Tag Archives: Sanremo 2015
PROMOTION AND GUESTS by Daniela
Gianluca, Ignazio and Piero are doing a lot of promotion to their latest CD and therefore, there are many appointments and many interviews, unfortunately I cannot keep up with these rhythms, but, as you may well know, many things are repeated and therefore, of each new event, I try to give you a brief summary, translating the interesting parts instead.
The last event where they were guests, which I translated for you, was Radio Italia live, but, again on Radio Italia, they also had another interview entitled “A tu per tu” (Face to Face). Some questions are the same, but they also said some interesting things that I translate for you:
It begins with greetings to the listeners of Radio Italia.
(In the video, from time to time you will see glimpses of Il Volo singing, they are clippings of others hosted at Radio Italia.)
Piero talks about the Morricone project.
Gianluca talks about the tour and says they will sing, in addition to Morricone’s new songs, also the songs of their success over the years.
He says it’s wonderful to travel the world and have the affection of the audience every night, he says they are privileged.
Piero says they are preparing themselves with singing lessons, healthy eating, and body workouts.
Ignazio says that it is not easy to prepare the suitcase for a world tour because in some countries it is hot, in others it is cold, so they will have big suitcases, if it were possible to bring a walk-in closet it would be better.
Gianluca confirmed that they have an archive of unreleased songs and are waiting for the right moment to publish them.
The project of the Three Tenors and this of Morricone, serve to consolidate their career, then, later on, he lets it be understood that they will release an album of their own of unreleased tracks. They are working hard for it.
Piero talks about the collaboration with the various artists on Morricone’s record.
Gianluca says that Piero is single and that he and Ignazio are engaged.
Ignazio admits that it’s good to be in love.
The day after Il Volo was a guest on two other radio stations.
Let’s start with Radio 2 Social Club.
(Click on the photo below to view the video.)
It’s a very nice interview, the two radio hosts are Luca Barbarossa (with the blue shirt) and Andrea Perroni, they both are very good friends of our boys.
At the beginning, in the “off the air” Gianluca and Ignazio arrive and say that Piero is in the bathroom!! 😁
Luca then marks Gianluca behind him saying he is engaged! Then they make fun of Ignazio because he has a coat and it is hot in the studio, but Ignazio says that he is an elegant person and always dresses like this!! 😁
Piero says they just got back from Madrid where they promoted the CD.
On stage, they talk about the Morricone project and then sing Se Telefonando.
Luca makes a lot of compliments for the voices of the boys, then says that they are promoting the CD all over the world and therefore they will ask them some technical questions and the first is: “Which one of you is engaged?” 😁😁😁
Then Luca asks how they will do with their distant girlfriends while they are on tour and Gianluca replies that sometimes they will take them with them every now and then. Then Luca says “They are not hand luggage !!” 😁😁
Gianluca apologizes, he could have expressed himself better.
Luca confirms that Gianluca’s girlfriend is Eleonora Storaro and asks Gianluca if he is happy to talk about her and he replies that she is and then tells Luca: “But you like to gossip” 😁
So they talk a little about tennis with Ignazio and Piero and also about football with Gianluca.
Luca asks where they will sing in the US and they also reply RCMH, so Luca remembers that an Italian journalist had said that Il Volo performed in the world but only in pizzerias.😑
Piero replies that they laugh at these criticisms.
PIERO: “A criticism made with intelligence is constructive and important. In these 13 years, those who have written badly about us, those who have offended us, then got to know us and changed their minds, in the end we cannot like everyone.”
Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca perform SE from Nuovo Cinema Paradiso.
Luca asks about their success in Japan and Piero explains that luck would have it that a very famous ice skater performed his exercise on one of their songs: Starry Night and from here many emails of requests from Japan arrived.
Gianluca also explains the collaboration with Vittorio Storaro and Luca, reiterates that Il Volo worked with many famous people, such as Placido Domingo, with whom they recorded a beautiful song: Il Canto which was written by Luca Barbarossa!!! 😁😁
Thanks and final greetings.
On the same day, Il Volo was also on Radio 1.
They are housed in a studio adjacent to that of the two presenters.
They begin by remembering the 13-year career.
They thank Torpedine and talk a lot about the new Morricone project. (They all repeat things that have been said several times).
Ecstasy of Gold is broadcast (while in the video there is silence).
They continue to talk about Morricone and his music, how they chose the songs, how they thought of interpreting them and the responsibility they feel when they start such an important project.
They talk about Bel Canto and the pride they feel carrying this type of music around the world, especially now after the obligatory stop.
Final greetings.
So Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca participated in an online interview, with Marco Montemagno in connection from Brighton, Ignazio from Bologna, Gianluca from Rome and Piero does not say it but I believe from Naro.
Piero says he had to put five books under the PC otherwise the shot was not good and then Ignazio teases him because he says he looks like he is in the office.
They talk about the 100 concerts and Marco says it is a very heavy commitment and asks if they will also go to Brighton.
Gianluca recalls that in this period of Covid, Il Volo was also present at conferences, to give voice to those categories of the show that have had such a long stop.
Marco asks if they will go to England and Gianluca replies that they have tried to enter the English market, have promoted and have also sung at the Palladium and also at the Royal Music All, but then they have given priority to other places and admits that they should return to England.
Piero asks Marco how many years he has lived in Brighton and he replies 9 years old, he married an Englishwoman, so they chose to live in England, but he is very happy.
When asked which are the markets of Il Volo, Ignazio replies that they are America, South America, Eastern Europe, Russia, Japan, it is a musical genre that manages to take more different cultures, fortunately.
Piero explains about their first meeting and the fact that they just didn’t think they had this great success.
At the beginning it was quite easy, even if they were not known in Italy, in 2015 they participate in Sanremo and since then they have also been known in Italy and for them, meeting people on the street who recognize you and smile at you, is the most satisfying thing.
Gianluca confirms that each audience has a different treatment. Each country has a kind of audience, warmer, more attentive, more exaggerated and it is nice to discover different traditions and different attitudes.
Piero says that Europe is complicated, because each state has very different cultures and every night, during the first 3/4 songs, they have to understand what kind of audience they have.
Ignazio confirms that for their type of musical genre, England has always been a little more difficult market than other countries.
Then they talk about the physical preparation for such a long tour and Piero explains that they have to take singing lessons to make sure that the voice is always at the same level throughout the tour and Ignazio explains that the vocal cords are like rubber bands and must always be held trained to avoid breakage.
Marco asks, in addition to the most obvious figures in the tour (management), what is the key figure that is needed for a tour like theirs and the boys answer that he is definitely the person who arrives first in the morning on the stage and who leaves for last in the evening, he is the backliner, he takes care of following all the details, even the water in the backstage, and the bread they need to clear their throat. His name is Alessio Guerrieri and he is in great demand in his field.
Marco says he is a ping pong enthusiast and Ignazio approaches his face, to show a small scar on his left eye and tells that while they were playing ping pong in Turkey where they had gone for a private event, Gianluca with whom he was playing as a couple gave him the ping pong paddle over his eye.
Gianluca is sorry about what happened, he says it looked like a crime scene, with a lot of blood.
Ignazio says that a medical guard comes and says that there is a need to go to the hospital to put stitches but Ignazio refuses, because it was during the Covid period and therefore they made a very noticeable bandage around his head and it is returned to Italy like this. (Remember, Ignazio wore a patch over his eye and we didn’t know why, now we know.) 😘
Gianluca is very sorry, but he says that Ignazio has improved since he received the blow, and therefore perhaps he will give him another one.😁
Then they talk at length about the Morricone project.
Marco asks how they manage personal relationships between them.
Piero says they didn’t know each other, at first there were also tantrums and tensions, then they learned to have tolerance, they don’t argue, they always look for a meeting point. They have three different roles in the management of Il Volo, they have a lot of understanding and they get along very well.
They are aware that when they make mistakes they apologize, and for Piero, apologizing is a noble way of being a man.❤
Ignazio adds that they have also learned to have gratitude, to be aware of being grateful, to something, to someone.❤
Marco asks if their popularity has been strong from the start or if they have had strange moments.
Gianluca admits that it was a slow process, at the first copy-signing there were four people in Rome, immediately after their participation in the Ti Lascio Una Canzone program.😁
Piero laughs, remembering that the people of their team went to them saying: “Excuse me, will you sign the CD?”😁 Gianluca says they made fun of them!!😁
But things change with time, and there was also the risk of being meteors.
For this reason we have always remained humble and our families have been very important to us.
Piero asks Marco what he thought when they asked him to do an interview at Il Volo (which he obviously didn’t know) and he replies that he was happy, because he never followed them directly for their type of music, but he has always admired their great success, in particular he greatly admires those who are successful outside Italy and he has always had admiration for them, because they have shown that they are not a meteor.
Ignazio confirms that what they do is extremely difficult, it is not an immediate musical genre, it does not go on the radio, streaming or in commercials, where you have more chances to make it known. It takes a lot of perseverance, dedication, work and it is very demanding. There have been times where they’ve had to swallow and work hard, but it’s nice when you don’t go the easy way of what others do and keep your personality, and they’ve always been consistent with who they are. They are this and who follows them, follows them for what they do.❤
Gianluca admits that they have a loyal audience. Their fans are very fond of them, because they have seen them grow.
