This year, due to Covid-19, everything is different, but a semblance of normality seems to be returning here in Italy.
Let’s try to follow the traces left by our boys:
GIANLUCA
We find Gian, engaged in a canoe excursion on the Tirino River, in the company of friends, family, and the guide.
Guide = Hello everyone from the valley and the TIRINO river, from Capestrano. Today we bring you the greetings of a special guest, one of the most important ambassadors of our land in the world
G = This way, you get me excited, (laughter) are we already connected ??
Guide = Yes Gianluca.
G = Hi, good morning everyone, today I am spending this beautiful day, with my family, in this wonderful place.
For me it is the first time and I am in the company of special, professional people, I am very happy, please, you must all come here.
Guide = Thank you!!
G = I’m honest, that’s not so much to say !! These words come from the heart.
Guide = Thanks again, we are all waiting for you here on the Tirino.
G = Greeting on the fly.
Guide = Greetings from all the Bosso staff, bye!!
G = Il Bosso profile. (He is recording the video for the Facebook profile IL BOSSO)
We are here together, and as I said before, I’m having one of the best experiences of my life and I’m not kidding.
I am from Abruzzo DOC (it is the brand that means Of Controlled Origin, 100% from Abruzzo), proudly from Abruzzo, proud of my land and of our places, unique in the world.
Look, I’ll show you the water, look how wonderful.
Then, having these early morning experiences, regenerates, you start the day differently, and it really reminds you, how beautiful life is, right? Then you do this job, since when ???
Guide =“For more than fifteen years”.
G = So I can imagine, for me it’s the first time and I’m crazy, you who practically live this life every day …
Guide = “I’m crazy”…..
G = You are crazy !!
I really wanted to say hello to everyone, maybe I’ll come back soon and see you here.
Greetings, I wish you a good day, that we are having a truly beautiful day.
PIERO
Piero is in Sicily, enjoying the sea in Taormina.
He is in the company of his brother Francesco and his sister Mariagrazia and with them he went to visit Aci Castello, where an ancient Norman castle stands.
IGNAZIO
Ignazio is in Sicily, but he is driving fans and gossip crazy.
New love for the beautiful puppy owner?
Perhaps, but for the moment we are content to see Ignazio so happy.
Whenever possible, Gianluca and Ignazio sing some songs.
“Bruises,” a song by Lewis Capaldi is really beautiful.
How beautiful are the words of this song “Fino a quando fa bene”? ❤️
Piero …… not received!
But surely all three of our guys will be training their voices, there is an appointment at the weekend, Monte Carlo awaits Il Volo !!
Perfect, guys, you have enjoyed the holidays, the sun, the sea, the rest.
But now, work commitments are looming, and we can’t wait to hear your voices again and see you back at work.
In these days of quarantine, there are live videos, between our boys and their friends.
This is Piero with Jovanotti. I state that Jovanotti, (also called Jova, but his real name is Lorenzo Cherubini) is a famous Italian singer-songwriter, rapper and disc jockey.
The live is very interesting and therefore I translate roughly for you.
Friendly greetings between Piero and Jovanotti.
Piero says that he returned three days earlier from the US where Il Volo was on tour, but they did not realize from there what the situation was like in Italy.
He is now in Naro, and is in quarantine. He says that quarantine stimulates creativity, he must commit the days, the mind, he takes advantage of it to study, and read.
Jova asks where the other two are and Piero replies that everyone is at home, Gianluca is in Abruzzo and Ignazio in Bologna.
Jova asks if there is someone at home with him and Piero replies that he is alone, that he has not yet seen his parents and his sister. Piero says that in America they didn’t have the feeling of what was going on, that if you put on gloves and a medical mask, maybe you looked badly.
Now also in the US the situation is different.
Now everyone looks to Italy, also as an example and then we receive many messages from all over the world of solidarity and we must be proud of this. Jova asks if they were on tour and Piero replies that they were on tour since January and they have had to cancel the last three concerts.
