The 2025 Festival dello Spettacolo is the first edition of a new event in Milan, taking place over three days, from October 24th to 26th, dedicated to all forms of entertainment.
Born from an idea by TV Sorrisi e Canzoni(a weekly television, music, and film magazine), it will transform Superstudio Più (the venue in Milan where the event will take place) into a huge exhibition area with live events, previews, talks, workshops, and direct interactions between the audience and artists from film, TV, music, sports, and food.
It’s a unique event: it’s the first time a festival in Europe has brought together all the languages of entertainment in one place.
There will be eight themed areas open from 10 a.m. until late at night.
Closing the Festival, on October 26th, Il Volo will take the stage, it won’t be a concert, but a nice chat.
(From the Facebook page Lemammeilvolovers Fangroup, which I thank, I took the video and am sending you the translation.)
(There’s confusion because when the guys entered, people got up and moved closer to the stage to take photos, so there are voices shouting “sit down.”)
HOST= Did you like my presentation?
GIANLUCA= Yes.
HOST= Thanks.
PIERO= I didn’t hear anything (due to the confusion)
HOST= I studied it carefully, I even forgot something, but everyone knows you, so I won’t add anything.
(people don’t sit down or go back to their seats) I’d ask the people in front who are standing to sit down otherwise those in the back won’t see, thanks!
I’m curious….well, when Piero… (Piero, in the meantime, has gone to the front of the stage and pointed to someone, maybe a little girl, who knows Il Volo’s songs, and Piero tells the host)…. oh well, then we’ll have them sing a little bit.
If you’d sit down (referring to the audience), we can get started. Most importantly, I need to send a video about you (Il Volo).
IGNAZIO= Oh, come on!
GIANLUCA= A video?
HOST= Sure, a video, yes! (The video starts and summarizes Il Volo’s latest South American tour)
Wow, how exciting!
IGNAZIO= It’s beautiful!
HOST= You’re making the girls cry like before with Renato Zero, I’d say (He’s a great Italian singer who was on stage before Il Volo).
So, guys, first of all, I’m curious: do you always position yourselves like this? Seated, in a row, when you take photos, with Ignazio in the center.
IGNAZIO= It’s automatic now.
HOST= And you’re always in the center.
GIANLUCA= He’s the tightrope walker, he’s in the center because Piero and I are kind of opposites, right?
HOST= Okay!
GIANLUCA= He keeps his balance a bit.
HOST= Sure, sure!
GIANLUCA= So he has to be in the center.
HOST= Of course. But when you sing, you always start, Gianluca, then Piero, and then Ignazio. Is there a reason? I don’t know, like different voice distributions… tell me.
IGNAZIO= Simply because of our vocal characteristics: he’s a baritone (Gianluca), we’re both tenors. A baritone’s characteristics are in the medium-low range, with a slightly warmer voice, so it’s better if he starts the song than me. It also depends on the song.
GIANLUCA= It’s a dynamic of vocal growth that then explodes with Piero’s voice, obviously.
HOST= Piero, we explode with your voice.
GIANLUCA= Exactly, we explode with his voice.
PIERO= We decided, it’s like a pecking order.
HOST= You’re last, though!
PIERO= Jokes aside, it was all very spontaneous: the projects, how we met, even how we decided to divide a song. To be clear: 15/16 years ago, dividing a song was more complicated because we didn’t know each other well and we didn’t know our personal limitations.
Now, when they propose a song to us, just from the lyrics we understand who should do what part, what’s best. There’s much more awareness, more maturity.
HOST= You just returned from a sold-out South American tour, which started on October 3rd, and then in a few days you’re leaving for a European tour. I read London, Paris, Berlin, and then you’ve already announced new dates in Latin America in March 2026. And then I’ll turn the page because you have so many dates, including Italy, you’re coming back in December 2026 (applause).
I wanted to ask you, out of 365 days a year, how many days do you stay home?
PIERO= The last number!
HOST= Five??
IGNAZIO= It depends, it depends on the years, it depends on commitments. There were years when we were home for two weeks (in a year).
HOST= Really?
IGNAZIO= Yes, there were years when we were home for 2-3 months.
But as you grow up, you realize that even to be a little more productive, you have to take a break every now and then, so we try to take a break for a month and a half, two a year maximum.
HOST= Okay!
GIANLUCA= And stopping these days is a luxury, being able to afford to choose not to work.
HOST= Sure, sure.
GIANLUCA= It should apply to everyone, to understand that perhaps as much as work makes you free, trying to take some time off, even in one day, this applies to everyone and is very important. (applause)
HOST= The first thing you do when you come home from a tour.
IGNAZIO= Take off your shoes, that’s for sure, otherwise my wife will kill me!
GIANLUCA= Good, I agree, how many of you don’t take off your shoes at home?
(Piero raises his hand)
HOST= I take them off.
GIANLUCA= You always have to take them off. I make everyone take them off, even those with holes in their socks, it doesn’t matter!
PIERO= If I come to your house and you make me take off my shoes… I won’t come to your house.
HOST= No, I don’t let others take them off.
IGNAZIO= (to Piero) You have to come to my house on Thursday.
PIERO= I’ll keep my shoes, I’ve never taken them off at your house.
The first thing I do. I personally live by the sea, so I go for a run by the sea to rebalance myself mentally and physically.
IGNAZIO = You said at home, not outside, do you run at home? Do you have a beach at home?
PIERO = Oh, you meant inside?
HOST = Indeed! I also wanted to ask you what it is about Italy that you miss most when you’re away?
GIANLUCA = Coffee. By the way, I saw the interview with Tiziano Ferro (a famous Italian singer who lives abroad) and he said the same thing. It doesn’t take much to make a good coffee. It’s impossible! Maybe we found a good coffee in Colombia.
PIERO = But we can say it. You know when we talk about artists’ vices, they ask for who knows what. We only ask for one thing in our dressing rooms.
