And here it is, finally the big announcement.

Il Volo, in a press conference, gave the great news: on June 5 in a square in Rome there will be a great tribute concert, to the maestro Ennio Morricone and his splendid music.

The news had already been announced yesterday evening on the Instagram profile of Il Volo, with this press release.

“Tomorrow morning we will make a very important announcement, of something we care about …….”

The press conference was held in Campidoglio, seat of the Municipality of Rome , at the presence of Il Volo, the mayor of Rome, Virginia Raggi, and the journalists.

Here is what was said:

The mayor Virginia Raggi enters, followed by IL VOLO: Piero, Gianluca and Ignazio. The conference will take place with the rules of distancing and with the mask always worn. The journalists take the group photo and Gianluca says, “We are smiling!”

GA = Well, good morning everyone, my name is Gian Arnaldi and I have the task of conducting this press conference today. I have the task of presenting the project “IL VOLO, A TRIBUTE TO ENNIO MORRICONE”.

Before introducing the people in the room, I would ask the director to broadcast a very short video on the presentation of Il Volo.

(The video starts, but after a while, it stops due to technical problems…..the  Ignazio voice is heard and he saying: “It went well, didn’t it?”)

MAYOR = Okay, but I would applaud!

GA = We have a technical problem, but the meaning of the video, I think we have already expressed it.

First of all, I would like to thank all those present at this press conference, both in presence and via streaming, a requirement dictated by the current health containment legislation.

I thank the people present on the stage who, despite the mask, you already know, the mayor of Roma Capitale, Virginia Raggi, whom I thank for being present today and for the time he dedicates to us and obviously the guys from Il Volo: Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca.

Before starting with the actual press conference, I would like to make, if you allow me, a very brief introduction on the reasons that led to this project.

Years ago, a well-known event creator, named Thomas Errera, who can’t be here today, started proposing what seemed to be an impossible dream, that is, to organize a big event, a big free concert in Rome, something truly unique, original, exceptional, never realized before.

The idea was precisely to turn the spotlight on the artistic, cultural, organizational, and productive capacity of the city of Rome. Turn on the spotlight, not only for Italy, but for the whole world. And then, it began to take shape, what seemed an impossible undertaking, to carry out a great concert, in front of the basilica of St. Peter (Vatican). This impossible dream, thanks to the people who are on stage today, June 5th next year, will finally have the bet open.

I would like, also in the name of Thomas Errera, to thank the Common of Roma Capitale and the mayor Virginia Raggi, for the support they have given us, for the support and availability shown in all these months, for the realization of this great project, and in this regard, I would really like to give the floor to the mayor Virginia Raggi.

Thank you. (appaluse) 

MAYOR = Thank you and welcome. Really welcome. It is a special moment.

First of all, allow me to thank and greet Piero, Gianluca and Ignazio, three guys, we saw a video “on the fly”, as they said, which remembers, with very quick brushstrokes, what their climb to success was, and now they are have become internationally renowned artists, so we are really happy and honored to host you here. They are guys with an amazing, extraordinary voice, who bring the beautiful song all over the world and keep our traditions high.

I also greet and thank Ferdinando Salzano, founder of Friend and Partners and co-producer of the event, the special project manager of Il Volo, Danilo Ciotti and all those who are clearly following the conference, also in streaming, including a special thanks to the manager of Il Volo and co-producer Michele Torpedine. To Thomas Errera, he is not here with us, we ideally send a hug

Clearly a greeting to all those who are in the room and thanks to Gian Arnaldi, who accompanies us today this morning.

So, before starting with the conference, allow me to open a little parenthesis on the events that are happening in Italy in these days and in particular in Rome. (riots and protests due to the new stringent rules for Covid).

Again last night we had, in fact, some vandals, who put a part of our city to “sword and fire”. I feel I can firmly condemn this violence, in this moment of crisis and great difficulty that is bringing families, people, traders to their knees. Certainly we do not need someone who “blows” on the fire and tries, in some way, to destabilize further a situation that is already very critical, to which we are trying to give concrete answers.

Therefore, it is condemned, absolutely firm, these acts, and instead concretely support all those traders, who at this moment, together with us, together with the government, are looking for the best and possible solutions to face this crisis.

This must be said and remembered, because then, the reality is also this.

