SILVIA = They are the bearers of Italian music in the world, Piero, Ignazio, Gianluca, or Il Volo!! (enter Il Volo)
GIAN = Can I hug you?
SILVIA = Yes, welcome back.
IGNAZIO = How are you?
SILVIA = Fine and you? Hi Piero, how are you? Welcome back, Il Volo, how elegant you are. (everyone sits down)
GIAN = We have the same trousers, look! (Silvia and Gian are wearing wide-legged trousers, which are fashionable).
SILVIA = Yes.
IGNAZIO = Because he wanted to pay homage to the “CUGINI DI CAMPAGNA”. (It’s an Italian musical group from the 70s who always wore wide-leggedtrousers)
SILVIA = You are all in gray clothes.
GIAN = Today yes, but we are not gray (he means temperamentally and morally)
SILVIA = No, you all are full of passion, you are red inside.
GIAN = Red like you (she is dressed in red).
IGNAZIO = Today, when I tried it on (the suit) I thought it was beige, instead they told me it’s grey.
GIAN = You’re fine, you’re fine.
IGNAZIO = I have become colorblind.
GIAN = (turning to Ignazio) I see you in great shape, as always.
SILVIA = How are you guys? Welcome back to Verissimo.
PIERO = We met a year ago.
SILVIA = Exactly one year ago.
PIERO = A year ago things were a bit different, the concerts still didn’t take place, but finally we’re back on tour, we’re back singing on stage, to meet our audience again who have been supporting us for thirteen years now with their affection, with their love.
SILVIA = But there is another trip, which you will have to make, which you will make very soon, I know you have already been there for the rehearsals, because on December 24th, there is a wonderful event that sees you as protagonists in Jerusalem: IL Volo Natale in Jerusalem, and will be broadcast on Canale 5.
PIERO = Yes.
SILVIA = Well, Jerusalem is a symbolic city, I imagine also exciting for you.
GIAN = A city where all religions, cultures, languages really meet, visiting it is truly a unique experience, but for everyone, at all ages. Experiencing it at a young age maybe helps you really understand the difference of how humans are really different, anywhere in the world, how they really dedicate their lives to spirituality. It is truly a unique place and for us, living it has been a mystical, spiritual experience that has taught us new things.
A truly unique thing, even Jerusalem, Bethlehem, are places of great inspiration.
PIERO = We try to keep the Italians company on this special day, Christmas is a special day for everyone, and so we try to keep everyone company.
SILVIA = And even more on Christmas Eve, because it’s the wait for Christmas…Ignazio, did you wait for Santa Claus when you were little?
IGNAZIO = No, I was waiting for dinner more. (laughter and applause)
SILVIA = How to ruin a poem!!
GIAN = Exactly, like ruining a poem…..
IGNAZIO = No, I’ve always liked gifts, but full plates even more.
SILVIA = Those even more, anyway, obviously to celebrate your return, I prepared some little gifts and I didn’t make a gift for everyone but a gift for each one of you.
GIAN = Indeed!!
PIERO = Ohhh
SILVIA = I’ll start with Gianluca. (a video dedicated to Gianluca starts)
Gianluca’s voice in the video: It all started as children. I remember the first moments we didn’t know how to deal with the cameras.
In ten years life has changed us in an incredible way.
We are proud to be the only young people to bring this style of music anyway, because it all started with the great Luciano Pavarotti, the three tenors, Andrea Bocelli, so we try to follow in their footsteps.
Affections are often neglected, if at a young age we have this awareness, it allows us to live the moments more intensely, especially with the family, where everything started from there. A mother, a brother, a father, a grandfather, will always be waiting for you, even if you are away for months.
I must say that I have a wonderful relationship with my grandfather Ernesto, and one of the most indelible memories, in 2012 grandfather came to New York and saw me sing with Barbra Streisand.
I always carry my past with me.
Reflect when you wake up each morning in different cities or even in different countries.
I see the people at concerts who are there, they are there for me, for us. (applause)
GIAN = A nice present, thank you.
SILVIA = You were a child.
GIAN = Well, little has changed, and then now they make fun of me (Ignazio and Piero) because I removed my beard and let my hair grow like when I was a child.
SILVIA = (addressing Piero and Ignazio) What are you two doing?
GIAN = Have you seen they always do this when I talk, they talk to each other, it’s not easy for me….
PIERO = (he and Ignazio are teasing Gianluca good-naturedly) The camera is over there. (they do this to say that Gianluca is always looking for the camera)
GIAN = See how they make fun of me??
SILVIA = They are imitating you….
GIAN = They imitate me.
IGNAZIO = But he was like that….
SILVIA = Was he like that when he was little?
IGNAZIO = It was impressive, the first few times, when a photographer, or a camera followed us, when turned on the camera…. (Ignazio suddenly turns his face and strikes a pose like Gianluca did).
GIAN = Then I understood why I did it.
SYLVIA = Why?
GIAN = Because when one is insecure, he needs confirmation. I also have to acknowledge, with hindsight, that looking at me as a child, I feel a certain tenderness, because in any case seeing how we grew up together, how we faced life, recognizing one’s limits, or trying to overcome them, trying to be the best version of themselves. But I’ve always remained a bit narcissistic, oh well but it’s normal (he turns to Piero and Ignazio who exchange knowing glances to confirm), but you always make fun of me for this.
PIERO = But these are our characteristics, we have three completely different personalities and perhaps it is also our strength.
SILVIA = Do you know that Gianluca studies acting? True?
GIAN = I had a very nice experience with some guys, also to try to have a little more control on stage, I was a bit stiff, I’ve always been.
IGNAZIO = Now it’s more flexible…..
GIAN = No, but really…..
IGNAZIO = Especially when he dances he is less rigid…. (he makes fun of Gian because he doesn’t know how to dance)
GIAN = I don’t know how to dance for example…
SILVIA = Can’t you dance?
GIAN = But acting is a passion that I love to cultivate, you never know, in life….
SILVIA = So maybe you would also like to act one day?
GIAN = Why not, why not.
SILVIA = What do your colleagues think?
IGNAZIO = Never limit yourself in life, because the greatest limitation of ourselves is ourselves.
SILVIA = Ah, you see?
IGNAZIO = Why limit yourself?
PIERO = But where did this sentence come from?
IGNAZIO = From my pearls of wisdom (applause)
SILVIA = Then it’s your turn (Ignazio).
IGNAZIO = To me?
SILVIA = Are you ready? It’s up to you.
IGNAZIO = Yes.
SILVIA = You too grew up with them, you too.
IGNAZIO = Oh yes.
SILVIA = In short, you shared beautiful moments, less beautiful moments, with your working family, we can say.
IGNAZIO = Absolutely.
SILVIA = Are you ready?
IGNAZIO = Yes, let’s see! I’m a little worried…..
Ignazio’s voice in the video = As a little boy every day I made my mother scream, I came from school, I ate, if I had homework I did it, when I did it, and I went behind my house because we built huts. Everything was better.
Our life is divided like a sheet divided in half: Ignazio in his life with Il Volo, and Ignazio in his private life.
Two parallel lives.
But thanks also to our parents, we always manage to keep simplicity in both lives.
Your Love is a song that means a lot to us, because we performed in Sanremo three days after my father’s death and it means a lot to me. I haven’t lost my father, my father is always with me, well, I like to think like this.
Many ask us: “But aren’t you afraid, afraid of the public?”, it’s all adrenaline. There have been many difficult moments in our career, it has never been all sunshine and roses.
It’s also nice to experience things with a little ingenuity. (applause)
IGNAZIO = When I was thin.
PIERO = What subject Ignazio.
SILVIA = Oh yes. Well I have to say that reviewing that performance (Your Love) with them by your side, I got goosebumps.
IGNAZIO = It had a bit of an effect on me too, I haven’t seen it for a while, I’ve really never seen it, it’s the first time, but yes, it has an effect.
SILVIA = There your friends really gathered around you.
