As we previously announced, the Bologna-based daily newspaper IL RESTO DEL CARLINO celebrated its 140th anniversary and, to mark the occasion, organized events involving the newspaper and prominent figures. Today, Il Volo is ready to delve into the daily life of an important newspaper.
Editors for a day, Il Volo leads Qn-Carlino: “We’re looking to the younger generation.”
Gianluca Ginoble, Ignazio Boschetto, and Piero Barone for Il Carlino’s 140th anniversary. A journey through the news factory, from the paper reels to the editorial office.
(In the photo, Il Volo with the gift dedicated to Barbara Vitali. In the photo, Barbara and the writing “THANK YOU BARBARA”.)
Bologna, January 21, 2026 –
The three talents of Il Volo radiated genuine curiosity and a desire to learn and understand the world of print. Gianluca Ginoble, Ignazio Boschetto, and Piero Barone were guests at the Qn-Il Resto del Carlino headquarters yesterday, taking on the unique role of editors for a day. After their first steps through the building’s corridors, where reproductions of the newspaper’s front pages hang on the walls, the three artists took part in the morning editorial meeting.
“The true heritage we can nurture with passion and dedication, the true legacy we can leave for future generations, is to protect and safeguard Made in Italy: this term encompasses so much.Bel canto, in our case, but also fashion and everything that is most grand, deeply rooted, and noble in Italy and our history. This is what matters to us: protecting the authenticity of the country we bring around the world.”
“We,”the three added, “want to bring Italian bel canto to the stages where we perform, wherever we are. Because it’s an art form that must be passed down and protected. And this concept doesn’t just apply to music. For example, there’s been a lot of talk in the newspapers these days about the death of an icon of Italian fashion, Valentino Garavani (The famous designer Valentino died a few days ago). Well, we think it could be interesting to see how Valentino’s fashion, which brought Italy to the runways of every continent, has influenced trends. Therefore, how much Made in Italy has made its way, but also how much it has brought to Italy itself in terms of economic growth. These are the true legacies that would be interesting to talk about. Not about how much money someone has left as a legacy to who knows who, but how much that Italian personality has influenced and set an example, or even shaped the history, in part, of our beautiful country.”
Barone, echoed by Boschetto and Ginoble, then focused on the younger generations. “We’re a little afraid of misinformation,” they said. “We’d really like to see more and more young people interested in the news, in what’s happening, in current events. How rare is it to see young people flipping through a newspaper? It would be wonderful to be able to study the method, the ‘recipe’, for getting information to young people, to ensure they’re passionate about this world of information. Attending an editorial meeting shows us a lot: everyone has their say, everyone listens, and then, together, we work, as a true team, to find the best solution and create, every day, a good editorial product. One goal: to give the reader the truth.”
The morning continued with a vodcast in which Valerio Baroncini, deputy editor of Il Carlino, read fan questions to the three stars, and a tour of the printing presses. Il Volo received a gift of the commemorative book for Il Carlino’s 140th anniversary and two plates commemorating two key moments in their lives and careers: their victory at Sanremo in 2015 and the page dedicated to their longtime collaborator, Barbara Vitali, who died in an accident in July 2024 and is never forgotten.
IL RESTO DEL CARLINOwrites again:
Gianluca Ginoble, Ignazio Boschetto, and Piero Barone shed their global star personas to immerse themselves in the heart of our editorial office, amidst the presses and journalists’ meetings.
With genuine curiosity, the three artists from Il Volo launched a message of love for our country’s roots: “The true heritage to be protected and safeguarded is Made in Italy,” they explained, emphasizing how Italian excellence—from bel canto to the fashion of icons like Valentino Garavani—is the most noble and authentic image they carry around the world.
But the three “editors” also looked beyond the stage, focusing with concern on the new generations and the risk of misinformation.
“It would be wonderful to find the recipe to get young people passionate about current events and reading newspapers,” they commented, admiring the editorial team’s teamwork aimed at always offering readers the truth.
The day ended with a deeply emotional moment: the presentation of two commemorative plaques to celebrate the victory at Sanremo 2015 and to remember the unforgettable collaborator Barbara Vitali.
This beautiful photo taken in the corridors of the newspaper, the masthead announces the death of Giuseppe Verdi which occurred on January 27, 1901.
PIERO = Bologna is a city that allows you to be yourself. It has a unique way of welcoming people who weren’t born in Bologna. For me, it’s not a city I came to live in; I feel it’s my city.
IL VOLO IS DIRECTOR FOR A DAY
Today, the Carlino editorial staff hosted Gianluca Piero and Ignazio from Il Volo, who enjoyed the experience of being directors for a day.
They were warmly welcomed by the newspaper, which honored them with special gifts to celebrate this unprecedented collaboration between music and information.
The highlight was their participation in the editorial meeting: the three artists got to know the craft.
Talking with journalists, they shared opinions and ideas on news selection: a total immersion in the life of the newspaper.
QUESTION = What newspaper would you like? What would you like to read?
PIERO = To understand the importance of reading a newspaper. I believe there’s misinformation today, many people, especially young people, aren’t used to reading the newspaper. In fact, it’s a novelty to see a young person reading the newspaper. Attending this meeting today is like watching a team effort, a soccer team, a group. It’s important to see how each of you shares and listens to the words of others.
IGNAZIO = What’s worrying is that today we only hear news of divisions between human, political, and marital relationships.
What are we leaving to the next generation? The real question I ask myself when speaking about Italy is: will the authenticity of Italy be lost with the next generations? Will Bel Canto, in this case, be lost? Will Italian fashion be lost? Will a certain “healthy” politics be lost? I worry about seeing my son’s life reshaped when I’m gone or when he has to fend for himself. What will happen?
GIANLUCA = I’m also fascinated by the profession of journalism because, in reality, the search for truth is a lifelong mission. You also bring your sensitivity into play, the way you see the world based on the culture and society in which we grew up, in a country like Italy, which is extremely Catholic, where sometimes, to truly search for the truth, you have to free yourself from these superstructures, and it’s a job that perhaps takes a lifetime.
What I try to do is search for the truth, as perhaps IL RESTO DEL CARLINO can do, trying to be neutral, but offering an influence that aims to foster dialogue.
I’d say, as always, it was a beautiful, productive, and unique day for Piero, Gianluca, and Ignazio, who were able to immerse themselves in the evolution of an article, from its inception to publication.
As always, our guys were very attentive to everything that’s happening, and they offered very knowledgeable opinions.
It was a lovely visit, during which they also read the questions submitted by fans, but we don’t know anything about them yet, and we hope to hear about them soon.
Before I begin, let me say the cover picture on this story is my all-time favorite picture of the guys and believe me over the last four years I’ve gone through thousands upon thousands of pictures. Why this picture? Because this picture tells a story about Fifteen Years of a Lifetime! This picture is worth not a thousand words but ten thousand words.
Look at how proud they are! The smiles, the joy of sharing the stage with one another. When you’ve come this far you have to look to one another and ask how did we get here? How did we, just kids, succeed, and how do we continue the journey? This is a story that has it’s roots in Naro, Bologna and Montepagano. Three young boys came into this world with totally amazing, totally unique voices. They each were one of a kind.
Let’s take a look back a minute to their beginnings….
How did they find their way to the Ariston stage at the same moment in time. La Forza del Destino or the hand of God? It’s all the same, it’s the hand of God. I think God had a plan and He set it in motion, and it all came together one night on the stage of the Ariston theater during the 2009 season of Ti Lascio Una Canzone.
I’ve written about this many times and what I am saying is something that the guys have said many times. Faith, divine intervention brought them together.
For me, I see the day they sang together for the first time as the day their destiny was fulfilled. La Forza del destino (the force of destiny). I call it as I see it! This was God’s plan! His hand was always guiding each of these boys. How else could you explain how they happened to be in the same place at the same time? We’re not just talking about three teenage boys with nice voices, we’re talking about three teenage boys with phenomenal voices. Very unique voices! Truly one-of-a-kind voices! Their voices are like no other voices in the world. Am I saying they are the greatest singers in the world? Yes! They are touched by the hand of God!
It wasn’t just that the voices were extraordinary, no, it was that they complemented one another. It was natural and it was apparent from the very first note that these voices worked well together and that their voices are in tune with one another. The first time they walked out on the stage, their fate was sealed.
So how is this possible? For me there is only one way to explain it! Before the Lord sent these three amazing men to earth, He said what this world needs are three voices that can bring joy to my people. So, He chose three loving couples and sent each one a son who would bring joy to the world through his voice!