Returning to the merits of the conference, here too we need to make a premise: why today? Because we absolutely have to think about the future. We must think about what will come next, we must give a message of hope, especially in a moment like this, we must focus again, on great events, which Rome is able to host, we must focus on culture, on possibility and capacity of this city, combined with artists of national and international caliber, has to attract investments, to attract work, to attract further artists.

Tourism, culture, creativity, work and investments must restart and we are already starting to think about the future, as has been said, we have been doing it for some months, actually.

What we are presenting today is therefore a great event that will take place on June 5th next year. It will be a first edition, and it will be a tribute to Ennio Morricone, which these guys will do in the form of a great concert open to all, free, of the highest level, I dare to say, and that however, we would like to be the beginning, of a series of concerts that Thomas Errera created and called “UNITED FOR THE WORLD”. We need to have points of reference, we need fixed appointments, which remind us of what we are able to do, which make us find ourselves around an event, around great talents, great artists, and this ideally wants to be there. start, and doing it today, in such a difficult moment, is also a strong sign of the will to move forward and overcome this moment.

Where will this concert take place? I allow myself to give little information and then I pass the word to the guys, to the artists who will tell us better.

The concert will take place in Piazza Pio XII, with a formidable scenic backdrop that is that of San Pietro. We ideally want to gather in the embrace of Bernini’s Colonnade, such an important event, which, moreover, gives a tribute, which we all feel, to Maestro Morricone, to whom we also named the auditorium.

It is a part of Italian history, it is a part of us that now goes to the world, travels the world, and is recognized by everyone and therefore this wants to be, beyond a tribute, a moment of great unity, we need it.

So I thank the guys from Il Volo, who participated and will give life to this project, this great event. I thank all those who have and are working on the conception and implementation, and I can only invite you, next June 5th to join us, and join us in this large square, where we will start dreaming again on the fantastic notes of Ennio Morricone, sung by these guys.

Really thank you! (applause)

GA = Thanks to the mayor for her speech.

At this point I would give the voice to the guys from Il Volo. I would start with Piero Barone, who maybe tells us, a little more in detail, some characteristics, some peculiarities of this event.

PIERO = First of all, good morning everyone, it’s a press conference, let’s greet all the journalists who are following us.

It is an unprecedented conference for us.

First of all we thank the mayor Raggi, for this very welcome invitation, the Municipality of Rome for the patronage of this event.

In recent months, there have been various initiatives to draw attention to all the problems that concern operators, all professionals, in the world of music, entertainment workers, and this event is one of the reasons for we are presenting this project eight months in advance.

It is a message to all workers, many people do not know who they are, but we who work with them every day, we know them, and we hope that, with these facts, and not just with words, we can help them not to be disheartened, try to to give this message of optimism, of hope, and to think that finally EVERYTHING WILL BE OK, because we hear these words every day and we hope that with the facts, we can make them come true.

Thank you. (Applause)

GA = To Gianluca instead, I would like to ask why the homage to Ennio Morricone.

GIANLUCA = The great maestro Morricone was a source of inspiration for us, we also got to know him and work with him, especially in the studio, as we were children, 14/15 years old, we were recording our first album. It is a source of pride, perhaps I allow myself to say that he is the greatest composer of the twentieth century, so we know that this project, this tribute, requires a great responsibility.

We will work hard because this is also the way to bring our musical heritage around the world, but above all cultural, because he has made millions of people dream all over the world with his soundtracks and of course our goal has always been to bring and be ambassadors of bel canto all over the world, but not with presumption, but with great pride and with the desire to be able to make this music known even to the youngest. We started when we were 14/15 years old, we have always been a bit of different children, perhaps anomalous, for the times that run, but it is also a reason to bring this eternal music, like this city (Rome is called the eternal city) , associating this great music with this great city, is a way to bring, not only this great music around the world, but also the beauty of our places, the beauty of the most beautiful city in the world. So we can’t wait that, as Piero said, give a message of hope, to go back to living life, normalcy. So we are working hard to create a great concert, a great event, with orchestra, choir, and of course there will also be a recording project where we will collect, in a meticulous way, all the greatest soundtracks of the great maestro Ennio Morricone, sung. So, we can’t wait to go back to the studio and start working and giving hope to everyone.