IGNAZIO = I’ll tell you the truth, I’m one of those people who thinks that the people closest to you are not seen in times of need, but in times of happiness, because anyway in times of need, anyone can come there and give you a hand out of tenderness, pity, anything. It is in difficult moments that it is more difficult to rejoice for a friend.
SILVIA = And you call yourself Libra, because you are from Libra by zodiac sign, but spongy, what does that mean?
IGNAZIO = But then you’ve read the book, eh!!
Spongy Libra, it’s all those people who, like me, absorb all the energies, negative, positive, whatever, and we keep everything inside, so as not to explode, to seek balance in our lives, but above all in that of others. However I am a person who likes to see happy people, I would do anything to see happy people, neglecting my happiness, more often than not. So, spongy Libra because we always try to make others happy and never think about ourselves.
SILVIA = And you don’t even vent with them, with Piero or Gianluca?
IGNAZIO = Not much.
SILVIA = Do you keep everything inside?
IGNAZIO = Absolutely.
SILVIA = But at a certain point you have to tell….
IGNAZIO = Yes, but that’s exactly the flaw, I like being a spongy Libra, but then the flaw is just that, I get to a point…..
SILVIA = (turning to Piero) And you don’t try to make him talk?
PIERO = This is one of his positive characteristics, for the group, because you know, sometimes not everything can be said, not everything one thinks. However, perhaps he stays silent for a long time and then tells you everything to your face, but the beautiful thing about Ignazio is that he tells you the truth, and you know that when he speaks he is telling the truth, and that is what perhaps at the beginning gives what shock to the group, which surprises you a little, but makes you think, because if he says so, it means that it’s all true.
IGNAZIO = For example, I’ll tell you an anecdote.
SYLVIA = Go!
IGNAZIO = I’ve never told it, it’s a scoop.
SILVIA = A scoop!
IGNAZIO = A few years ago…..(Piero touches his leg and Ignazio asks him: ) “What happened?”
PIERO = Stay….. (and imitates Ignazio with his legs spread)
IGNAZIO = I’m comfortable…..so what, excuse me (and he sits down with his legs together, and then crossed).
PIERO = Well done.
IGNAZIO = Is it okay?
PIERO = Very good.
IGNAZIO = A few years ago, it was a period in my life where I was detached from work, I have to tell the truth, I don’t know it was a moment like this, and every now and then they would throw sentences at me:
“You are never there”, “You are always away”, “You are never with us”, “You are always at home”, “You go out with others and not with us”…..and in a meeting I said: “The real reason why I’m not with you is because I don’t feel well, I can’t be with you”.
Since that day, our relationship has changed.
SILVIA= How nice, you had great courage. (applause)
IGNAZIO = (addressing Piero), Do you remember, in Bologna? (Piero nods)
SILVIA = You reacted!
IGNAZIO = They were disappointed.
PIERO = In the end you reflect on the words, you always try to understand the person, his reaction, a word spoken, but in the end he was right, because maybe he needed to be with himself for a while, he didn’t go out with us because he needed to reflect, but like everyone else, you know we go to dinner, we go out when we stay in hotels on the other side of the world we stay together, he was always in the bedroom, always in the bedroom, the first time we invite him , the second also, the third you start to leave him on his own. This thing lasted a couple of months.
IGNAZIO = Yes, yes.
PIERO = Then we tried to deal with this thing, because you know, in the end, the three of us respect our private life very much, but the truth is that we have fun when we are all three together, even off stage, and we didn’t feel like not having him anymore with us, maybe he stayed too much time alone in the bedroom, so we faced this discussion, he had the courage to tell us what was wrong, maybe certain aspects of our character that he didn’t digest…..
IGNAZIO = That is, prejudices, judgments, those things there.
PIERO = And then…..
IGNAZIO = In the end, between friends, it’s the beauty of being friends, the word friends, it’s a bit like in a relationship you say the word I LOVE YOU, you can say, but the true meaning of I love you, it has a great meaning and giving a value to the word FRIEND must be as much as I LOVE YOU. Being friends also means this, being transparent, telling each other everything, how things stand. (applause)
SILVIA = Gianluca do you remember that moment?
GIAN = Yes, but then we know each other so well that we really need not to have any kind of judgement.
SILVIA = Having the freedom to be yourself, because being together for so long, work is fine, but then one feels limited, right? I imagine!
IGNAZIO= Sure, that was the straw that broke the camel’s back, because we have to feel good together.
SILVIA = And are you all right now?
PIERO = Very well.
IGNAZIO = Unfortunately yes!! (applause)
SILVIA = Your time has come (she turns to Piero) are you ready to see you again as a little boy?
PIERO= Go, go, I’m very ready.
SILVIA= Let’s go back in time and this is our gift to you. (applause)
Piero’s voice in the video: My grandfather Pietro discovered my voice.
“Piero’s grandfather= There was something true, I felt that slowly something had to happen.”
My father never stopped believing in me, I used to sing on the bonnet of cars in the workshop, and you would see this short child, only 1.40m tall, singing, and all the neighbors would look out to listen. Love is a particular theme, but it is such a strong feeling that it must be protected. I see a good future with a family and children, in my opinion that is the reason for living.
I think the highlight of our career was when we sang in front of Pope Francis in Panama.
Our luck … in the midst of so many people, sometimes you feel alone …. but I think that in 10 years something like this has never happened. (applause)
IGNAZIO = (he turns to Piero) But you are the only miracle in the world without cosmetic surgery.
PIERO = Why?
IGNAZIO = Because you’ve become a handsome boy without surgery. (laughs)
SILVIA = It’s true, but he’s always been handsome.
IGNAZIO = No, it wasn’t always nice.
SYLVIA = Why?
IGNAZIO = No, come on, when we started he wasn’t handsome, now he’s a handsome boy.
PIERO = That is, do you understand who I have to stay with? (he means that Ignazio is making fun of him)
IGNAZIO = (he points to a photo of Piero) Look at that handsome boy.
SILVIA = With a beard….
PIERO = He (Ignazio) is making fun of me.
IGNAZIO = I’m not kidding you, I’m being honest.
PIERO = I still have to understand when he’s serious.
SILVIA = Yes, me too, I still have to understand.
SILVIA = Are you serious or are you joking?
IGNAZIO = I’m serious.
SILVIA = You are serious!
PIERO = Thank you, we are approaching Christmas and you have become better!
IGNAZIO = No, no, I’ve never told you, but it’s true, you’ve become a handsome boy.
PIERO = Thanks, if you tell me I believe it.
SILVIA = Well done Ignazio!!
IGNAZIO = I’m sincere!
SILVIA = Indeed! (applause)
SILVIA = (she turns to Piero) So, how much did you grow up too, together you trod the most important stages in the world, maybe you never see your videos again, but seeing you, seeing how you grew up, what effect does it have on you?
PIERO = In the video they are images from when we were 15/16 years old, you notice the difference, not only physical, but there is that maturity that only comes with time, with the experiences you live.
This is also the reason why we decided to do this concert in Jerusalem, let’s hope everything goes well, we have just returned from the inspection, an incredible place, (he then turns to the audience) I’ll see you on December 24th on Canale 5.
SILVIA = Bravo, on Christmas Eve! (applause)
PIERO = I was saying that we have decided to sing, to do an event in Jerusalem now, at the age of 28/29, because we are aware that you can only undertake such a profound and important journey if there is that extra maturity, which of course a little boy 14/15 years old cannot have, and therefore we also hope to convey these strong emotions that we experienced in this pre-trip and that we will experience on December 24th.
SILVIA = Well, we talked about you, we talked about Jerusalem, and now let’s talk about LOVE.
IGNAZIO = (ironic) I couldn’t wait.
PIERO = Excuse me, but is Silvia Bond still there? (Silvia in spy version for love topic)
SILVIA = Yes, there’s Silvia Bond, because last time all you made some important statements to me, (she repeats a sentence in Portuguese said by Ignazio) for example, promises, question marks, look, because now it’s time for truth.