GIANLUCA = (he jokes) red carpet, red curtains…
PIERO = …we eat any food, and in recent years we’ve requested, because it’s something all three of us have in common, a Nespresso coffee machine in the dressing room. Before a concert or maybe when you arrive, and it makes you feel good, being able to savor the flavors of home.
GIANLUCA= Which is a Swiss company (meaning Nespresso is a Swiss factory that developed coffee with an Italian flavor), but those are details.
HOST= Those are details for a great coffee!
PIERO= We help the economy grow in Switzerland too.
HOST= I wanted to know who’s the fastest at packing their suitcase.
PIERO= Me.
IGNAZIO= No, not you.
GIANLUCA= (to Ignazio) But you do it?
IGNAZIO= Yes.
GIANLUCA= But since when?
PIERO= Since when?
IGNAZIO= What are you talking about? If we have a plane at 1:00 PM, I’ll pack my suitcase at 10:00 AM.
GIANLUCA= The clothes in Ignazio’s suitcase fold themselves, it’s his method.
PIERO= I discovered something incredible, guys, three days ago. I tried it, and unfortunately, it works.
Do you know who packed my last suitcase, the one for the European tour? ChatGPT (a chat that gives quick answers on any topic).
HOST= Come on, did you ask ChatGPT how to pack?
PIERO= I put my calendar on ChatGPT and said, “Pack my suitcase,” he told me what to pack. He advised me that it rains in Germany this time of year, so bring a raincoat, bring x number of underwear, and socks, incredible!
In a few days, Chat will even do the laundry! (laughter)
GIANLUCA= Soon he’ll be singing for us too, the time will come, sooner or later, you’ll see.
HOST= ChatGPT aside…
PIERO= Guys, it exists, we all have it at our fingertips.
GIANLUCA= Evolution can’t be stopped.
PIERO= We should never be surprised; on the contrary, we should take advantage of evolution.
IGNAZIO= Do you know what worries me most about this Artificial Intelligence?
GIANLUCA= He (Ignazio) is more conservative, we (Gian and Piero) are more progressive…
IGNAZIO= There won’t be a method anymore, the kids won’t have a method anymore, because now for everything they’ll ask ChatGPT how to do it? (applause)
The suitcase with ChatGPT (points to Piero teasingly).
PIERO= Then when you come to me and say:
“Can you lend me a sweater, I forgot it? I’ll let you go out without it.
IGNAZIO= It doesn’t fit me, with your sweater I look like a cured meat. (laughter)
HOST= In fact, I wanted to ask you which of the three is the most absent-minded and has left things all over the world. (both Piero and Gianluca put their hands on Ignazio)
IGNAZIO= It used to happen!
PIERO= Use ChatGPT
GIANLUCA= Look, if he starts using it, you’ll appreciate it.
IGNAZIO= No, it used to happen, but it hasn’t happened for a while now.
HOST= You forgot some of your things all over the world.
GIANLUCA= I have to admit I’m not particularly practical, so maybe…
HOST= Maybe your head is a bit in the clouds…
GIANLUCA=…a little…
HOST= But whose suitcase is the heaviest?
GIANLUCA= My last one weighed 34 kg.
HOST= Wow!
What’s the first thing you pack, Gianluca?
GIANLUCA= 20 kg of books and then…
IGNAZIO= What he doesn’t understand is that books are great at home when you read them, but when you travel, you get a Kindle (e-book reader) that weighs nothing, you take it with you and you have all the books you want.
GIANLUCA= Then I pack the various outfits, all the things you have to be prepared for when you travel, the medicines, you always have to bring a kit, a pharmacy, Piero does that too, right?
HOST= Do you do that too, Piero?
PIERO= Also.
GIANLUCA= When you’re away for two months, maybe you need some kind of medicine…
HOST= Sure, so who’s the pharmacist of the three?
GIANLUCA= Maybe a little more Piero.
HOST= Piero, okay.
The first one to arrive at the airport?
IGNAZIO= We’ll arrive together.
GIANLUCA= Same car.
HOST= Oh, you arrive at the airport together, you don’t meet up…
IGNAZIO= If we’re in Bologna and we have to get to the airport, I always arrive last. Because then I calculate the time.
HOST= Have you ever missed a plane?
IGNAZIO= Yes, it’s my fault.
PIERO= When?
IGNAZIO= In Miami (when the night before departure, Ignazio was unknowingly drugged in a nightclub and woke up in a traffic jam while everyone was looking for him everywhere. Because of this, everyone missed their plane and had to book another afternoon flight, and they had the concert that evening).
PIERO= Oh, well, it was a special moment.
IGNAZIO= But we missed the plane.
PIERO= Yes, but never because of a delay, we’re very good at that.
HOST= Let’s take a step back. It was 2009 and three very young singers showed up at TI LASCIO UNA CANZONE.(An old photo with Antonella Clerici appears behind them.) There you are!
Gianluca doesn’t even look at the photo.
GIANLUCA= You see, miracles happen in life, you see, this is the example that God exists.
If you want a pragmatic and possible example, here’s that photo. (He means the appearance of all three of us.)
HOST= But do you remember what you thought of each other the first time you met there?
IGNAZIO= So, Piero and I were a bit more of a clique.
PIERO= It wasn’t us who were cliquey, but we weren’t considered by those who were cliquey (he means that Piero and Ignazio weren’t considered by the slightly more snobbish group where Gianluca was also).
IGNAZIO= Because unfortunately, when you’re with a lot of people, cliques form: the “fighettini” (meaning the slightly better looking and slightly more haughty ones) and the more social ones.
He (Gianluca) was part of the “fighettini”.
And so he was always with this circle of “cool” kids who stayed away.
Then there were us, and Piero and I had bonded a little more. Then they put us together….
HOST= Did this happen to you?…
PIERO= You can say it’s unfortunate. (he’s joking, obviously)
IGNAZIO= And even today we try to make him (Gianluca) understand that hanging out with the “preppy” kids isn’t…
GIANLUCA= But think about it, when you say… the laws of the universe, how is it possible at the right time… the timing… in the right place we meet, we sing individually on a TV show, we didn’t know each other, for the first time in 10 years on a show like that, three 14/15-year-old kids meet singing the same genre of music, then Roberto Cenci had the idea of putting us together, then Michele Torpedine, along with the producers at the time, Tony Renis was also there, they saw us on TV and everything started from there, so there must be something bigger.