PIERO = When we presented this project to other countries, America, South America, Japan and many European countries, there was great enthusiasm on their part, because, as you well know, a couple of years ago we did a concert-event and the film was shown in all American TV cinemas, and our goal is to convey Italian beauties with the music that surrounds us. In this event we are above all enthusiastic about the positive feedback from those who have collaborated, in recent years, with Maestro Morricone, such as the Sinfonietta Orchestra, which has always played with Maestro Morricone, so we are talking to them. We are really excited and delighted that there is this interest on their part.

GIANLUCA = I like to tell a little anecdote that made everyone smile a little, because the first time we sang with Maestro Morricone was in 2011. We were rehearsing with the maestro and with the Sinfonietta, we were 15 years old, I remember that I naively begin the piece, the teacher gives the cue and I don’t start. The three of us look at each other, total panic, the maestro turns towards us, I look at him and say “So you give it to me, the cue?”, that is, I called you to the maestro and he told me, “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.”: This anecdote makes everyone smile, and every time we remember it with great affection, because he was truly a source of inspiration for us a great example and we really miss him.

Thank you! (applause)

GA = Ignazio, as your colleagues have already mentioned, in the past you have also had close relationships with the teacher.

IGNAZIO = Yes, they have already said everything, I’ll put the icing on the cake. Following that anecdote, it was in 2011, where we had the luck, the pleasure and the honor of singing E PIÙ TI PENSO, which is a song that was part of our first album, we sang in Piazza del Popolo (in Rome) and we have this beautiful memory.

The boys have already told everything before, but to finish it is nice to remember that it is nice that 25-year-olds, not just us, can give positive messages, that is, even at a distance of one meter, with the microphone covered and we wear the mask, it’s not because we are stupid, but because we think that those who are watching us right now may think “Damn, these guys are 25 years old, why don’t we do it too?”

We live in a very complicated moment, not because we are forced to stay at home, but because everything begins to be more difficult, from staying at home, to not being able to work, to the difficulties that every category, every social class, has in this moment and we hope to get out of it soon. We as artists, we are helping our category, with other artists, we are preparing a project, to raise funds and help those in our category, who have been hit hard, speeches of shows that we do not know if they will be able to be made, will be the time that will tell us.

I want to reiterate thanks to the Municipality of Rome, to the mayor, to Friends & Partners who will produce this show with us, to Thomas, and we say “See you on June 5th.” and thank you very much to everyone for being connected in the internet and for being here . (applause)

GA = Well, we will start a short question and answer session shortly, from the many questions that are coming up from reporters. Many are of a slightly technical nature, you wonder what the stage will be like, if there will be sessions or not, in this regard I would like to call Ferdinando Salzano, founder of Friends & Partners and co-producer of the event. We know it’s a work in progress now, but we think you can anticipate something.

Time to sanitize the microphone. (they are very loyal to the rules)

MAYOR = Guys, if you want to improvise !!

GIANLUCA = The final piece of E PIÙ TI PENSO, we can do it a cappella (he asks the other two).

SALZANO = Hello everyone, quickly, because I think it is better to leave room for questions.

First of all, a big compliment to the mayor, because it takes great audacity today to announce a live event.

I work as a producer, and the journalists, both those present and those who are online, know perfectly well what is happening, in a specific matter in the world of music.

This is really a great gesture of trust, in the sense that I am living it like this. The latest decree law that obviously affected many sectors, but in the case of ours, it also affected the impossibility of being able to work in the coming months, so December and January, even with COVID capacity, so it is an important law decree, probably, indeed certainly necessary, but very painful for the entertainment world.

Today’s announcement, aside from the thanks, I felt I was paying a compliment for the audacity, and also for the audacity of Il Volo.

Very quickly, this will be a great event. Il Volo is used to great events, and in these years that we have worked together, there have been wonderful occasions. However, I think this event has connotations and colors of great event for many reasons, those you have already told but I add another one, the date of June 5th, I like to think that it becomes a symbolic date, compared to the great live events that Rome will have, to think that this great street event, in an extraordinary location of enormous international value, could almost become the opening for our rebirth. We hope it is.

It will be a great local event, but not only, surely, mayor, we will have television, there will be a great live TV, after many months, we are not able to say which TV but we believe it will be the most important network and therefore easily guessed (Rai1).

It will therefore be a great television event that will also see the participation of many guest friends, who certainly Il Volo, as they always have done, manage to attract, also given their capacity for empathy, with everything that is the musical world.