(Start a video of some pieces from the previous broadcast where Silvia had asked about their love life and I summarize their answers:
GIAN = I’m engaged and in love, I’m happy and my girlfriend has my mother’s name, Piero intervenes to say to wait for the next interview with Verissimo to confirm, because Gianluca often changes girlfriends.
Then Piero states that for now he is fine on his own .
Ignazio says that he met a girl from Brazil through the web, he went to meet her and now they are in love and he is happy and would like to be a young father.)
IGNAZIO = (he turns to Silvia) But, won’t they fire you 007?? (he is paraphrasing a James Bond film)
SILVIA = Where do I start? Voluntary question!
IGNAZIO = Go to Piero, start with him.
SILVIA = So Piero was single right? I read stories, but I don’t know anything (because Italian newspapers write about so many absurd love stories).
PIERO = Better to change the subject. No, as you left me, you find me. (he means that nothing has changed)
SILVIA = Ok, you’re alone, always alone with them (Ignazio and Gianluca).
PIERO = I’m resigned and it will be like this for all the episodes of Verissimo….
SILVIA = But have you had acquaintances this year or just peace of sense?
PIERO = Maybe we concentrated a little too much on work.
SILVIA = Ok, just work….is that right, Ignazio?
IGNAZIO = Yes, he (Piero) will soon be giving his vows (to enter the convent, Ignazio is the usual joker)
SILVIA = It smells of sanctity.
IGNAZIO = The trip to the Holy Land has served and will also serve for this.
SILVIA = And what about you? (she turns to Ignazio but he avoids the topic)
IGNAZIO = Gianluca, so you?
GIAN = No, Ignazio is your turn.
SILVIA = Ignazio we stayed with Ana Paula, from Brazil, a beautiful, blonde girl…..
IGNAZIO = Let’s go on……yes, because it’s complicated……
SILVIA= The distance?
IGNAZIO = Eh, yes.
PIERO = But there is a positive aspect of this relationship.
IGNAZIO = I learned Portuguese.
PIERO = He learned to speak Portuguese and now we don’t do all the interviews in Brazil with the simultaneous translator, but with Ignazio.
SILVIA = Wow, see?
IGNAZIO = Yes, but it’s difficult, complicated.
SILVIA = It’s over.
IGNAZIO = Yes, yes, but for a while already, for a few months already, since June, that’s life, things have a beginning and we don’t know when the end is, when it arrives, it depends how it arrives…. …. do we go further?
SILVIA = See…..
GIAN = Curious, Silvia is curious.
SILVIA = No, I want to know, indeed the public wants to know… and you? Dear Gianluca?
GIAN = It’s a dual relationship, we are one person. I told you I wouldn’t change.
IGNAZIO = Wait, it hasn’t been two years yet (because Il Volo was invited to Verissimo every two years, instead it’s only been a year since last time)
Usually he has a two-year contract.
SILVIA = But I understand, are you still with Eleonora?
PIERO = Yes, the surname is still the same!
GIAN = Have you seen how they do it? When I speak they jump on me.
IGNAZIO = If I jump on you, you’ll hear me more.
SILVIA = So you kept your promise, if we can say so.
GIAN = Yes, I told you!
SILVIA = Did you do it for us?
GIAN = Of course (he laughs)
PIERO = In fact in the wedding ring there will be written for Silvia (laughter)
SILVIA = Are you happy? Are you OK?
GIAN = Yes, I’m fine, because it’s not easy being around (on tour) and being in love, especially in an age where you often live in freedom, for a series of things, but I’m fine, as I said before, it’s a dual relationship, we are one person, we are similar, really, as if she were my female version and vice versa, in short.
SILVIA = Let’s go ahead and talk about music.
IGNAZIO = Please, are you coming to our concert?
SILVIA = Of course I’ll come to your concerts. So let’s remember on the 24th there’s Christmas in Jerusalem broadcast on Canale 5, then there are three other concert dates.
PIERO = Yes, the day after tomorrow we leave for Brazil, then we will return to Italy for the concerts in Turin on December 15th, Milan on the 17th and in Rome on the 23rd.
SILVIA = And since you never stop, there’s also a new single.
PIERO = Yes, Happy Christmas.
SILVIA = Happy Christmas which is a song by John Lennon which is a beautiful song, a beautiful hymn.
IGNAZIO = Many know it as War is Over.
SYLVIA = Yes
PIERO = Written in 1971 during the war in Vietnam and unfortunately still today…..
IGNAZIO = is current unfortunately.
PIERO =….. let’s keep talking about this sad topic. And with this song, with Happy Christmas and with Christmas, we try to continue giving life to this message, which is an eternal hymn to PEACE. (applause)
SILVIA = And let’s listen to it, are you ready? Il Volo with Happy Christmas War is Over. Thank you.
(starts the song)
SILVIA = Thank you!
IGNAZIO = Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays.
SILVIA = Merry Christmas
GIAN = Happy holidays to all.
SILVIA = Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, see you on December 24th, Christmas Eve, with these three really extraordinary guys.
I+P+G= Thank you, thank you all, happy holidays to all.
To all of you at Flight Crew, our warmest wishes for a merry Christmas full of joy, from all the staff:
We understood why Gianluca, Ignazio and Piero chose the name Il Volo, (The Flight) because they are always traveling by plane, they move here and there, from one continent to another, who knows how many hours of travel they will have accumulated, really a lot.
And in fact, the photo posted on Instagram by Gianluca tells us that they are flying to Brazil.
But what are they going to do in Brazil? There has been talk of a private event, but surely they also participated in a TV show: São Paulo with Patricia Poeta where they promoted the new dates of the 2023 South American tour.
In the first video, Patricia presents Il Volo and they perform a song from Il Mondo a capella.
In this second video, Patricia tells the story of Il Volo, how they met in a talent show, she says they are two tenors and a baritone and they sing pop-opera.
It is almost always Ignazio who replies in Portuguese, he says that it is a great responsibility for them to sing their musical genre because they want to make it known to the new generations who may not know it, and Ignazio explains that they try not to lose the music of the tradition that is part of Italian culture.
Patricia compliments Ignazio who speaks Portuguese.
Gianluca greets Paula Fernandes, with whom they recorded GRANDE AMORE, then they talk about the 4 tour dates that will be done in Brazil in 2023 and at the end they sing GRANDE AMORE.
In this video Il Volo and Paula Fernandes :GRANDE AMORE.
And here are the four dates announced during the show:
March 8 and 9 – Sao Paulo
March 11 – Rio De Janeiro
March 17 – Porte Alegre
March 18 – Curitiba
A couple of photos taken in Brazil.
In the meantime, the dates of the book signing events have been confirmed here in Italy, here they are:
A book to read and listen… with the heart 🎵
🚀 The guys from Il Volo meet the fans for the presentation of the book “Il Volo. What I Carry in my Heart”, published by #RaiLibri
⏰ December 14 Feltrinelli Turin, Piazza CLN, 5.30 pm, Turin ⏰ 16 December Mondadori Megastore, 5.30 pm, Milan ⏰ 21 December Librerie.coop, 7.30 pm, Bologna ⏰ December 22 New Europe Library I Granai, 5 pm, Rome
………..and I will be in Milan!!!!☺☺☺
In addition, this nice and fun interview has been published which I translate for you.
Il Volo: Our selfies with Lady Gaga. Sharon Stone a true friend. The fans who try? Many
Who is it of the three who said “Hello!” to the Pope? Name out.
Piero:Who do you think did it? Huh?”
Gianluca:Okay, I confess it. But in 2014 I had just come of age, emotion betrayed me. However, His Holiness answered me “Hello”, as if nothing had happened. At the third meeting, in Panama, in 2019, I even asked him for a photo together. Done”.
Piero:I swear that in a few years I will write a book about our embarrassing moments .There are also those who, at the hearing in St. Peter’s Square, fell asleep behind sunglasses, next to Lewis Hamilton… right Ignazio?