HOST= Of course, since then you’ve become a trio, so you’ve learned to get along, you spend most of your lives together.
Can you tell me the happiest moment the three of you have spent together?
PIERO = A few days ago, a month and a half ago, Ignazio became a father. (applause)
HOST = Yes! We’ll talk about it later.
PIERO = This is part of our private lives. We’re experiencing a moment of happiness right now, a great moment, and I believe we need to talk about good times out loud and acknowledge that we’re living a good time, so that when the bad times come, you can look back.
This is a moment in which we recognize that we’re three privileged young men because we’re doing what we love, we do it with great responsibility, we have to admit this because all three of us are soldiers in our work; when we go on tour, we’re very responsible for everything.
But we live with the greatest passion; for us, the greatest passion, our highest capacity for expression is music, and living with your passion, making it a career, I think is a great achievement that I wish for everyone. There’s a beautiful phrase I like to repeat often: “Not all of us can do what we love to do,” and when you do a job that perhaps doesn’t reflect your passion or vocation, you have to be able to learn from what life has led you to do. Therefore, happiness and serenity are a daily commitment that must always be persevered in and acknowledged. (applause)
HOST= Great! And that time you told each other to go to hell?
PIERO= A little while ago. (laughter)
HOST= What happened?
IGNAZIO= I think it’s also normal for a relationship involving two or more people to have a dialogue, and sometimes that dialogue can be constructive and sometimes destructive. Fortunately, we’re three very intelligent guys, and we’ve made our dialogues, our clashes, constructive for us as people but also as artists, and that’s why we’re still here together today, making music, having fun, and enjoying ourselves. However, I think that not being alone is a choice, and we try to remind ourselves every day that we’re not obligated to be together; it’s a consequence, a choice all three of us have made over the years. The choice must be continuous, daily, and that’s what unites us, this desire, this shared goal of music, but also because I’m not saying we’ve become one, but objectively, who knows us better than the three of us if not the three of us?
HOST= Of course!
IGNAZIO= And this unites us so much, there you go! (applause)
HOST= I’d like to take another step back. The year after the trio was founded, in 2010, you participated in “WE ARE THE WORLD FOR HAITI.” You were about 15 years old, so very young, and you found yourself alongside 80 international stars—we’re talking Lady Gaga, Bono, Celine Dion, Barbra Streisand. What do you remember about that first international experience? (A photo of the guys with Celine Dion appears behind them.)
PIERO= I remember that scarf.
HOST= That scarf?
GIANLUCA= Those outfits.
PIERO= Look at the three scarves.
HOST= Actually, I hadn’t noticed the three scarves.
PIERO= But Celine Dion has a scarf too.
IGNAZIO= But anyway, I’m more or less the same, but you (to Piero) are truly a miracle (laughter), you’re a handsome guy now, but I wouldn’t have bet a single cent on that.
GIANLUCA = In fact, in the phases of a career, imagine how difficult it is to be authentic and it also takes the courage to be yourself artistically, because it is easier to conform, to follow trends, and you need that person who believes in you at the right time, who supports your courage to ensure that you can express your full vocation and Michele Torpedine was this for us, he was that push that allowed us to become what we are today and we want to thank him publicly and again as we always do. (applause)
(Meanwhile, the photo behind them has changed, now it’s the three of them with Beyoncé)
PIERO= He’s not Michele Torpedine, but she’s Beyoncé.
GIANLUCA= Exactly! So, you think that back then, Michele had seen these three children and had already seen beyond, as he had already done with Giorgia and with Bocelli.
HOST= Of course.
GIANLUCA= Especially with Bocelli, he was the one who created Andrea Bocelli.
PIERO= While you’re talking about Michele Torpedine, he’s there in that dressing room (it’s a glass space so everyone can see it) having a meeting… Michele!
HOST= He’s not paying attention at all!
PIERO= (he turns to Torpedine and the people with him) You’re not listening to anything we’re saying, we’re talking about you, stand up! Bow! (applause) And then you can go back to the meeting.
HOST= (to Torpedine) Yes, now you can continue talking about other things.
I wanted to share this beautiful memory I have. In 2012, I accompanied you to Los Angeles where, acclaimed like stars, you sang with Barbra Streisand (behind them is a photo from Il Volo with Barbra).
I have this memory: in your dressing room, before you started singing on stage, I remember Gianluca struggling with the hair dryer and hairspray and trying to tame his quiff, Ignazio eating breadcrumbs to clean his voice…
GIANLUCA= He still does it!
HOST=….and Piero who was very pleased with the fact that the shade of his red glasses matched the color of his earphones. So, if you wanted to look back, what would you say to those three kids, because you were truly three very young people?
IGNAZIO= But nothing has changed in the end…I keep eating bread, he (Gianluca) keeps adjusting the quiff….
GIANLUCA= And Piero changed the frame…
IGNAZIO= Yes, he (Piero) keeps changing the frame based on the in-ears. Nothing’s changed, everything’s the same.
GIANLUCA= Basically, the enthusiasm is the same as it was back then, and that’s what should accompany all artists in general. Then maybe we’ve grown a little, hopefully more mature, wiser.
HOST= Of course, that’s true. In 2015, you won the Sanremo Festival with GRANDE AMORE(applause – behind them, the victory photo).
Here you are!
What did it feel like to win the Festival in Italy after so many international successes?
IGNAZIO= That Sanremo there, besides having an important meaning in Italy… we arrived in Italy as almost three unknowns because here we hadn’t done much compared to what we were doing outside of Italy…. so besides having had the satisfaction of winning Sanremo, everyone in Italy has Sanremo in their dreams, but for us it had an important meaning because we were coming from a very difficult year in 2014, and we were perhaps in a bit of difficulty, because in any case ours is a genre where you have to work a lot, you have to come up with lots of ideas and 2014 was a very important year in some respects, in others it was difficult and very particular, so it was a bit of a gamble on Sanremo and arriving at the victory, It wasn’t just saying “I won Sanremo” but I won in the choices I’ve made up to now. That’s why 2014 is so significant for us.