Alone each voice is phenomenal. Together they are a symphony! Listen to their voices when they sing. Their voices come from every direction like a symphony orchestra that is forming the music around you!
I talked about their individual voices and discoveries many times. Usually when you talk about someone being discovered it goes something like, “I was standing on a street corner singing when….” No that isn’t what happened here. The reason they are so unique is because they were discovered as children. Very small children! Three, four years old. They really had those intense unmistakable voices very early on. A voice that makes you stop in your tracks and say, “Am I really hearing that voice coming from that child?” They were born with those voices.
Who could imagine that these three young boys who stepped on the stage of Ti Lascio Una Canzone would travel around the world, join renowned singers and immediately become a part of an industry which, in reality, is so hard to break into? Yes, it was La Forza del Destino that led them to America.
After singing with Piero and Ignazio Gianluca said, “I thought there were three hundred thousand boys singing like me, and instead that night I discovered that there are only two: Ignazio and Piero.” Of course, Gianluca was referring to the night they sang together for the first time on Ti Lascio Una Canzone.
What Gianluca realized in that moment was the uniqueness of their voices. So, let’s begin where it all began….
It is the fourth episode of Ti Lascio Una Canzone and the boys are given the music for O Sole Mio but in three parts. They thought it was strange because until then they were singing alone or doing duets.
They walked out on the stage, sang O Sole Mio and it was like they had been performing together for years. Absolutely flawless! Truly the hand of God. And so, it begins! And there is no turning back!
After that performance, things began to happen. Michele Torpedine would come into the picture and every big name including Universal would want to be a part of this great discovery!
Truly amazing things happened….
This video of them recording Tous le visages de l’amour brings us to the early days in the studio. So young but so talented! Listen to those amazing voices! Notes that take your breath away.
Ignazio recalls….
It was the beginning of 2010, our first time overseas. Destination Miami! What charm America! Everything was so different from Italy: the cars were different, the streets, the houses. I felt like I was in another world.
Immediately after Miami we went to Los Angeles. My first word? ‘Wow!’ Which was also what I said when I entered my room in one of the best hotels in the city, the InterContinental of Century City.
We were only three kids accompanied by our parents. We still did not know each other well. At the beginning I immediately started to connect with Piero. Perhaps because he is Sicilian like me and maybe because we always found the opportunity to make jokes and have fun. We especially enjoyed ourselves when we tried to make ourselves understood by people, since we spoke few words of English.
This was the first Photoshoot in LA. A Behind the Scenes treat!
But what were we doing in Los Angeles? We stayed there a week during which we were lucky enough to be part of the We Are the World 25 for Haiti with eighty of the most famous music stars in the world including Celine Dion, Lionel Richie, Santana and many others. After 25 years we all gathered together for We Are the World 25 for Haiti to collect funds for the earthquake victims of January 12th, 2010.
Can you even begin to imagine what it was like for these three teenagers to find themselves in the mist of some of the greatest entertainers in the music industry! I don’t think they even realized how amazing this event was and here they are a part of it! Remarkable, just like them.
In the beginning the idea of being one in three was something that the guys needed to learn about. They had to learn how to sing together. It was no longer this is your song, learn it and sing it. No, now it was, this is your part, your take, your phrase, learn it and sing it. They begin to understand how music and recording actually work. They were starting to learn about being three in the form of one. Sharing! And, if that wasn’t enough, they had to learn something even harder, how to get along with one another.
I’ve told you, in some of my stories, about the problems, the disagreements. This may seem unusual but in reality, it was not. You show me three teenage boys who can be thrown together and immediately like one another and totally agree with one another. No, that would never happen.
Soon things would change, America opened her arms and her heart to Il Volo….
PBS introduced Il Volo to America. You can say Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca grew up on PBS.
From their first concert on October 27, 2011, at the Detroit Opera House, they won the admiration of the American people and stole their hearts. PBS has been with the guys for every important event in their lives.
When they began, they introduced America to a new style of music. Operatic pop! A very different kind of music for teenagers. Their aim was to show young people how good this music is. They won over the children, parents and grandparents. They were an immediate sensation. America fell in love with them.
There’s no question that PBS played a major role in the career of Il Volo in America.
In 2013 the guys chatted with “Spotlight” producer Paul Larson just minutes before going on stage at Place des Arts in Montreal, Quebec. These were the early years. Larsen would come back seven years later to catch up with the guys!
In the beginning it wasn’t always easy for the guys but when they had a goal, they went for it! I keep going back to Ignazio’s words in the video, “This is Radio City! We hope, I hope, everyone hopes to go there to do a big concert for the American people.”
Back Then
What a dream! Who could possibly have thought that three Italian teenagers could have achieved this dream and stepped on to the stage at Radio City Music Hall and brought us all to absolute ecstasy with their voices!
And now!
Most entertainers want to perform at Radio City once in their lifetime! It’s a dream, it’s every entertainer’s dream! Our guys have done it year after year to sold out audiences! And every time is better than the last.
Five years had passed, and it was time to make a big courageous move….
Sanremo!
I’ll let the guys tell you what happened at Sanremo….
Ignazio….
The sixty-fifth edition of the Festival begins Tuesday, February 10th. We sing the second night, Wednesday the 11th. The strange thing is that normally my legs tremble before the performance, but mine trembled even after the performance! Perhaps too much adrenaline, it never happened before.
Piero….
Or maybe it was because we came back to the Ariston stage after going around the world. It was like coming home, because we experienced the beginning of our career here with Ti Lascio UnaCanzone. One thing that cannot be described: in Sanremo, in Italy, to sing and receive the applause of the Italian public. It cannot be explained.
Gianluca….
Can you imagine for me, this was also my birthday: I turned twenty on Ariston’s stage? Of course, I was moved in the end, and it was too much emotion to my sensibility to play bad jokes at times.
And then, we felt the pressure in the air. Even though I was optimistic, the tension was there.
Although we had taken care of the smallest details of the song, we had tried and tried again, and we had taken care of even the smallest details of the clothing. The first evening look more rock: total black with leather jacket.
Because when we do our work, too, the image matters.
Piero….
Count, of course that counts.
At this point the guys get off track reminiscing and Ignazio pulls them back to the story….
Ignazio….
Yes, but what does that have to do with it, Pie? We’re talking about Sanremo.
Ignazio continues….
Sanremo 2015, from 10th to 14th of February, we sang on the second evening, legs shaking, Gianluca’s birthday.
Piero….
And the criticisms we felt in those days? People at home voted for us, appreciated us, and journalists gave us votes that we thought were postponed until September, I also said this at the press conference after the victory. Five that flew (Bad votes given by critics). But we see that the criticisms have done us good.
Ignazio….
Can I do too, a criticism of you?
Piero…
Ah, tell me…
Ignazio
You interrupted me. I was about to tell the final. Can I continue?
In short, the final evening arrives, February 14th. I realize from the shirt that in a week we have eaten more than sung.
Unfortunately, or fortunately, I’m a boy who does not say cat if I do not have it in the bag, then until Carlo Conti said….
Piero….
And indeed, whoever wins does not know it until the end! Sorry, Igna Speak you!!!
Ignazio….
Until Carlo Conti said: ‘The winner of the Sanremo Festival 2015 is … Il Volo!,’ I said to the boys: ‘No, guys, we do not win, it’s difficult.’ And on the one hand I had Piero with shining eyes and on the other Gianluca with a smug smile as if to say: ‘Do not worry.’
Gianluca….
The truth is that I was right from the beginning, and no one has ever listened to me, ever. I believed it so much that, if you notice, maybe I’m the one with the least surprised look when Carlo Conti announces the winner. Then, of those moments, one remembers little, there is great confusion, emotion. It was a dream to be able to shout, ‘Thank you, Italy!’ from that stage. I looked at Sanremo as a child when there was Pippo Baudo, and I was there and won because people were on our side and it was a dream, I repeat even if I have already said.
The emotion was only when my grandfather told me almost in tears: ‘Who would have told me that in life I saw Modugno win at the Festival and then I saw you win.’
In short, Sanremo was just a dream that brought us many different emotions.
These three men proved you have to go after your dreams. This dream was different because it was not a dream that in the end would make them superstars; they already were superstars! Their dream was to follow their hearts and win the hearts of the people of Italy. That was the dream! It was the dream that would make absolutely no difference in their lives except for being close to the people they loved. So, they ran with it and started chasing the Lion until they caught him on February 14, 2015! That night they brought the Lion home along with the hearts of the Italian people.
In 2019 the guys decided to return to Sanremo. Their song Musica che resta ranked third at the Festival!
After ten years….