Ignazio:“I woke up at 3 and a half in the morning to arrive in Rome at 7, I was destroyed, and my eyelids closed.”
A chat for four voices with Piero Barone (29), Ignazio Boschetto (28) and Gianluca Ginoble (27), or the three tenors (better, two tenors and a baritone) of Il Volo, a group born in 2009 in a talent show for children (Ti Lascio una canzone ). After that, with a victory at Sanremo 2015 in his curriculum vitae — adored or snubbed, with no middle ground — quickly enrolled in the “international star” category with guaranteed sold outs, in perpetual travel around the world: only in the last few months a frenetic tour between Canada, USA, Japan and Australia. To close with a trio of Italian dates (December 15th in Turin, 17th in Milan, 23rd in Rome) and with the Christmas concert from Jerusalem (Magical place), on the 24th in prime time on Canale 5.
On your phone you have a barrage of selfies with Lady Gaga.
Piero:Here we are, see? It must have happened five years ago, in the kitchens of a hotel in Washington.
And how did you end up in the kitchen?
Piero:There was a charity event with the Italian-American community. Outside people were going crazy, to be safe we hid in there with her. Gianluca and I, because Ignazio was sleeping as usual. Lady Gaga was very nice.”
And you’re very, very good friends with…
Piero: The great Placido Domingo, just met in New York. We always keep in touch with Laura Pausini.
Ignazio:And Sharon Stone. We met her in Montecarlo, we feel it all the time.
And one day in 2012, at the hair salon on Canyon Drive, Los Angeles…
Piero:We were on tour with Barbra Streisand. While they fixed my hair, I made conversation with a beautiful lady next to me. “You know, we sing at the Hollywood Bowl tomorrow.” “Congratulations, you are very good”. The hairdresser leaned over and whispered in my ear: “You know who it is, don’t you? Did you recognize her? It’s Priscilla Presley!” I returned the compliments immediately. And we invited her to the concert. From that moment, whenever she can, Priscilla comes to listen to us, a great friendship was born.
Do you like Elvis?
Piero: What questions: yessss.
Quick self-portrait of you as a child.
Piero: Very lively, too good, I hated solfeggio (voice practice) but now I thank those lessons. I deafened my brother who was trying to study.
Ignazio: I sang pretending that the curtain knob was a microphone.
Gianluca: At the age of 10 I was already asking myself existential questions. Who I am? Why was I born? What meaning will my life have? I found an answer to the latter: the meaning was given to him by music.
Three teenagers who meet overnight in America, under contract with Universal Music. Imagine if you had disliked each other.
Piero: Ignazio and I bonded immediately, between Sicilians. Then with Gianluca, it came naturally.
Gianluca:Everything went very fast, we didn’t even realize it so much. On the plane to Miami I looked out the window and I couldn’t believe it, total euphoria”.
Ignazio:The next day I had them take me to Mel’s Diner for an American breakfast.
Piero: I lived two parallel lives. There the parties with Beyoncé and Quincy Jones. Back in Italy, I didn’t tell anyone anything, for fear of sounding crazy, but I was terrified it would end.
In 2013 sold out Radio City Music Hall.
Ignazio: Only a year and a half before, standing in front of the entrance to the theatre, we dreamed, one day, of going up on that stage.
Gianluca: The important thing is to always go forward, to keep up with the times, otherwise it’s easy to end up like Nikka Costa. (famous child singer which was never heard from again)
Victory in Sanremo with “Grande Amore”.
Gianluca: Until then we were only well known abroad, not here in Italy, difficult to accept. It was the perfect opportunity, the revenge of bel canto which hadn’t had success at the Festival since the days of Bocelli.
Piero: An absolute joy. In Catania, many were waiting for me with placards, it was a beautiful party. Going home every now and then helps me find balance, makes me feel like the most normal person on the planet. In the summer I always go fishing with my friend Enzo, we go out by boat at five in the morning, I love to see the sunrise. Last time I caught a 5 kilo sea bass.
The Volovers, i.e. your wildest admirers, how far of madness have they reached?
Gianluca: There is someone who tattoos our names and surnames on his skin. Who follows us in every stage of the tour around the world. And who is waiting for us at home for hours.
Piero: One day, in the gym in Phoenix, I was running on the treadmill. Next to me was a girl who was training. Half past seven in the morning, I was still sleepy. Suddenly I focus on an inscription on her ankle. “It looks just like my autograph.” It was,” (if I’m not mistaken he’s talking about Marie)
Do they try?
Ignazio: “Avoglia…. (certainly..).” Who of the three hooks up the most?
Gianluca: We can’t say it ourselves.
Do they knock on the door in the hotel?
Ignazio: If I don’t know her I won’t open. And then I took a vow of chastity. (laughs)
Quarrels between you have we collected?
Gianluca: It happens in times of stress. But we have learned to control ourselves, before it happened more often.
Piero: In Santo Domingo, we were in the car, I didn’t feel well, I was sweaty. “Gianluca, come on, close that window, the draft is hitting me”. And he did, but then, a minute later he lowered it again, I would have killed him.
Gianluca: Yes, but it was 40 degrees outside and we didn’t have air conditioning.
Ignazio: I always eat last, these two often leave me nothing, not even rice. They are thin, but they eat anything.”
You have lost 34 kilos. How?
Ignazio: I closed my mouth.
Piero: We were at the breakfast buffet in New Zealand and… “
Ignazio: “No, in Kuala Lumpur».
Piero: Oh well, in any case Ignazio suddenly said to me: “I want to lose weight”. “Bravo, then come with me to the gym, train, work hard. And from that day on he became a sex symbol….
Ignazio: Now I’ve started training again after two years, I’ve put on 13 kilos again. Waivers? No. We eat healthy. Piero is intolerant to pork, so we don’t eat it either. And all three of us can’t stand dairy products.
It takes a beastly physique.
Piero: Travelling a lot, discovering the world is a privilege. I love running, wherever I go I ask the concierge and get advice on the best routes. Once Ignazio also came and I almost had to carry him back on my back».
Ignazio: In Matera, it was terribly hot, 7 and a half km of ups and downs.
Gianluca: I train in the gym and walk, I don’t run.
The worst flaw of the other two.
Gianluca: Piero is too rational, Ignazio too instinctive. Both touchy.”
Ignazio: Me? It is not true! Gianluca is too perfectionist, Piero stubborn.
Piero: Gianluca is long-winded, when he gets fixated on something he doesn’t stop talking until he’s convinced you, the next day I’m terrified of meeting him at breakfast and that he’ll start over.
Ignazio, on the other hand, keeps everything inside and at the last moment he explodes and says things in your face. It would be better if he spoke clearly from the start. And then he is late, forgets his appointments, falls asleep.
Ignazio: No, you’re a big pain in the ass.”
Mishaps on stage?
Gianluca: Ignazio fell and so did I, tripping over a folding chair.
Ignazio: It happened to me to go out on stage holding a cell phone instead of a microphone.
Piero: In Budapest, the twelfth piece Ave Maria, I start to sing but my voice does not come out. Ignazio looks at me wrong. He thought you were joking. I had caught a cold snap from a big fan that shot freezing air. We had to interrupt for about twenty minutes, the time to take some Bentelan. (medicinal)
Neither rapper nor trapper. Critics say that you make “old men’s music”.
Gianluca: It’s right to respect every opinion, criticism is good. But we go on doing what we like most, which makes us and millions of people happy.
Piero: Before, negative comments made us nervous, they were hard to digest, now they’re good for us. But there is a subtle difference between criticism and offense.
Fear that one of the three decides to break away and continue his career alone?
Gianluca: We are not a classic band with a frontman. But three singers, three leaders.
Piero: We know very well that our strength is the group. People want to hear all three together. And even if, during the concerts, everyone has their own space, we too know that united we are something else.
BREAKING NEWS:
Il Volo will be a guest on the TV show VERISSIMO with the sweet Silvia Toffanin, Sunday on Canale 5 at 4 pm. It will certainly be a nice and kind interview.