GIANLUCA = Yes, and then it was the great return of “bel canto” to Italy, because after Andrea Bocelli, there had been no one who, in some way, courageously brought bel canto back to Italy. This is a musical genre that, I wouldn’t say, is more appreciated abroad. With hard work, the right choices, and the support of our manager, we managed to bring this musical genre back and make it successful again in Italy. After CON TE PARTIRÒ in 1994 (Bocelli at Sanremo), there had been no one, so it was a great return of bel canto, and we’re very proud of this because it’s not a question of being too nostalgic or melancholic. That’s the point. We’re all influenced by the past, even today’s great pop artists, young artists, singer-songwriters, just as we are influenced by a certain type of art and artists who, over time, have brought this music around the world, and we’ve realized how much our musical culture is truly appreciated by everyone.
Listening to NESSUN DORMA is like walking through the streets of Rome, something eternal with Puccini’s music and we become the vehicle of this cultural heritage that we have inherited, trying to bring it, with great pride, to the new generations as well. (applause)
HOST= But who has the prize? Who’s holding it? (I think she’s referring to Sanremo)
GIANLUCA= Torpedine has the prize.
HOST= I suspected so, Michele Torpedine.
IGNAZIO= He’s lost in meetings.
HOST= Okay, he has it anyway.
IGNAZIO= Yes.
HOST= In your phone book, there are the numbers of the biggest music stars, of Hollywood. Which one do you use most often?
GIANLUCA= I have Ignazio’s number!
IGNAZIO= The one we call most often?
HOST= Among these greats…
GIANLUCA= (to Ignazio) A little while ago with Renato Zero (famous Italian singer).
IGNAZIO= Yes, but it’s better to ask him (Piero), I’m a bit neglectful of relationships.
PIERO= There’s a dear friend of ours we keep in touch with all the time, at least once every two weeks we exchange a message. She’s Priscilla, Elvis Presley’s wife.
HOST= Oh, yes!
PIERO= She often comes to our concerts in Los Angeles.
IGNAZIO= But I can say that there was a time when we often felt like friends with Sharon Stone.
HOST= Wow, guys! But is there a number you don’t have that you’d like in your address book?
IGNAZIO= I don’t have yours yet.
HOST= Okay, I’ll give it to you later.
PIERO= Pope Leo XIV.
HOST= But you do have the photo with him.
PIERO= Every now and then I’d have a blessing, and every two weeks a confession of sins.
HOST= By the way, you’ve met two Popes, for whom you’ve sung. Pope Francis and then Pope Leo, right? What did he say to you?
PIERO= You know he’s very nice.
HOST= Who are we talking about? Pope Francis or Pope Leo?
PIERO= We’ve had several opportunities to meet Pope Francis, at World Youth Day in Panama and at Family Day in Rome. Pope Francis was as we knew him, straightforward as a person.
Even today, we’ve had few opportunities to meet Pope Leo to say, at least personally, his character; that comes with time, character, personality. We’ve had the opportunity to meet him directly, and he was very nice to us. We had an audience a few weeks ago, and the cardinal told him, “They’re Il Volo,” and he said, “Of course, I’ve been listening to you since you were 15 or 16.”
GIANLUCA= The Pope is Venetian (he says that because Piero used a Venetian accent while speaking; in reality, he was born in the U.S.).
PIERO= Yes, he’s a Venetian Pope, from Rovigo (he’s joking).
HOST= I wanted to ask Ignazio something, if I may.
IGNAZIO= You can.
HOST= What’s the song you sing to Gabriele to put him to sleep?
IGNAZIO= Well, sometimes I make them up.
HOST= Do you make them up?
IGNAZIO= Yes, I sing like (and he hums): “Goodnight my love, goodnight”… I make them up.
Or when he’s excited because he has colic, the usual baby stuff. I wrote two songs before he was born, and only those two songs calm him down, because when my wife was pregnant, I always played songs to the belly.
PIERO= It’s amazing, if he (Gabriele) cries, he hears the first note sung by him (Ignazio) and calms down.
HOST= Can you tell us the first note?
IGNAZIO= Ciao….
I+G= Ciao ciao bambina…. (laughter-it’s the beginning of the song Piove)
(The video stops here but I was able to pick up the last bit of speech from another video.)
HOST= It works?
IGNAZIO= It works well!
HOST= Beautiful, beautiful.
IGNAZIO= But it’s also nice because it’s the first time
I didn’t believe she (his wife) sent me the video. I thought, “Well, it’s the music, and like any child who listens to music, he calms down.” They tried playing any music or song, but nothing, he (Gabriele) didn’t calm down. If she plays mine, he calms down, and I was thrilled. It’s a beautiful thing, especially because we were on tour in Latin America, and so I received this video, and it’s touching!
HOST= Great! Speaking of the tour, before we end this lovely chat, let’s remember your upcoming concerts: Italy in December 2026, the 2nd in Florence, the 7th in Milan, the 17th in Rome, the 19th in Turin, and the 20th in Bologna, and we’ll be there!
Thanks guys. (applause)
GIANLUCA= Thank you, thank you all.
We’re working on new things, new projects, aside from the various tours, and we’re really happy to be the bearers of bel canto.
Thank you for all the love you’ve shown us over the past 16 years, for those who have followed us from the beginning. Now we’re back on tour, we can’t wait to see you all. Thank you!
HOST= Thanks to you guys.
I had just finished the translation, when I saw on Facebook the entire translation of the video with English subtitles, posted by Il Volo American Fan Group (thanks Donalee) and so I’m attaching this too.
Before the event, Il Volo was briefly interviewed by Rai1 for the program LA VOLTA BUONA. (Thanks again to Il Volo American Fan Club for the subtitles.)
