The boys of Il Volo grew up in a culture that takes singing seriously. That can also be said of their families. Thus, each of them started learning the technique of singing – vowel shaping, breath support, projection, phrasing, etc. – from classically trained people either a grandfather with the same background and/or professional voice teacher. When you learn the art of singing you need something to put that craft and art to work– something to sing and if you are going to do the work right you want the best. That comes in the form of art songs and arias from opera or operetta. This is true here in the USA as well as Italy and all over Europe. In fact, this “Bel Canto” concept is taught all over the world. It is the standard of quality singing.
Here is a very rough idea of these types of music:
Art songis a single song (3 to 7 min, maybe) that conveys the story or feeling of the composer. It stands on its own. “Caruso” is such an art song.
Also and even more so, “En Aranjuez con tu amor” is a very dramatic art song that Gianluca sings with a solo violin as the taunt. This was written by Joaquin Rodrigo back in the 1930’s
Opera is taking a full-length story and acting it completely through music where the actors sing everything. When they are describing action it sometimes the music is called a recitative(reciting the story) but then when they want to share feeling especially love the music gets to be a very beautiful melody and great harmonies and it is called an aria. Even Broadway musicals use that form. The boys have sung“Tonight”and “Maria”from West Side Story. They have sung “Night and Day”, “Memories” and others that come from a musical – each of them can be called an “aria”
Piero took the brave step (and he was a triumph) by doing “ E Lucevan le Stelle” from Toscaof Puccini. Bravo.
The opera world attracts the greatest composers:
Giuseppe Verdi: La Traviata; Aida; Rigoletto and many others
Giacomo Puccini: Madame Butterfly; La Boheme; Turandot; Tosca
Gaetano Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor; L’elisir d’ amore
A few that are not on the list for the boys so far:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Marriage of Figaro; Magic Flute; Don Giovani
Richard Wagner:The flying Dutchman; The Meistersinger
Operetta(very loose definition) is a story being staged where the action parts are actually spoken (thus recitative) but the arias are fully sung as in opera.
We all know the story of how each of our guys progressed on his own, entered into a voice competition and became the first, second and third place winners. They each had experience from youth learning these kinds of music. Even from the first USA concerts they were singing arias such as “No Puede Ser” .
In the Spanish culture there is a type of work called a “Zarzuela” sort of an operetta.
It uses dramatic dance, some spoken parts and arias that are very dramatic. Let’s face it our modern soap operas pale in comparison. Love and sex and death and vendettas all over the place. Everyone has a lot of fun. Extreme drama on steroids. “Ne Puede Ser” is an aria from a zarzuella called : “La Tabernera del Puerto” written by Pablo Sorozabal. Piero loves this song and he comes out on the stage and dies each night for us. Hard work . But he does it so well. He also sings so well. ( I know, bad joke).
2016 and Il Volo in June – my thoughts.
The guys have just finished a concert tour that was very long with almost 100 concerts all over most of the world. They have given wonderful concerts 98% of the time. However, there have been a couple of times when the concerts were too close together and the boys did not get the kind of rest they needed. That usually ends up with a concert that is “good” but not great. I doubt the guys would ever give a bad concert. They are just that good and they will not allow it. But when they are tired and a little out of voice from the heavy schedule like they were in Russia this year then it shows a bit. Those of you who have read my stuff going back 4 years know it is one of my pet peeves when the producers push the guys to do a lot of concerts in short order. When they came to Vegas this year they had traveled by bus from Phoenix through the night and did not have much sleep. It was amazing to me that they still gave one of the best concerts I have ever heard them give. Still I wish the producers would pace it better.
Now they have had a rest and they are preparing to do this THREE TENORSCONCERT. I could not be happier. They are back to basics – working with their voice teachers and voice coach. They are taking on some of the masterpieces of opera repertoire by the greatest composers. Information I have heard says they are singing:
“Nessun Dorma” an aria from “Turandot” by Pucini – one of the most famous songs of any sort in the world. You may not know the title but you will know the melody. Pavarotti and Domingo are famous for this song. They are also doing an aria that is sometimes called “Brindisi” but better known as “ Libiamo” or also known as “ the drinking song “ (hey, it’s a party) from La Traviata by the great Verdi. Through all of this they get to work with Placido Domingo, a mentor of theirs, again. Again, Bravo !
