And here I am with an update on the various events Il Volo participated in.
Let’s start with September 10th, when Fiorella Mannoia’s concert, held on June 3rd at the Baths of Caracalla, was broadcast on RAI1. I’ve already told you about this concert and attached the videos filmed at that moment, but now that it’s been broadcast on TV, I’m reposting the video of Fiorella and Il Volo’s moment.
On September 12th and 13th, the TIM MUSIC AWARDS took place live from the Verona Arena, where various awards are presented to outstanding singers.
On the evening of September 12th, Il Volo was also present, performing Cohen’s beautiful “Hallelujah” and then accepting the award for their “LIVE” worldwide tours. The event was broadcast live on RAI1.
The event was hosted by Carlo Conti and Vanessa Incontrada, and I’ll translate their words for you.
VANESSA= They’re always touring the world.
CONTI= They’re the most famous Italian trio, having captivated audiences on every continent for over 15 years, and tonight they’re giving us a song that’s primarily a hymn to peace.
By the way, I’m seeing a drone flying, transmitting images; those are the only drones we like to see (he’s referring to the incursion of five Russian drones into Polish territory, which were immediately shot down – applause).
And tonight their song is dedicated precisely to peace.
VANESSA = Exactly.
CONTI = And for you, it’s a chance to turn on all the lights on your phones.
VANESSA = Let’s all turn on the lights, more, more.
CONTI = A sign of peace, so that all the countries of the world can experience evenings like these, of music, joy, serenity, but above all, peace. With us, with Hallelujah:
VANESSA + CONTI = Il Volo!! (the song begins)
(The lyrics at the end of the song.)
CONTI = Il Volo.
VANESSA = At the TIM Music Awards, these three friends, amazing artists.
GIANLUCA = A round of applause also to Maestro Edmondo Savio and the orchestra of musicians, thanks to you too.
VANESSA = (hugs in greeting) Hi Ignazio, how are you?
CONTI = Thank you for this beautiful moment you gave us.
PIERO = Thank you.
CONTI = Here’s the award for you.
PIERO = How lovely!
VANESSA = (to Gianluca, to whom she gives the award) Hi, handsome boy!
GIANLUCA = (in Spanish) How are you, dear?
CONTI = (hands the award to Ignazio) Here you go for your tour.
I+G+P = Thank you, thank you.
VANESSA = So, you did a tour in the United States, some dates in Europe, and special concerts in Italy, right?
IGNAZIO = Yes, absolutely. Today was a bit of a demonstration of how music can be a bridge between different cultures, different ways of thinking, and the best thing about a tour is being able to meet different people, meet our fans, and still give people a feeling through music.
PIERO = This is a special evening because this is the first award Ignazio has received after becoming a dad. (applause)
VANESSA = It’s true! I didn’t want to pry into your private life, but… (as if to say he wanted to respect your privacy, but it’s great news)
CONTI = And you (Piero and Gianluca) are like uncles!!
CONTI = This fall, you’ll be starting your live concert tour in Latin America, then all of Europe, but most importantly, in December, you’ll be back in Italian arenas, back home.
VANESSA = Exactly!
PIERO = We’ll be back on tour in Italy, so we’re waiting for you, and thank you for the support and love you show us every day. Thank you!
VANESSA = Thank you, thank you for coming.
CONTI = And for this very important moment, thank you!
IGNAZIO = Love and respect each other, that’s all, thank you.
VANESSA+CONTI = Il Volo!!
G+I+P = Thank you, bye everyone!
What can I say? I don’t know if any of you had the chance to see the entire event, but 38 singers performed, receiving various awards, many rappers beloved by young people, often “over-the-top” figures heavily tattooed and sometimes scantily clad, and women performing in lingerie. In short, Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca always bring a touch of elegance and refinement in addition to their talent. With their song, they highlighted something precious: PEACE, and their voices rose majestically above a sea of “summer hits” that often disappear.