But that’s not all. This wonderful interview Il Volo did with Lilia Kablin of Brazilian television was also published in the same days.
(Turn on subtitles)
Two lovely chats with our beloved guys, always kind and with profound and appropriate words!
How sweet Ignazio is when he talks about his feelings for Gabriele.
And that’s all, but really for a very short time, because it’s been announced that on October 29th, the Canale 5 evening program THIS IS ME, hosted by the talented Silvia Toffanin, will also feature Il Volo, so see you very soon!!!
Most of the time, the Flight Crew uses this blog to bring Il Volo to their fans. This time, I’m going to use an article to bring some of the fans to Il Volo. It’s my hope that when one of the guys or their parents occasionally check our blog, as they sometimes do, they’ll get to know about some of you. I had the good fortune of meeting so many great people before and after the Atlantic City Borgata Casino concert, I needed to introduce some of them here. I will also add a few more notes from the show in this post, just for fun and spice.
I have Ignazio to thank for this article, in a way. As you know, his birthday was on October 4. Since the Atlantic City concert was in late September, I made the beginnings of a birthday card for him in Italian, written on the back of a Lavazza coffee poster. When I was carrying it around in the Borgata Casino, many folks who saw it, even strangers, asked if it was something that was going to be sent up to Ignazio on stage. When they heard it was something that would end up in his hands, many people wanted to write and sign and send blessings and birthday wishes to him. I talked some of the others into it, but it wasn’t difficult. So, I got to meet dozens of new people while they wrote their greetings to Igna.
The first few people I interviewed were my Aunt Florence, from Holmdel, NJ, and her friends who had come down together from central Jersey to Atlantic City for the weekend and the concert. This photo is my aunt and her crew of friends. It was easy to learn their names. My aunt is on the front right, the person on the front left is Marianne Sciuto, and everyone else is named Marilyn. Well, all except my buddy in the back, Biagio Vincenzo Schettini.
Aunt Florence told me she loved visiting Firenze (Florence), Italy because the Florentines treated her special, since she shares a name with their home. Aunt Florence is typical of many long-time Il Volo fans: it’s hard to remember exactly when she first heard them, exactly what songs they performed, or how old they were. But like most folks, she does remember where she first heard them. Any guesses? It was on a PBS special.
In my travels throughout the casino, I found there are a few things most people agree on.
1. The overwhelming majority of people first heard of Il Volo, just like my aunt did, from a PBS special. My aunt’s friend Marilyn Barrett from Aberdeen, NJ is one of the many who encountered them this way. She recalls watching a PBS concert not too many years ago when the guys were in their early 20’s (not those very first PBS concerts when they were little boys beating each other up backstage). Her favorites are Mamma and Nessun Dorma. She wants to hear them do a rendition of Time to Say Goodbye from Andrew Lloyd Weber.
2. More than one lady told me they want Gianluca to meet their granddaughter, so he can become their grandson. Marianne Cirasuolo Sciuto from Holmdel, NJ was one of those. Marianne is another who first heard Il Volo on a PBS special. It’s funny how many people, including Marianne, even if they can’t pinpoint what year they first heard Il Volo, can remember that Piero was still wearing red eyeglasses, Igna was chubby, and Gianluca, well, was Gianluca.
Marianne’s favorites are Be My Love, the Great Caruso, Il Mondo and Il Volo’s version of O Sole Mio that blends in It’s Now or Never.
While Il Volo sang that at the Borgata show, Ignazio got down from the stage, danced with someone in the front left of the stage, grabbed her and wouldn’t let her out of his arms, and insisted she had to kiss him while he sang the verse “Kiss me my darling…” So typical.
3. To most people, Piero’s voice is nothing short of astonishing. Marilyn Mazzochi Fortunato from Holmdel, NJ was one of those who told me how impressed she was with his voice’s power. She first saw Il Volo on one of their PBS special fundraisers about seven years ago. Like me, one of her favorite songs is Nessun Dorma. She would like to hear them someday do Louis Armstrong’s What a Wonderful World or maybe Vicin’ ‘O Mare, from Patrizio Buanne. Like many of us, she can cite the many times she heard Ignazio tease Gianluca about being short. When I met her in Atlantic City, that was her first live Il Volo concert. Igna did not tease Gianluca at that show. Gianlu teased Igna about his pancia, for most of the show.
Photo by Giovanna
4. For so many, Ignazio is the son or grandson they want to feed. As I mentioned in my last article, some of them actually do feed him right on stage.
5. Most preferred Gianluca’s look before he shaved off his Italian scruff. But they’ll take him any way they can get him. Here are both looks so you can choose. As I mentioned last time, whatever was troubling Gianluca during the Atlantic City soundcheck, by the time he reached the stage at showtime, he got over it. Check the photo on the right.
Right photo by Giovanna
6. Many fans decided it’s attractive when the guys wear dress suits and designer shoes senza calze (with no socks), Italian style. I make no argument.
7. Several said they would travel to Italy to hear Piero’s first opera performance, if and when he finally does that. I’m hoping it will be Cavalleria Rusticana, which he’s been studying.
By the way, while Piero was visiting with us during the Atlantic City soundcheck, he spent most of the time accovacciato (in a deep squat) just like this so he could get down close to us to talk. I told you previously how much I enjoy his mellow speaking voice when he’s up this close. I was ordered not to use my soundcheck photo, which looks much like this one, so I borrowed this one from the web.
8. “When they open their mouth, you don’t expect what actually comes out.” This is how Andrea Casaburri Babajko from Old Bridge, NJ expressed it. She and her husband Edward last saw the guys at the Wind Creek concert in Bethel, PA on Gianluca’s birthday in February 2020. She always enjoyed how Ignazio and Piero used to do their comedy act on stage while Gianluca watched from the side. Gian is her favorite; for her as for many, he defines cute. She told me a bit of her past that many Italian Americans can identify with. Her parents were first generation Americans. When she was young, her parents and grandparents wouldn’t teach her to speak Italian. They apparently wanted to have a language they could use when they wanted to say things that they didn’t want the children to hear. Today, when she would love to understand what the Il Volo guys are saying, she can’t. Well, that’s what we Flight Crew people are here for.