Just like the rest of the world, the guys had to postpone their concerts, go back to home and wait until there was some control over COVID-19. Their concerts were rescheduled.
As the guys go soaring into their second decade, they meet up again with Paul Larsen.
In the interview the guys said, “Larson invites us back to a simpler time, when “social distancing” was not a common term.”
Larsen’s second interview with Il Volo happened on January 30, 2020, backstage at Place Bell in Laval, Quebec. No one was talking about postponing shows back then. No one was wearing a mask. Larson sat less than six feet apart from the guys and chatted about their 10-year career, and their sixth PBS special, shot in beautiful Matera Italy.
Let’s move forward five years. So much happened over those years but most importantly these teenagers grew into amazing young men and the time came to expand their horizons.
In their first Raiuno live for TV concert in Verona, we noticed that the guys had matured in body and mind and their voices have gone to another level of magnificence!
We watched them grow but this is different. There’s a beautiful presence about them now. A certain elegance! After fifteen years they haven’t waned, they’ve increased in strength and intensity! There is a certain power in their voices that grabs you from the first note of the concert to the last.
Each guy has grown into his voice and is showing a maturity and style the likes of which men who are approaching the end of their careers can only have imagined!
Fifteen years of a lifetime! I use that expression a lot because each year was like a lifetime with them. They never seem to stop. Like in their last Latin American Tour. Not only were there concerts but there were also late-night recording sessions. Thanks to the genius of Ignazio who turned his hotel rooms into a recording studio. And when the tour was over, it still wasn’t over. It’s called bringing your work home. There were still the recordings to deal with. Yes, it’s a lifetime full of wonders. One can hardly imagine what goes on. The tour takes on a life of its own. It’s an experience which most entertainers will never know. Or should I say, “have the honor of knowing.” For our guys, work is honor!
For Il Volo, 2023 was about new beginnings! So now let’s go to where these new beginnings began. The best place to start is the televised concerts at Verona in May. The beautiful Frederica Panicucci who was the presenter of the Il Volo concert had this to say about what would happen that evening. “During the evening Il Volo will show unpublished moments with solos and duets they never performed before. It will be their way of showing their different personalities.”
Yes, Federica was right, that night was different because we’ve heard these voices before but not in the way we heard them that night. The guys introduced us to their personal feelings about their music.
A great example of this is in Ignazio’s words before both concerts:
In the first concert Ignazio said, “I’ve always loved great female voices….”
And in the second concert he said, “I will try to take a trip to the most beautiful female songs in the world tonight.
So let’s start with one of Ignazio’s solos….
So, it seems Ignazio still enjoys singing these (female) songs. And why wouldn’t he? He is the only one of the three that can sing that kind of song because they are songs that require a strong voice that is very clear, crisp and very lyrical and a lot of passion must be put into each song! I think I just described Ignazio’s voice! Let me add and, “very soulful!”
Next we met the real Gianluca in his rock mode and he introduced us to his feelings for Elvis, Sinatra, Dylan and the Beatles.
Piero brought us his perfect operatic voice. Whimsical and joyful. He has a great love and sincerity for this music. Opera is in his soul. He opens up that soul to us in these concerts with arias we have never heard him sing before.
During their solos, the other two guys sat on the side stage and listened. In these moments, we see the admiration these men have for one another. Truly amazing!
This was a nice way of presenting each of them.
I remember Piero saying, in his story, that when he did a solo he couldn’t wait for it to end when Ignazio and Gianluca would return. He has to love this new arrangement.
These concerts were different. They showed a beautiful evolution from where the guys were to where they are now. Their new direction! Their future!
This new arrangement is thrilling because there is a lot of feeling in the music. The songs they have sung from the beginning have always had feeling but in a different way.
Here we feel each man’s thoughts, ideas and mindset. In the soul of each man there is a longing to bring you their music unlike you’ve ever heard it before. It is the movement within their souls when they sing. They were restless to release these feelings and make you feel what they feel. They bring a feeling of sheer bliss to each note in each song. Think about expressing your feelings for someone you love. Put that to music and you have each guy’s mindset.
Amid a thousand points of light that sparkled like stars in the night sky, our guys were the brightest stars on the stage. They showed not just their love for one another’s music but their love and appreciation for the music of the other performers.
So where did this go? Individuality!!!
Their new concerts are giving us the opportunity to look into the heart of our guys through their music. It allows us to see them in a deeper and more personal way.
Their idea of “individuality” was not to dissuade you from one or the other. No, in fact, they want you to take a closer look at the other guy. Not to compare but to understand their individuality!
You may have found that some of the music they are singing now you like more than what they were singing or vis versa! It’s called taking a closer look!
Il Volo is magic, and that magic is on the stage, in the concert halls, in Arenas and Amphitheaters, on TV, in videos and CD’s but the true magic of Il Volo is in our hearts!
So it only made sense that in 2024, they would return to Sanremo in a new light in a new direction!
Their video won best video at Sanremo 2024! Their song should have won Sanremo! The song is spectacular! The voices are spectacular! They outperformed every entertainer at Sanremo 2024!
I know they went there with no great expectations. I know they wanted to celebrate fifteen years together on the Ariston stage, but they deserved to win! Some things never change. I know they were happy regardless of the results, as well they should be because they are the ultimate performers. When they are on the stage they give their all. And they have shared Fifteen Years of a Lifetime with all of us and from the bottom of our hearts we thank them!
And let’s not forget, Capolavoro went Gold!
Congratulations guys!
Join me next week as I go back Through the Fields of My Mind and open the door to a new adventure!
The guys new Album Ad Astra is out. It’s available on Spotify, Amazon etc.
When you start to read this story you’re going to say, “Susan lost her mind. Shouldn’t she have written this story before the last story?”
No, I haven’t lost my mind, I held the story because this week on February 7th, is the beginning of Sanremo Festival 2023.
Now I know this is an old story and everyone knows it but, no, not everyone! The new fans, and there are many, know the guys won Sanremo but they don’t know how it came to be. So, for you old fans out there, I ask for your patience while the new fans hear the amazing story of Sanremo.
When I read Un’avventura Straordinaria, the guy’s biography, the story that I loved the most was the story of Sanremo. The decision by the guys to take on the Sanremo Festival. This story brought out their personalities, their differences and how they are so bound to one another that they could make the decision of a lifetime together even if it meant they could lose what was most important to them, their country and their people!
We know 2014 started out as a bad year, but suddenly things were happening. They were invited to sing at the Italian Senate. This was an event of immense importance for them. It said Italy was finally noticing them so, it only made sense that it was time to take a giant step!
So now I will flash back to Sanremo 2015 and Bringing the Lion Home
The lion for those who don’t know it is the Lion of Sanremo which is the award that the winner receives.
The Festival of Sanremo is a singing event held annually in Sanremo, Italy during the winter season. It is the most famous pop music event in Italy and a major media event on Italian television.
It currently takes place at the Teatro Ariston between late February and early March. The festival is essentially a singing competition among performers presenting original songs in premiere, never performed publicly before, composed by Italian authors, and voted by juries and/or by popular vote.
The winner of the 2015 Sanremo festival was Il Volo with the song, Grande Amore!
But this story doesn’t start with Sanremo, nor does it end there! Sanremo was the door opener!
They will tell you that the decision to go to Sanremo was a good one but, in contrast going to Eurovision may not have been their best decision. My reply, going to Eurovision was an excellent decision!
Let’s see how these decisions were made and what path they chose….
The Decision
So where do you begin to make the decision. Well, you have to start with….
Who’s in and who’s out!
Who’s in?
From day one, Gianluca wanted to go. He was so convinced that they would win that he never backed down from it. He had no doubt in his mind that they would win.
Who’s out?
Always the pessimist, Ignazio. He said “No, we can’t win. It’s too hard.”
So that leaves Piero! Piero at first was not on board but Gianluca persuaded him. Gianluca said, “No one trusted, no one believed it. It was I who persuaded Piero to persuade Ignazio to go to Sanremo. Because I told them: ‘Guys, if we go, we’ll win it, I’m sure, I’m sure’”.
Piero said, “We said to ourselves: ‘Guys, make it or break it, in the end, we were not anyone here in Italy, at most we would not be anyone even afterwards.’”
Decision made! It’s official the guys go to Sanremo!
Then there’s the second problem, the song!
At Sanremo you must perform an unpublished song. How do you begin to find such a song?