Obviously I close, thanking Il Volo and Michele Torpedine, who I hope is following us, for the trust and for the possibility of being able to accompany them again on this beautiful and extraordinary journey. Thank you. (applause)

GA = Thank you, we still have some questions coming from the journalists connected in streaming. The first question is for Il Volo, but if the mayor allows me I would ask her too.

Simone from ALL MUSIC ITALIA, asks which is the Ennio Morricone soundtrack you are most attached to. I don’t know if you have a different answer or if you have a common answer.

PIERO = Since the idea of the project was born, we have had a marathon of films in which there has been the soundtrack of Maestro Morricone. Personally, the one I prefer, but it is difficult to find one, I would say MALENA, apart, a few months ago, we had the opportunity to meet the extraordinary Monica Bellucci (actress who played Malena).

GIANLUCA = Probably my favorite is GABRIEL’S OBOE from the movie Mission, surely it will be on the album, sung.
Yes, that’s my favorite and CINEMA PARADISO too.

IGNAZIO= I never remember the names, but it’s L’ESTASI DELL’ORO (The Ecstasy of Gold from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly), and I heard it as an introduction, even from Metallica (band)

GIANLUCA = It is not said that we could do such a thing too.

MAYOR = So we start to have some small previews too, I would say.

For me, I must say that it is the pillar of THE MISSION so far. The truth is that all these music have the ability to move something inside, they speak directly to the belly, to the head, to the emotion, I believe it also depends on the mood of each of us. It happens to get excited with different music, depending on the moment and for THE MISSION, I’d say it’s her, but I don’t exclude the others.

PIERO = Seeing the films, commented with the music of Maestro Morricone, pushed us a little to express those emotions we felt with singing.

A few days ago, there was a man on TV, who said a very interesting thing, that music is perceived on the right side of our brain, the lyrics, on the left side, so a song, a melody sung, takes it all the brain, therefore for this reason it expresses emotions, It is a very interesting thing for a musician, for those who live with music, and it struck me a lot.

GIANLUCA = Yes, and then we want to remember that in 2011 we sang a song by Ennio Morricone, it was a medley of ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA and MALENA, the song entitled E PIÙ TI PENSO and maybe we sing a piece, what do you say? (to Piero and Ignazio)

(Piero Ignazio and Gianluca sing a cappella a piece by E PIÙ TI PENSO. Applause !!)

GA = Thank you very much for this surprise, this thing was not prepared.

GIANLUCA = It is the first time that we sing with masks.

MAYOR = But the test is more than successful, apart from the mask, it was crazy.

GA = Absolutely, it gave us goosebumps, thanks guys, thanks for the surprise.

I’m looking at the phone not out of rudeness, but because I’m reading the journalists’ questions online, Andrea Spinelli of QN, has a question for Ignazio, he asks if you can already tell us something about the project in support of the entertainment world you mentioned before?

IGNAZIO = Spinelli is always curious, he always wants to know everything. It is a project we are still working on, I don’t feel like saying much, because it is being born these days: We have received messages from artists such as Shade, Fedez, Ermal Meta (Italian singers) and we are preparing a great project, everything is still boiling. in the pot”, so I don’t feel like saying more.

GA = A message from Angela Calvini dell’Avvenire arrives live, asking if you already have a rough schedule, or if it is still a work in progress.

IGNAZIO = It is a work in progress, we are working both on the live and on the record.

PIERO = It will be difficult to find a compromise on what to sing, because they are all extremely beautiful melodies.

Now we are working with the producers of this recording project, because at the same time or a few days before the event, a record will be released, then a tour will follow, we hope to be able to do it, we hope that things go well. But now it’s all a work in progress, even for those who will be on stage: We have always tried to work big, many of our wishes have been spent thanks to our desire to do, our desire to never stop, but above all thanks to the help of the people who support us every day, the various people such as Ferdinando Salzano, Danilo Ciotti, our manager Michele Torpedine.

We are grateful to them because they have always given the possibility to these three boys, to realize almost impossible wishes, but thanks to them, thanks to their love and support, because apart from work, there is also the human relationship, and this makes us feel good.

GA = Thanks.

Carlotta D’agostino, of Spettacolo News, leaves the scope of this event for a moment for an interesting question.

In 2015, you opened the Monza Grand Prix (F1 car race) in front of a huge audience. Sunday will open the Imola Grand Prix, (Sunday 1 November Il Volo will sing the Italian Anthem as the opening of the Imola F1 GP), but the public will be reduced, because we are in a very different historical period. What will it be for you to sing the Inno di Mameli (Italian anthem) for this occasion?