Speaking of a comedy act, Igna and Piero did add in the “See you later alligator” bit which was achingly funny when Ignazio tried to say, “After a while crocodile” as he left the stage for a break. He just couldn’t pronounce the “crocodile” thing with his accent.
Photos by Giovana
SOME MORE THINGS I LEARNED
1. It’s not just women who follow the guys; guys follow the guys.
My auditorium seat neighbors, Sandra and Bob from Delaware, told me that they have followed Il Volo since their first New York concert 16 years ago. Bob is as much a long-time fan as his wife. They told me that the first show they saw was in a theater in New York that started with the letter “A”. Do any of you readers know what theater that might have been?
My friend Biagio Vincenzo became acquainted with Il Volo on a PBS special or two, just like many others. He did not have to be asked twice to come hear them live when the opportunity came.
2. Along for the Ride.
One of the most exciting things for me was my Aunt Florence’s friend Marilyn Ratel from Aberdeen, NJ. She told me she was a fan of Dean Martin. She’s in good company because Gianluca is also a Dean Martin fan. Why was I excited for her? Before this trip, she never heard of Il Volo, never heard a single performance or recording, knew nothing about them, and came to Atlantic City because the other ladies talked her into it. She walked into the concert “blind” as it were, having no idea what she was going to hear and be part of. She described herself as “along for the ride.” What a ride she got!
Gianluca, plus hat, receiving a Dean Martin award from the Abruzzo community.
3. Some American fans had to leave the US to even hear of Il Volo.
I met Rita Fries, from Philadelphia, while we were in line to get our postponed tickets printed. She and her husband never heard of Il Volo until they vacationed outside the US five years ago in . . . Aruba of all places. Someone in Aruba was the first to tell them about Il Volo, whom they checked out on YouTube. Rita has since joined every on-line Il Volo group she could find including Facebook groups, fan clubs, and Flight Crew. The first time she and her husband heard Il Volo live was in this very same Borgata Atlantic City auditorium on Gianluca’s birthday weekend in February of 2020. She said Piero stole her heart, right down to the look and the glasses. She told me that following them on PBS specials is not enough for her; as long as she lives, she will go to every concert she can get to. This Atlantic City concert was her first soundcheck and first VIP ticket. She picked a good one to attend her first soundcheck, since Piero took so much time with us.
Catherine Land from Philadelphia, who has been to the Borgata before on Valentine’s Day in 2018, gets the prize for how an American fan first heard of Il Volo. Her family is from Campobello di Licata, Sicily. That’s not far from Piero’s home in Naro, and is north of the summer house I had rented in Sicily in 2020 before Covid shut down my trip. Here’s her story. It happened when she was in Italy 11 or so years ago visiting family in Sicily. She was watching television and, not planning exactly what she wanted to watch, came across a talent show on live TV. Guess which one? Yes, Ti Lascio Una Canzone. She saw a certain three little boys at the same time the rest of Italy first saw them. She can actually say she’s been with them from Day 1.
During the Borgata concert, after they finished singing I Wonder Would She Even Know Me Now from Cinema Paradiso, Piero asked the audience if they knew how Il Volo met. As a joke he offered free tickets to the next show to whomever knew the answer. There were so many people yelling Ti Lascio Una Canzone, they would have to give away most of the seats in the auditorium. I think they should have given a prize to Catherine.
4. Some European fans had to move to the US to hear of Il Volo.
Maria Atanasova, from Fairlawn, NJ, was born in Bulgaria. She did not become acquainted with Il Volo until she came to the US, when someone showed her a YouTube video. She was aware they have played in Bulgaria, but that’s not where she saw her first concert. Atlantic City, the day I met her, was her first concert. Her favorite is Ignazio, and not just for constantly being a rompiscatole, as he calls himself. (I’m not going to translate that). She prefers his stretched lyric tenor voice. Her favorites are Il Mondo and Grande Amore.
5. Some fans have met every one of the guys’ parents.
I met Joanne D’Angelo from Philadelphia, PA when she heard me speaking Italian in the upstairs hallway. She has studied Italian for over 20 years. She was actually at the very first Il Volo US concert at the Borgata Atlantic City and remembers the exact date, September 24, 2011. Yes, Ignazio was chubby, Piero had the funny red glasses. But none of that mattered. Since the 2011 show she has been to 18 concerts, many of them in Italy. These include one in Naples, and the 2014 Pescara concert where she met Gianluca’s father, Ercole, in Montepagano afterwards. She has met every one of the Il Volo parents before or since.
6. Il Volo does reach young Americans.
I actually met some of them. My friend Biagio took me to visit his sister, Elvira, the weekend of the concert, and I got another surprise. When his nephew and his nephew’s fiancée, Christian and Kimberly, both 28-year-old young professionals, heard us talking about the show, they immediately joined us from the other room, explaining that they were big fans as well. Before the visit was over, these two were asking how to find tickets for the New York City show the following weekend. I don’t know if they ever got them. I do know it’s not always the case that the young lady discovers Il Volo first and coaxes their spouse or partner to listen. In this case it was the guy who got his girlfriend to listen in. How’s that for a change? These folks were kind enough to write what they wanted the rest of us to know. Here they are in their own words to prove I’m telling the truth:
PHOTO REMOVED PER REQUEST OF SUBJECT. JMV MAY 4, 2024.
Photo by Giovanna
Christian Schettini, from Staten Island NY: “I first listened to Il Volo when they were still teenagers about 8 or 9 years ago. I was searching YouTube for O Sole Mio and came across a music video featuring teenage boys. I was incredibly impressed and have been a fan since!”
Kimberly Bellido, from New York, NY: “My first time listening to Il Volo was on a road trip to Toronto. It was on the road trip playlist that my boyfriend made. I absolutely loved their song Il Mondo.”
So, you see, it wasn’t ladies first this time.
Thank you to everyone who spent some time with me and my note papers, cell phone and camera. The next time I’m at a show I will try to get to know more of you.