Now this is the part of the story that’s really interesting and sometimes funny! Oddly enough, the one who wanted this the most was the one who did not agree to the song. I so enjoyed listening to this dialogue between the guys. This is where we begin to hear the guys make important decisions together. They’re really good. When they begin, they’re not agreeing but as time goes by…. well, why don’t I let them tell you how they finally got to Sanremo….
The Song
Gianluca:I did not agree to go with that piece. If I think about it now, I’ll say that the next time I must reflect better before judging, try to sing a song and then judge because our voices change the songs. We arrange them by cutting them on our voice, and I did not take this fact into consideration. The song when we first listened to it was not very ugly!
Ignazio:It’s not that we’ve heard only that, no. Do you think it is easy to choose a piece for Sanremo? We started to do a search and a selection of unpublished tracks. Our policy was: either we go with something strong, or we do not go, right?
One day this song comes to us through Michele: Grande Amore by Francesco Boccia and Ciro Esposito, two Neapolitan authors. As usual, I am pessimistic. I listen to it, and it does not make me crazy. Not even Gianluca was convinced. The only enthusiast was Pie …
Piero (interrupts):I loved ‘Grande Amore!’ I did not believe that we would have won, but I was the one who pushed, I and Michele pushed for ‘Grande Amore’ because the audition that we heard was not beautiful, but we imagined it if it was made by Celso Valli and, I must say that we had guessed right.
Ignazio (interrupts):And I said it too if you let me talk. I was saying, in fact, that ‘Grande Amore’ was not as we hear it today. It was always called ‘Grande Amore,’ but it was totally different. So, we start to think: who can produce the piece? And Michele calls the great Celso Valli. After several weeks of work in the studio, we manage to churn out a song that could leave its mark at the Sanremo Festival.
Gianluca (interrupts): That’s why when we left for Sanremo I was very convinced we had the piece, the right project.
Piero:He wanted to influence us, but we are superstitious ….
Gianluca:Every day at lunch and dinner with Michele and the president of Sony, I say: ‘Guys, we will win Sanremo.’
Piero (interrupts):Do you know what a week like this means?
Ignazio:Piero and I were all day touching iron and the low parts. Gianluca was convinced that the little lion would be ours? And the two of us tried to keep the situation under control.
Gianluca (interrupts):What should I tell you? I am an optimist. They took it something like ‘he makes fun of us,’ but I felt it inside. I do not know why.
So many interruptions! Ignazio, before he was interrupted, was about to tell us about the first night they sang.
Ignazio:The 65th edition of the Festival begins on Tuesday, February 10th. We sing the second night, Wednesday the 11th. The strange thing is that normally my legs tremble before the performance, but mine trembled even after the performance! Perhaps too much adrenaline, it never happened before.
Piero (interrupts):Or maybe it was because we came back to the Ariston stage after going around the world. It was like coming home, because we experienced the beginning of our career here with Ti Lascio una Canzone. One thing that cannot be described: in Sanremo, in Italy, to sing and receive the applause of the Italian public. It cannot be explained.
The Wardrobe
Gianluca:Can you imagine for me this was also my birthday? I turned twenty on the Ariston stage! Of course, I was moved in the end, and it was too much emotion to my sensibility to play bad jokes at times. And then, we felt the pressure in the air. Even though I was optimistic, the tension was there.
Although we had taken care of the smallest details of the song, we had tried and tried again, and we had taken care of even the smallest details of the clothing. First evening look more rock: total black with leather jacket. Because when we do our work the image matters, too.
I really wanted to use the video of “Ancora” at Sanremo but I couldn’t get it to work so, instead I chose the one from Verona. Amazing no matter where they sing it!
Piero (interrupts):Count, of course that counts. But do you remember how we were dressed before? I remember that time at Una Notte per Caruso, in July 2009, it was the second time we saw Torpedine. Michele arrives with another white Range Rover, not that of Jesolo, and as soon as he arrives, we do not even say hello and we go to see the car. Let’s run, let’s open the car. Ignazio immediately goes up to the car. We went crazy for cars, one like that, we did not see every day. The day after we go for a ride in downtown Sorrento, a shopping trip, and we enter Gucci’s. Michele spent almost two thousand euros and we with that written number at the counter, we exclaimed: “Mizziga! (Damn!) Two thousand euro” with wide eyes. And we still have those clothes, at least I personally still have them.
He had bought us a jacket, but above all the need for us to dress all in white and blue. I had the blue jacket and the white shirt, Gianluca had blue trousers and white shirt, Ignazio the blue shoes and everything else white, Michele the blue jacket. And we took a picture in front of the hotel.
Gianluca (interrupts):We were just dressed badly to be singers by trade, we were children, we came from families of workers. What could I buy? There was not even the need.
Piero (interrupts):And then you remember the restaurant? Afterwards we went to a restaurant near the sea. When we finished eating, the three of us took off our shoes and ran to the beach. Michele ran behind us telling us: ‘Guys, calm down. Guys, slow down.’
At this point Ignazio loses his patience.
Ignazio: YES, but what does that have to do with it, Pie? We were talking about Sanremo. What has Sorrento got to do with it?
The Performance
Ignazio gets the conversation back on track!
Sanremo 2015, from the 10th to 14th of February, we sang on the second evening, legs shaking, Gianluca’s birthday.
(This video has English subtitles.)
Among the many interviews, the diary that we kept every day for TV Sorrisi e Canzoni … We had fun with the diary!
It was a sort of ‘pill.’ A very few minutes, in which we recorded from the 9th to 14th of February. We talked about some of the emotions we felt. For example, the time that Gianluca almost stumbles on stage or the happiness of seeing the audience get up and applaud the first night we sang ‘Grande Amore.’ The recording, then, went online on the site of the magazine.
What was I saying? Ah, yes, among the many interviews, the diary that we kept every day for TV Sorrisi e Canzoni, meetings and press conferences …
Piero (interrupts):And the criticisms we felt in those days? People at home voted for us, appreciated us, and journalists gave us votes that we thought were postponed until September, I also said this at the press conference after the victory. Five that flew (bad votes given by critics). But we see that the criticisms have done us good.
Ignazio:Can I do a criticism of you?
Piero:Ah, tell me…
Ignazio:You interrupted me. I was about to tell the final. I can continue?
The Win
Ignazio:In short, the final evening arrives, February 14th. I realize from my shirt that in a week we have eaten more than we sang. Unfortunately, or fortunately, I’m a boy who does not say cat if I do not have it in the bag, then until Carlo Conti said….
Piero (interrupts):And indeed, whoever wins does not know it until the end! Sorry, Igna’. Speak you!!!
Ignazio:Until Carlo Conti said: ‘The winner of the Sanremo Festival 2015 is … Il Volo!’ I said to the boys: ‘No, guys, we do not win, it’s difficult.’ And on the one hand I had Piero with shining eyes and on the other Gianluca with a smug smile as if to say: ‘Do not worry.’
Gianluca:The truth is that I was right from the beginning, and no one had ever listened to me, ever. I believed it so much that, if you notice, maybe I’m the one with the least surprised look on my face when Carlo Conti announces the winner. Then, of those moments, one remembers little, there is great confusion, emotion. It was a dream to be able to shout, ‘Thank you, Italy!’ from that stage. I look at Sanremo as a child, when there was Pippo Baudo, and I was there and have won because people were on our side and it was a dream, I repeat even if I have already said. The emotion was only when my grandfather told me almost in tears: “Who would have told me that in life I saw Modugno win at the Festival and then I saw you win?”
Taking the conversation back, I have to say, to me this was the best conversation we could listen to. They disagree, they find middle ground, and they agree but, most importantly they listen to one another and that’s what makes the bond so great!
In the end Gianluca said:In short, Sanremo was just a dream that brought us many different emotions.
This story was so important because the guys started on the Ariston stage as three teenagers, on Ti Lasc io Una Canzone, went around the world gaining success everywhere along the way, only to come back to the Ariston Theater to win not only Sanremo but the hearts of the Italian people; the one thing they wanted from the beginning!
Over those six years between Ti lascio Una Canzone and Sanremo, the guys sang in concerts hall around the world. Their songs went gold and platinum. They won many awards including the Latin American Music Award’s Latin Pop Albums Artist of the Year for a duo or group. They sang with people like Barbara Streisand and joined some of the best singers in the music industry for “We Are the World Haiti” but what they wanted more than anything was to be accepted in their own country and they did that by coming back to their beginnings! Going full circle and taking a big chance paid off on the Ariston Stage for the second time.
As the winners of Sanremo, the guys went on to Eurovision. They came in third. They saw it as a loss but, I saw it as a win because here the press came out for them awarding them the Marcel Bezencon Press Award. The press has spoken!