Piero explains how fortunately they managed to return to Italy, because he says that after Trump’s speech where he said he would close all flights from Europe, and for Europe, Alitalia, sent a completely empty plane to the US to take the compatriots who wanted to return to Italy.
Jovanotti says that Italians always show the best side when there are emergencies. He says it is in these cases that Italy proves to be a united country.
He says his daughter was also in the US for study and managed to catch one of the last flights.
Then he asks Piero if he is afraid.
Piero replies no, because he is convinced that we live in the safest country in the world, even if he admits that in Sicily, the health facilities (hospitals) are not exactly vanguard, but there are many people of good will. Therefore, by contacting some friends from Agrigento, they thought that, for now there are few cases in Sicily, but if the contagion were to come as strong as in Lombardy, the health facilities would collapse immediately.
And so he and these artists from Agrigento decided to start this fundraiser to help these hospitals. They will channel the donations to this bank account, but they will not give the money, but they will ask what the hospital needs and will buy it and give it to them. All coordinated with local authorities.
Piero says that the duty of the artists is to spread this initiative and says that today there are no records sold or concerts. Today there is only one concert, that of staying united and carrying out this great battle.
Jova greatly appreciates Piero’s speech and tells him that he is “great”. He remembers that they met quickly in a waiting room of the Catania airport and exchanged their contacts.
Then Jovanotti (who has many followers) invites everyone to follow this beautiful initiative, very important.
Then he tells Piero that he wants to hear his voice, he says that he knows that Il Volo sings all over the world bringing the Italian melody, especially the songs in Italian, and says that they are a rarity.
Piero replies that it’s nice to see Americans, even the Japanese, who get excited even if they don’t understand the words.
At this point Jovanotti asks Piero to perform the NESSUN DORMA.
Piero says that his neighbors will be tired of hearing him, as long as he always sings. Jova says they told him that the summer rental agencies have requests to rent apartments near Piero’s !!
So Piero shows the view from his balcony and Jova says it is a beautiful place, a real historical center.
Naro
Then he tells Piero that he appreciates Il Volo, because they also love to joke and play down their image, also lending themselves to slightly different interviews, such as the one they did with Fiorello, proposing Il Volo in a rock version.
Piero confirms that they try to bring the message of bel canto to the younger generation too.
Jova asks if they have ever sung in China and Piero confirms yes, in 2015, the year of the dog. Then they do a search and discover that when Piero was born, it was the year of the rooster, then they try, laughing, to make a symphonic version of Jova’s song.
A message from Fiorello arrives (on their video) and recalls a Sicilian song and immediately Piero sings a piece of it. Jova is not Sicilian and does not understand the meaning, so he asks Piero who tells him to ask Fiorello. (It has a mischievous meaning, that’s why Piero replies like this.)
There is also a message from Ignazio saying that they have abandoned him. Jova says no and asks where Ignazio is, Piero replies that he is in Bologna and that due to the jet lag he cannot sleep
So they talk about the importance of sleep to have a rested and fresh voice before the concerts, and Piero also recommends eating apples, and also cold water.
Jovanotti asks Piero if he ever met Pavarotti and Piero says that he missed by two years before their start as Il Volo.
(In this 2013 video there are Pavarotti and Jovanotti in a song by Jova, during “Pavarotti and friends.”)
So they talk about the performances on people’s balconies, these days, and confirm that it is the most beautiful thing, that those videos have gone around the world and that everyone imitates us for this, because it is the most beautiful thing in the world.
Piero tells Jova, that his dad, when he had the auto bodywork shop, put him on the hood of customers’ cars and had him sing UN AMORE COSÌ GRANDE and GRANADA.
Jova says that he is almost 54 years old, Piero’s dad, Gaetano, is only two years older.
Piero says that La Boheme is his favorite opera and Jova says he saw it a year ago at the Metropolitan.
