truly a special time to be cherished forever. The thrill, the “special-ness”, the anticipation, the contact that you shared is even more meaningful when the next day you have to drive to work and punch a clock and get back to the real world. This is one of things that you have to do once in your life even if it defies logic (“I could buy a week’s worth of groceries” blah blah blah). If you can afford it, DO IT.

JOHN’S IL VOLO CONCERT RULE #4: PREPARE FULLY FOR YOUR M&G AND MAKE PRELIMINARY CONTACT. As you all know, a lot has been written on FlightCrew about this topic and the advice I received from all of you proved invaluable. While we were waiting in line, we got to observe many fans who got up to the guys and only managed to blurt out a weak “Thank You” or “You were great” or “Please, can I take a picture”. Many of the attendees were so star-struck or tired or unprepared that I imagine the whole thing must have been somewhat of an anti-climax for them. Not for me! While waiting, I made sure to make eye contact with the guys as much as I could. I had the supreme advantage of being 6’2” and sporting a military-style haircut so I stood out like the proverbial sore thumb. While others were texting away on their smartphones, I was aiming to grab their attention and smiling each time so that when it would be my turn I would just not be another in an endless stream of fans going through the motions. I decided that I was not going to bother with taking low-quality selfies with my phone especially as the event photographer was in place to take a burst of properly framed and lit digital photos.

My turn arrives. I firmly shake each of their hands. “Guys, I want to thank you not just for a wonderful experience tonight, but for introducing me to your “bel canto” style of music and for opening my eyes to the world of opera, and for bringing so much joy and a little bit of Italia into my home.” Their eyes and smiles could have illuminated the darkest of nights. Then I proceeded to tell them in perfectly practiced and accented Italian – “La tua musica mi ha ispirato per imparare l’italiano!” (Your music has inspired me to learn Italian!) Gianluca gave me a big “thumbs-up”, Piero just said “WOW”, and Ignazio put his arm around my shoulder and said something like “Thank you, that’s what we like to do.” Photo time went by quickly, and then the others in my group had their turns. After the official M&G was over, the guys mingled with the crowd for a bit, I got a quick chance to say hello to Barbara V, and that was it.

I made my way back to my car on a bitterly cold night, not sad that that it was all over, but with a sense of joy and warmth that yes, even for a short 3 hours, I had a wonderful visit with my three new “friends” from Italia.

~John

Editorials, Gianluca, Ignazio, Il Volo, Piero

The Color of Their Wings…

February 10, 2016 Jana 64 Comments

We all know change is difficult to accept. Yes, Il Volo started out as the 3 Tenorini, these 3 little tenors dressed up like adults because they sang music only old people knew and liked. The beautiful bel canto music of Italy. But we forget that they were boys dressed up like men. We wanted them to stay the cute, innocent, and cherubic-faced lads we grew to love – for some, love at first sight (or sound!) But time moves on and things change. The world is constantly moving, the universe in perpetual motion, if everything just stopped, we would all die.

The air we breathe, our own heartbeat, our very being is in constant flux. To quote the ancient philosopher Heraclitus of Ephesus, “The only thing constant is change!” Our three young guys were just caterpillars feeding and feeding off of the fans, growing and growing fatter each day, nourished by our encouragement and constant praise, their very essence being shaped by our devotion to them until finally they were ready to make and form their own chrysalis, where they’ve been for the last several years, constantly growing and changing right before our eyes. In front of everyone, we watched them change from inside the ever protective watch of their parents and families. Many things we saw and yet some things changed without our realizing it. When Sanremo came around, that was when they started to emerge from their metamorphosis, their wings getting more color each day, each week, and month, that went by, on their way to Eurovision – then it really happened. Their wings burst forth and they flew for the very first time. I can still hear the crescendo of their wings on the last chorus of Grande Amore! Their wings were still a bit wet, but they learned to fly stronger and stronger each day. During their flight they ran into enemies and feared for those that wanted to eat them. They fed on the nectar of the crowds from their sold out concerts. Their wings getting a bit battered along the way; yet still staying strong and floating on the wind, as they traversed over the world with their successes.

We hope their flight will be long and never changing, but their flight paths will change with the wind, their fans may come and go, but still they will fly on, always seeking the energy from their fans that keep them going – young, old; tried and true. They will be who they are, their colors will not change. A little battered and bruised along the way, but they will find their destination, landing briefly on our hearts; staying forever in our souls, as they migrate the world in search of their needed and constant approval of themselves and from those that they love.

There are two quotes I found on the Internet, simply entitled “butterfly quotes and proverbs” and I think they depict our guys quite well…

“How does one become a butterfly? You must want to fly so much that you are willing to give up being a caterpillar.”