Once again, Il Volo stood out and was appreciated!
On September 13th, the 19th edition of GRACE FOR THE WORLD, conceived by Andrea Bocelli and Pharrell Williams, took place in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican. The event was broadcast live on RETE4.
Among the various artists, Il Volo was also present (in addition to Bocelli, the only Italians).
It was a spectacular evening with St. Peter’s Square as a magnificent backdrop and a series of drones in the sky creating beautiful patterns.
During the evening, beautiful words of brotherhood and peace, testimonials and artists from all over the world, a magnificent choir and orchestra, and a truly unique atmosphere.
Piero Ignazio and Gianluca performed towards the end of the event with a splendid MAGNIFICAT, which we had already heard at the Jubilee of Youth, a truly solemn moment!
I also wanted to point out that before all the events I’ve just listed, Il Volo had two private events, one apparently in Greece and one in Milan.
We learned about the second one through a publication by the Franciacorta Orchestra, which follows Il Volo. They published this post, of which I’m translating a portion.
“An evening that will remain etched in our hearts ✨
Last night we had the honor and pleasure of participating in a truly unique private event, hosted in the prestigious setting of Superstudio Events in Milan. A special, elegant, and refined occasion that allowed us to experience and share unforgettable moments.
On stage, joining us, were the talented Il Volo, who conveyed authentic emotions with their music and extraordinary voices. The magical encounter between an orchestra and three internationally renowned artists created a vibrant atmosphere, combining tradition, style, and contemporary energy.”
The update is over for now. It’s been a very intense few days of television, where we saw Ignazio, Piero, and Gianluca in top form. Now they’re back at the end of September for the memorial in honor of Pavarotti.
See you soon: Daniela 🤗
…and may there be peace throughout the world….🕊️❤️
The years are truly flying by! This is my fourth Christmas writing for Flight Crew about Il Volo. I love writing the Christmas article every year because, besides talking about the guys, I get to talk about people I don’t talk about the rest of the year! The amazing people who contribute to these articles.
Much of what is written in this article will be from past articles because the facts are what they are, and they don’t change from year to year! And like the facts in this article, we can be certain of one other thing, the guys will be with their families for Christmas, and they will follow traditions that have been in their families for generations!
As you know I mostly look to the past for my stories. After all the stories are “Through the Fields of My Mind” but sometimes my stories are new and as we start to move forward over the next few years, I’m thinking there will be many new stories. New work, new ideas and new productions, and of course new love interests!
Moving forward the guys will be more serious and more involved. What is now their family will one day, in the not too far future, turn into a new family which will include their wives and children, their own families. The past joining the future! Old traditions passed on to the next generation!
Wouldn’t it be nice if we could say we will be around to see the end of their stories but no, most of us will be long gone before their stories end. We’ll have to watch the end unfold from above! But how fortunate we are that we have seen the beginning of their beautiful stories.
I love talking about their futures because I see bright, beautiful, futures for all of them. The Lord put them on this earth and gave them those beautiful voices to bring Joy to the World and what they’ve shared with us, their fans, is a joy beyond compare! And what they will share with their future families is a joy they can’t even begin to understand or imagine! Can you imagine how beautiful their families will be?
Among the stories Through the Fields of My Mind that I will recall today are their traditional Christmases. In some cases, I have their actual Christmas traditions but in most it’s more about the tradition in their region of Italy.
Before I begin, I would like to talk for a minute about La Vigilia. La Vigilia is the Italian traditional Christmas Eve dinner. This dinner consists of fish. Why? Because Italy is primarily a Catholic country and Christmas Eve, up until Vatican II, was always a day of fast to prepare for the coming of Christ. So, even after Vatican II, we continue to keep the tradition of only eating fish on Christmas Eve!