Then Piero sings a piece of the Cavalleria Rusticana.
Piero confirms that he is studying to do an opera, but it takes months and months of study and tries to do lessons via skype with his teacher from Bologna.
Jovanotti tells him that when he debuts at the opera, he wants to be there, then asks if Gaetano wanted to be a singer, and Piero says no, but his grandfather was sincerely sought for singing and says that he and his grandfather have the same voice and he tells how his grandfather noticed his potential.
So Piero tells of the economic difficulties that his father has suffered, in order to take him to various competitions or singing lessons, and Jovanotti says they seem like stories from centuries ago, instead they are recent and very beautiful stories and Piero says that Ignazio and Gianluca also have similar stories.
Jovanotti concludes that now that everyone has time, they must use it to rediscover many things that are not done during busy days.
Then they say goodbye with affection.
Piero has also made specific messages to persuade people to collaborate to raise funds for hospitals in Sicily in the Agrigento area.
I had the pleasure of discovering Jo Ann, when she answered my plea and so graciously offered her room to share at The Palms in Vegas! We were so excited to meet each other after several long phone calls. Unfortunately, I didn’t make it to Vegas, but she did, which she will tell us about in a future post. 🙂 Of course I am always on the hunt for new recruits, so I asked if she’d be interested, and she said yes! She speaks, Italian and Sicilian, as well as English and hales from the Denver area. She will be working with Daniela in sharing some of the workload on the various translations, etc. So, Igna and Piero, you have no more secrets! Now, if she could pick up some Abruzese, well, the guys would have no secrets at all! 🙂 Welcome aboard to the crazy Flight Crew, Jo Ann! Without further ado, here she is!
By Giovanna
Ciao a tutti! Since this is my first time writing for the Flight Crew, let me introduce myself. I grew up as Giovanna Singer di Marchione in New Jersey. I answer to Giovanna, Yochanah, or Jo Ann, depending on what country I’m in.
Guarigione a Distanza: Long-Distance Healing
Nine or so years ago, my mother and son, watching a film clip on television, shouted across the house for me to come out of my office and hear something. I know my mother was really affected by it, because she was joking with me in Sicilian dialect “Giovanna, veni ca, e tale!”(“Jo Ann, come here and look!”). My mother hadn’t spoken Sicilian in 25 years, due to depressive illness and traumatic memories, and I despaired of my son ever hearing her speak it with me. I ran into the room in time to hear one of three boys, ‘nu ragazzinu (a young guy) with eyeglasses stretching “ma na-a-a-a-a-tu sole” into an 8-beat measure. I was dumbstruck at the smooth richness in such a young voice, in a teen my son’s age. I also couldn’t believe the “cioccolato fondente” (molten dark chocolate) baritone coming out of the smallest one, or the powerful vibrato from the tall one.
Up to that moment I was frustrated that Mama had abandoned her past. This was a woman who grew up singing with Tommy DeVito and Frankie Vallie (of the 4 Seasons), whose own mother sang in the chorus at La Scala in Milano. Her cousin, Lou Monte, sang Italian fun songs on the Ed Sullivan Show, after he re-recorded “Hello Dolly” silly-style with Louis Armstrong, where even Satchmo did a verse in Italiano. (I can tell what generation any reader is if they used to watch the Ed Sullivan show, or remember Louis as “Satchmo”). I don’t remember what was the TV show or clip where Mama saw and heard Il Volo. I only know that it triggered something good in Mama’s memory. For the last years of my mother’s life, we read Sicilian joke books, spoke and sang Sicilian and Italian, and immersed my son in the pride of where we came from. I have Piero, Gianluca, and Ignazio to thank for that, although we’ve never met and I didn’t even know who they were yet.
Eventually I figured it out, but it took a few years. I was running around the world on engineering projects, and they don’t have much bel canto music in Zambia, Zimbabwe, the mining towns of Slovakia, or the mine camps of upper Saskatchewan.