“Butterflies can’t see their wings. They can’t see how beautiful they are, but everyone else can. People are like that.”

They certainly gave up being caterpillars. With their first notes of “O Sole Mio,” they started changing into butterflies; giving up many things…in order to soar to unbelievable heights.

Beautiful? Our guys are so beautiful inside, as well as outside; and sometimes I really don’t think they know…?

♦ Il Volo – Sempre, per sempre,♦

Jana ♥

p.s. thank you to Marie, for the beautifully suggested title of this post…

Concert Photos/Reviews, Gianluca, Ignazio, Il Volo, Our Stories, Piero

Penina and the Canadian Italians

February 9, 2016 mariecrider 35 Comments

Penina’s story is next, but first I have to add these photo’s of Loretta and Ignazio at the concert the other night.

Loretta sent them to me 5 times, two were duplicates. Then she sent them to Lynn and asked Lynn to send them to me in case her’s didn’t go through. I’m afraid if I don’t post them she’ll send them again! Guess what she wrote on my email subject line? “Save these to your computer.”

OK Loretta, I got ’em. Here they are and they’re absolutely wonderful! Darn!

~M

Now, Penina at the concert:

The audience in Orillia was about 90% Italians. And not just Italians, but Italian speaking Italians! Someone in the crowd early on shouted to the guys to speak Italian. Which they eventually did, to my regret, as I missed the best joke of the night–because Ignazio said it in Italian.

I have to concur with Jill about the lights and the music accompaniment. The lights were a real problem, they glared, they washed out, and even worse, they moved. Just as you framed a picture, a light would wash the whole thing out. I really think where you sit will have a big determining factor on the quality of pictures you get–and there is no knowing ahead of time whether you are in a good seat for pictures or not. All of my pictures save one was washed out by lights. A fellow two seats over got great pictures. The quality of the photographers certainly had some part in this! (lol) But I refuse to believe that is the sole reason my pictures were a flop.

Very little new was sung that wasn’t an English song. The new songs in Italian listed on the Buffalo playlist (Si Me Falta Tu Mirada, L’amore Si Muove, and La Vida) were not sung. Neither was Core N’Grato to my great disappointment. On the other hand they did do Beautiful that Way and Eternally. And instead of La Vida they did Surrender. So there was a lot of old stuff here, mixed in with some new, although the only new songs outside of the duets in Italian was L’immensita, Piove and Grande Amore.

Me & Ignazio — Someone gave the guys these little hats. Gian took his off after the picture with this lady–he was worried about his hair, if what he did after he took it off is any indication! He spent the next few minutes finger combing it and fiddling around with it. Piero took his off after a little while, but Ignazio kept his on.

There was a good deal of funny stuff, with Ignazio doing his Godfather routine, and demanding Piero kiss his hand with the ring coming at the introduction to My Way. Another funny interlude came with Piero trying to introduce Ignazio when he was about to sing Memory. However most of this dialogue was in Italian. I forgot to say, Ignazio’s mom, Caterina Boschetto was sitting directly across the aisle from me! She sneaked in after the show started and I didn’t see her come in. I noticed she was there somewhere during the program, and when Ignazio said whatever it was he said that convulsed everyone, she put her hands over her face, and shook with laughter. I wanted to say hello to her after the show, but she left the way she came–before the show was 100% over, and I didn’t see her leave.

Lousy picture of me and ignazio — Lousy picture of me and Gianluca

The meet and greet was very different! We were all herded into a space they set up in the end of the hallway outside the concert hall by blocking off a section with a big divider backdrop thing. The photographer got us to make a big circle and he told us he would take pictures quickly, one after another, and once the pictures were done, the boys would be available to talk to us informally. The line went around, people gave quick hugs, kisses, handshakes, etc. lined up and took the pictures. What was nice about it was you saw everyone’s interactions with the guys.

There was one little old Italian grandmother with her granddaughter who had everyone in stiches. After the group picture the granddaughter wanted a picture with them by herself and she tried to shoo her grandmother away. But grandma was having too good of a time and wouldn’t leave. Finally the photographer told her she should leave and she said she would leave if she could take Ignazio with her! After all the picture taking the boys just waded into the crowd, answering questions, getting hugged, taking selfies, etc. I managed to get selfies with all three of them! Piero was holding forth in a little circle of people when I came along he was telling someone about the rigors of the schedule and how happy he was his father was able to come along with him. “He brings me breakfast in bed! He makes me pasta! I would never be able to stand such a long schedule if he weren’t here with me.” Such a sweetie! And then he broke some very interesting news. He said they are doing a concert on July 1 (which I have already seen advertisements for) that will be a very special concert. Apparently July 1 is the anniversary (20th? don’t remember) of the 3 tenors first concert and Il Volo is doing a tribute concert to them, and Placido Domingo is going to be the conductor.