And finally, enjoy this promo video, which advertises the “Christmas in Jerusalem” event, it will be fantastic!!
For the third time, Il Volo is once again interviewed on VERISSIMO on Canale 5, by the talented Silvia Toffanin.
A long and beautiful interview that I really enjoyed translating for you.☺
Click on photo below to watch the interview.
SILVIA = Welcome.
IGNAZIO = How are you?
SILVIA = Well and I see you really well, I see some wonderful images that are the images of your new video that we are previewing THE ECSTASY OF GOLD, right?
PIERO = Yes, soundtrack by the great maestro Ennio Morricone. We have dedicated the new IL VOLO SINGS MORRICONE project to Ennio Morricone.
SILVIA = It was released all over the world on Friday.
GIAN = It is a collection of the soundtracks of the maestro Ennio Morricone, from Nuovo Cinema Paradiso to Once Upon a Time in the West, to The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly with The Ecstasy of Gold that opens this album, with the first sung version, with a text in English written by the son, the maestro Andrea Morricone.
SILVIA = Well, congratulations, how beautiful, a bit of a western video.
IGNAZIO = It was great to shoot it, because it was shot on film, as it used to be.
SILVIA = Like in the old movies.
IGNAZIO = And it was interesting, while we were recording it, the director said “Missing a meter at the end” and we thought: “What does that mean?” Because in film, when you shoot in film, it does not qualify in seconds, but in meters.
SILVIA = Ah, you see, when there was a meter missing, it meant that the film was running out.
IGNAZIO = Of course meters or centimeters mean time, seconds.
SILVIA = So, how are you guys doing? I see you very well.
PIERO = We are very well, we are very happy with this project, we have been stuck at home for almost two years, but our creativity has helped us a lot.
SILVIA = It didn’t stop.
PIERO = I must say that time has been our best friend, because we gave our best, we had more time to try to take care of every aspect of this project.
SILVIA = And also to spend a little time with your families, to live a little that second adolescence that you did not live, because you left home when you were little, right Gianluca.
GIAN = Yes, then we tried not to live this period passively and to stimulate our creativity. We have been with our families more, is that sometimes you also need to have a spirit of adaptation and accept reality when there is no alternative, so it was a very difficult time for everyone. I remember that you of VERISSIMO, you had the brilliant idea of enclosing IMAGINE by John Lennon in a video, with many singers playing and singing from home, and certainly this allowed us to be in close contact with the public and we wanted you thank you for it.
SILVIA = Thanks to you that kindness, you played and sang.
And for this, and for all that you have given to the public, we have prepared this gift for you, look.
(starts a video with images of the various moments of the Il Volo tours)
GIAN’s voice in the video = It all happened so fast, we lived an anomalous life, we grew up fast, we discovered the world, traveling opens the mind.
IGNAZIO’s voice in the video = We try to give messages with our music. There have been difficult moments in our career, it hasn’t been all plain sailing.
PIERO’s voice in the video = Our success is due to the music we sing, the music that is part of the Italian tradition. Our genre is not ancient, but classic, and we try to take it around the world and make it known to everyone.
GIAN’s voice in the video = We have three different voices, three different personalities.Maybe going upstream can sometimes win. We do everything we can to try to reach people’s hearts.
IGNAZIO’s voice in the video = For us artists it is always nice to experience new emotions because they give you stimuli, concert after concert, day after day.
PIERO ‘s voice in the video = Every concert, every time is as if it were the first time. We promise we will never lose our simplicity and never change.
IGNAZIO = It’s nice you know. Missing, missing touring, singing, doing the tour routine, missing …
PIERO = It is as if the pandemic and Covid have stopped time.
SILVIA = Oh yes.
PIERO = Second half of 2019 and first two months of 2020, audiences, hugs, it seems like a lifetime ago.
SILVIA = Why you … let’s go back, because you left for the United States before Covid, to celebrate your 10 years of career and you did a tour in the United States, a beautiful tour, where Placido Domingo also came , Gloria Esteffan, in short, great artists. How did Ignatius experience that embrace of the American crowd?
IGNAZIO = Many ask us: “But you have no fear, fear of the public, you know, the emotion”, it’s all adrenaline, it’s really inexplicable and really, as I said before, we miss it, we love it so much and we can’t wait that it is next year because it finally starts again.
SILVIA = But you were there then at a certain point, it happens that in Italy, Gianluca, arrives Covid and you were in contact with your families, but in the United States everything was pretty quiet.
GIAN = Yes, we interrupted the festivities somehow, because in the United States we were there until the first week of March and we returned on the 13th, we canceled the concerts in Las Vegas and San Francisco and we escaped on the last plane, we were more than 30 people traveling, with our crew, the musicians, and therefore we risked staying there for another 2-3 weeks, because then, when we returned we were in full lockdown for a week now (in Italy).
SILVIA = But what was it like to return home and experience that family dimension, after you have spent your life and adolescence around in concerts. How it was to go home with your mother, with the loved ones, to do nothing.
IGNAZIO = Above all, do nothing.
SILVIA = Even that, do nothing, boredom.
PIERO = It was a kind of “in search of lost time”, this immersion in memories, clearly the birthplace, the family, everyone. It’s nice to relive and remember where we come from, because maybe everyday life sometimes makes us forget this.
And that was the strength perhaps, to feel that inner balance that only your loved ones give you, the people close to you, and from there, we gave life to a new project, and the distance …, because we felt only by telephone with video calls, they could not stay in contact …
IGNAZIO = It was nice …
SILVIA = Was it nice? What did you like?
IGNAZIO = To hear them by phone I say, we are always together ….😁
SILVIA = … the fact that you didn’t see them for a while
PIERO = I can say that the distance has strengthened our friendship.😘
GIAN = We have had a really abnormal lifestyle for 12 years. You know it all started when we were children, so (in Covid time) we tried to be optimistic about it, without feeling sorry for ourselves, because this certainly doesn’t help, and we took all the positive things that unfortunately brought us this tragedy that it touched us all.
It was a period that also helped us to discover ourselves a little.
SILVIA = And your grandfather? How are you?
GIAN = Well I must say that I have a wonderful relationship with him, and he is the only grandfather I have, which is my grandfather Ernesto, whom I greet, naturally. He is very proud of me, one of the indelible memories that I will always carry with me, in 2012, when we were on tour with Barbra Streisand, grandfather came to New York and saw me sing with Barbra Streisand, so he was there.
IGNAZIO = A Broccolin (Italian dialect for Brooklyn)
GIAN = Exactly, and this is therefore important, a message to be sent also to young people who often neglect their loved ones, because when you are young, you think you have all the time available, but time runs inexorably, so if at a youthful age you have this awareness, it allows us to live the moments more intensely, especially with the family, where everything started from there, and it is the people who will never betray you. (applause)😘
SILVIA = And you know this well, Ignazio, that you have a lot of personal satisfaction, but despite your very young age, you have had to face the loss of your beloved father.
IGNAZIO = Absolutely. Look, I also talked to other people who have lost a parent early, or even late, because in the end, you can be any age, it can pass as long as you want, but it is always early, you are never ready to accept a loss. But I must say that the fact that we have traveled a lot, the fact that we were on the other side of the world, and I knew that my father was always somewhere, even today that he is not there, it seems to me that he is always somewhere, therefore, it is as if I have not lost him. Because I think that I have not lost my father, my father is always with me here, I like to think like this and that’s okay.❤😘
SILVIA = He was very proud of you, I guess.
IGNAZIO = Absolutely, very proud. But he was the kind of person who couldn’t express emotions, so he was very proud but he was always …..
GIAN = But with a look he made us understand everything.😘
IGNAZIO = Yes, yes, he yes. Look it was my father, but it was as if he was the father of all three, as their parents are as if they were my parents, because in any case we have been sharing everything for many years.❤
PIERO = When we first met we were 14, so to shoot outside Italy, we had to be accompanied by our parents, we were minors, so for 5-6 years and then even at the age of 18, they continued to travel with us, so we know his father very well, we know what he is talking about because we have lived a lot of time with them.