As Italy is a member of the Big Five, the guys went straight into the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest, which was held in Vienna on May 23rd, 2015. “Grande Amore” came in 3rd with 292 points but, they won the televote with 366 points and the Marcel Bezencon Press Award, as best song according to the collective voting of the accredited press.
And, the extended play “Sanremo Grande Amore” was released in Italy on February 20th, 2015, and it was certified triple platinum by FIMI.
When the guys won Sanremo 2015 they felt they had finally achieved their dream to be number one in the hearts of the Italian people!
Against all odds they pulled it off. The part of the story the guys missed was about the Italian people. They were always on their side. Even when they were traveling around the world and hoping to perform concerts in Italy, the Italian people were always waiting for them. The press was against them but never the people. They wanted them home as much as they wanted to go home.
How does Michele Torpedine sum up our guys….
These three guys have very clear ideas and I have never seen them impressed in front of audiences that many would shake their legs. I never heard a wrong attack, and if some inconsistency arose that made something happen professionally, they knew how to handle the problem at the origin. They are always extraordinary, their voices grow with them, they mature in body and soul. There is no other team or artistic team so complete.
I couldn’t have said it better myself!
So, we find the guys on February 14, 2015, Bringing the Lion Home.
Join me next week as I go back Through the Fields of My Mind and open the door to a new adventure!
For your listening pleasure – Il Volo Concert Verona 2015
If you would like to share a story with me, please e.mail: susan.flightcrew@yahoo.com
To read more Il Volo stories visit us at www.ilvoloflightcrw.com
This episode of Porta a Porta was supposed to air in February, but due to the war in Ukraine it has always been postponed.
Last week, with no ads and no announcements, it aired after midnight. Here is the episode and what has been said.
Please click on the photo below to view the video.
VESPA = We are approaching Eurovision, in Turin, the great music festival, and we are going there, remembering Il Volo, the boys of Il Volo, which we baptized here more than 10 years ago.
Let’s open this segment with the guys from Il Volo who will come here, in the studio, with us, and with this clip, Il Volo introduces itself.
(begins a video that traces many moments of Il Volo’s career. Immediately after, Il Volo, in the studio, sings “SE”).
Il Volo, celebrates more than 10 years of success at Porta a Porta. Piero Barone, 29 years old, Ignazio Boschetto, 28 years old, and the plague, Gianluca Ginoble, the worst of all, who runs away, cannot be found, is undisciplined, messy😁(he says it in a benevolent tone), but he is only 27 years old that we have to do??
GIANLUCA= I’m the youngest, by the way I just turned 27, just last week.
IGNAZIO= He is the smallest! (Maybe he also says it in a double sense, he also means height) 😁
PIERO = So, I’m the oldest at the table.
VESPA = Madonna, how old are you.
IGNAZIO = Can we sit down?
VESPA = Sure.
PIERO = Bruno, what did I tell you a little while ago?
VESPA + PIERO = The promises are kept. (They had promised to return soon to Porta a Porta)
VESPA = Look, I know it takes a long time . We love you so much, you love us so much, we have brought each other luck ….
PIERO = This program brings good luck, you were the first to invite us and tell everything we were doing outside (means outside Italy).
IGNAZIO = I can say that your program and you were the first person and the first (Italian) program who believed in us, and never took us for granted. We always have Porta a Porta and you in our hearts.
VESPA = Thanks, thanks, thanks.
After two years of hiatus due to the pandemic, who would have said it would last that long, seven thousand people sent home to Los Angeles (he refers to the canceled concerts) and now, go home and then in June ….
PIERO = Exactly, we will start in May from Japan (they didn’t go, I remind you that this episode was recorded in February), in June there will be concerts in Italy, we start from the Arena di Verona, 3 and 4 and maybe … . (implies that there might have been another date) ….
IGNAZIO = Yes, because we have been postponing it for two years
PIERO = Two years, and it seems that we are finally leaving…
VESPA = How many concerts in Italy?
PIERO = In Italy, there will be more or less 15 concerts, I don’t know exactly it’s all in the planning phase.
VESPA = And then instead in autumn: United States …..
PIERO = Autumn: September US, South America will follow and we will return to Japan, then concerts in Europe, we have to recover two years of work.
VESPA = There are many people waiting for you.
Well, we first heard “SE”, taken from the movie “Nuovo Cinema Paradiso”, now we listen to “Ecstasy of Gold” beautiful music by Morricone …
IGNAZIO = Then we also have Clint Eastwood here in the studio (he jokes referring to Gianluca, applause)
GIANLUCA = You two are targeting me, I understand.
VESPA = You have to go straight (a way of saying to be good)
GIANLUCA = I’m going straight, I’m the most restless one, right?
VESPA = Let’s hear these guys (Ecstasy of gold video starts).
This splendid video was filmed in Sardinia, “Il Volo Sings Morricone”, released on November 5th and distributed all over the world. But now we have to go back nine years, you are celebrating 10 years.
IGNAZIO = Yes, we have been celebrating this for two years now (laughter).😁
GIANLUCA = The celebrations never stopped.
VESPA = But you were just out, remember, we took you that you were in swaddling clothes, very small.
GIANLUCA = We have always been a little kids, now almost men.
VESPA = You were kids on December 17, 2013.
PIERO = We were here.
VESPA = Here, at Porta a Porta, let’s see. (a video of Porta a Porta starts and the boys sing “Un Amore così Grande”)
You were really little, and you had already been to America, however, you came from America.
IGNAZIO = We came from America. I remember.
PIERO = What is 2017?
VESPA + IGNAZIO = 2013
VESPA = (Turning to Piero) You looked the youngest, you looked really small, small …
PIERO = I didn’t have a beard, that tuft, a little restyling was done.
GIANLUCA = Before, when we were a little younger, people liked us , because we were child prodigies, in short, who sang with a different voice than our peers, we dressed a little like “grown-ups”.
Today it’s the other way around, see? (touches his beardless face) Today one takes off his beard and wants to look younger.
IGNAZIO = You take off your beard because you want to look younger. 😁
PIERO = He must always speak in the plural.😁
GIANLUCA = As a child you want to look older, do you see how we were dressed? We were dressed in our thirties there.
VESPA = Can I tell you something? Only once in my life did I feel old … who knows why at 27, at your age (talk to Gianluca)
GIANLUCA = Is it true?
VESPA = You saw, we had the same feeling, and now you are rejuvenated.
GIANLUCA = You can see that at 27 we Abruzzo feel “old”.
VESPA = At 27 we hear it and then we don’t !!
PIERO = The crisis of the 27th year.
VESPA = Yes, the 27th year crisis. (laughter) 😁
So, you then moved on to the theme songs of the television novels.
PIERO = For this you have to talk to Ignazio.
VESPA = Ignazio !
IGNAZIO = But I’ve always had a passion for writing music, I was in Sicily, and I remember I was sitting on the veranda, and the melody came out. So I carried it on and Makari was born.
VESPA = But during Covid?
IGNAZIO = Yes, it was that summer that seemed ….
VESPA = …. that things would return to normal?
IGNAZIO = Yes, like baby candy, right?😁
VESPA = Exactly.
IGNAZIO = And then I found myself writing this melody, and then, with Danilo Ciotti, our collaborator, we presented this song to the Palomar family, who are the producers of Makari, and so it all started.
VESPA = And it went well, let’s hear it. (begins the video of the song Makari)
And good Ignazio!
IGNAZIO = Thanks.
VESPA = Five million viewers!
IGNAZIO = Oh yes.
VESPA = It went really well. What did you three do during the two years of Covid?
(he turns to Gianluca) What have you done?
IGNAZIO = He took off his beard! 😁
GIANLUCA = But no! We decided not to live them passively, trying to stimulate creativity. I learned a little to play the piano, I accompanied me while I sang, it was my wish.
Then I studied acting a little. We reinvented ourselves, we thought of new projects. Morricone’s project was born thanks to two years of silence.
VESPA = (he turns to Ignazio) And what about you?
IGNAZIO= You think, I lost weight in the pandemic, and then I gained weight, when everything was sorted out (I think he meant that he had lost weight around the time of his father’s passing away).
I found love.❤ I studied a lot in the studio, and I improved.
VESPA = Did love distract you a lot?
IGNAZIO = Absolutely not!
VESPA = Did the love train you? Has it invigorated you?
It makes you dream, breathe ….
IGNAZIO = Love is beautiful when it makes you feel good, I’m fine. 😘
GIANLUCA = (to Vespa) You know it’s nice to see you in this role, I don’t see you asking about Meloni’s love (she is a political representative)(Gianluca means that: Porta a Porta is a program that deals with many topics, even political ones, often guests are politicians and they are not asked about their loves, of course) 😁
VESPA = You rather, you sentimentally, how are you doing?