It is like a big family.😘
So they talk about Il Divo which is a musical group similar to Il Volo, they are not Italian but they sing in Italian. In Italy everyone wants to sing in English, while abroad Italian singing is very welcome.
They confirm that The Three Tenors took the opera out of the theaters.
Marco asks how, after the fiftieth concert, they manage to maintain the freshness of the first one and Piero replies that you must love what you do, then you must always be aware that the people in front of you have come for you, and even if they were 10 people they deserve the best from you.
They then confirm that their audience is transversal, from children to grandparents.
Marco asks if they had any unforeseen events during the concerts and Piero says that in Budapest, after the twelfth song (usually 25 songs) his voice went away. They suspended the concert for 20 minutes. Total panic, they called his voice teacher on video and after 20 minutes the voice came back and they finished the concert.
Ignazio also tells a similar story and says that they sing completely live, while they know that other singers also have pre-recorded songs.
Piero confirms that fortunately there are three of them and a glance is enough for them to understand if something is wrong and therefore one of the three plays the part of someone who is not well, there is a great mutual help.❤
Then, laughing, they remember singing the refrain of “Tous le visages de l’ amour” over and over in Switzerland, because they couldn’t remember the words.😁
Piero also remembers when in Taormina during a concert, he teased Ignazio because his favorite football team was losing the game for 4 goal at that moment and Ignazio was angry😁
Then they say that on stage they move with awareness that they must occupy the whole scene.
Piero explains that before a tour there is a long work of patience, to plan all the trips, everything must be accurate and before, when they were younger, there were people who did it, now even the three of them take part in this.
Marco asks which are the strangest characters they have met and Piero explains that the strangest moments they had in 2010, when their little ones, were invited to Jimmy Iovine’s parties in America where there were so many famous people, an incredible time.
So they talk for a long time about the various television series.
In the end, Gianluca hints that they are thinking of making a documentary, perhaps about their life? Who knows!
Good luck from Marco and final greetings.
Furthermore, on Saturday 4 December Il Volo was a guest on Canale 5 in a new program: UA, conducted by Claudio Baglioni (He presented Sanremo in 2019).
Here is the video of their moment.
(Click on the photo below to view the video.)
I have tried to give you an overview of some of the events in which Il Volo attended, but there are many others.
Some things that I have translated to you are really interesting and some very nice, these young men never cease to amaze us.❤
As I write to you, I am waiting for a television interview with them.
The event that was supposed to take place in Austria has been canceled due to Covid, but on 11 December there will be a short Il Volo concert in Dubai and it will be possible to follow it in streaming at this link:
https://virtualexpodubai.com/
Here’s the announcement:
By popular demand, IL VOLO will give its first concert at the Millennium Amphitheater in Dubai 5 years after their first performance at the 2016 Globe Soccer Awards. “Il Volo Live in Concert” will be a once in a lifetime event where Piero Barone, Gianluca Ginoble and Ignazio Boschetto will rebuild their careers bringing the best of their repertoire to the stage: from the traditional Italian “bel canto” like the iconic song “‘O Sole Mio”, to evergreen American songs like “My Way”, from the single “Grande Amore” with which they won the 2015 edition of the Sanremo Song Festival at the famous Turandot aria “Nessun dorma”. The repertoire will include pieces from their latest album “Il Volo sings Morricone”, a passionate journey into the art of one of the greatest composers of the 20th century. A playlist structured as a “best of” contains the careers of three unique voices who have crossed national borders, selling millions of records and making their way onto the international top hits lists.
(Ministry of Culture Special Project, produced by Cinecittà, supporting partner D&G)
But there is still a little final pearl, what about these beautiful photos of our boys in Times Square in NY?
What can I say: incredible!!!!
But that’s not all, see you next update!
Daniela
Credit to owners of all photos and videos.
RETURN TO PORTA A PORTA by Daniela
It had been a long time since we had seen a nice interview with “Uncle Bruno” in Porta a Porta, a really long time.
So enjoy the video and the translation I made for you!
Please click on the photo below to view the video.
VESPA = Tonight there will be a tribute to Ennio Morricone, then we will talk to these three guys we have met since childhood.
Let’s see this tribute to Morricone.
(Ecstasy of gold video begins)
(Vespa went to interview Il Volo in a hotel in Rome)
Glad to see you guys, we haven’t seen you in a while.
GIAN = Welcome, this time it is you who came to visit us.
VESPA = True, true. We are already ready for the interview, a marvel.
GIAN = We were just waiting for you.
(The Ecstasy of gold video continues and ends)
VESPA = Ignazio Boschetto, Gianluca Ginoble, my fellow countryman, and Piero Barone. We met outside and we haven’t seen each other since …..
I + G + P = Two and a half years.
VESPA = Two and a half years! And you have been stuck for 2 years for Covid on tour?
GIAN = We were on tour in March 2020 in the US and we canceled the last two concerts and …..
VESPA = And you ran home under the protective wings of your parents.
GIAN = Yes, it was March 13, in full lockdown, we came back during the worst period ..
IGNAZIO = We managed to catch one of the last flights that departed from America.
GIAN = A last minute flight.
VESPA = And now, after 2 years, you will be back in 100 cities around the world.
PIERO = There are 116 concerts.
VESPA = 116?
PIERO = 116.
VESPA = Where do you start from?
PIERO = Let’s start from the US.
VESPA = When?
PIERO = In March, exactly, US-2 months, Europe, Italy many concerts …
VESPA = Italy where?
PIERO = Italy we will play a part in the summer season and the second part in the sports halls, therefore in the winter period.
VESPA = In short, there is a lot ..
PIERO = Then we will go to Japan, New Zealand and Australia and finish the world tour in South America.
VESPA = Well, a nice little program.
PIERO = We are excited.
VESPA = But that wonderful video that you introduced us, was a tribute to Morricone, IL VOLO SINGS MORRICONE. So you will sing Morricone’s songs.
IGNAZIO = Yes, on tour ….
VESPA = And then your classics you will sing also in tour
IGNAZIO = Absolutely. Absolutely, the idea was born from the tribute we paid to Verona on June 5th, and from there the idea of a lineup also for next year’s tour was born, so it will all be centered on Morricone, and the rest will be the frame, the songs that have been important to us in recent years, such as Nessun Dorma, rather than O Sole Mio, or Grande Amore.
VESPA = What is your most successful song by far? Absolutely absolute.
GIAN = It is clear that 80% of our songs are still “covers” (successes of others), songs from the past rearranged, but having our song which was an unreleased song which is Grande Amore, allows us to have that extra pride of having our own song which is now part of the bel canto repertoire. (the video of Grande Amore in Sanremo starts)
VESPA = Morricone: three very young (Il Volo), with a great teacher, who has dominated for many years, especially film music, but not only, what was your first meeting with Morricone?
When did you meet him?
PIERO = The first meeting with Morricone took place in the Forum studios in Rome, the studios he founded …
VESPA = Year ??
PIERO = Year 2011, during the recording period of our first album.
VESPA = 10 years ago
PIERO = We crossed him for 7-8 months and talked in the corridors. We must admit that we, then, did not have the awareness of who we were in front of.
VESPA = And how was the songs born?
IGNAZIO = For pandemic!
GIAN = We tried not to live this period passively, try to be optimistic and stimulate creativity. This project was born from a common idea, we definitely wanted to surprise, to make something unique and therefore, especially the choice of the repertoire, it was difficult but at the same time stimulating, because singing The Ecstasy of gold for the first time, with a text in English, written by his son Andrea Morricone, allowed us to enter the master’s world and each time we discovered something new.
VESPA = You have also collaborated with another great Oscar winner: Vittorio Storaro, our great friend.
How did you relate?
IGNAZIO = We have been looking for an idea to develop together for years. Maestro Storaro came up with this idea, a tribute to the maestro Morricone, with a video of : YOUR LOVE …
GIAN = Once Upon a Time in the West soundtrack …
VESPA = A Morricone classic.
IGNAZIO = …. and the idea of the Maestro Storaro was that everything comes from the womb of the earth and hoping that this period of pandemic can be useful to many people and that art can help to restart.
VESPA = So now we will hear a co-production: Morricone – Storaro – Il Volo, mamma mia, let’s hear.
(the beautiful video in Frasassi, begins)❤
Il Volo Sings Morricone
PIERO = We would like to explain the title, because we have chosen Il Volo Sings Morricone.
Because Maestro Morricone is not only a man whose work is celebrated, but Morricone has created a genre of his own, and it is a whole world to discover, and we feel honored, we have entered the repertoire of all the works of Ennio Morricone in tiptoe, with the utmost humility and we are satisfied with this work, and giving voice to its melodies, is a very big responsibility, but it is a great satisfaction.,
VESPA = So, tomorrow 10 November is the anniversary of the birth of Maestro Ennio Morricone, who was born in 1928, and Il Volo will celebrate it, together with Rai 1, they broadcast in prime time, the replica of an extraordinary concert that you have made this summer at the Arena di Verona and which had extraordinary numbers of audiences these days, exceeding 5 million listeners.