SILVIA = And how was he next to him (Ignazio) on such a sad occasion, you who are a family, Piero on that occasion, as brothers, how did you feel too?
PIERO = Ignazio proved to be a MAN, extremely strong, because three days after the loss of Vito, we were guests at the Sanremo festival and we all expected him not to come. He arrived with a smile and we were blown away by his way of dealing with this moment, unprecedented to us. You taught us so much Ignatius, and in this I have to thank him, he is a strong man and we love him so much.❤
IGNAZIO = I love you too.❤
PIERO = It’s the truth……I always tell you!
GIAN = Me too, I’m here too. ❤
IGNAZIO = Sure! (he and Gian take hands) ❤(appaluse)
IGNAZIO = There was not a single moment that I thought not to do it (refers to Sanremo), because in any case all parents do anything for their children, sometimes it is not so, but we were lucky that our parents gave us everything and they give us everything, and so I thought that, for all the sacrifices that he (Vito) and my mother have made to get me to where I am today, I thought he would never let me (not to do Sanremo), and so I did it for him too. ❤😘
SILVIA = The fact is that you three are an Italian pride, you have truly brought bel canto, the classic song that you define as eternal, and I like this definition, in the world. And you have conquered the world, look at this gift for yourself here. (starts a collage of videos taken from all over the world)
SILVIA = Wow !!
PIERO = You are committed. (Applause)
GIAN = They (Channel 5) are also special in this, in the RVMs, in the montages.
SILVIA = We did a whole research.
IGNAZIO = But it’s nice to remember.
SILVIA = Japan, Brazil, Spain, Mexico ……..
GIAN = But this is the strength of bel canto, because in any case we are proud to be the only young people who bring this style of music, because it all started with the great Luciano Pavarotti, the three tenors, Andrea Bocelli, so we try to follow the their steps.
IGNAZIO = Do you want water? 😁
GIAN = Let’s say it’s not easy, humbly. Of course we need time and to maintain, the most difficult thing is to consolidate success, but we do our best. Then we have fun, we also do it because it makes us feel good.
SILVIA = Are you enjoying yourself, Ignazio?
IGNAZIO = A lot, and it shows too.
SILVIA = You speak very well English, practically all languages are spoken by you.
PIERO = Yes, at the age of 14 we moved to the United States, because we signed this contract with the American record company and we didn’t speak English, I had 5 ( as a rating-insufficient), in English at school.
IGNAZIO = We went to school.
GIAN = Do you know where? In the University of Los Angeles. We lived the first years for 4-5 months ….
IGNAZIO = Beautiful, they (Piero and Gian) did their homework and I never … I was really distracted …
PIERO = Because in America, you can’t go as a guest if you don’t speak English.
SILVIA = Ah, see!
PIERO = So for 5 months we learned English quickly, then Spanish, Portuguese ….
GIAN = Ignazio speaks Portuguese very well …😉
IGNAZIO = Very well no, I chew it a little.😁
PIERO = He chews it very well 😁… (He refers to Ignazio’s girlfriend)
SILVIA = You chew it very well, right? Lately then !!😁😁
IGNAZIO = Yes Morricone is an album to which we are very attached.😁 (He tries to change the subject)
PIERO = And there is also a piece in Portuguese.
SILVIA = In Portuguese. But you also got to meet Maestro Morricone, what do you remember?
GIAN = Look, there is an anecdote that I always like to tell, because it all started when we were little, but since we were children we had the honor of having the support …. as you can see (behind them is the photo of Il Volo with Morricone) of the greatest master of the twentieth century.
IGNAZIO = A few pizzas ago, that photo there.😁
GIAN = You for sure. 😉 During the recordings of the disc, we were 15-16 years old, Maestro Morricone was in studio A of the Forum Village and we in studio B. Every now and then he would pass by to say hello and then this idea of performing together in Piazza del Popolo in Rome was born, in a song called E PIÙ TI PENSO, which is a medley of: Once upon a time in America and Malena.
During the rehearsals, there were 100 orchestra members, in a room in the studios in Rome, the three of us arrive, smurfs, clumsy, a little small, we arrive and there was the master who was conducting. During the rehearsals, he had to give me the attack, I don’t start, total panic, the violinist (Gian widen his eyes) at a certain point he stops, everyone stops and I tell the teacher: “Ah, but you give me the attack?”, So, I speak to the master, giving him the You. (In Italian, out of respect, you must speak in the third person and not in the second). Everyone bleaches (Silvia has her hands in her hair) and do you know how Maestro Morricone answers me ?: “Don’t worry guys, I’ll take care of it, you think about singing” (the phrase is said in the dialect of Rome) (applause)
SILVIA = Ah see, he was the most human of all.
PIERO = Morricone is immense, like his work ….
SILVIA = But you were a little in awe, because he perhaps put a little in awe.
PIERO = He was a man of few words, but he did a lot. He taught us what dedication, sacrifice is, nothing comes by chance. This repertoire requires a lot of discipline, we were lucky enough to contact Morricone’s family who gave us great support, immense confidence in this project ….
IGNAZIO = We thank them so much.
PIERO = …. and to whom we thank very much, especially his son Andrea Morricone who gave us the text of The Ecstasy of Gold and an unpublished piece ….
SILVIA = Wow
PIERO = ….. and then Morricone acted as a glue with others in the cinema, such as the maestro Vittorio Storaro, three Nobel prizes, that is, three Oscars, and we shot a video with Vittorio Storaro in the wonderful Frasassi Caves. So we started this Morricone project and a world opened up for us…..
SILVIA = The caves are beautiful scenery.
PIERO = The Frasassi Caves are incredible.
SILVIA = Congratulations indeed.
Ignazio, what do foreigners like about Il Volo? The song they like best.
PIERO = Varies from country to country in South America ….
IGNAZIO = In South America, IL MONDO, we made a Spanish version …
GIAN = Il Mondo of Jimmy Fontana (the singer who sang it first)
IGNAZIO = …. Il Mondo of Jimmi Fontana, for them (South America) is a novelty.
PIERO = “Gira el mundo gira” (He pronounced it in Spanish).
GIAN = The first version in Spanish was sung by us, they did not know it, especially the young people, while in Italy it is very well known.
SILVIA = So “Il Mondo”, not “O sole mio” …..
GIAN = But also Grande Amore ..
PIERO = Il Mondo and Grande Amore
GIAN = ….. in the Spanish version it was also very popular in Latin countries (Grande Amore)
PIERO = Let’s say that every tour we try to change the lineup …
SILVIA = According to the tastes of the country …
PIERO = In Japan, we only go with voice and orchestra, we don’t go with rhythm.
IGNAZIO = How much I like Japan, also because you are singing, you do the exhibition and you see a Japanese in the third row with his eyes closed, then you see another in the fifth row with his eyes closed, and you think they are bored, they are falling asleep. The performance ends, and they stand up and applaud.
SILVIA = See, they were listening.
GIAN = They are very calm.
PIERO = It’s nice to tell it now, but you imagine, on the first day of the concert, his (Ignazio’s) gaze meant “what’s going on?”
SILVIA = Were you scared? (appaluse)
IGNAZIO = Do you know how we entered the Japanese market? Because an Olympic skater, he won the gold medal with one of our songs, A STARRY NIGHT, and it was a great success and from there we entered Japan.
SILVIA = Think, but it’s incredible.
PIERO = And now let’s go back to Japan for a 15 concert tour.
SILVIA = And can you speak a little Japanese too? (Ignazio and Piero start singing a song for children in Japanese, very funny)☺
GIAN = It’s a little song. But all, do you remember it?
SILVIA = What do you mean, translate?
PIERO = If you are happy you know it clap your hands …. (it’s a famous little song also in Italian)
SILVIA = What a fool I am (because she didn’t recognize the little song)
GIAN = You have a wonderful dress.
SILVIA = Thank you!! And love ????