From my standpoint, thinking of the care and nurture of the guys voices which are so precious to all of us, this is the kind of work they should do at least once a year. “Back to basics” I am excited about this program and will buy the cd’s and DVD’s and whatever they come up with.Frankly, I wish they would take this on the road to the USA.
On May 18 some Flight Crew readers saw the posting with the video interview of the guys and in particular Gianluca’s attempt in English (and this was in Brazil, no less) to explain the different voice ranges of the boys. Don’t get me wrong since 2011 his English has become really excellent. He used the word: “ extension” which is close but not exactly what he wanted to say. So some readers asked me for some ideas.
I did write something in the comments section of that posting and here is a brief version of that.
Two words: RANGE ( or Register ) and TESSITURA are the key words in English (of course, tessitura is Italian)
When one of the boys sings the absolute lowest note he can reach even though it might be thin and raspy and then sings step by step up the scale note after note until they get to the absolute highest note they can reach which is also strained and thin – that is total range or total register. The lowest one or two notes are seldom ever used because of the problems just mentioned and the highest one or two notes also for the same reason.
The dozens of notes in between are all easy and controllable for him and those are the ones he sings all the time. Total Range minus 2 low and 2 high extremes will give him the “ tessitura”.
Here I added a short article that I wrote in 2013 but edited a bit.
I have had some requests for a little discussion about our boys’ voices. (Just remember that there is always a lot of back and forth amongst music directors. The old tale goes like this: “ the only thing two choral directors agree upon is how terrible the third one is.” ) Well, given that here goes:
Ignazio: In North America he would usually be referred to as a lyric tenor. Sometimes in Europe that kind of voice would be called “Spinto tenor” from the italian – “ lirico spinto” – a voice that can float high above all the other sounds but can, when needed, become powerful to dominate. From my personal standpoint as a voice teacher/coach I admire his ability to give enough solid breath support to create gorgeous high notes that are not “forced” but fluid or “ lirico” – lyric. This guy will always be a great tenor.
Piero: in America he might be called tenor to tenor-baritone. In Europe he would be called “Heldentenor” in German – Heroic tenor . This type of voice was made famous by the composer Richard Wagner in his operas. A robust voice with a clarion texture or timbre with unusual endurance. His best example would be Placido Domingo. A voice that can stand out over the chorus if needed. At his age it is possible that his voice will keep dropping in range and he ends up being a tenor-baritone going forward. A lot depends on how he and his voice coach handle the sound which can, if not handled right, become tight and closed in. Piero is a very fine musician and they all have a great voice coach (love to meet him one day).
Gianluca: In America he would be called a “Romantic Baritone” and used as a tenor-baritone in a lot of musical or opera roles. In terms of pure vocal size his voice is the largest with very rich chest resonance which you can hear even when he talks. Of the three he has the greatest vowel control with nearly perfect vowel shape and purity. He has also been working on supporting his “head tone” what some people call “falsetto” which he has used in some songs in this season. His range is huge and dropping even now. Hearing him in March standing just a 18 inches away from me during a quiet moment I heard a huge increase in the richness of his voice. He is lower and richer than ever. What an instrument ! (yes, the human voice is an instrument )
I know this is repeated a bit but I will say it again: The human voice is the last organ to mature. Usually it takes up to between 32 years and 35 years of age. In the meantime, these three wonderful natural instruments will expand in range and increase in size (not the same as volume) and build in richness.God help us what they are going to sound like by 25 or 28 !!!
~Myron
Here is a repeat of the interview Myron mentioned:
Between Jeannette, Marie and myself we have received a lot of questions about the Il Volo Fan Faire coming again and when that might happen. So I thought I might share some ideas with you about what we have been discussing.
The basic concept which was decided along with Barbara Vitali back in June of 2014 was an event that would allow “ serious fans “ to share time with the boys and time with each other on a day when they were presenting a concert in that same place. That plan had already gone through various changes down through the years starting in January of 2012 and through meetings with Il Volo and Barbara leading up to June 2014. From then on to the event was filled with meetings, emails, phone calls, etc. to work out the details.
In the meantime, various fans held small get-togethers (sometimes called “fan conventions”) in groups of 6 or 8 or so and from that came the suggestion that the next fan faire could be along those lines and could be done without the boys needing to be there. This has more to do with the possibility that Il Volo might not be touring in the USA next year.