Now we will listen to “Se Telefonando”, which is a very curious co-production, with the words of Maurizio Costanzo (well-known Italian TV presenter), the voice of Mina (very famous Italian singer), so beware guys (nobody dares to imitate Mina, considered sacred monster of Italian music), and the music of Ennio Morricone.
PIERO = There is a nice anecdote, by Ennio Morricone, because when we started studying the repertoire, but above all the person who was Ennio Morricone, we discovered the birth of Se Telefonando.
Morricone was doing the queue at the post office to pay a bill, he hears the ambulance, and from the notes, from the sound of the ambulance, Se Telefonando is born.
VESPA = Think a little like a sound, somehow sinister, anonymous….
PIERO = It makes you understand the genius of this man.
VESPA = … a song can be born, one of the most beautiful songs, Let’s listen to it.
(starts Se Telefonando from the concert of the Arena)
Guys, how did you find me? Good?
IGNAZIO = You are in great shape.
PIERO = Perfect. Last time in New York you were jogging with us, at 7 am you had already done two hours of jogging.
(begins a video of Il Volo and Vespa in New York).
VESPA = I’m thinking back to you, now seeing you, I’m thinking about how you were 8 years ago, when you first came to Porta a Porta.
GIAN = But you were one of the first to believe in us and we had wonderful experiences with you, in New York with Woody Allen, then Maestro Vittorio Storaro told me wonderful stories with Woody Allen with whom he collaborated.
PIERO = You know that you are always in our thoughts, because you personally gave me great advice.
I am an addict of the news, I am too curious and every day I always watch all the news and it is a piece of advice you gave me 6 years ago, about culture, reading books, because I asked you for advice on a book and you advised me: “Read all the news every morning, from the first to the last page.” It was difficult, a trauma the first few days, and now I can’t do without this.
VESPA = See that good I am, I also give good advice!
PIERO = I tell it, that always was Bruno Vespa who gave me this advice.
VESPA= Now we see Il Volo as they were as young boys, even if they are still children, I really find them still young in an embarrassing way.
Wait a minute, let’s go to December 17, 2013.
(the video of that evening starts, Un Amore così Grande)❤
VESPA = How have you changed over the years? I remember that you (Piero) at the Metropolitan had some good ideas, did you carry them out?
PIERO = Always, my course of study continues, you know very well that I am a great admirer of opera. I am curious, I like to discover, new works, new arias, it is a path that I am taking on a parallel track.
VESPA = But when will you feel ready to do a work?
IGNAZIO = He has to hurry up, because we too want to hear something ….😁
VESPA = Eh, exactly !!
PIERO = But it is something that goes slowly, I am not in a hurry, the priority , the focus, the maximum concentration is on the Morricone project.
VESPA = And you Gianluca what do you want to do when you grow up?
GIAN = What do I want to be when I grow up? Let’s say that IL Volo is the priority. Our success, it must be recognized that it is the group …
VESPA = The three tenors too ….
GIAN = Artistically there are dreams in the drawer, maybe we will start …. I would like to study acting, but time, in reality there is none, there is little, because as Piero said, we must also chase dreams, personally , but the priority is the group, of course!
VESPA = And you Ignazio?
IGNAZIO = Well, I’ve always had the dream of making my music known, because I like to write.
This year I had one of the greatest satisfactions, I wrote the theme song for Makari, this fiction that was a champion of ratings …
VESPA = Good!
IGNAZIO = Yes, and behold, Il Volo has always been the priority and will be the priority. But it is also possible to give free rein to ideas, thoughts…
VESPA = But it’s nice to hear someone else sing your own song, in my opinion, you write it and someone else sings it….
IGNAZIO = Actually, we sang it, so: perfect.
GIAN = He said in general, as an author, as a composer.
PIERO = You will never get rid of him. ( Ignazio).
VESPA = But how is he? (Ignazio)
GIAN = He is the most exuberant.
PIERO = No, he is the most messy. Ignazio is disorder itself.
GIAN = Yes we (him and Piero) are more precise.
PIERO = There is the interview with Bruno Vespa at 6:00 pm, 9:00 pm, 10:00 pm, he, 5 minutes earlier, still sleeping …
VESPA = He comes fresh fresh.
GIAN = We let’s go to wake him up singing!
IGNAZIO = It’s just that I have sleep problems. I can’t sleep at night, I go to bed too late, and when I wake up too early, I struggle…
GIAN = We are in New York, Piero and I are going to run in Central Park, Ignazio is waiting for us at the hotel and we have breakfast together.
VESPA = I understand, Ignazio is waiting for you.
Let’s try to understand better with this video, who are the guys from Il Volo.
(start a video)
VOCE DI DONNA = It is a long tribute to the maestro Morricone, the latest Il Volo album coming out these days.
An overwhelming journey, in 14 songs, into the art of one of the greatest composers of the 20th century, including reinterpretations, additions of lyrics and even an unpublished piece.
And to think that Piero Barone, Ignazio Boschetto and Gianluca Ginoble were little more than kids, when they came to visit us for the first time in Porta a Porta at the beginning of their success.
An atypical boy band, which first established itself abroad with an important recording contract in the US, and only later in our country.
In America, thanks to the intuition and guidance of the inseparable manager Michele Torpedine, they lined up an admirable series of records, they perform, the only Italians at the We Are the word for Haiti concert, invited by Quincy Jones himself, next to stars the likes of Barbra Streisand, Bono and Lady Gaga.
They are guests of Ellen DeGeneres between applause and standing ovations. They even light up the Christmas tree at the Rockefeller Center.
And then world tours, millions of records sold, the Nobel Prize ceremony in Oslo.
In Italy, however, success was not long in coming, also consecrated by the victory at the Sanremo Festival in 2015.
Success also repeated with the podium 4 years later, which sees them win third place, with the song “Musica che Resta”, written among others, also by Gianna Nannini.
With the first money they help parents, they continuously thank life and the opportunities received. In short, bel canto, family, values, sobriety and respect, especially among them, principles that are not taken for granted in particular in the entertainment world, which become one of the weapons of their celebrity.
They hand down great classics without changing them, modernizing them visually, it is the boys in sneakers who sing Nessun Dorma and O Sole Mio, to use their words.
From March 2022 a tour with over 100 concerts awaits them, an expected reunion with the public after the stop of the pandemic, to continue to proudly bring Italy and its beauty around the world.
VESPA = So guys, are you ready ??
Between now and March, when will you leave, what do you do?
PIERO = Now there will be the promotional tour of this album, IL Volo Sings Morricone, we will leave in a couple of days for the US, Spain ….
VESPA = So, this album that came out last week, at the same time all over the world ….
GIAN = Exactly, all the melodies of the maestro Morricone, from Nuovo Cinema Paradiso ….
VESPA = But do you realize, for heaven’s sake, since I have seen you grow … simultaneously all over the world, it means that on the same day, in Shanghai, in London, in New York, in Sicily, in Abruzzo….
GIAN = Also in Abruzzo, exactly.
PIERO = The greatest satisfaction is to be back on tour. Yes, the album is beautiful, and tell what we did in the recording studio. But an artist needs the stage, it’s a need you can’t do without.
VESPA = It’s true.
GIAN = This time, after two years of silence, more than ever.
We will tour the melodies of maestro Ennio Morricone, with a large orchestra, and also singing the most beautiful songs of our repertoire. We would like, to give you Morricone’s cd …
VESPA = Thanks, thanks guys! Good luck, you deserve everything you’ve had and much that you’ll still have.
G + I + P = Thanks !!
VESPA = Goodnight.
As you heard in the interview, on 10 November, in memory of Morricone’s birth, RAI1 re-proposed the concert in Verona.
Before the concert began, Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca, had posted this short video.
IGNAZIO = Today is November 10th, it is a special day, the day when the master Ennio Morricone would have turned 93 years old.
He is no longer here with us, but it is as if he were.
Silence never fell on him, because he left us a world full of music.
GIAN = We were in this place where everything talks about him.
It is his recording studio in Rome, which has been his second home for many years. It is here that he recorded most of his unforgettable soundtracks.
PIERO = We have dedicated, with respect and love, a concert with the music of the master, which aired last June.
Tonight RAI1 broadcasts it again, as if it were a way to thank him and thank him in a very small part, the immense gift he gave us.
G + I + P = Happy Birthday, master! ❤❤❤
Really a pleasant chat between friends, we hope that Bruno Vespa will make us these surprises again, inviting Il Volo a Porta a Porta.
The best wishes for a happy birthday made by our boys to Maestro Morricone are very sweet.
The promotion of the new CD continues, there will still be new meetings and new translations.
Unfortunately, the concert scheduled for November 27 in Austria was canceled due to Covid.
We still haven’t gotten out of this pandemic. 😑
Daniela
Credit to owners of all photos and videos.
BEHIND THE SCENES by Daniela
On Saturday 9 October, Il Volo was interviewed by Andrea Spinelli for Quotidiano Nazionale, in the beautiful Royal Palace of Monza, (near Milan), for the event – “Born again: Behind the Scenes, The Arts Beyond the Emergency” – dedicated to the difficulty of the total reopening after the Covid pandemic.