GIAN = It moves (remembering the title L’amore si muove)
IGNAZIO = Morricone …. (He tries to change the subject)
SILVIA = Love, love, then wait, obviously I did some investigations Ignazio.
IGNAZIO = Good
SILVIA = You were engaged Gianluca, the last time, two years ago.
GIAN = At that time yes, two years ago when we met, and then it ended, as happens sometimes.
SILVIA = It’s over. You didn’t have anyone, did you Piero? Or am I wrong? Oh well look there and then let’s talk, do not anticipate.
(Begins a very nice video of detective Silvia Bond 007 where she repeats the answers of the boys during the two previous interviews with Verissimo, on the question: Love. Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca regard laughing their words, over time, on the subject )
IGNAZIO = (He laughs) Ouch Ouch Ouch
SILVIA = Isn’t there to laugh Gianluca looking at your face, or is there to laugh?
IGNAZIO = There is a lot of crying. 😁
GIAN = No, there is to be happy.
SILVIA = Why are you single?
GIAN = Me? I’m not single, no, no, no.
IGNAZIO = He is engaged intermittently, you have to understand. 😁😁
GIAN = But what does it mean, over the years many things happen, over time things change.
SILVIA = Indeed.
GIAN = Yes, I am engaged today, yes yes.
IGNAZIO = He gets engaged on leasing, every two years …😁😁
GIAN = He makes fun of me, but I’m engaged and really in love, I can say it publicly, I’m happy, yes yes.
SILVIA = Since when?
GIAN = From some time.
PIERO = Since yesterday. 😁
GIAN = Also, she is called after my mother, you know?
SILVIA = Eleonora!
GIAN = Then you know.
SILVIA = No, I knew your mom’s name! No, I did not know about this news.
IGNAZIO = (Behind them there is a photo of Gian on horseback)
Look at that stallion, Gianluca (He says it in a double sense: stallion for the horse, but also for Gianluca).😊
SILVIA = Gianluca on the white horse ….. Ignazio, then !!!
IGNAZIO = Yes, Piero ??? (He passes the subject to Piero). ☺
SILVIA = So, first Piero, word of mouth to Piero.
PIERO = I want to say that love is a particular theme, regardless of everything.
SILVIA = It is a universal theme.
GIAN = Sorry, look (behind them is the photo of Piero), how can you resist a smile like that !! ☺
IGNAZIO = This is the photo she took 10 minutes before the wedding in Las Vegas !!! (what a joker) 😁
PIERO = It’s a particular theme, many are lucky enough to find a soul mate, I still don’t, but I know it’s out there somewhere.
GIAN = Well definitely, she is not inside the house.😁
IGNAZIO = There’s Silvia Bond, just in case!
PIERO = She is out there, but love is such a strong feeling that it must be protected.
SILVIA = But have you had a girlfriend recently, have you fallen in love in the last few years or has it never happened to you?
PIERO = It is a strong feeling, it must be protected.
SILVIA = We have to protect him,……….so he doesn’t want to tell, so I talk to you Ignazio.
IGNAZIO = Yes?
SILVIA = You are happy and radiant.
IGNAZIO = I am in a moment of my life where I feel great.
SILVIA = Piero is serious on this topic, he doses the words.
IGNAZIO = Yes, Piero is serious, but sometimes he asks himself too many questions, I always tell him. I think that love is very complicated, but sometimes love has to be lived, it has to be left to live, also because sometimes you don’t know what it can be.
PIERO = Okay, but you have met her, you have found your soul mate ….
IGNAZIO = I found her far away ….
GIAN = Piero on the one hand is right, it’s not that you have to be satisfied, because many confuse company, habit, affection, so …..
PIERO = There is one fundamental thing to say: feeling good and happiness are not the same thing. So, for now I’m fine and I’m happy with this.
GIAN = Look, paradoxically, if you are okay with yourself ……
IGNAZIO = …. however we were talking about my girlfriend …. (applause)I’m kidding!
SILVIA = Exactly sorry, 9000 km. they separate you from her.
IGNAZIO = During the pandemic I met a girl, a little far away, on the other side of the world. It was strange because we spent 8 months exchanging messages, hearing, video calling, then at the first opportunity I went to Brazil to meet her and from there it was nice, because we met slowly, we don’t know each other 100% but I can tell you that we are very much in love, and it’s nice to live things like this.
SILVIA = Wow, she’s beautiful !!
IGNAZIO = Yes, she is beautiful, but she is very beautiful inside, the boys (Piero and Gian) have known her and she is really a beautiful person.
SILVIA = How did the meeting go Piero, were you so serious when you met her?
PIERO = But I’m not serious. She is a beautiful girl, very good, I didn’t understand anything of what she told me, because I don’t speak Portuguese though …..
GIAN = But we trust Ignazio.😉
PIERO = We trust Ignazio.😉
GIAN = Tell me who you go with and I’ll tell you who you are (proverb).To be with Ignazio, you have to be a really good girl.
PIERO = The incredible thing about Ignazio is that maybe, the day before you call him and tell him: ”What are you doing?” “I’m at home I’m playing with the playstation.” The day after: ”Where are you?” “In Brazil!!” “Okay, are you coming back to go to Silvia’s?”
SILVIA = But would you like to become a dad one day? Since I’m on the subject now, would you like it someday? You are not yet 30 years old or have you already done so?
IGNAZIO = No, 27 last month.
PIERO = 28
SILVIA = Exactly.
IGNAZIO = Wait, 27 just a month ago.
SILVIA = 27 a month ago, then 28 (Piero) and 26 (Gian), so it’s still too early.
GIAN = We are approaching, more than 30 years, we are no longer 20 years old.
PIERO = It is clear that I see a future with a family, all three of us have very similar values, extremely similar realities, so I see a future, beautiful with children, it is clear. In my opinion that is the reason for living.
IGNAZIO = I’ve always liked the idea of being a young father, here, I met the person now, who knows in the next few years, you never know.
GIAN = Well I have to tell you …..
PIERO = If I were you I would wait for the next episode of Verissimo. (Because Gian at each episode had a different girlfriend).
Three times three different names … (laughter and applause)
GIAN = I can assure you that this time I will not change, in two years it will always be the same name, the same person.
SILVIA = It’s a promise !!
IGNAZIO = We renew the lease. 😁
GIAN = I can’t get close otherwise I would give you my hand (to confirm the promise)
SILVIA = Now we have to say goodbye. You Promise .
GIAN = I promise that in two years it will be the same person.
PIERO = I can’t wait to see this video again in two years, look (laughter and applause)
IGNAZIO = Can I say something? Not that those from before (Gian’s girls) weren’t good girls, because they were, but Eleonora is really a good girl and we are very happy that she is part of this family, because in the end we are part of a big family.
SILVIA = We all love her already.
GIAN = There is also a photo (with her) and you didn’t show it, you showed Ignazio’s photo and you didn’t show mine.
SILVIA = Would you like to show your girlfriend?
IGNAZIO = No,
GIAN = Next time.
IGNAZIO = I had the exclusive !! 😊
SILVIA = He gave me the exclusive (laughs, applause)
You are myths, we remember your latest film which is called IL VOLO SINGS MORRICONE.
PIERO = Album, we are not actors yet !! Yes, IL VOLO SINGS MORRICONE, we hope we have done a good job, that you like it.
SILVIA = Definitely.
PIERO = We are satisfied and honored to bring this tribute to Maestro Morricone, now we will start on tour, therefore a year full of commitments.
GIAN = And we hope to be the soundtrack of many people with this album. (applause)
SILVIA = Beautiful! Congratulations guys.
Really because you know how to move, you know how to laugh and you know how to make very deep reflections, you three are just beautiful for this, as well as singing divinely.
A hug to Il Volo, we say goodbye, thank you. Il Volo, congratulations.
When Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca are interviewed by Silvia, I always have the impression that they are extremely comfortable.