GIANLUCA = I’m in love, I found love too last year, on the red carpet of the Venice Film Festival, think, what a story, like a fairy tale, do you realize? ❤
VESPA = Mamma mia! (and then turns to Piero)
IGNAZIO = Piero never talks (about the subject of love)
VESPA = I don’t want to invade privacy
PIERO = I like privacy, I prefer to live it for myself.
VESPA = …. live it for yourself, so is there a story? ….
PIERO = I mean my private life, for me my private life remains private ….
IGNAZIO = (he comes to his friend’s rescue by trying to change the subject) Morricone was a great project, we worked hard 😁😁😁
VESPA = Look at these (Ignazio and Gianluca) talking. What happened during Morricone?
IGNAZIO = Look, I’m perhaps the wrong person if you want to know something, I have a concrete stomach.
PIERO = About what?
IGNAZIO = On private lives, our gossips.
PIERO = In these two years we have had more time at our disposal, we have always had a hectic life, we have committed all our energies to Ennio Morricone’s project because you know, facing this world requires a lot of study, a lot of research and many thanks to the family of Ennio Morricone.
We have to thank his son, Andrea Morricone, also a great conductor, we had great support from him, he was like our compass, the world of Ennio Morricone is infinite and thanks to our producers and our team we have created Il Volo Sings Morricone, we also gave you vinyl for Christmas….
VESPA = Beautiful, beautiful, thank you!
PIERO = ….. we are delighted to have given voice to Morricone’s melodies, hoping that people are satisfied.
IGNAZIO = Can I add a little thing? At the beginning, perhaps we did not have a great knowledge of Ennio Morricone’s culture.
Once we thought about carrying on this thought, this idea, we immediately began to study, to understand who Morricone really was, because we had the opportunity to meet him in 2010, when we recorded our first album, and we had the opportunity to share the stage with him in 2011, but now we were more interested in understanding who he was and when we entered his world it was like taking a dip in a pool full of culture and emotions, full of feelings who always have something in store for you, it’s hard to explain!
VESPA = Now let’s see a video about who the three guys from Il Volo are all the way through. Come on.
IGNAZIO = Help! (part of a video with images of Il Volo a Porta a Porta)
In the video:
WOMAN’S VOICE = It’s been 10 years since Ignazio Boschetto, Piero Barone and Gianluca Ginoble came to visit us for the first time in Porta a Porta, at the dawn of their success.
Ten years in which Il Volo reached unimaginable heights, first, the enormous success in the US, with the invitation of Quincy Jones at the concert for Haiti, with stars of the caliber of Barbra Streisand, Bono and Lady Gaga, the transmission of Hellen De Generes and the lighting of the Christmas tree at the Rockefeller Center.
Then the consecration in Italy with the victory at the Sanremo Festival in 2015, a real triumph, so much so that Grande Amore, reaches 110 million views worldwide (now there are over 215 million views), and drags the trio to third place in the prestigious Eurovision Song Contest, where they are the most voted by the public.
That year we also accompanied them to New York, touching on their popularity, their kindness, their uncommon values, namely: bel canto, family, principles, sobriety, education and respect, especially among themselves, nothing that is taken for granted nowadays.
In the span of a decade they bring the Italian classics all over the world, modernizing them, without upsetting them, it is the boys in sneakers who sing Nessun Dorma and O Sole Mio, to use their words.
They also have the honor of singing in front of Pope Francis and over a million people in Panama on the occasion of World Youth Day.
Even during the health emergency, they continue to make all their fans feel the warmth, participating in the most important international streaming reviews, with a great sense of community and responsibility.
And now, as a sign of rebirth and hope, their world tour is about to start, 110 dates around the world, to celebrate their first 10 extraordinary years of career, an eagerly awaited reunion with the public, to continue to proudly bring Italy and its beauty around the world.
VESPA = We have taken the baton from Aunt Antonella, Antonella Clerici, (Ti Lascio Una Canzone).
GIANLUCA = We greet you with great affection.
VESPA = With great affection. But you, when did you get together?
IGNAZIO = We met on that TV show, (Ti Lascio Una Canzone), we didn’t know each other before ….
VESPA = Where did you go to sing separately ….
IGNAZIO = We met for the auditions in Rome, in via dei Gracchi.
VESPA = Via dei Gracchi, but each one had gone on his own.
IGNAZIO = Yes, yes! Then in Sanremo, which was where the broadcast took place, we met and in the fourth episode we sang together for the first time (25/04/2009).
PIERO = …. O Sole Mio.
IGNAZIO = … yes, O Sole Mio.
PIERO = Excuse me.
IGNAZIO = But calculate that Gianluca, we couldn’t see him.
VESPA = Was Gianluca terrible?
IGNAZIO = Do you know when you create small groups at school of the normal ones, the quiet ones and the cool ones? 😁
He was part of the cool, but it showed (applause and laughter), then in the end he came in our way, understood!
VESPA = He has converted.
IGNAZIO = And so it all started from there.
VESPA = (to Gianluca) But why are they talking about you like that?
IGNAZIO = Because we love him after all, at the bottom, at the bottom …..😘
GIANLUCA = ….. but at the very bottom 😁.
But that was our strength right from the start, did you understand? (to be united). Not only artistically, it was the first time that children sang O Sole Mio.
But then I like to see these videos and remember those moments, because Bel Canto allows you to perform in unique places, but above all to support yourself in projects like Morricone, like in Placido Domingo, like the Maestro Vittorio Storaro who accompanied us on this adventure. We have the honor, at our age, to join these names in cinema and music.
VESPA = Then I will ask you to sing a piece of O Sole Mio, sitting here, so a cappella …
IGNAZIO = If Barone says yes, that’s fine !! 😁
VESPA = Is he the boss?
IGNAZIO = Yes yes, (he jokes) see how he is placed with his arms folded …..
PIERO = I’m listening!
I link to what you were saying, seeing these old videos is really exciting, but on a daily basis it is difficult to find the stimulus and clearly find ideas on what to do. We sang in front of the Pope ….. and now what do we do? And I must tell you that it is a team effort, especially with our manager Torpedine, Mr. Torpedine, he is the mind of this group, and now a little while ago we were looking at the images of last Christmas, we sang three songs in St. Peter’s Square , this year we did it from the Frasassi Caves, a magical place.
VESPA = You will go to Bethlehem.
PIERO = And next year, we are working, by now we are at a good point … (he looks at Torpedine to have approval of the news he is saying)
IGNAZIO = We are checking in.
PIERO = We will sing in front of the grotto of the Nativity in Bethlehem and all this, we must say, also thanks to the support of the Undersecretary for Culture, for whom in November, we will sing in the world meeting of ministers of culture.
VESPA = Beautiful, very beautiful.
PIERO = Yes, I have to tell you that they are very beautiful things.
IGNAZIO = Can I say something? I want to reach out more to young people, to those who, like us, try to send their message. Nowadays it is very easy to arrive, with social networks, with the internet, it is very easy.
VESPA = The problem is to stay.
IGNAZIO = The problem is to stay, and in any case we always tell everything we have done, because we are very proud and grateful ….
PIERO = Do you have an itchy mustache?
IGNAZIO = No, it helps me to think. 😁
PIERO = Ah, ok !!
IGNAZIO = …… and we are very grateful for everything that has happened to us, but in recent years it has not been all roses and flowers, there are moments …..
VESPA = When was the most difficult moment?
IGNAZIO = There are moments in an artist’s career where difficulties come, in our case it was in 2014, when L’Universal did not …..
PIERO = Clearly there has been a change between one record company and another, and therefore there have been three or four months of “darkness”, but I remember that our manager was very good at hiding this from us, we didn’t live in that period of anxiety, he was: ”Yes, yes, don’t worry, everything is fine, tomorrow I have a meeting”. Instead there was nothing.
IGNAZIO = This is to make it clear that yes, today it is very easy to get there, but maintaining oneself, building oneself, sacrifices, is all very important …
VESPA = When you were little I used to tell you: “Guys down to earth”.
IGNAZIO = Absolutely ….
VESPA = Never mount your head, NEVER, when you think you are something more, already what you are is already a lot, always fly low low ….. (Vespa is referring to not being full of oneself)
IGNAZIO = I wanted to say it here.
VESPA = I don’t remember, what happened in Sanremo in 2015!
IGNAZIO = What happened?