It’s a beautiful interview, very long with interesting questions and as many honest answers.
It will enrich you a lot to read what has been said.
Here is the video, and the translation.
SPINELLI = Good afternoon, welcome. Welcome to Il Volo, which we will now have here on stage.
With Il Volo we will talk about live music, the sector, at least economically, most damaged by this pandemic, and the one that, we never tire of saying, the first sector that closed, and probably the last that will reopen.
So I would invite Il Volo on stage. (applause)
PIERO = Hi
GIANLUCA = Good evening everyone.
PIERO = Andrea!
GIAN = That is, good afternoon.
SPINELLI = Welcome Piero, welcome Gianluca ….
GIAN = We’re not the only ones excited are we?
SPINELLI = No, no ….. Ignazio, welcome.
IGNAZIO = Thanks, hello.
PIERO = You must know that Andrea Spinelli, for us, is a particular journalist, because we are very fond of Andrea, and every time we do a press conference of a tour, of an album, we always ask for his presence, with the awareness that ……
IGNAZIO = He is the baddest.
PIERO = ….. with the most uncomfortable questions.
So today, for us, to accept this interview it’s really a big challenge, so Andrea, you have a lot of vent with us today!
SPINELLI = Thanks, but we will keep that for the presentation of the album on Morricone at the beginning of November.
Today we are talking about something related to concerts.
IGNAZIO = I can only ask one thing, if you can increase the audio in the microphone, on the stage, in the monitors, on the microphone of Andrea, because I don’t hear you.
SPINELLI = Can you hear me now?
IGNAZIO = Yes.
SPINELLI = Here.
IGNAZIO = Ok better, thanks.
SPINELLI = So, let’s start with a decade, which was to be celebrated in 2020, then 2020 + 1, 2020 + 2. How did you live it?
IGNAZIO = We are reaching 15 years. 😁
SPINELLI = That is?
IGNAZIO = Soon we are celebrating 15 years!
Well, there were two difficult years for everyone, here, more or less, we were was struck by something new to everyone.
Speaking of our sector, we have been at a standstill since 2020, since March 2020, we are not working, and we are more than happy to restart next year from America, which fortunately has started to reopen with full capacities.
So we will start in March 2022, (hesitant to say the year), I have lost the count of the years.
SPINELLI = March 18, 2022, Radio City Music Hall.
IGNAZIO = Yes, March 2022, we will start with a two-month tour of America at full capacity.
It is a fortune, but it is also something that makes us reflect: why in America yes, and in Italy, still today we are unable to have the confirmation of a 100% opening?
PIERO = More than anything else, today we have a great responsibility, because we try to represent all the artists.
Because today we read in the newspapers “100% theaters will open”, theaters, cinemas, but there is a lot of vagueness, because not all artists perform concerts in theaters.
There are artists who do concerts in clubs, there are artists who do concerts in stadiums, so in stadiums, how much percentage of the public can enter ??
We must regain the trust of the public, and give them the certainty of what they are buying, because today, a person is not sure to buy a ticket, because he does not know what he is buying.
In the sports halls nothing is known about the capacity yet. Yes, the theaters ok, for those who perform concerts in theaters, 100% capacity is fine, but there is still too much vagueness.
SPINELLI = Yes.
What does it mean to go on stage?
What is the meaning of music for you, of live music?
PIERO = I have read the biography of a great artist: Beniamino Gigli, a journalist asks him “What is music for him?” and his answer was:
“For me music is the fulfillment of a need, and at the same time, the maximum expression of our deepest joy”.
Today, reopening, returning to the stage, is not only an economic necessity, because many people clearly lack work, but it is a need, a need for those who make music, because they go on stage and sing, but also for those who listen.
I miss concerts, not as an artist, not as a singer, but as a spectator, I miss, going to a concert with friends, and clearly behind us (to those who perform concerts), behind the scenes ….. we have to thank whoever organized, (he refers to who organized this interview to talk about the people behind the scenes), thank you very much indeed it is a very nice event what you are doing …. behind the scenes there is a lot people, many people who do not work for us, but work with us, because behind a concert there is a team of many, many people and in recent months, we have clearly tried to turn on the spotlight for these people who are not seen, but they are human beings, many working families, and what are they doing today?
We must not hide, it is clear that an artist can survive two years without a job, if he has behaved well (if he has saved the money), but there are many people who work concert, for concert, and can only live if they work week by week, so it is no longer possible today not to give certainties.
SPINELLI = Well, I would like to ask you: “You give us an idea of how many people are following you on tour, who are working for you, on the square, because there is a world, behind you three.
IGNAZIO = It is difficult to count them.
For example, with us in March, from Italy, we will bring about ten people with us, even 15 people and in America there will be other people, so it is a group of people with a question mark. But I can tell you that behind a tour there are about 50 people, even 60 people, who work during the tour, before the tour, and in any case there are people who work even months before the tour, to prepare the production, the logistics. So the “behind the scenes” is a way of saying, because they move everything, and then allow us to go on stage on March 18th.
SPINELLI = Sure.
I put on my glasses because I would like to read some figures, because you reopened the road on June 5 with a great concert at the Verona Arena, and with live television with an amazing figure: 4 million 702 thousand spectators, with a very high share: 25 , 7%, and that means, to be clear, 1 million more than Amadeus did who won the next night (with another show), even better than the WIND (Seat Music Awards), so surely there was a lot of anticipation , for you, and perhaps also for this reopening.
What do you remember of the evening and what it meant in your year, to go back on stage and sing for a real audience, for an audience that was there in the stands.
GIAN = Yes Andrea, let’s say it was a breath of fresh air, we needed it, as Ignazio and Piero said before, as all of us who do concerts need it.
People were there in the Arena, happy to be able to return to the big events after a year and a half of practically silence.
Then on that occasion, we presented a very ambitious project, which is this tribute to the soundtracks of Ennio Morricone, which we will then take on tour from March.
It is clear that, after a year and a half, returning to the Verona Arena, live on RAI1, for us was a moment of great joy and in my opinion, one of the most beautiful concerts we have done, because it was really felt, there was the great thrill of looking the audience in the face, and finally being able to sing for all of them, after all this time.
This is the best thing for us.
SPINELLI = By the way, you have also won the “tyranny of capacity and curfew”.
You submitted a 55-page health protocol, but in the end you won. (Because that very evening for the Arena, the capacity was increased from 3000 to 5000 people and the curfew, moved beyond midnight to give way to who was at the concert to go home)
IGNAZIO = It was a tug-of-war between Salzano …
SPINELLI = Producer (of the concert)
IGNAZIO = Yes, it was a great tug-of-war, but we succeeded.
We often have many meetings with Ferdinando (Salzano) and the main topic is to give confidence to the citizen, because they are the ones who come to concerts, just as we go to other concerts and therefore we must have faith, we must start from something, we cannot always stay with the doubt “will everyone abide by the rules?” . We have to trust.
GIAN = It is clear that people are afraid, they are scared, as we said before, they do not have the certainty of entering a place, both outdoors and indoors, with various gatherings, even if there is a green pass (certification of the double dose of vaccine), and even with all the certainties, let’s call them that, it is a very delicate moment, but we must start again.
Now we have seen that the situation seems to have improved, it’s not like last year, so … let’s be confident.
IGNAZIO = Otherwise the solution could be, instead of writing Il Volo concert, let’s have a political meeting , so there are no problems …. no come on it was just a subtle controversy!
SPINELLI = Another thing, you have done 3 concerts around Europe this summer, I would like to ask you how you found each other, and the difference you found compared to the very, very strict regime that existed in Italy.
GIAN = I don’t know if you can say, but maybe Covid didn’t exist there, I don’t know, maybe it didn’t exist in those countries.
PIERO = We can be honest ….. we did two concerts in Croatia, and one in Bulgaria, and at the beginning we asked for restrictions, and the distance, but maybe it was the bull’s eye that didn’t show me .. ….. but there was no distance. (in fact in Italy there was a full place and an empty one, but, from them, all the places were full).
IGNAZIO = But there is a truth behind it, in those countries, unfortunately, the government does not pass the vaccine to everyone and the vaccine costs a lot of money and not everyone can afford it. This is the great and sad truth of those countries.
GIAN = The amazing thing is that it was a 5000 seat outdoor arena and all of them were ….
PIERO = The gates were opened 5 hours before the concert started, they had to have a proof of a negative nasal swab for COVID, those who did not have it, had a nasal swab at the time, so they found a solution, that’s the key, you have to find a solution, we must not stay there waiting in the vagueness of what to do, we must find a solution and I repeat, the news 100% of the theaters is not enough, and I say this on behalf of those who perform concerts in stadiums.
Why if I were to ask you now: did stadiums reopen them at 60-65%, (for sports competitions) and stadium concerts? Who can answer this question? And the concerts in the sports hall? Who responds to this?
SPINELLI = Reopenings have been indicated, certainly reopening for sport, they are valid for concerts up to a certain point, because clearly the context is different.
PIERO = But even in the outdoor arenas, we for next year in June, it is clear that our Italian tour will be around the summer-autumn of next year, however many of our colleagues have dates in February, January, March , and therefore they must know something.