And he said, you are the first to know this–no one else knows! And he said it would be an international concert. Whatever that means! It sounds amazing.

And with that, time was up and all three left the area and we all went home.

~Penina

Editorials, Gianluca, Ignazio, Il Volo, Personally Speaking, Piero

Waiting for Ignazio ~ Mary Bohling

February 7, 2016 mariecrider 19 Comments

Don’t they look disgruntled? They have arrived in Canada and can’t find Ignazio….he has disappeared again!!

Gianluca looks worried! That Igna just wanders off without telling them, and he should know how they worry when they don’t know where he is! Piero doesn’t know whether to kiss him or kill him when he turns up. Is he just being funny or did he accidentally (or on purpose) wander away? Piero isn’t sure what to think. His dad is obviously very upset. Being a father and somewhat responsible for watching out for the boys in Canada, he is carrying a load of responsibility. The guitar player seems the least upset. He might actually welcome a respite from all of the head massaging and hanging on that Igna likes to tease him with during a performance. The last guy might be a passerby that just thought it would be nice to sit down and join this group.

Well, whatever is going on, Ignazio is sure to turn up sometime. Just hope it’s in time for the concert. They really couldn’t do without him. Maybe they need to put a bell on him like in the story of belling the cat. He surely is hard to keep track of. C’mon, Ignazio–have some consideration for the rest of the guys..stay with the group and BEHAVE—Oh right, I’m talking about Ignazio. Maybe behaving is out of the question. We love you, Igna, please don’t scare us by getting lost.

“It’s okay, folks…This is just in fun–not a news flash.”

~Mary

Concert Photos/Reviews, Gianluca, Ignazio, Il Volo, Piero

View From the 2nd Row in Buffalo~ Jill

February 7, 2016 mariecrider 32 Comments

Lighting and sound was a bit of an issue. The lights blinded us from seeing them at time and the orchestra’s sound, though incredible, was overpowering at some parts.

Some people who weren’t at the concert said the videos showed a rather subdued crowd. I will agree, there weren’t girls rushing the stage and singing along. Personally, I like that. I went to hear and see them perform, not to hear other people sing. I think we had an older-than-me (47) crowd overall. I’m not sure if the concert was sold out. I’m thinking it wasn’t as my niece decided to go at noon and got tickets. I’m hoping that even if it wasn’t, they won’t cross Buffalo off their list for their next tour.

Ignazio forgot his belt! I think he forgot to come in during one of the earlier songs because there was silence and GG and PB just looked at him. He also didn’t go for those high notes in Grande Amore. I can’t blame him, those are some hard-work notes. I was so impressed with his duet with Piero, I have never heard him sing with such power.

Piero is definitely the Power House. I’m not picking on him at all because I truly adore him, just were some things I noticed. Piero seemed to be the receiver of the audience – from a woman who approached the stage who wanted (and got) a hug to a little girl showing her poster, to me who gave the candy, it was Piero who received. Oh my goodness, he blew me a kiss and shook my hand! I hope they actually tried the candy and shared it with Barbara, her name was on the box, too! I also shook Gianluca’s hand. He looks much smaller and cuter in person and so close up. The last time I saw him was a hotel and he was beat. Anyway, Iganzio was playful as always and I just love their interactions with each other.

At times I closed my eyes just to listen and fully absorb their sound without the distraction of their good looks!

A few notes (not sure if you read them on Facebook), if you want a mug ($15) get it early. We were there about 1.5 hours before the concert started and they only had 6 left. The women’s t-shirts run small. I bought an XXL v-neck thinking it would be big but it is big on the top but so tight in the boobs (can I write that?) and belly that I can only wear this at home. The t-shirt has their picture but no dates on the back and came in grey or white for $25. They had the unisex/men’s regular cut shirts with the concert listing on the back. They also sold pins for $5, their cd and the Pompeii dvd for $20.

Nobody prevented us from taking photos or videos (at least nobody that I was near). The M&G in Buffalo was nice, not too rushed. They had time for a Q&A though it’s only what I heard. Evidently the M&G was sold out in the first hour so I don’t feel too bad about not getting them. I had an aisle seat in the 2nd row which was great. I’ll save up for the M&G for the next time they are in town, though there are two available in Albany and I’m tempted….anyone going? I’d be sitting by myself which is okay. I think that’s all the news from the concert.

I loved it and am so happy that I could see them in my home city. The last time I had my chorus concert and ended up seeing them in New Jersey but that was okay, I saw them in our hotel while in my pajamas and that’s a cool story. The most important thing to remember when going to the concert is to enjoy every moment. The videos are nice as are the pictures and I took plenty but I also put my phone away for a bit so I could really focus on them and being in the moment.

~Jill

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