Il Volo Parte: The Flight Takes Off
A birthday hiking trip in Toscana, Italia in late 2015 started changing things. Stepping out of my hotel the first morning in Firenze, I noticed a poster with the name “Il Volo,” (which was probably an ad for a CD or something). The name struck me funny, since I was standing outside the Santa Maria Novella train station, not the airport! I took a good look, and recognized one of the young men in the photo, the one in the eyeglasses, which were no longer red. The tallest one now had a
Chiesa Santa Croce. The Notte Magica concert was held on the piazza in front of this beautiful façade.
striking young man’s face and an earring, and lost his round cheeks. The youngest one was starting to look like a matinee idol. My second thought was, “They had spectacular voices even as young teens. I wonder what they sound like now?” My first thought was “Italian boys really grow up well, don’t they?” The answer to what they sound like came quickly. The guys had won San Remo earlier that year, so the radios in some of the negozi in Firenza, Pienza, Volterra, and Volpaia, played “Grande Amore,” occasionally. That was my Benvenuti in Toscana: my Welcome to Tuscany, Il Volo style.
Ecco Che Arrive Il Bello (Here Comes the Funny Part)
Back in Colorado the following autumn, I got irritated at a friend who kept calling me to turn on the TV and watch PBS while I was trying to take a nap after a long workout. I finally gave in. There were the three faces from the poster, now in tuxedoes with even more stellar voices, shaking the Piazza di Santa Croce with Maestro Placido Domingo. That did it! No mistaking who they were now. This time I got irritated that I had been in that piazza six months too soon.
But I already derived great pleasure from Il Volo’s music even before I ever went to my first concert. These three boys always seem to be associated with good things happening in my family. I will always keep the warm memory of my son (a
Tempio Maggiore Synagogue of Florence. Almost a next door neighbor to Santa Croce. It’s home to some of the best cantorial in Europe.
drummer and baritone) and his sweetheart Anya (a soprano), eating dinner Italian style al fresco on my deck, announcing their engagement to me to the background music of Il Volo’s recording of “L’Amore Si Muove.”
When I took my third or fourth trip to Italy, my first to Sicily, in 2018 I was frustrated that due to the needs of one of our group, we scheduled the trip so we reached Taormina just a few days after the Il Volo concert there was over. It was
The Teatro Antico in Taormina with the beautiful backdrop of Mt. Aetna, which becomes the stage for Andrea Bocelli, Il Volo, and others.
obvious, though, that Il Volo’s presence in the Italian press had expanded since 2015, mostly for the better. They were on covers and center spreads in magazines in many of the edicole (newsstands), on the coffee table magazines in my hotel, the CD displays in the music store. Buon per loro! (Good for them!)
Next time: Finalmente! At long last, I attend my first Il Volo concert. I decided my first should, of course, be in Italy, where the guys harass each other in Italian and everyone knows all the lyrics . . .
This is what happens when everyone knows all the words to every verse.
Giovanna
Grazie Mille, Giovanna! What a lovely intro and such celebrities that reign in your family! We can’t wait to hear about your first concert with the guys in Italia! 🙂
The adventure of our fantastic friends Deborah and Jeannette continues …
Enjoy reading and ……. keep your jealousy !!!
Daniela
Saturday, March 9
Now here is the scoop for Saturday night!!
After we left Max Cream, we went to the mall to get our passes for the instore tour on Sunday in Castrofilippo, then checked into our B&B in Canicattì.
So what should we do for dinner tonight!! Well, let’s go to Naro and eat at Ristorante Pizzeria Maison. This is a lovely restaurant we visited last year….and of course we knew that the boys were in Catania that day for the instore tour there. So we also figured there was no chance in “hell” that we would accidentally run into them!!
The two waiters recognized us from last year, and were excited to see us back! We had a great conversation with them and had a several course, fantastic long dinner, in typical Sicilian style.