We will perform concerts at the Ancient Theater of Taormina (in June 2022) and today with Salzano, he did not know how to give us an answer for the people, for how many people can come.
IGNAZIO = I would like to say something to make it clear to those who come to our concerts.
Many think “okay, you will get a little less but do the concerts”, but it is not really like that, because it is all a chain.
The chain consists of: ok the capacity, the cost of the ticket which varies from concert to concert, is given by the sum of production costs and logistics costs. Unfortunately, after Covid, we are realizing now that we are closing the budget for the tour in America, the costs have doubled. The price of the porterage cost that was after the concerts has doubled, so the costs have become double. If we fail to have a full capacity, even in the stadiums, the costs of the stadiums are unimaginable …
SPINELLI = Very tall …
IGNAZIO = If you can’t already make 100% capacity, it means that I have to increase the ticket to cover the costs, right? The problem is that the citizen, the boy, the girl, who comes to a concert, has to pay a ticket 150 euros, 200 euros (it refers to the cost of tickets for a stadium), how does he do it?
So it’s all a chain and that’s why we have to be able, in one way or another, to find a solution to reopen at concerts and not to make an artist earn, but to ensure that art, art that one person does, you get to more people. To make sure that the normality we had will gradually return, even if it will be difficult because it is all a process of trust. But for me, going to 100% can be the beginning of a return to normalcy and trust above all.
SPINELLI = Well, I’m starting from this, because yesterday on this stage it was said “normality?”, But we don’t want to go back to normality as it was before.
PIERO = Better than before.
SPINELLI = A normality in which we ran, we ran, sometimes without paying too much attention to the direction we were taking. How do you see this thing, what do you think?
PIERO = Objectively, this stoppage that took place allowed us …. we tried to look on the bright side, it was difficult, but we succeeded. We went to the recording studio and made an album, time allowed us to dedicate a lot of time to this, to make a fairly studied selection, in this case for Morricone’s album, so we had more time to work on the details, while before we could not. Before, it was too many concerts and too much work and little time to work on a project.
So when we say: “let’s go back as before”, we can’t wait to go back, but we will be back better than before, because the work has been much more painstaking, so give us the opportunity, just this.
SPINELLI = …. and about running ….
IGNAZIO = I let Piero run, he trains in the morning …. every morning he runs 10 km, I prefer to run in my dreams in the long prairies!
SPINELLI = Running, understood as doing many things ….
GIAN = That, don’t run as a run ….
IGNAZIO = I understood, I was joking !!!😁
GIAN = Ah
SPINELLI = All of you have been running for 12 years …
IGNAZIO = Exactly, we are a group, we are guys who run and we never stopped …
GIAN = …. flying …😁
IGNAZIO = Yes, we are guys who fly. Although, sometimes it took a break, we never took it. Calculate that we did the first 8 years in a row, we never stopped a month, to say, ok, we stop for ourselves. For 8 years we have never stopped. Running is good, it helps you to be active, but I think it is also important to stop. It is a little like Maestro Morricone used to say: “Silences are not a missing part of a music, of a composition, but they are that part that helps you, silence is music”, so it can also be stopping in life of each one, it can be that moment that makes you reflect on what you want from life, on the steps you are going to take, and I can tell you that this year and a half, personally, I do not speak as a group, personally it has served me a lot, as personal growth, how to get to know my family more, to be together with my origins, also made me understand how grateful I am to music, how good music does me, how much company it has made me in these two years. So stopping every now and then is good. We must not get used to stopping, but stopping is good.
SPINELLI = You have also become a producer, therefore, in short, you have also approached music from another side.
IGNAZIO = Yes, I’ve always liked it. Do you think that we, within the group, have our tasks, because if we all three did the same thing, three different ideas ….
SPINELLI = In fact, you are like POOH (another Italian group), everyone has their own role within the group, then maybe you explain them to us.
IGNAZIO = I personally prefer to take care of the studio part. Which means talking to the producers, the work that takes place inside the studio.
Gianluca is very grasped on the choices of the songs, on the ratings, on the intuitions of the songs and Piero does public relations, he is a born PR. (Piero laughs) He breaks the boxes guys, though ….
SPINELLI = I would like to ask another thing to the man of public relations, I would like to focus on your success which is an Italian success exported to the world. I am reminded of Madonna’s birthday (a couple of months ago) made in Salento (Puglia), and in the end they were all English, but she wanted AlBano (singer who presented the night of the Taranta), and AlBano told me that Madonna asked him to sing that Italian song “Caruso”, to understand what is the attachment that there is to our melody, also on the part of great international artists. Two days ago we were in connection from Berlin with the Maneskin (another italian group who won Eurovision this year) who said, obviously jokingly “our success is because we are beautiful, we are good and above all we are Italian”.
Here, how much is Italianness worth?
PIERO = We are aware that the results obtained, these long tours, are the result of patient work …. but our results are thanks to Italy, to the music we sing. We sing bel canto, the songs that are part of our culture.
When we go to America and sing the Nessun Dorma, O Sole Mio, but also Grande Amore, and we sing in Italian, people want to hear us sing in Italian, because already in America there are already those who do rock, rock was born in America, but bel canto was born in Italy, that’s why Italianness is the strength, it is our being, it is what we are, and when people hear Italy, but starting from music, fashion, food , Italy is the icing on the world, everyone dreams of coming to Italy, and we are aware that our strength is the music we sing, as it did in the past for maestro Luciano Pavarotti, as did Andrea Bocelli and continues to do, and we’re trying to follow that trail there.
GIAN = Then it is clear that it depends, we are talking about how Italianness is perceived abroad, because it is clear, if we talk about how Italians perceive Italianness, it is clear that it is different, because I who am, but all of us who are lovers of De Andrè, Guccini or Gaber (they are all Italian songwriters), surely, paradoxically AlBano is better known abroad than they who sing wonderful poems that have made the history of Italian music, is how we are perceived, at the certainly abroad. This is why Italianness is the melody, from this point of view, it is that, as Piero said, bel canto, this great strength that is appreciated by all.
SPINELLI = And that’s why it doesn’t exist, only RCMH on March 18th, but there are 29 more dates …
PIERO = Where?
SPINELLI = In America ….
PIERO = Yes, there are 30 dates in the U.S.
SPINELLI = Well, I mean, there are not only Italians who come, there it means that you have “taken” the American public, and this is the big difference with many other artists, who perform concerts abroad, but do not have the possibility to organize, to plan long and articulated tours like yours.
In Japan, it seems to me that you have something like 20 dates in play ….
IGNAZIO = We have often talked about this, we have also talked about it this morning and you know my thoughts well.
For me the Italianness, this word, is on a razor’s edge, on the one hand you fall from the chic (elegant) ….. sorry kich (tacky) and on the other you are cool, the Italianness famous all over the world .
Unfortunately, this obstacle is put up by people. I try to give you an example: if Italy wins the Europeans (football), we are all cool we are all proud, if Italy is “out” from the World Cup qualifiers, we have something to say.
I think that Italianness is something you feel, and I can tell you the truth, I discovered it when we participated in Eurovision. I have learned to love our flag, there hasn’t been a moment where I was more proud of being Italian, and I tell you sincerely.
The experience of Eurovision is a competition, and you are there to give prestige to your country, because in the end you are talking about Italy, you are representing Italy, and this Italianness is often mistaken for “pizza and mandolin” and singers who they sing Italian brigades, and there is nothing wrong, in the end, because if I think of all the greatest Italian immigrants in America, I feel like saying Dean Martin, I feel like saying Frank Sinatra, I feel like saying Perry Como, and Tony Bennet, so so be it !!
We are very fond of Italy and we will always be proud to sing the Italian repertoire, we will do it, now anyway with Morricone, we are proud to be Italian, because Morricone is an Italian and he is the greatest, and everyone knows him, in cinema he is a crazy thing. We also had the opportunity to meet at the film festival (Venice), Antonio Banderas, Tom Hanks passed by and when you talk about Morricone … and also recently we have collaborated with the maestro Storaro ….. they are names that: how do you don’t be proud of being Italian?
SPINELLI = Even to make you proud, to be Italian, just think of Eurovision, I still remember, arrived at the airport, in the taxi, while I was coming to the State Hall (Vienna 2015, Il Volo was in the race), the driver tells me:
“You are italian? “,
Yes,
“are you coming for Eurovision?”,
Yes,
“this year you win” (ie Il Volo), because it was clear that in any case, that was the feeling.
You collided with the prejudice of the juries (they gave low marks to Il Volo), which happened a little this year too, a little less than you, in fact we saw the result (the Maneskin won).
I mean this, the prejudice, there has always been, because in any case the winner creates some stomach ache, we have seen it in sport, we have seen it in music … the Maneskin win and take drugs (he refers to the fact that on the evening of the Maneskin victory, the foreign newspapers said they were addicted, the usual negative press), Jacobs wins and gets doped (Italian athlete first in the 100 meters Olympics and the press wrote that he was doped, always bad press ).
This also happened with you, when you went to America for the first time, if I’m not mistaken, everyone said: “Yes ok, this is the record, but then they won’t be able to keep that level”, and then you, on the other hand, during the various television broadcasts, you kept it.