VESPA = Bho! Let’s see for a moment! (the video of Grande Amore in Sanremo starts). (At some point the video loses audio due to a problem raised by the composer).
VESPA = (He turns to Ignazio). Now you do it again (the final note and Ignazio does it)
(Ring the bell, enter Vittorio Storaro on the show.)
VESPA = We have to greet a great person: Vittorio Storaro. Vittorio, it’s a great pleasure to have you here, thank you. Three Oscars, please take a seat. You can take off the mask.
STORARO = Now it can be done, respecting the distances, the rules and the possibility of being careful, not only with the vaccine, but also with the distances and the embrace of well-vaccinated friends.
IGNAZIO = But that’s why I’m away from Gianluca, for nothing else. 😁 (he jokes)
GIANLUCA = He (Ignazio) is angry with me, he is angry with me master …
STORARO = He (Gianluca) has a great energy, it is the energy that we have that usually brings the affections too. But be careful not to lose it, with the distance.
IGNAZIO = In what sense?
GIANLUCA = You have to be careful.
IGNAZIO = No, no, I am like a magnet for him, we attract the two of us.
VESPA = Vittorio Storaro won three Oscars (photography award), 1980 for Frencis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, 1982 for Beatty’s Reds and Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Last Emperor in 1988.
Beyond these awards, even we reporters who have approached the cameras a few times, looking at the light of Vittorio Storaro, already looking at it, we have learned something.
We learned what is beautiful and what is ugly, and what is beautiful, you did it. And this was truly a great lesson.
STORARO = All this comes from the great studies of Hippocrates who studied the elements of life, the natural elements that arrived on our body, on our organism.
We see light, not only with the eyes, but with the whole body, we are a sensitive plate. Light is visible energy and therefore it reaches us with a certain frequency, and the more it touches us, the more it excites us.
VESPA = So ….. what do you have to do with Vittorio Storaro? What have you done together?
PIERO = The moment before I met Storaro, I wasn’t sure whether to give him the you, the her, or the you or theirs, I wanted to give theirs (he means that he was in awe of respect for Storaro), but we have one thing in common, we were born on the same day, different year, the 24th of June ….
STORARO = We are Cancer (zodiac sign).
PIERO = Maestro Storaro, before being a great artist is a great person, he transmitted so much, so much wisdom, and so much art to us and we have to thank him because, you know, sharing his experience, his art, his being, with three boys of 27 or 28 years, it is not obvious, it does not happen every day.
VESPA = You have put together Morricone’s music, the images of Storaro, Oscar winner …
IGNAZIO = Yes, because we have been trying to collaborate with Maestro Storaro for years and we never managed to find a just cause, deep and sincere, with great significance and this year, that is last year, that moment has come, it has come that idea.
VESPA = So let’s see this clip, Il Volo in the Caves …..
STORARO = Can I explain first a moment? Is useful.
VESPA = You’re welcome.
STORARO = It is true what Ignazio says, I had two Don Abbondio (he means two people who wanted to do this project … Don Abbondio is the character of the Promessi Sposi, a novel by Manzoni). Michele Torpedine called me, wrote to me every now and then to invite me to their concerts, he said, at least you know each other, it would be nice to make a video together.
While they were in Verona, I was in New York with Woody Allen, they went to New York, and I was always with Woody Allen in Spain or so on.
Then there was Maurizio Tosoroni who is the person in charge of the Frasassi Caves who asked me and Francesca (daughter of Storaro) who you know well, if we could conceive with modern technologies, and with a different creativity, that beautiful lighting they have the Frasassi Caves, which in this period of Covid were totally dark, totally closed and told me: “Why don’t we think about a project?”
The two Don Abbondio got together, they called me and I began to rehearse with lights, which we created together with Francesca related to the arts, because there was a phrase that struck me from our minister of culture, Dario Franceschini, that it is right to follow all the scientific warnings, medicines, vaccines, distances, masks, but if we add the energy, the creativity of the arts, maybe we can help so that everything can come back to life in a certain way.
VESPA = Of course, music and art give us hope, they help us to find the light.
STORARO = Do you understand? Also because we conceived the lights with Francesca, also linked to the muses, that is to the arts, and then I thought: “What can I do, with the trio Il Volo, inside the Frasassi Caves” and reminding me that they had told me that it was the fiftieth anniversary of the year in which three young speleologists descending from a hole with a rope, had discovered this incredible archaeological site among the best in the world, with the three of them (Il Volo) we reconstruct, not in a realistic way, but in a symbolic way, because they cannot go down with the suit and then sing, but in a tuxedo, and therefore in a symbolic way we have reconstructed the descent of the three , one at a time, first Gianluca, then Piero, then Ignazio, and little by little one descends, the light begins to rise …
VESPA = How wonderful! Let’s see it.
STORARO = Wait, I say one last thing. Only when Gianluca begins to sing, then Piero and then Ignazio, are together, they are like a seed that fertilizes mother earth and regenerates, and the trio becomes another trio, two trios, ten trios, one hundred trios, one thousand trios, none , one hundred thousand by Pirandello (Italian author). This was the creative energy of Il Volo.
VESPA = Well, let’s see it now. (The full video made in the Frasassi Caves begins.)
How wonderful!! Really what a treat !! Beautiful beautiful beautiful.
STORARO= Nothing is random. I have made 7 films with Ennio Morricone, and 10 films with Bernardo Bertolucci, and coincidentally this song comes from the film that the subject was written by Bernardo Bertolucci. I remember when I came here to say goodbye to Bernardo with you, and I told you about the possibility that I made him a promise, to restore and preserve all 10 films we made together, and I’m doing it now in the Cinecittà laboratory, with very modern technologies and with the possibility that these icons can last indefinitely.
VESPA = How wonderful! Bravo, bravo Vittorio, also for this.
GIANLUCA= I wanted to say that for us, our greatest goal is also to bring the beauties of our country. The Frasassi Caves, deserve to be, as they are already known all over the world, but even more so.
This was the perfect soundtrack, it was a wonderful experience in a magical place and living it with Maestro Storaro was even more so. It was truly an honor to be able to work together.
VESPA = Speaking of magical places, well, Santa Croce, in Florence (Notte Magica), but who would have thought it, direct by Placido Domingo.
PIERO = That was a great evening.
VESPA = Florence 2016 (The Magic Night video starts)
You didn’t have time to meet our friend Luciano Pavarotti.
IGNAZIO = Unfortunately not.
VESPA = In my opinion he would have put his hand on your shoulder, he was a person of absolute generosity who was really looking for, he was looking for new talents.
PIERO = This evening, the evening in Florence in Santa Croce, Tribute to the three Tenors, we had, in some way, the support from the three, because the maestro Placido Domingo directed the orchestra, but the Pavarotti foundation supported this idea because Nicoletta Mantovani (Pavarotti’s wife) gave the okay and said these very words: “The master would have liked this project”.
VESPA = Yes, absolutely yes.
VESPA = So, 2019, so these are the last things before Covid, at the Bolshoi Theater …
PIERO = To the Moscow Bolshoi
VESPA = La Traviata.
PIERO = Beautiful.
IGNAZIO = I was terribly ill, I had a fever that evening.
VESPA = Did you sing with a fever?
IGNAZIO = Yes, but I’m strong!
VESPA = Go, go. (The video of La Traviata starts)
So, (he turns to Piero) we went to New York together, we went to another big theater, the Metropolitan, do you remember?
PIERO = Yes.
VESPA = I don’t know if you remember, the room was empty, you and I were sitting next to you and I said to you: “But when you grow up, what do you want to do?” Was it your dream, does that still remain?
PIERO = Yes, in these two years, especially in the last 6 months I have studied a lot, I’m still studying, because you know very well how much study it takes. Just yesterday I did two and a half hours of lesson on Verdi, La Traviata.
VESPA = I have been to the Bolshoi with Riccardo Muti (well-known conductor), with the Friendship Concerts, and I assure you that if there is one who slaughters singers it was him.
PIERO = Mamma mia!
VESPA = Now it is no longer used, the masters have no desire or time, but before, a great singer always had his teacher who always kept him in the studio. You have to study a lot, every day.
IGNAZIO = I too, yesterday I did a two and a half hour session of the “tagliata (typical meat), I was very focused! (laughs) 😁😁😁
Sorry for the joke!
VESPA = He is always disheveled, undisciplined, the one who arrives late. Where is Gianluca!
GIANLUCA = This is what the two of them make you believe!
But it is nice that we are a group, but we continue to cultivate our passions, we respect and esteem each other, which is not obvious, as you know often groups are in competition …
VESPA = I know, you all never fight.!!