So, how did La Vigilia come to be an Italian tradition? This is a tradition that started in southern Italy in the regions of Sicily, Calabria and parts of Campania. In these regions, people who live beside the sea are primarily fishermen, and they live off the sea. So, on the eve they not only celebrate the coming of Christ, but they also thank the Lord for the abundance of fish they received from the sea which sustains their families year-round.
In the early 1900’s when Italian immigrants came to America, they brought this tradition with them, and the next generation added to this tradition by celebrating the Feast of the Seven Fish. The number seven is symbolic in the Roman Catholic Church. It represents the seven days of creation, the seven sacraments, the seven deadly sins, etc.
By continuing La Vigilia in America, it allowed the immigrants to rekindle the old country’s Christmas Eve tradition so they would feel close to their homes and the families they left behind. Today, it’s considered one of the oldest Italian traditions because most Italians still keep the tradition! I certainly do!
Now, let’s step back into the past to see how our guys celebrate Christmas.
No need to update this story, it doesn’t change. Tradition is tradition! Three years ago, two people helped me write this story so I decided that I would not change anything in it. It turned out because of them the Christmas message was amazing! The two wonderful friends who helped me were our special little nonna, Maura Pucci and Giovanni Granaro local historian and my go to man in Naro. Over ten thousand fans responded to the story! It gave us a look at the different Italian traditions and an insight into our guy’s Christmas. So, I am republishing the article with a few new and interesting facts added.
This story talks about the tradition that each guy has on Christmas. Each tradition is different depending on what region they come from but, they do have one tradition in common and they share that tradition with Italians all over the world. It is La Vigilia which I already have mentioned.
So, without further ado, let’s join Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca for Christmas with our Italian Family!
Yes, Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca are our family! Why do I call them family? We’re their fans, yes but, we are more than fans. We certainly do all the things that fans do but it goes deeper than that because our guys are different than any other entertainers. The difference is the guys think of us as their extended family because they grew up with us. They spend more time with us than they do with their families. And they show us their love in everything they do. Think of how they treat us! When you meet them, they embrace you. Most entertainers just want your praise and accolades. Not our guys! They want to know about us! They ask about our lives and our families. They listen to us and do things to please us. And think about how much time you spend listening to their music!
So, what is family? Family are the people who are there when you need them. When you’re sad you can always feel their love and their encouragement! Family is not just blood it’s the people who are there for us!
So, let’s take a look at how our Italian family spends their Christmas.
The Christmas season starts in Italy on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary (December 8th) which is also a holiday in Italy. This is the day that many Italians put up their Christmas trees and the cities light up their streets with colored lights. Why? Because Mary is the mother of the Light, Jesus! But there are other traditions that are celebrated on this day!
Let’s go to Naro, Piero’s city, to see how they open the Christmas season.
Every year, on the 7th, 8th and 9th of December, every inhabitant in Naro stocks up on muffuletti. Muffuletti is bread which is stuffed with meat and vegetables. Some people go to their local baker to buy them, and some people prepare them at home. The tradition is linked to religion. Naro’s sandwiches are blessed and distributed in Churches at the end of the Mass on the feast day of the Immaculate Conception. The bakers donate the muffuletti to the Churches as a gesture of generosity towards their fellow countrymen but, above all, of love towards “a bedda matri ‘Mmaculata”, the Most Holy Immaculate, Mary.
During the month of December, the Christmas markets are held in Naro. The Fair is set up inside the cloister of the Town Hall. Many people go to the Franciscan cloister where, every evening, to the delight of the children, there is a special snowfall that whitens the baroque courtyard. On the final evening there is a concert of Sicilian folk music, and an award is given for the best photo taken at the large Christmas tree in Piazza Garibaldi.
During this magical period the streets are colored by many Christmas lights, and everyone visits the living nativity scene of Borgo Castello. There is Mass on Christmas Eve and between hugs, kisses and best wishes there are a thousand good intentions. And then, on Christmas day, the family gathers together for a dinner laden with many local delicacies.