How about some of you readers telling us how you first heard of Il Volo, especially if it was some unusual way, or tell us what song you’d like to hear Il Volo perform someday. Hopefully, one of the guys, one of their parents, or Barbara Vitale, or Michele Torpedine will notice and maybe make it happen.
On Sunday 22 March, IL Volo was a guest on a television program conducted by Mara Venier, DOMENICA IN.
Of course, during the C19 period, the guests were not in the recording studio, but connected via Skype, each from their own home where they are confined.
At the beginning of the connection, the wonderful images of the success of the beautiful American tour are sent on TV. Sensational images, which made goosebumps.
Mara welcomes Piero from Naro, Gianluca from Montepagano and Ignazio from Bologna. Mara thanks the boys for being connected and says that they have recently returned.
Piero confirms that they had been in America since January, have been on tour for two months and have had to cancel the last three concerts to return to Italy. He says that from there they did not realize the situation that was in Italy.
Mara asks how they learned about the serious Italian situation.
Ignazio replies that being in daily connection with their parents who were here, they knew what was going on, and made the decision to return, when it was announced that flights to and from Italy would be canceled.
They thought about the many people who are on tour with them and who have families, children at home. And they (Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca) even since their returned, have not yet seen their families, because they are in quarantine.
Mara asks who of them is with the family.
Gianluca replies (the connection with Gian is not beautiful, his voice is breaking up) that he is in quarantine with his mother, who has been with him on tour. Now he and mom are in Gian’s house, he explains that the parents’ house is bordering on his.
Gianluca explains that the virus has totally changed people’s lifestyle, the right restrictions have been put by the government, to avoid contagion, therefore Gian turns to young boys, who must understand how important it is to stay at home, because nobody is immune to this virus, in addition to the respect for the enormous work that doctors, nurses and all the rescue personnel are doing, risking their lives every day.
Mara thanks Gianluca and hopes that, although there have been audio problems, everything has been understood.
Then she says that Il Volo is very popular all over the world, therefore she considers their appeal to young people important, also because, they too are young boys.
Piero says it is the duty of those who are part of the show, and therefore has more audiences, to make their support felt in these causes. He says that when arrived in Naro, he spoke to the mayor and felt her serious concern. Unfortunately there are people who have not understood the seriousness of the moment and try to avoid the rules.
These people, not very intelligent, have no respect for the gift of life and not even for the people who risk their own every day, to save the lives of our loved ones, especially the elderly.
Mara says it is so and thanks all three again for being in touch with her and says that they are the right people to give these messages.
Ignazio adds that, despite the inconvenience we all suffer from the virus, he realizes how much, everything that was taken for granted yesterday is actually very important, like a hug or a kiss. Today you think of it as a precious thing, a gift that life has given us.
On all the negative sides, there is always the positive to be found.
Mara says that she is experiencing this period like a nightmare. She says that until a month ago, the topic was to talk about the songs of Sanremo, and now we are experiencing all of this and when everything has passed, we will all be better people.
Then she sends the video of Piero and Jovanotti: NESSUN DORMA.
Piero says Lorenzo is number 1. To Jovanotti, Piero said that hospitals in Sicily are not well equipped, and would not be able to endure an epidemic, therefore with fellow Sicilian artists, they launched a fundraiser, with which they will buy equipment for hospitals. (remember that Gianluca and Ignazio are also supporting fundraising for hospitals in their area.)
Mara thanks again Piero, Gianluca and Ignazio and recommends staying at home and wearing a medical mask.
Ignazio adds, that one must stay at home, but one must not stay still.
Mara asks Ignazio how he spends his day and Ignazio says that they are all sportsmen, he trains, plays, sings, plays with the Playstation, then he has fun with his dog.
Gian adds that he is learning to play the piano, and then he is pampered by his mother, who is his treasure.
Mara asks Piero if he is alone or if he has his girlfriend and Piero with his hands makes the sign “zero”, and says that he has no girlfriend, he is in isolation alone, fortunately with the microwave, because he cannot cook.
Ignazio has tried several times to teach him without success, while Ignazio cooks well.
Mara asks Ignazio what he cooks, and he says that he likes to experiment with vegetables lately, since he is now vegan.
Gianluca says that he is not vegan and that he likes arrosticini very much. (Arrosticini are typically made from sheep meat, or lamb, cut in chunks and pierced by a skewer. It is cooked on a brazier with a typically elongated shape.)
Ignazio resumes the speech he had started saying that everyone must stay at home, but they must not stay still, because there are so many fundraisers to help, and therefore from home, you have to give your help and support these good things. Helping doctors and civil protection, giving what everyone can, with a small gesture anyone can be helped.
Mara thanks again Piero, Gianluca and Ignazio for this connection and sends a kiss to them. 😘😘😘
Grazie per le vostre parole: Piero, Gianluca e Ignazio.
Non avevamo dubbio del vostro buon cuore. ❤️
_____________________________________
Thanks for your words: Piero, Gianluca and Ignazio.
The tour de force for the promotion of the new CD continues at an incessant pace.
Here are the images and video of the Rome instore Saturday, November 9th.
The arrival of Ignazio, Piero and Gianluca.
Fantastic, and among all the fans, we recognize our delicious Xinjie.😘
A nice event in Rome, but not everything ends here, SundayIl Volo was expected in Milan for the Mini Live, and how can they arrive from Rome? (these guys so haughty, like some press has sometimes described them?)
But by train !!
But someone waited for them at the station to give them a small video to be broadcast live on the TV program DOMENICA VENTURA.
Here they are. And while they are being interviewed, near Piero, in the station, he passes the video of the advertising of the concert in Matera, what a beautiful coincidence.
Nothing new is said in the interview. The man to whom Gianluca compliments, is a well-known Italian footballer Paolo Rossi.
And now radio promotions are starting. The first isRadio 102.5. Nothing important is said, but the boys are always kind and nice.
In this photo the boys are in the company ofZAC, one of the 102.5 radio speakers.
Nice mini video made with the 102.5 radio speakers.