Well….while we were sitting there, suddenly we noticed some familiar faces coming into the restaurant. I looked up and there was Gaetano Barone coming towards us with a huge smile. He gave us hugs and a warm welcome to Naro. It appeared to be a family gathering along with a few friends, as Eleonora, Mariagrazia, Nonno Pietro and Nonna were all there!!It was nice to see the family enjoying each other’s company!
As we were served our delicious dessert, we received an extra special treat! Walking towards our table was none other than….you guessed it….our gorgeous Piero!!! He gave us a warm welcome and was happily surprised to see us as we were him, because we thought he was still in Catania. He had a little conversation with us, and then rejoined his family and friends!
As we were leaving, we got hugs & kisses from Eleonora ….. Piero with an absolutely gorgeous smile, waved to us and said, “See you tomorrow!”
Sorry, we did not take any photos as we wanted to respect their privacy!!!
Sunday, March 10
Instore tour at Centro Commerciale LaVigne
We arrived several hours early to get a good spot…Unfortunately Mall Security had other ideas!!! They explained in detail to us, what we needed to do and where to go…. however … Non ho capito!!!
So we wandered around until we saw a group of people gathered together and thought “Are these other Ilvolovers???”
As we approached them, we asked if they were there to see IL VOLO…the only thing they understood from us was…IL VOLO!!!! They said Sì! So we got in line! … We decided to mingle with the fans there…so unable to adequately communicate in Italian…Jeannette pulled out her special IL VOLO picture book that the boys had signed previously and that’s all the communication we needed!!!
We were actually adopted by this very nice couple that was in line in front of us!! They spoke no English and we spoke no Italian, however through Google Translate, sign language and “The now famous Book” we had a blast!!!
As we were standing in line waiting, it became apparent that crowds of people we going up the escalator for the CD signing!! We were getting upset because we came early to get a good spot and we were going nowhere!! To our surprise, when they finally let us go up the escalator, there was a lane that lead us to a special area with seats for the pass holders!! (Sure beats standing for hours like we did in Carini.)
The MC entertained us (in Italian) and was very funny even though we had no clue what was being said…He picked three girls out of our area..and named them…Ignaciette, Pieramia and Gianlita or something to that effect…and had them sing 🎶Musica Che Resta🎶!! They sang very well!!…
It was finally time for our boys to enter and everyone went wild!! The CD signing went pretty quickly this time, but we received their love and attention before we were hauled off the stage by the the big burley bouncer that was waiting for us!! 😉😂😊 As we went off the stage, who do we first see??? Eleonora and Mariagrazia!!! Once again we get big hugs and kisses!! We also saw Dario, Piero’s good friend, and talked with him for a bit and spent some time with Max Messina and his beautiful girlfriend!
The instore tours have now come to an end…with wonderful memories for us to cherish….Until our next IL VOLO adventure….we say ….
I am sure that after you read this beautiful and long adventure of the instore in Sicily of our friends Jeannette Giglio and Deborah GeorginiBeaupre, you will all want to come to Italy, preferably to Sicily, to participate in an instore ……. Jeannette and Deborah are just two forces of nature: Daniela
Centro Commerciale Poseidon is where the IL VOLO adventure of a life time started for Deborah Georgini Beaupre and Jeannette Giglio, oh that’s me… We went to the CD signing two hours early and there we met Giovanna and Nino Leone, Daniela Galati-LaFata’s sister and brother-in-law… They were up front and we were able to get to them with a great view of IL VOLO when they came onto the stage…Deborah purchased our CD’s a couple of days before I arrived and had our passes for our CD signing with the boys…We met some nice people in line and did our best to communicate with our limited Italian and their limited English. With the help of our new found friend, Giovanna, we were able to share stories of the love we have for IL VOLO…Nino took pictures of us all together and then surprised us by taking pictures of us on stage withlL VOLO...