We understand that Silvia asks the questions very delicately and gets genuine answers from them. It is clear that Silvia admires them a lot, as artists but also as children of full values to be taken as an example, and her closing words show this very well.
I was moved by the memory of Vito, the admission of cross-affection for all their parents is wonderful. Yes, Ignazio, Vito will always be with you.
They also revealed their side about love, they got “naked” and we got confirmations too.
I laughed a lot translating the part in which Piero and Ignazio teased Gianluca about his emotional relationships.
We have heard news about the new tour and gladly reviewed clips from old tours.
We understood how important this project is in which they believe a lot.
It lasted half an hour, but it could easily last hours and we certainly wouldn’t be bored.
Ignazio, Piero and Gianluca are promoting their new CD, and these days they have many appointments with radio, TV and instore. One of the most popular appointments is certainlyVerissimo, where they are expected by Silvia Toffanin.
In short, I translate what was said:
After the first pleasant and playful pleasantries, Silvia says that they have just arrived from overseas. Piero confirms that they have just returned from a tour in South America, where they have had great satisfaction and great emotions and says that they celebrate 10 years with a tour of 100 concerts.
Silvia says that, to celebrate these 10 years, she has prepared a video dedicated to them, where she will tell who they are and what they are in the world.
(I literally translate Silvia’s words that accompany the images in the video.)
Dear Gianluca, Ignazio and Piero, here we are.
Even if you’re young guys, you’re ready to celebrate an unprecedented career. 10 years of music and songs that warm the heart. It was 2009, when we were struck for the first time by your incredible voices.
10 years of career, of music, but above all of friendship and fidelity, in which you have become brothers, and it is precisely on this your indissoluble bond that you have built everything.
Those who have always followed you, know that this year you have marked a new goal in South America, where the Latin rhythm meets all the power of singing. Puerto Rico, San Salvador, Buenos Aires, San Paolo, Rio, you have enriched with magic their eyes, the views of those lands so far away, entering into the daily life of gestures, smiles and the eyes of those who have run to listen to you.
As in your last Latin stop in Santiago de Chile, or as when you sang for Pope Francis, in Panama.
Piero: there were 450,000 young people, there was a great silence. Gianluca: a deafening silence
You have grown quickly, but thanks to the values that your origins have taught you, you have found the true strength, the ability to return where it all started, because for those who count, you are always and only: Gianluca, Ignazio and Piero.
Your life for 10 years is made of journeys that continue. Next year you will be back on tour between the United States and North America, passing once again to the legendary Radio City Music Hall in New York.
But the most beautiful thing is that in all these years, each of you has remained himself.
This is the power of dreams, to get anywhere, without ever feeling truly arrived.
Let me tell you, dear Gianluca, Ignazio and Piero, you are an Italian pride.
With love: Silvia.
The boys, moved, embrace Silvia (who is confirmed as a true Volover). Ignazio, jokes, pretending to cry. 😁😁😁
Gianluca states that Ignazio is the craziest of the three and Silvia responds ironically, that she didn’t understand it!
Gianluca says that without Ignazio, it would be a deadly bore, instead Piero jokingly says that are 10 years of endurance.
Silvia says they do everything together, travel together, eat together and Piero specifies ….. separate rooms. Piero confirms that they eat the same things and are intolerant to the same foods, then he says that they go to the gym and train together.
Gianluca says that they are profoundly different, but over the years the relationship has been strengthened.
Silvia asks if they fight and they say yes and Ignazio says that Piero and Gian are lower (shorter) because he hits them on the head. 😁
Piero says they argue but they don’t fight. Gian says that now they know what the things that annoy each other, and they avoid them.
Ignazio says that Gianluca is spiteful, while Piero is stubborn and wants to impose his ideas.
Then they talk about the physical aspect and say that Ignazio is happy with his newfound physical form and he says he is happy because he wants to show to those who have a physique like his, softer, which can get a slimmer shape.
Now Silvia faces the topic “girlfriends” and immediately tells Ignazio, whom she has read in some interviews, that he is looking for his girlfriend.
Ignazio replies that he is indeed for the family, and when he meets the right person he will be happy. Silvia asks him about his last girlfriend and he replies that he was very much in love, but then, as often happens, everything is over.
Silvia says it’s difficult for artists like them, always on tour to have a bond, Ignazio replies that it’s not easy, but it’s nice to leave and know that there is a person at home waiting for you. ❤️
Silvia asks if it is true that Ignazio also knows how to cook well and Piero replies that he does not like knowing what a dish is made of, but Ignazio must always explain it to him.
Then Piero says that he and Ignazio both live in Bologna and Ignazio, every now and then he sends him some ready-made food, just like a grandmother!!
Then Silvia asks if it’s true that they eat pasta before concerts and they confirm it, but three hours earlier.
Now Silvia, remembers Gianluca that last time he told him that he had a girlfriend and he confirms it and says that the girl becomes part of the family and she expects him, even if he stays out for months. Silvia asks for the name of the lucky one and Gianluca answers Francesca.❤️
Gianluca then, says that, they have learned to be selective with friendships and he says that boys of their age often confuse friendship with habit.
Silvia asks if the boys sleep close together and Piero says they have separate rooms well away from him, because Piero likes to sing when he takes a bath or a shower, so Gian and Ignazio want rooms far away from Piero.
Silvia takes a guitar and gives it to Ignazio, followed by a short performance of “Musica Che Resta”.
After playing the song, Silvia says she had goose bumps.
Silvia says she saw gestures of affection between them, so she asks if they really love each other. Gianluca confirms that they are like a big family, living their lives on two tracks, occasionally jumping on one or the other.
Speaking also of their daily life and studies. Piero confirms that he recently graduated, Gianluca admits to having only the first two years of gymnasium (classical high school).
Then Silvia shows a video where the guys play sports.
(Ignazio says to Silvia …. “You show us, what we do in our spare time.” 😁)
All three are very sporty.
Ignazio says that before the concert he goes to the gym, because he already arrives with a warm voice.
Silvia asks Piero if he has a girlfriend. He replies no and that he is well and that he sings better with fewer thoughts.
Silvia asks for a piece of “Grande Amore” to be performed.
Gianluca recalls that they have confirmed two new dates for Italy, Verona 30 August and Taormina 4 September for 2020. He says that they like to bring the beauty of Italy to their DVDs, in fact the last concert was done in the beautiful Matera . They confirm that their latest CD, IL VOLO The Best of 10 Years, was released all over the world on November 8th. Piero states that the Matera concert will be broadcast on Italian TV on Channel 5 on November 19th.
Silvia shows a video with a preview of the concert in Matera.
At this point, Silvia confirms the very important things, says that what is striking about the three of them, is that they are very different from their peers, who sometimes sing vulgarities, but they are very careful, good guys, guys of other times.
Piero says that they do not sing an ancient genre, but a classical genre, which never sets. It is the music that is part of the Italian cultural heritage, known to all, and they are only trying not to let it be forgotten and bring it to their peers.
Silvia confirms that they are really exemplary guys.
Ignatius says that they always try to give good examples.
They make the lives of three normal, regular, simple boys who convey love for what they do, and have gratitude for those who followed them from the beginning.
At this point Silvia proposes a very nice thing, the boys have to perform all the 19 songs on their CD in a minute.
Beautiful and nice demonstration that the boys perform very well, without however performing the “Nessun Dorma”.
Silvia says that they are music that remains!
There are the final greetings.
Ignazio thanks all those who in 10 years have always accompanied them, starting with Torpedine, Sony Music, thanks to Silvia who manages to transmit an artist for what it is and above all thanks to their fans who always support them and always make them feel the their affection.
Silvia thanks them, as they are and says her program is their home, to travel the world, but remember that the doors of her show are always open for them.
Kisses and final hugs.
What to say, it was a wonderful interview!
Silvia does not hide her genuine admiration for our boys and they are completely at ease and offer themselves to the people for what they are, beautiful, nice and cheerful.
Thanks for this nice interview.
Very soon,
Daniela
Credit to owners of all photos and videos.
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