But there is another radio waiting for the Radio Zetainterview.
Very nice interview, activate the subtitles because the translation seemed excellent to me.
But now here they are atRadio Italia for another interview.
Another nice interview with Radio Italia, nothing new is said, the stages of 10 years are retraced and Manola asks what their favorite song is and they say that the most representative is “Grande Amore”.
They talk about bel canto, and that they are ambassadors of Italy in the world, then about the new CD and the next tour in Canada-US, and then of the mini live event in Milan and the extraordinary presence of the people.
Manola asks how they manage to divide the parts of a song and they reply that there is no real division, only the verse is sung, which of the three can make it better, without any jealousy.
Piero says that they speak little of their beginnings, because as children, they were catapulted into an environment full of famous people in America and they didn’t realize this and when they tell it to others, they seem to say it to brag and the people does not believe that are truth, but there are photos to testify.
Then, Ignazioimitates Gianlucawho does something special with his ear and then says he is a nuisance.
Pierotalks about the two Italian dates and the 2020 tour.
Manola asks what kind of music they listen to and they answer a little of everything, because music is always beautiful and tastes must be respected.
Final greetings.
And here is another great news, on the EUROFANATICOSFacebook page, they did a long poll with a vote, to understand what was the most beautiful Eurovision song of the last 10 years and ……. Won IL VOLO, with “GRANDE AMORE”, all the finals where IL Volo was, were won hands down, and the grand final was won with 2600 votes, against 929 of the second classified.
CONGRATULATIONS BOYS !!! 😘😘😘
Mamma mia, these guys never stop, this is only the first part of the promotion, we will still have to follow:
~ Instore Bologna
~ Interview in Roxy bar with Red Ronnie (he said he has already taken away the juke box for Ignazio)
~ Instore Caserta
~ Concert on live TV in Matera
~ Live concert of Radio Italia (of which I will attend the recording as a public)
Luca Maggitti is a good journalist who lives in Roseto degli Abruzzi. In these days of early August, he interviewed, for EMOZIONI MUSICA FESTIVAL, Gianluca Ginoble, Michele Torpedine and also Marino Bartoletti.
Of these three interventions, I will translate the most interesting moments.
Let’s start with GIANLUCA.
After the various initial pleasantries, where Luca Maggitti asks Gianluca the importance of his Abruzzo and thanks him for always bringing the knowledge of his land up high in the world, they remember together the first meeting with Massimo Ranieri, which took place in Roseto, again before Gianluca became part of IL VOLO.
Luca asks Gianluca if Massimo Ranieri is an example for his life, as he is a singer, actor and director, and that’s what Gian answers.
GG= Surely Massimo Ranieri is a great example, he is a complete artist, but I, as you know, am a big fan of American music, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and they too were great actors.
I am closer to the type of music, but also to the type of acting, more American, but Massimo Ranieri, has always been an artist that I greatly admired.
Towards the end of the interview, Maggitti asks Gianluca the plans for the future of IL VOLO.
Gianluca replies that they are celebrating their 10-year career, with a tour that started in Japan and will end in the US, and the first date will be at Radio City Music Hall in New York, for the third time.
And now let’s continue with the interesting parts of the interview with Michele Torpedine.
Maggitti asks Michele, why every year, he comes for a week in Roseto, what he likes about this place, since he could go anywhere, but he chooses to come here.
Michele answers that Roseto is his second city, perhaps more than the first, because in Bologna he lead a retired life, he live in a reserved manner. Here he has many friends, beyond the relationship with Gianluca, everyone loves him here, and for him that’s important.
Maggitti shows the book RICOMINCIO DAI TRE and asks Torpedine for an explanation of his phrase “I love music, but not the world of music.”
Michele explains that there is a lot of ingratitude in the musical world and his book served to explain this fact.
Maggitti congratulates Michele, for his cover photo, of the book, confirming that it is a shot made by Gianluca.
Michele admits that Gianluca is very good with the camera and confirms that the photos that Torpedine uses on his Facebook page are made by Gianluca.
Maggitti asks how important the figure of the manager is. Torpedine confirms that if there is a good relationship, the figure of the manager is of considerable importance. Below he talks about his experience with Pavarotti and the importance of having understood the success of combining classical music with pop music.
But in my opinion, the interview where really important things were said, is this of the dear friend Marino Bartoletti.
At the beginning, Maggitti recalls the early days when Bertoletti came to Roseto, but then, confirming that for him this place has become a fixture, for him, he admits that the second reason for his coming is to re-embrace Gianluca Ginoble. (His exact words.)“Everyone knows my respect for him, but I should say, my friendship, my affection for him.”
Maggitti’s question is very strong: “What has IL VOLO to do 11 consecutive world tours and still fills all the theaters and what is the appeal of you, great music expert and journalist, who talks about them as famous and well-liked in the world?”
Bartoletti = I could answer you by reversing the question, that is, by asking me how there are still people (even our journalist colleagues) who still do not understand, this success of theirs and their talent. I admit, that I am attached to them by affection, friendship and admiration towards them, but they have everything that is asked of bel canto, skill, the ability to transmit the Italian genius abroad. But it’s the same Italian genius that should be better understood in Italy, and then I wonder, what else do these guys have to prove?
They are boys who have reached their tenth year, and sold out everywhere, even here in Italy. I can only say that I admire them very much, that I admire their “spirit of sacrifice” which is extraordinary, because they could “sit on their laurels”, instead they continue to improve, to improve. This year they were very good, even in Sanremo, where they achieved third place, so very elegantly. I would like the Italian guys to look more like them, especially as the families of the Italian boys were more like the families of Gianluca, Piero and Ignazio, because I always say this publicly, that the strength of these guys is what they have behind them, family, culture, education, humility.
I don’t know for you, but for me to read the beautiful and deserved words of Marino Bartoletti, towards IL VOLO, is like taking a sip of fresh and clear water, when you have a throat burned by thirst.
Thanks Marino, you are a true friend !!
Daniela
Credit to owners of all photos and videos.
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