In 2016 after the Las Vegas fanfare I had a beautiful book made up with pictures of IL VOLO when they were young boys and through the years…In the middle of the book was pictures of the fanfare and lastly pictures of them in 2016 , Notte Magica pictures with Placido Domingo, and some of Michele and Barbara mixed in. The Italian ladies and a few Italian men were thrilled to see the book and it was funny to see Deborah and I trying to explain the activities in the pictures to them, you have to remember we are trying to explain to them in English and a few Italian words sprinkled in and them talking fast in Italian to us and we just had the best time with them in spite of the language barrier…
It was finally our turn to get in line to see our boys and get the CD’s signed … There were about 400 to 500 people crowded around the stage. We pushed our way out of the crowd and tried going around to the left side of the stage where the fans were lining up… The people standing there watching our guys would not let us through even though we were holding up our passes to show why we had to get ahead of them… We gave up and went around the entire crowd of people and went to the right side of the stage and around the back of the stage to where the ticket holders were lining up and the mall cop would not let us in!!! He said we had to go back around and just work our way through the crowd…Now we are angry and hot from jogging around the mall of 500 people so this time we just pushed our way through the crowd and let them yell at us in Italian, we didn’t care, we didn’t understand them anyway, we were not going to miss our time with “our boys.”
Deborah went up first and said, “Ciao guys!!” They were very surprised to see her and recognized her right away!! Ignazio gave her a big hug and smile and Gianluca a big smile and said to her, “Come stai?” She drew a blank and almost said “Bueno”!!! The words “Molto bene” just wouldn’t come out, until Gianluca said you need to speak in Italian “Va bene”? As she was speaking to both of them, we found out later it was being filmed, as you probably already saw in her post. As security was about to have her move on, Piero said wait, grabbed her hand and told the MC that she was from America, so he came to her with the microphone and asked her what her name was and where she was from and also gave her a big hug!! What an special moment!
Now it was my turn. I went up the first two steps and Ignazio was the first to see me and he wrapped his arms around me and gave me a big warm hug… I was flabbergasted almost at a loss for words… but this is mighty mouth Jeannette and I recovered my vocabulary quickly and asked him if they would sign my book… He took the book and smiled as he looked at some of the pictures and then signed on the front page.
As this was happening, Gianluca saw me and with his biggest most loving smile said, oh you are here tooooo!!! He gave me a big hug and double cheek kisses then played tug of war with Ignazio trying to grab the book away from him… Ignazio said something in Italian and made one of his angry funny faces in his comical style and let Gianluca have the book… Gianluca got all excited and started looking through each page and commented how great he thought the book was… Then by this time Piero noticed the book and pictures and wanted to see it… Gianluca said no, no, no and continued looking through pages until he saw a picture of him and me, he then signed the picture and handed the book to Piero and asked if we would be going to Catania… I said no but we will see you Sunday… His face lit up again with that million dollar smile and said good, see you there and gave me a little hug as I turned to Piero…
By this time Piero found a place to sign and we had a minute to hug and talk… He wanted to know how long I would be in Sicily and would I see them again. I said yes on Sunday… He smiled that big smile and said you mean you are coming to my hometown? I said yes and I got a hug for that… The guys were just surprised and very happy to see Deborah and I. We certainly had more time with them than most fans did…What can I say, it was better than any meet and greet because they made the extra time for us and we have been on cloud nine ever since…
Today was a long drive from Palermo to Canicatti .. We had our GPS take us to places we had never been before, however after the third time around we figured that was not where we wanted to be. After about and hour or more returning to dead ends, unpaved roads with paths that could not even be called a road, with huge pot holes so big that we were afraid we would lose the car in one of them. We decided to give up on the GPS and find the sign that said Canicatti … We were there in a short period of time but so stressed out that we just had to go to Max Cream and have a gelato to calm our nerves. We had a great conversation with our friend Max Messina…We checked into our B&B and relaxed and put this first episode together for all of you…
We had another great adventure tonight but we will keep you in suspense until tomorrow as our adventure continues…