After further discussion we all agreed that idea is fine for small groups but if we are going to do all the work of putting an event together expecting people to come from all over the country and pay big money for hotel, food, airfare, etc. then it would not be worth the effort and cost without the boys. For a few of you that want to get together anyway just to get together, you don’t need us to plan that. Go ahead and do it. You will have fun.
Bottom line: we will only plan an event of this size when we know the boys of Il Volo are going to be there for sure. A True Il Volo Fan Faire.
Our plan for the future of the Il Volo Fan Faire is that we will stay in touch with Il Volo Manager Barbara Vitali and the boys as they make their future plans. As soon as they let us know of a tour that includes the USA/Canada and we have the dates then we can schedule the next Fan Faire. That Fan Faire will once again have the boys of Il Volo planned as part of the schedule.
During their visit here to Las Vegas and after the event was done they expressed to me and to Jeannette that they were very happy and even surprised at how wonderful the event was. They felt bad that they had to delay their arrival and ended up with limited time to be with us. Barbara and Piero both stated that the next time we do this they offer to help us organize the whole thing and plan on the event being part of their master tour schedule. She also said that the boys would need to spend at least an hour with us.
Another side topic: what if Las Vegas is not part of the next USA tour schedule? Simple. Our committee will work with Il Volo to choose a city where they can have a second day on the schedule and book the event there. But I am hoping that Vegas will now become an annual stop. The boys love Andrea Bocelli and he does a concert here every December – every year.
So to summarize:
Our plan is that there WILL be another Il Volo Fan Faire which will be coordinated with Il Volo manager and the guys on the next USA tour. When will that be? We won’t know for a while yet.
Thanks so much for all the wonderful support that you all have shown. That is what keeps this event going. A day later, when we saw the boys in Los Angeles we can tell you they were still “bubbling” with excitement about the Vegas Fan Faire and all the gifts they got. I think that says a lot to us, their fans. Love is mutual.
PART III – Los Angeles – the Dolby theater in Hollywood – March 26, 2016
Photo Giampiero Grani
Program order– Las Vegas 2016Order for Los Angeles
Overture same
Volare same
Il Mondo same
L’Immensita same
Tonight (west side story) – Ignazio same
E Aranjuez con tu amor – Gianluca same
E lucevan le stelle (Tosca) – Piero same
Piove (Ciao, Ciao Bambina) same
Beautiful that way same
My Way (duet – Piero & Gianluca) same
Quando l’amore diventa poesia same
Unchained Melody (duet – Ignazio & Ginaluca) same
Si me Falta tu mirada same
O paese d’ ‘o sole (duet – Piero & Ignazio) same
Delilah same
Memory (cats) – Ignazio Eternally ( full trio )
Anema e Core (Heart and Soul)Gianluca Hablando de ti (Ignazio )
No Puede Ser – Piero
El Triste Bridge over Troubled Water-
O Sole Mio (Gianluca)
Surrender ( Torna a Surriento ) ) Ne Puede Ser – (Piero)
Grande Amore and Finale El Triste
O Sole Mio
Surrender
Grande Amore
***
The day after the Las Vegas “blow-out” and the Fan Faire a few of us went to Los Angeles to take care of some business with Barbara Vitali of Il Volo and to attend the Il Volo concert at the Dolby theater. This is the theatre where the Oscars- Academy Awards are presented each year. At 3600 seats the place has about 1000 more seats than the Pearl (2500) and one of the largest stages in the country.
I have attached the program order for both concerts so that comparisons can be made. The biggest difference is in the last third of the concert. That difference was another “mind-blowing” experience for those of us in the audience.
Singing: As in Part II, the guys are employing great sophistication and artistic power with the greatest of ease and absolute control that most singers never achieve even if they go on into their 80’s. The guys’ singing was superb. Regarding their singing, you have to have sound tech sitting at the sound board who is on task properly. Friday had been perfect but Saturday he missed about three entrances – when a singer enters stage singing the opening of a song and the mic is not on right away but a split second later. Generally small item but professionals should not miss those key things. This is not the guys’ fault. The guys were superb once again.
Photo Giampiero Grani
Orchestra: they decided to use an orchestra half again larger than Vegas since it is a much larger stage and a much larger theater. They had a problem from the start keeping tight in their ensemble since the addition of a additional conductor. On the tour to that point they got used to Giampiero as conductor and music director. But now, they, in effect, had two until they settled down to trust the tempo. The guest conductor on one side of the stage referring to Gianpiero on the other side of the stage also conducting from the piano. For the first 4 or 5 songs it was a little tricky since they only had the one rehearsal as a full orchestra. However, the instrumentalists were very, very good.