IGNAZIO = Just a little thing, the answers are given with time and with facts, and we, as a group, have always tried to keep quiet about provocations and demonstrate, and we did it from the first Sanremo up to …. .before, from the beginning, then Sanremo and until today.
This is a thought that all three of us have, and thank you that we have this common thought, the desire to work, head down, and prove with facts. And then, frankly, when one is fine, with what he does and is satisfied, but we never stop, but we are satisfied, proud of what we are able to do together, the criticisms, people talk, but they will always talk, of everything.
PIERO = An artist, if he decides to do this profession, renounces his own “comfort zone” directly, so he puts himself on display and clearly, the others give an opinion.
Participation in Sanremo in 2015, we were a little doubtful, hesitant, and we have to thank Bruno Vespa, during a dinner he said: “Sorry guys, why do you have the doubt of participating in the Sanremo festival? You are not famous in Italy” … because we sang only abroad and in Italy everyone had forgotten our name …. “you have nothing to lose . If you finish last, you haven’t lost anything, you can only gain something. “ We are grateful to Bruno Vespa for his great advice.
SPINELLI = I would like to ask you something, if I can, if you like, could you give a hint to what you were doing in broadcasting in America, to show that in fact you were really harmonizers, people who knew what they were doing and those songs were truly made without artifice.
PIERO = Also because in America you can’t lip-sync, so you should know that in America, the “morning show” is fashionable, people wake up early in the morning, and the morning show is at 6 in the morning, the soundcheck at 5.30, you don’t wake up and go singing, you also have to warm up your voice. So my next door neighbor at 3.30am in New York, when I started vocalizing, 8 times out of 10, he would hit the wall saying “shut up, shut up” 😁😁😁 and I kept warming up my voice!
But in the morning shows, if you want to go back to your request, what do you want …..
IGNAZIO = What are you asking us? Sing or …..
SPINELLI = A harmony.
PIERO = Usually there are three of us. What is harmony? They may be wondering what harmony is ?? ….
GIAN = Everyone knows!
PIERO = Not everyone knows … (to the audience) do you know what harmony is?
IGNAZIO = When we are well together there is harmony.
PIERO = That’s right, that’s the one there. We have three voices, two tenors and a baritone. One makes the melodic line, the one everyone knows, the other makes the upper harmony and the other the lower one.
(turning to Ignazio and Gian) Can I make the melody ?? OK !
(Ignazio begins to sing the refrain of Il Mondo) ❤ (applause)
IGNAZIO = This isn’t just what we did on TV shows. I have memories, crazy images at the beginning, in the vans, which took us from the hotel to the television stations, in Germany, rather than in Holland. Do you remember? (he turns to Piero and Gian) we were doing the harmonies on Christmas songs, we were little ones and we were arguing “No, you have to do that, I have to do this” (he laughs), they are good memories.
PIERO = In 12 years, it’s amazing how our relationship has strengthened, day after day, you know, usually in groups, there are those who want to be the leader, those who want to be the first woman, in our group, this thing doesn’t exists.
As with any team, there is always a commander. We must say that our greatest fortune in life, the most beautiful, greatest thing my parents taught me, is to be grateful. We are grateful to a person who follows us from the first day we met, until a minute ago, at lunch, is our greatest advisor, our backbone. We often say this in interviews, but we will never stop thanking him, because he is the fourth member of Il Volo, he is the fourth artist and he is Michele Torpedine. (applause)
(Piero turns to Michele) I wanted to thank you in public, ….. we wanted, in the name of all three, to thank you in public.
IGNAZIO = Well, only he thanks you, not us, that is, let’s be clear …. (but then Piero corrected himself).
GIAN = I apologize if I speak little, but I have a headache that is breaking out. I apologize that maybe, I seem unpleasant, but I wanted to say it …..
IGNAZIO = It’s not like you look … we know … (he jokes)
GIAN = ….. I wanted to say this, because I don’t want to seem what I am not.
SPINELLI = No, Gianluca!
IGNAZIO = In fact, he first got out of tune, I don’t know if you noticed. (laughs)
SPINELLI = Another thing, in 10 years, thanks to this success, American success, you have met many people, here, I would like to ask you what were your encounters with extraordinary men that you have found along the way, famous and less famous. I would like a memory each.
IGNAZIO = I have an indelible memory, perhaps the greatest birthday present, I’ve ever had, and it was the first sound rehearsals with Barbra Streisand, when we toured with her. I want to tell you something, I don’t know if it can be told, but I always make a fool of myself, so I tell it.
When we were contacted to tour with her, we signed a contract, where we couldn’t look her in the eye, get too close, all these things here, these safety things.
In the end we didn’t respect anything, but not because we didn’t respect it, but it was she who didn’t respect it, she was the one who came up on stage and said: “Guys I cut my hair, you should too, cut a little here “, then we were talking about bra straps, do you understand? We talked about a lot of things, it’s incredible how, we so young, we knew by name Barbra Streisand, but in that period we documented ourselves on everything she did, as an actress, as a singer, as a director, we informed ourselves, we “discovered” her.
Touring with her, knowing who she was, who she is, and who she will be, because she will remain in history, you look at her differently on stage, and it is something that will always remain in our hearts, in our minds, all performances, all the time spent together, the rehearsals, the concerts, her saying “shut your mouth”, when maybe we were doing a high pitch, (he refers to their phrase during the tour), are things that I personally will not forget.
GIAN = But then we were little, and then we went through the most delicate period which is adolescence, the period of youth bewilderment, of kids who may not know what role they will play in life or what they will do. We recognized this vocation, which is the passion for singing that made us feel good. The support of our parents, who have always encouraged us to pursue this goal, which then came naturally, that of singing, because it made us feel good.
And then the luck of having met on a television program, in the same year, in the same edition, and then a series of lucky events, which then led us to reach these goals, with a great team, as Piero said, and therefore we are also privileged because we take nothing for granted, and this great privilege, as I said, is this of bringing this great musical cultural heritage that is bel canto, following in the footsteps of great idols like Andrea Bocelli, like Mario Lanza, that it all began at the time of del Monaco, it is a music that can certainly be said, an eternal music, and now we demonstrate, with this project with the music of Morricone, that we may pass from O Sole Mio, to the first sung version of The Ecstasy of Gold, with the music of The Good, the Bad, the Ugly, so this is also an artistic upgrade, which we try to have every time, project after project. And so we work hard for that too.
IGNAZIO = Beautiful …… but the question was: “Who is left to you ……”😁
GIAN = Yes, I wanted to get there ….
SPINELLI = (answering to Ignazio) I would have done it again later (the question)
GIAN = …… I also wanted to connect to your speech, which is also nice that we have this great relationship, and we have this passion in common …..
IGNAZIO = This was the preface ….😁
GIAN = One of my best experiences, I can say that is the one where I celebrated my 16th birthday with Paul Anka and we sang together “Put Your Head on My Shoulder” in Los Angeles, you realize, with the great Paul Anka, we were there in a restaurant in Los Angeles, who was friends with Michele and the whole team from the first album, so we were sixteen, we were little, actually I didn’t even know who he was, (Paul Anka), then oh well, they explained to me …. (laughter) …. but today I can tell you it was Paul Anka!
SPINELLI = Damn!
GIAN = And then, a memorable thing, when we were all three, we were singing in Panama, I get up, because at a certain point we were having lunch with the Pope: “Can we take a selfie like young people do?”, And the Pope : “Sure, yes yes, with pleasure, let’s take a selfie” (Gian imitates the voice of Pope Francis). So we can say that we also took a selfie with the Pope two years ago.
IGNAZIO = But I did the worst one, actually I should be ashamed, I called Woody Allen a saxophonist (laughter).
GIAN = This happens, you understand (addressed to the audience), when you pick up three children from school desks and put them on the other side of the world, rightly, from Marsala you ask yourself: “Who is Woody Allen?”
IGNAZIO = But wait, a sensational gaffe, but I didn’t tell him, I asked: “Is that the saxophonist?”, but no, but he plays the clarinet very well …
GIAN = No, the sax, so you got confused …
IGNAZIO = So I wasn’t very wrong.
SPINELLI = Now I ask the question to him (to Piero), but first about gaffe (he turns to Gianluca), “kid don’t worry …..”
GIAN = Ah, yes, that’s nice, because in 2011, we were working on the first record, and there was also a Morricone medley, made by Once Upon a Time in America and Malena, the medley is called “E più ti penso”.
We had to sing in Piazza del Popolo (Rome), with the Sinfonietta, the great orchestra of Maestro Morricone, there were rehearsals the day before and we arrive at this hotel, in this giant room, there were all the orchestra elements , with maestro Morricone who welcomes us.
You, imagine, we sixteen, fifteen, we arrive, with short legs, which then remained so ….
IGNAZIO = I’ve never had short legs! 😁
GIAN = ….. mine, I talk about me, not about you (laughs) at some point we arrive, the song starts with a note mmmmm, the double basses, and I was supposed to start “and the more I think of you .. . “and I don’t start, so the teacher does this, he gives the attack to the orchestra and I don’t start. I look at it and say “Ah, but you give me the attack?” (laughs). The first violin like this (imitates the surprised face). He (Morricone) turns and says: “Don’t worry kid, I’ll take care of it, I’ll give you the attack”.