GIANLUCA = This is our great merit, because now 13 years together this is the beautiful thing.
Nice that Piero has his goals, for example, as I told you before, I am starting to approach the world of acting, trying to understand if one day, who knows, I would like to be an actor, but this enriches anyway, studying acting on stage , for a singer, it also helps you to express, to interpret songs better.
VESPA = So. (he turns to Piero) You say, we sang for the Pope, that’s enough, but no.
2019 Pope Francis, Panama (video of Panama starts)
In the video:
PIERO = His Holiness.
P + I + G = What a pleasure to see you again.
PIERO = This is our gift to you.
POPE = Thank you.
GIANLUCA = The dream and the desire to sing for him is coming true, we met in private audience last year and we sang for him an Ave Maria (Hail Mary) and here tonight we will sing it for him and for all the young people, we are truly honored.
POPE = Thank you.
PIERO = Can we take a picture?
POPE = Yes.
PIERO = A selfie like young people do. (The Pope gives a souvenir to Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca)
IGNAZIO = We are grateful to you. See you later.
GIANLUCA = As you know, the power of Italian and Neapolitan music has reached overseas, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, but also Elvis Presley himself …..
IGNAZIO = The Pope has just passed, sorry, the Pope comments, ….
PIERO = But what does Elvis Presley have to do with Pope Francis, can you explain to me?
GIANLUCA = Oh well, first let’s talk about the Pope and then we want to give you a small gift.
VESPA = A small gift?
GIANLUCA = Yes, yes, a little present.
VESPA = Wait, first now I want to ask you something, we want to dedicate to Vittorio Storaro, who represented Italian art in the world, one of the most popular songs in the world, like this, here a cappella. (O Sole mio)
GIANLUCA = This is why I said, the great Elvis Presley interpreted the song in English “It’s now or never”, do you remember that?
VESPA = Go !! (begins the a cappella song)
Well, we want to thank this magnificent group of romances, eight violinists, two cellists, thank you, thank you very much and congratulations, you are very good. And then (to Il Volo) I greet you now …
IGNAZIO = We leave you with a great masterpiece, you know the story of Sacco and Vanzetti well. We are truly honored to be able to tell it even to an audience that does not know this story, to an audience that is not Italian and perhaps has not known the injustices that can exist in life. We are very proud to sing this song.
GIANLUCA = We would like to thank you again, we also thank the Maestro Storaro.
VESPA = Thank you. (then he turns to Storaro) And what about you, beyond the restoration of Bertolucci’s films?
STORARO = Basically we’re still in the early stages, Woody sent me his fifth script to start, we had to do it first in New York, then we moved to France, now he’s looking to another country, Covid follows, depending on where it’s possible we’re going to do it.
VESPA = Good luck !!
PIERO = We would like to thank our audience for their love, support and support received over the years, thank you.
VESPA = And then: Sacco and Vanzetti! (start the song)
Really a nice chat between friends. You have noticed the masks and spacers, much more rigid in February than they are now.
Although it was not advertised, but was announced only by the tam-tam of the fans pages (incredible), this episode had very high ratings.
Congratulations as always, to Il Volo !!
But that of Porta a Porta was not the only appointment of Il Volo in this period, they were also in promotion Austria, on the TV show “Garden Party of the stars”.
Here they are.
Please click on the photo below to view the video.
Very nice this video shot in Austria in front of the beautiful Grillenstein castle.
And then, live, during the show, they sang Ecstasy of Gold.
Please click on the photo below to view the video.
Really a nice participation, let’s enjoy some pictures.
Then there was the announcement of the two Australian concert dates, finally !!
Reposted from @ilvolomusic :
Hello everyone, We are very happy to announce that ticket sales are now open for our Australian concerts in Melbourne (October 18) and Sydney (October 24).
And finally, on May 12, I remind you that Il Volo is taking part in the Eurovision Song Contest.
For those who cannot follow them on TV, I propose you to follow them on you tube on the official ESC channel: @eurovisionsongcontest.
Il Volo will sing GRANDE AMORE, but in a new version, which has just been heard.
The title is YOU ARE MY EVERYTHING and is in the English-Italian version and I find it beautiful !!
Here it is. ❤
What a thrill everything is ready, see you soon !!
Daniela
BREAKING NEWS!
Unfortunately, the news recently came that Gianluca is positive for Covid, so he will not be on the Eurovision stage. His voice will be recorded, only Ignazio and Gianluca will perform !!
I am very sorry for Gianluca, unfortunately you can never let your guard down with this Covid. Ignazio and Piero will do their best to represent Il Volo !!
For a long time I had hoped for this good news, this year the EUROVISION SONG CONTEST will take place here in Italy, exactly in Turin, on 10, 12 and 14 May and Il Volo will be a guest on the evening of 12 May !!!!
It is wonderful news, not only for the great media exposure that this singing competition has throughout Europe and beyond, but it is also a prize to the skill and professionalism of Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca. It is also a great gift for all fans and all the people who knew and loved them during EUROVISION 2015.
The good news was given personally by Piero, Gianluca and Ignazio, during the evening news of RAI 1 on 27 April.
Here is the video and I will translate what was said.
WOMAN = Seven years ago, Il Volo triumphed at the Sanremo Festival with the song GRANDE AMORE, let’s listen to a piece again. (the song begins)
And good evening to IL Volo, here they are: Piero, Gianluca and Ignazio.
P + I + G = Hello, good evening, good evening everyone.
WOMAN = What a beautiful song.
PIERO = Thanks.
WOMAN = You won Sanremo, you sang it at Eurovision and now ???
PIERO = Tonight we are happy to announce here at TG1 that this year we will be guests at the Eurovision Song Contest. It will finally be held in Italy, after many years and we wish a great “good luck” to those who represent Italy: Mahmood and Blanco, it will be a great emotion for them.
WOMAN = It will be a very strong emotion, to listen to your song again, to be at Eurovision as winners (to televoting) and to come back even now.
GIANLUCA = For us it is obviously a great honor, it was a great emotion to be able to represent our country at Eurovision seven years ago, singing GRANDE AMORE in front of 200 million people, therefore certainly a great emotion that we will never forget, and therefore let’s say … (he turns to Ignazio)
WOMAN = Why are you looking at Ignazio?
IGNAZIO = Because the good fortune of three of us is that we help each other, in fact, I wanted to say that we will be at Eurovision exactly on May 12th.
PIERO = Exactly, on the evening of May 12th.
WOMAN = Listen, Ignazio, with you the somewhat philosophical closure, which makes sense.
PIERO = Right with him?
WOMAN = Right with him, I choose him, maybe it will be the mustache, the goatee that stimulates this question (Ignazio is pleased, and then he is serious).
Eurovision is a little bit the bridge of the music, the symbol of music that unites and that never like now, this bridge, this union, is needed.
IGNAZIO = Absolutely, in the edition where we participated, it was precisely EUROVISION BUILDING BRIDGES, which means “build bridges”, and not only cultural, but also in traditions, we were lucky enough to be able to share our culture, our tradition with so many countries of the world, thanks to EUROVISION and that is why we do our best wishes to Mahmood and Blanco, above all.
PIERO = We would like to remember that this year we will be back on tour, finally after these years and we can’t wait to get back on the stages.
WOMAN = You will sing your classics and the music of maestro Ennio Morricone, we are very happy. Thanks for joining us.
P + I + G = Thank you
WOMAN = That’s all, we stop here.
Immediately after the news followed the tam, tam on all the various fan pages, it is useless to describe the happiness that this good news has unleashed here.
This beautiful video by Ignazio, Gianluca and Piero was also published on the EUROVISION Facebook page.
Reading the copious comments below this video, and almost all of them non-Italians, made me remember once again how much Il Volo had been much admired and appreciated by all of Europe and beyond.
Let’s review their video from seven years ago.
Even today I shudder to review this video, and immediately afterwards comes the anger for not winning.
Most of the comments under the video on the Facebook page, even today they say they had to be the winners of 2015, really amazing !!!
We also remind you that the last two editions of the Eurovision Song Contest have been undersized due to the pandemic and therefore this is the first post-pandemic edition. In Turin it is all a flurry of preparations. Listen and see how beautiful this video recorded in Turin, where many bands perform the theme song of Eurovision, in rock version, beautiful !!
Guys, it was a huge surprise, we can’t wait to see you in this beautiful context: EUROVISION SONG CONTEST 2022.
We will all be tuned in on May 12th !!!
See you soon: Daniela
Credit to owners of all photos and videos.
Come in and share the love of life, friends and Il Volo!