Please understand that most groups like this travel with an inner core of 5 to 7 key musicians like piano, bass drums and guitar and maybe a few others and then they add the full compliment of strings and winds from the local musicians. Il Volo does too.
All other aspects of the Dolby concert were great.
I want to call special attention to the two biggest highlights of the concert which were a total surprise to everyone (you could tell from the audience response – no one expected these two things to happen). These two songs were NOT performed on any other concert up to now. Why they waited this long to present them I don’t know.
A new composer and his song:
First, instead of doing his usual solo, “Memory” from Cats, Ignazio went over and sat at the piano and announced that the next song was going to be (finally) a new song that he, himself, composed. IGNAZIO , himself, as composer as well as pianist and singer. The song (see list) was “ Hablando de ti” . When I saw him after the concert we chatted just briefly about this song. He has written several songs and this was written about 4 ½ years ago and he “tweeked” it over and over for a couple of years and it is just now being released for the first time on this tour. I loved the song and he sang it very well. I hope they do more of this.
The second incredible and unexpected event was a solo that Gianluca decided to do.
He had been scheduled to sing “Anema e Core” as in previous locations but he changed that Saturday night. I must say that it is very difficult to write with normal, English words what happened after his introduction to the song. He talked about the need for peace in the world and mentioned that many singers through the years have used this song written by Paul Simon many years ago. But Gianluca’s most personal and emotionally favorite performance is that of Elvis Presley. The song : “ Bridge Over Troubled Water” . A song that we need so badly right now. To add even more power to the scene was the fact that Priscilla Presley, Elvis’ former wife, was in the audience (just a few feet away from Jeannette and me) in the Dolby Theater that night.
Photo Giampiero Grani
Up to touch the face of God:
Then, just when you thought the emotional level could not get any higher, Gianluca started to sing. I could not believe it. The people around me (including Jeannette) and the whole audience could not believe it ! Gianluca took himself and us to an entire new level of passion. I am telling you this young man went to where he had not been before. We all were in tears and he was in tears. Way beyond the other songs in the show. When he was done he could barely breath and we were totally emotionally spent. The tears flowed like a river. This song stopped the show. The audience would not stop the applause – it went on for over 5 minutes. That kid was overwhelmed by the response and we were too. I know this has been put to video by people in our group and has been posted so you must take a look. But the only way to understand is – sorry – you have to be there live, in person to feel that kind of power.
When I saw him backstage after the show, Gianluca asked (after I mentioned the song) if I liked it. The humble kid has no idea how big it was. I could only hug him like my son.
The remainder of the show was very, very good but the audience was almost numb by that time from the power of the one song. Interesting that is was Easter Sunday because the spirit moving in that audience that night was so uplifting. To borrow a famous phrase: lifting us up to touch the face of God.
Coda: call it the “kitchen chat”
A little personal reflection on the Fan Faire:while our crowd was waiting up on the 52ndfloor in the View Room for the boys to arrive, I was getting conflicting reports of which elevator they were going to use – the two main ones that we all used or the west side one. Turns out there is another one in the back of the kitchen storage room. When the word came to me I asked them to hold in the rear kitchen so that I could talk with them before letting them loose (or should I say letting you guys loose on them). So as soon as they arrived out of the rear elevator (you could not see where they coming from where you were seated) I went back in there and we met again.
It was all hugs and wonderful statements of support and apology for being so late. I did not care about the apology because I was just happy to see them there. Piero and Ignazio found a table-top shuffleboard unit about 10 ft. long being stored there and they started to play it. Piero just about got stuck to that thing. I was laughing all over the place. Then I finally said “hey, guys! We are on my time now so please continue the game later”. It was all just in fun anyway. Those three came over and we formed a little huddle to talk about what we were going to do with the limited time. I tell you it felt like I was home with my family – just the four of us talking together to come to a solution. I had them all to myself for nearly ten minutes before Barbara came over to see what we were talking about. It was cool. We were back there for nearly 10 minutes and very few people even knew they were there already.
Love those guys. Love the fact that they came to us even though there was no contract and no money changed hands to get them there.
To those of you that came to the Fan Faire, it looks like they want us to do another and have offered to help out this time. I do hope that you remember this event for along time.
Myron
Come in and share the love of life, friends and Il Volo!