This will remain in the annals …..
PIERO = If this is the effect that his headache has on him ….. I hope you have a headache every day.
GIAN = I have recovered, I have recovered, just take a look.
PIERO = I have two memories.
IGNAZIO = The first is Barbara D’Urso !! (Italian presenter)
PIERO = No, the first memory is in 2010 We Are The Word for Haiti, after 25 years they remake Michael Jackson’s We Are The Word, produced by Quincy Jones and Lionel Ritchie.
They chose many artists, including Barbra Streisand, Celin Dion, there were all, and as Italians, only us in the midst of the choir.
It was nice that day, because we found ourselves with many artists, you consider that we started from three small towns, two Sicilians and one from Abruzzo, catapulted in front of Quincy Jones ….. we had Barbara Vitali, where is (and points to her in the room) she is, I don’t know, who you are to us ….
IGNAZIO = Shadow.
PIERO = … has been with us for 12 years ….
GIAN = She is our shadow.
PIERO = She is with us every day.
Have you seen “The Devil Wears Prada” (film), when the manager walks alongside and points, this does what … she (Barbara Vitali) does this to us, she did this, because today, perhaps, we learned a little bit. However that day she pointed out to us: “That’s Barbra Streisand, that’s Quincy Jones, that Lionel Ritchie,” … and so on.
The second memory, the experience, for me, was the collaboration with Maestro Placido Domingo, in 2016.
SPINELLI = In Florence.
PIERO = (nods) The fact that he agreed to direct the orchestra on stage, and duet with us, was a great gesture, a gesture of trust on the part of Maestro Plácido Domingo and the beautiful relationship that was born with all his family.
And I, that project, I link it to a great meeting, which I had in my life, meeting with a great person that we will all carry (he puts his hand on his heart), who has a comfortable place in our heart. (applause).
SPINELLI = Question: How do you see yourself in 10 years.
IGNAZIO = Gianluca certainly hopes to see himself taller. I thinner…
GIAN = No, oh well !!
However, as we said before, we are three simple guys, from this point of view, we also try to give an example of responsible people, who have a certain lifestyle, who love what they do, are 100% dedicated to work, that have goals.
It is clear that today the “bad boys” has more effect, it comes more immediately, let’s say.
Many young people, even our age, get lost, because they do not give priority to study and many other things, but they give priority to easy things, which do not require sacrifices.
IGNAZIO = Or they are satisfied with the “citizenship income”, unfortunately.
GIAN = We want to give this example of guys who, thanks to perseverance and great ambition, we were able to obtain ….. also thanks to our team and especially to the family, to have the support of a large family, we are happy with education that they have given us, since we were little, and we always try to give this great example, of responsibility, of humility, we hope to be, and even in 10 years, we want to try to remain what we are, what we were also from children, and to always reach the goals and to always carry the name of our music, through our voices, our culture.
SPINELLI = We are in the pipeline, I would like to ask you another question: “Would you have sung in Sanremo without an audience, like the one celebrated in March?”
PIERO = This year, the fact that we were hosted in Sanremo was particular, unpublished to all of us, but I want to say one important thing, this year we sang in Sanremo without an audience….
SPINELLI = Singing yes, but being in the race is another thing ….
PIERO = But it’s the same thing ….
GIAN = There is the awareness of millions of home viewers …..
PIERO = In the events, it is clear that the public makes the difference, it gives you more energy, there is more adrenaline, but it was not lacking, and this year I must tell you that, it was a Sanremo without an audience, but it made us understand how strong Ignazio is, because this year was a special year for him, and he stayed on stage with us singing, despite the great loss…
GIAN = The audience was there, there was a special person who was there with us that evening.
PIERO = And this does us, does you (looks at Ignazio), great honor. (appaluse) ❤
SPINELLI = This is professionalism, this is a reason to be on stage to honor it, in any situation, even the most difficult.
IGNAZIO = If I can afford to say one thing. Often … we think about the people we no longer have, and unfortunately one thing, when it happens, you cannot control it, but I have learned in recent months that it is better not to have a person physically and feel them, than to have them and not feel them. Sure it will always be missing, but I feel it every day, it is with me every day and so, that’s okay. ❤
PIERO = To conclude, we thank you for having turned on the spotlight again for those who work in the field of entertainment, on behalf of all our colleagues.
We hope that everything will be resolved soon. Thanks.
SPINELLI = Thanks to Il Volo, thanks. (applause)
And finally, Il Volo has released this little video-clip from IL GIORNO.
And here is the translation:
PIERO = We read in the news, 100% open.
It seems that the world is back to the way it was before and instead it is not, because not everyone sings in theaters. We are here today to represent our colleagues, all the artists who perform concerts in stadiums, in sports halls, in clubs.
So we seek and demand a clearer answer.
IGNAZIO = We can’t wait to try again that emotion that only some spaces can give, and to finally return to being able to have fun, to be able to spend a carefree evening, without problems, without work.
GIAN = But we are confident optimists by nature.
Clear that the situation is improving and we are realizing it.
IGNAZIO = But, I’m a bit more controversial. We hope to have some answers as soon as possible, not only for us, but also on behalf of all the people who work alongside us and behind us.
PIERO = And also for the people who buy tickets, because we have to regain people’s trust, give certainty to what they are buying.
After such a long but articulated interview, where very beautiful things and very profound concepts were expressed, what can I say ….. I have the impression that journalists have understood that, when they want to have interesting interlocutors, never banal , deep and sincere, if they call Il Volo, they know they will get all this.
Gianluca, Ignazio, Piero, I am deeply proud to be a fan of yours, not only from an artistic point of view, but also from a human one.
Thank you for being who you are!
Daniela
And now, to finish, this beautiful video. ❤️
Credit to owners of all photos and videos.
Credit to owners of all photos and videos.
Ignazio is a Beautiful Soul
If this story sounds familiar to you it’s because I had to write a similar story last year about our, Ignazio.
When I go on Instagram or Facebook and I see stories that hurt the guys, it upsets me. These are three of the nicest guys you’re ever going to meet in your life. It’s not just a career for them, it’s their life, their whole life. It’s what they’ve dedicated themselves to since they were teenagers. Everything they do they do for us the Fans. We as you know, aren’t just fans to them, we are family. They grew up with us and they know how important we are and, they do things every day to try to please us. Sometimes it’s a picture, sometimes a song or sometimes just their joking around. Then there are days, not too often, when they are quiet, they just hide themselves in their own lives. Lives that you and, I take for granted every day, they only get to enjoy occasionally. No, they can’t be out there for us 24/7 but they try their best to make themselves visible and available.
Even though we are like family to them, they do have families of their own. Families that they have spent so little time with over the last twelve years. The pandemic has been very hard on all of us. It was also hard for the guys because they had to leave us their fan family. If anything, there was some good that came out of this, the guys got to stay at home with their families. Since they were teenagers, they never had the opportunity to stay at home with their families for a whole year. And I think Ignazio expressed it best in an interview when he said, “if it wasn’t for the pandemic, I wouldn’t have spent those last (precious months) months with my dad.”
I chose to write about Ignazio this week because of some sad things that have been said about him on Instagram. I’ve had to do this on other occasions for Piero and Gianluca. This is a very important time for Ignazio. It’s a time when he needs to be near family and, among other things, to deal with the loss of his father. The purpose of this piece is to show you, those who don’t already know it, how, really, nice Ignazio is and has always been since he was a child!
Let me start by telling you about what Ignazio does for us with his music and what he contributes to the music industry.
If Ignazio did nothing more than sing for the rest of his life, he would be remembered as a singer who captured an audience at a very young age and continues to intrigue them with every passing day.
From the first time he stepped on the stage, he was a star. I remember watching him on PBS and thinking if he’s this good now, what will he be like ten years from now. Along with Gianluca and Piero these three, amazing, men have achieved in ten years what most men could only dream of achieving in a lifetime!
He is the voice that never ends! The voice that intrigues! The voice that takes your breath away! The voice that leads you to ecstasy!
But it doesn’t end there. No, there is so much more to be said about Ignazio and the best place to start is in his performances. He is the ultimate entertainer. He is the production. His presence is there in every aspect of the production. He is a prolific entertainer! He sees music! He feels music! He breathes music! Follow him around the stage. The little gestures aren’t just for our entertainment they are real movements within each song. Let me describe it as I have described it for you in the past:
Ignazio is known as the funny one and that he is! But is it really about the joke? Or is it more about the production.
I want you to think about the performance. We know these guys have amazing voices but, what if they got on the stage and for two hours, they did nothing but sing. I don’t think it would work. A performance needs the ability to move on. There’s no change of scenery and no intermission so how do you move the performance along? Ignazio! The joking he brings into the performance provides the levity to relive the seriousness of the performance. He brings a certain ease and suspense to the performance. The audience is always wondering, what will he do next.