GIANLUCA = If I’m not mistaken, the last time the Grand Prix was done was after the death of Senna (F1 driver).

IGNAZIO = In Imola.

GIANLUCA = Yes, in Imola it was the last time, after Senna’s death, if I’m not mistaken.

IGNAZIO = Yes, it has been years since there has been a GP in Imola.

But I think ….. we had the honor of singing for the Pope in Panama, and there were a million boys. During the mass, there were a million boys, but it is as if there were none.

GIANLUCA = It was World Youth Day.

IGNAZIO = Yes, it was WYD. Sometimes it doesn’t matter how many people or how full a place is, but what you feel at that moment does matter, surely there won’t be the same adrenaline, but we know that all sports fans will be there, in front of the screen watching a “ historic moment”, but not because we sing the anthem, but because Imola is a special circuit, in the memories of many fans of this sport of Formula 1, but above all many fans of Ayrton Senna, and therefore for us it will be very, very exciting , sing the hymn in that event.

PIERO = I wanted to add something about the Italian anthem, because in recent months we have often heard it sung from the windows.

The hymn is a signal of union, when we sing it, it is a signal of extreme sensation, clearly singing it together with the chorus of the audience, large or not, will be particular, because clearly, the text was drawn up in a past that we have not lived, but it teaches us that in moments of pride, difficult, particular, we are all united and we, and it shows in this moment that we are living. (applause)

GA = Thanks. Natalia di Stefano from Corriere della Sera asks, in the concert on June 5th, will music and image be in dialogue? Do you foresee videos with films set to music by Morricone?

IGNAZIO = We are working on it.

GIANLUCA = Yes, it’s all in the embryonic stage. We are working, but we absolutely wanted to announce this great project, but we will return to the studio, we are working on the scenography, on what will then be on stage.

We will aim for something big, even on the choice of songs. It will be easy to choose the songs already sung, like that of ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST, so on some songs there are already lyrics, on some not, but we are also working on this. We will certainly be giving details on this project very soon.

GA = Laura Frigerio of Back Home Music, asks if, since Morricone was an author of important pop pieces, do you foresee a lineup with soundtracks only or even a tribute to his pop songs?

GIANLUCA = Like SE TELEFONANDO.

IGNAZIO = Looking at all the songs that the maestro has arranged, we were surprised, because one of our songs, which we sang from the beginning is IL MONDO, and the first version, written by Jimmy Fontana and interpreted by him, the arrangement musical was by Morricone. So there will also be songs that have been part of the master’s life. There will not be only soundtracks.

GA = Well, last question.

Claudia Fascia from Ansa asks which authors you worked with on the lyrics on Morricone’s music and also, if you already have time, on the recording project.

IGNAZIO = Now, we’re always saying we’re working on it, because it’s the truth. As we have already said, we wanted to do this conference because the message is today THE MUSIC MUST NOT STOP, we already said it in a television program made with Salzano a few months ago. We are trying to keep the compositions of Maestro Morricone unique, so do not add lyrics to the soundtracks, but use the existing ones and collaborate with the family, to ensure that some soundtracks without lyrics, can then be with a melody sung with the text.

PIERO = It is clear that for this tribute, the location is there, we couldn’t wish for anything better. Today, eight months in advance, we can say it publicly, we extend the invitation to attend the event, in the audience and on stage, to all the characters, actors and musicians, who have had to deal with the Oscar-winning Maestro Morricone, composers, directors.

Therefore, it will be a tribute that the master deserves, a great night, a great evening, a great event dedicated entirely to him.

GA= Well, thanks everyone. I just have to thank all the journalists present, the journalists in streaming connection, the mayor Virginia Raggi, thank you very much for the time and availability you have shown us, the guys from Il Volo and allow me to send a big hug to Thomas. Thank you all.

Great news, and a great lecture.

I really liked the always right words, said by the boys.

It will be an amazing event in which we all hope to be able to participate.

We will follow all the great preparation step by step and will keep you informed.

Thanks to Il Volo, for this wonderful surprise !!

Daniela

Piazza Pio XII. The square is at the edge of the border with the Vatican, with the vision of Bernini’s beautiful colonnade and the magnificent St. Peter’s Basilica.

 

 

Credit to owners of all photos and videos.