And what would Piero do on Christmas day? Most likely, he will walk around Naro and visit some older people and his friends. He certainly would have decorated his home so I’m sure he will make a video for all of us to see. He will most likely sing at Christmas Eve or Christmas Day Mass. In the past, Piero sang with his grandfather, Pietro. Piero will certainly remember his grandfather when he is singing because he was so important to him and to his career.
Christmas in Bologna! How does Ignazio celebrate Christmas?
Unlike Piero and Gianluca, Ignazio and his family live in a big city and like cities in America there are many events.
The Christmas tradition in Bologna has deep roots. The Bolognese Nativity Scene (Presepe) goes back to the Middle Ages. The tradition of the Presepe dates back to the 13th century and one of the oldest Presepe in the world is preserved in Bologna.
What makes the Bolognese Nativity different? It is life size and includes clothes that are different from the traditional Neapolitan style. They are dressed in a medieval style. In Porretta Terme in the Emilian Apennines another Presepe, which is one of the oldest Presepe in the world is kept in the church of Capugnano.
I’m sure Ignazio will visit the Christmas Tree in Piazza Nettuno. It is a Bolognese tradition. The beautiful tree is a welcoming and bright place to meet friends and feel the warmth of Christmas.
So, what will Ignazio’s family eat on Christmas? I’m sure on Christmas Eve there will be fish on the table. This is the tradition in every Italian house on “La Vigilia,” Christmas Eve.
On Christmas Day, there is another tradition. Lunch is the main meal and Pasta in brodo (pasta in broth) will certainly be served. In Bologna, it’s all about meat-filled tortellini in capon broth. These, small, Tortellini, are filled with a mixture of meat, mortadella and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese but you will find in Bologna every family has its secret ingredient for them. You’ll recall in an interview Ignazio mentioned his family buying Tortellini every Sunday.
The soup will most likely be followed by a roast and the meal will end with a traditional dessert like Certosino (or Pan speziale) which is made with almonds, pine nuts, dark chocolate and candied fruits. The recipe has its origin in the Middle Ages where Certosino was produced by pharmacists and later by Certosini Friars. Certosino is very popular in Bologna.
I know the part of the meal that Ignazio will like the best is the dessert! A dessert he will share with his family to celebrate Christmas Day!
There is one Sicilian tradition that I would like to talk about since we have two Sicilian men in the group, I think it is important to include it in the article.
For many in Sicily, the Christmas season starts on the Feast of Santa Lucia (St. Lucy). In some regions of Sicily, the feast day is celebrated with Cuccia. The word itself is Sicilian. Cuccìa is typically made with wheat berries, ricotta and sugar. How did this tradition come to be?
In the winter of 1646, Sicily was undergoing a terrible famine. People were dying of hunger after a massive crop failure. The people of Palermo did the only thing they could in the circumstances: they prayed. And then on the morning of December 13th a ship full of grain arrived in Palermo harbor with enough grain to feed the whole city. Rather than wait to have the grain milled into flour to make bread, the hungry people boiled and ate the grain to satisfy their hunger and save their lives. The people were convinced that Santa Lucia, Sicily’s most important saint had saved the city, since the grain arrived on her feast day.
I’m not sure if Piero and Ignazio’s family make Cuccia or eat it but I’m sure they know the tradition.
So, now let’s talk about Gianluca’s Christmas!
A Montepagano tradition is the Nativity scene. At the end of the last century a famous living Nativity play was started in Montepagano which is a real theatrical performance, with a director and a narrator.
In the Abruzzi region, there is a tradition that bagpipers, so called zampognari come into the towns and play their flutes and bagpipes for the people. They symbolize the shepherds who come in search of the newborn baby, Jesus. The bagpipers were once shepherds, today they are musicians who walk the streets of the cities, playing Christmas music. Often, they are in pairs, and one plays the zampognari (bagpipe) and the other the ciaramella (which is similar to a small piccolo).