But is it always about joking? I want you to think about what I’m saying. Ignazio is constantly moving around the stage. He’s dancing and keeping the rhythm. He’s swinging the microphone around and constantly nodding towards the orchestra, Gianluca and Piero. Is that the lead up to a joke? I don’t think so. Let me tell you what you are looking at. Ignazio is following every note that is sung or played on that stage. His mind is in motion. He is sensitive and passionate with music. He has the ability to see the music as it is happening. He knows where every instrument should come in and out. That’s why you notice little things like him smiling, nodding, pointing towards the musicians, Gianluca or Piero. He also grabs the baton from the conductor, sometimes to joke but more often to conduct. Think about him conducting the Asti Symphony Orchestra while Marcello Rota sang his tenor part. He wasn’t joking, he was conducting. And that’s why everyone was watching in amazement. And when it was over, they were speechless. Look at Michele Torpedine go across the stage to embrace him. He is in awe of this young man. You call him funny I call him brilliant! I am going to make a prediction here! Remember you heard it here first. Ignazio will compose a great operatic pop opera one day.
In an article by Ilvolovers Romania they commented: “Ignazio, for what he looks like and also for everything he sometimes hides, is an imposing, brave and authentic young man. Sensitive and passionate, his performance creates a hurricane of feelings for anyone who looks at him and listens to him. For him, the phrase “singing with the heart” is not a metaphor, it is a reality expressed in every gesture and makes us wonder what his eyes see when he sings.”
Let’s look at how Ignazio has helped aspiring young artist.
On February 2, 2014, Ignazio collaborated with singer Roberto Amadè in a project that resulted in a wonderful concert, the Amadè-Boschetto concert which was organized through the Cultural and Artistic Center “Ignazio Boschetto,” with the support of The Town Hall of Marsala. The Teatro Impero archipelago hall has long applauded this initiative which brought together several artists from Marsala.
Ignazio has helped many young people in their careers. In February 2014, Katya Pantaleo, a young singer from Marsala, won the Premio della Critica at Sanremo with the song “Come in paradiso” music, lyrics and arrangement by Ignazio.
On August 30, 2014, Chiara Cusumano and Giorgia Vassalo, The Duo Sisters, reached the finals of the Festival di Castrocaro, performing a song composed by Ignazio: “Paura d’Amare”.
And let’s not forget the beautiful song he wrote “Hablando de ti” that he has performed in concert.
And what about the theme song for the Rai Series Makari.
Let me add to this by recognizing Ignazio’s production company, Floki Productions. At 25 he started his own production company. Does this surprise you? It doesn’t surprise me. It makes a lot of sense to me.
Floki Productions I’m sure is Ignazio’s dream. So, where does the dream begin. Nico Arezzo!
In many ways Nico reminds me of Ignazio. He knows what he wants and, he goes after it. Nico was the first artist to sign a contract with Ignazio under Floki Productions.
You will remember that Ignazio released Nico’s song Gorilla on June 30, 2020 (in the middle of the pandemic) in a “Live on Instagram.” Let’s listen to what Ignazio had to say about that:
“On Thursday night we were the first to do a high-quality sound live on Instagram.”
People wouldn’t dream of doing what Ignazio did. What a spectacular show!
While the music world was trying to restart, Ignazio, at age 25, made his debut as a producer. And what a phenomenal production it was!
Ignazio said, “Production has always been my dream. It started with an idea to give a chance to those who deserve a break,” Ignazio reminds us “as it happened 11 years ago to myself, Gianluca and Piero.”
Some of you may remember the interview I did last October with Ignazio’s teacher Ermelinda De Bartoli. (you can read the full interview “Watching Ignazio Take Flight” on www.ilvoloflightcrw.com) Now I want to go back to that interview and pull out some of the questions and answers which will give you some insight as to who Ignazio really is:
Excerpts from the Interview of October 2020….
Susan: Ignazio’s mother said Ignazio was always very serious and responsible! How would you describe him as a teenager?
Ermelinda: I met him when he was only 14 years old. He was at the beginning of adolescence and, he was always joking. He was very attached to his family. He grew up in Bologna because the family moved there for work and, at the age of ten he moved to Marsala when the family decided to return. In Marsala he attended middle school and two years of high school. At school he was playful and sociable, with a very open and modest character. He often told us about his passion for singing which he studied with a teacher. His life as a teenager was not hard, because, as soon as he started his career at the age of 15, his life changed due to the numerous commitments linked to his success and the new path taken with Il Volo.
Susan: Ignazio is very kind and compassionate. Was this something you noticed about him as a teenager?
Ermelinda: He was very generous and affable to everyone. In particular, he was very compassionate towards some pupils with disabilities, with whom he often conversed, holding them in high regard and showing empathy.
I remember an episode one evening after he won Ti Lascio Una Canzone, the whole class with me and another colleague went to the pizzeria. Ignazio was just fifteen and, when it was time to pay the bill, he came to me and said: “Professor, you are my guest.” I understood that in him there was so much kindness in his manner and in his soul, in this case, a kind gesture towards a woman.
Susan: When Ignazio was your student, he was already studying with Lilliana Adreanò. Ignazio said he had a great passion for soccer and, he loved to play every afternoon but, it had been less so after he started taking singing lessons. He said, “I had less free time and then no free time and I realized that singing was more important than all the rest.” How do you think Ignazio saw his future at that time?
Ermelinda: It is true to study singing he began to leave other hobbies. After Ti Lascio Una Canzone despite having been praised by these great Italian singers, who sang with him, I remember that he told all this with great modesty and simplicity and despite the fact that he had won he never spoke of great expectations nor did he delude himself, at least, until the moment in which Michele Torpedine and Tony Renis hired them after a short time, to form Il Volo. I heard the comments on him by experts such as Claudio Cecchetto and Al Bano who, when he told him that he had recently taken singing lessons, were amazed.
Another detail that I noticed is that while he sang, he always kept his eyes closed and he told me that he was doing it because having recently lost his grandfather, who he adored and, it was he who Ignazio thought of while he sang and, he sang with his heart.
Susan: Ignazio went from your classroom to Ti Lascio Una Canzone and immediately became a star. You told me after the Italian program, he just took off. You said you saw him take off! What was it like watching all of this happen before your eyes? Did it seem like it was all happening very fast?
Ermelinda: Of course, having seen him “take flight” in a short time and, see him pass by the school desks, and then on a stage was for me, as for all his companions, a great emotion and a source of great pride.
Susan: Did you see a change in Ignazio during this time?
Ermelinda: Ignazio was still at school, after his first success, and with all of us, he always remained himself … with a modesty and genuineness that still distinguishes him today.
Susan: During the performances Ignazio sang with some really great singers. Massimo Ranieri, Albano, Fausto Leali to name a few. These singers were in awe of him. Do you think that Ignazio understood what was happening to him?
Ermelinda: Yes, these singers were more than in awe of what they heard, they were astonished, something that Ignazio confirmed when we asked him. And, to think that he was still a kid, and had not yet completed the development of the vocal cords.
Yes, Ignazio from the point of view of his singing ability had already understood in comparison with these famous singers that he had what it takes to become even greater.
Susan: How did your other students feel about what was going on in Ignazio’s life?
Ermelinda: His classmates were very happy and excited. Every Saturday night none of us left the house. We all waited to see Ignazio on TV … and on Monday when he returned to school, for the class, it was a riot and bursting questions, and also a source of pride to kids as they were, to have him as a companion … the little big star, their friend.
Susan: Did you every stop to think about how this all happened? How did a young man from a very simple family suddenly become a superstar?
Ermelinda: It often occurred to me that what was happening to Ignazio was a fairy tale … of those things that you think can only happen in fairy tales. He is a boy with a great talent hitherto unknown, from a very modest family but very united and with healthy values, he was able to tread the scenes of half the world … from his cottage in the countryside to a duet with Barbra Streisand and much more that we know.
The way in which all this happened is told by the facts that there was a first revelation of his talent and Ti Lasco Una Canzone, as we know, could remain there as it happens to many without getting anything else; then as he also said he had the luck of an intuition of the director who suggested to the managers Michele Torpedine and Tony Renis to form the trio.
Susan: How did you feel when Il Volo won Sanremo?
Ermelinda: When Il Volo won in Sanremo, that evening, in addition to the great emotion, I retraced the periods of when Ignazio was still young, always talking with humility about his first successes and I also thought that from the beginning I told myself that he was a phenomenon, so seeing him on that stage, the most important in Italy, was for me just as it was for all Marsala people.
Susan: Finally, what would you like to add about Ignazio that we haven’t already covered?
Ermelinda: I think I have said everything about him of what I know and what I have had the opportunity to perceive. When I talk about Ignazio, with others, I always say that he is very humble, modest and always very affectionate with the people who meet him. I still say: Ignazio, is a beautiful soul.
For Ignazio family is important. They are everything to him. So, please understand that he needs to be with his family right now. You like being with your family. How about posting some nice pictures of the Ignazio we love? Soon he will be in the limelight again. Until then, let’s remember, Ignazio is a Beautiful Soul! Respect that soul!
Join me next week as I go back Through the Fields of My Mind and open the door to a new adventure!
If you would like to share a story with me, please email: susan.flightcrew@yahoo.com
To read more Il Volo stories visit us at www.ilvoloflightcrw.com
Credit to owners of all photos and videos.