For certain Gianluca will celebrate December 24th, Christmas Eve with a meal of fish including shellfish because he lives by the sea. As far as food traditions are concerned, on Christmas Day, the typical dish of the whole region of Abruzzo is spaghetti alla chitarra (which is prepared on a particular instrument called a guitar, because it is made of wood with metal strings) but most likely Gianluca will eat Lasagna. The second course will be arrosticini, which are pieces of meat, traditionally lamb, strung on long sticks, similar to a kebab. And for dessert, they will most likely have the traditional Christmas cake, Panettone.
Gianluca will surely spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with his family including his Grandpa Ernesto!
As you know my mother is Abruzzese and I must say, Gianluca’s Christmas is very similar my Christmas.
If you’re wondering where Santa Claus is, in Italy he is known as “Babbo Natale,” Father Christmas, who brings presents to children on Christmas Eve but, in true Italian tradition, gifts were exchanged on January 6th the day of Epiphany when La Befana comes to Italian homes in search of the Christ Child and leaves gifts for the children. This is a tradition that is celebrated in the central regions of Italy.
La Befana is an old woman, with a hooked nose, badly dressed, with a handkerchief on her head, grumpy but good, she is not a witch. On January 6th, riding through the sky, flying on a broom, La Befana lands on the roofs, enters the houses from the chimneys and descends from the fireplace, leaving gifts and sweets in the big socks that the children place in front of the fireplace. If they were good, they got sweets. If they were bad, she leaves coal in the form of a sweet black candy. I’m sure there will be many sweets for Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca! No coal for our guys!
I’m going to step away from the story for a minute because while I’m posting I’m watching Rai 1. All the contenders for Sanremo are on to tell us what the name of their song will be for Sanremo 2024.
The guys just announced the song they will sing is “Capolavoro.” English translation “Masterpiece,” and I have no doubt it will be a Masterpiece.
They posted this picture today which I felt needed to be included in this story. Now if that’s not Drop Dead Gorgeous, I don’t know what is!
I’m including the following picture as a good luck omen for Sanremo 2024. We’re all rooting for you to bring home the Lion!
Which brings me to another important member of Il Volo’s family. Michele Torpedine! His family is originally from the region of Puglia. He moved to Bologna when he was twelve years old. So, he will celebrate Christmas with his family and the celebration would be similar to Ignazio’s!
Again, I would like to thank the two people who contributed to this Christmas story. Maura Pucci and Giovanni Granaro. Their knowledge of the regions of Montepagano and Naro and the different Christmas traditions made this story come to life!
Our Team! The best ladies to work with!
Pat Susan Daniela
In closing, I would like to thank my team at Flight Crew! The two ladies who make all my stories come to life! Daniela Perani (a/k/a Sherlock Holmes) who is my second pair of eyes and my English translator for many of my stories and Patricia Farley Ward who edits all of my stories.
I want to wish all of my Christian friends a Merry Christmas and all my Jewish friends a Happy Chanukah! And all my other friends, All the Happiness and Joy of the Season!
And finally, I’m sure you would love to join me in wishing Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca and their families a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year with many Concerts and special surprises for us! And I want to thank them for all they do for us! They are truly a Joy to the World!
Join me next week as I go back Through the Fields of My Mind and open the door to a new adventure! Next week we ring out the old!
Just in time for Christmas, the guys released a new EP 4Xmas Amazing Grace, O Tannenbaum, Feliz Navidad and Happy Xmas (the War is Over) order yours now on Spotify, Amazon, etc.
If you would like to share a story with me, please email: susan.flightcrew@yahoo.com
This episode of Porta a Porta was supposed to air in February, but due to the war in Ukraine it has always been postponed.
Last week, with no ads and no announcements, it aired after midnight. Here is the episode and what has been said.
Please click on the photo below to view the video.
VESPA = We are approaching Eurovision, in Turin, the great music festival, and we are going there, remembering Il Volo, the boys of Il Volo, which we baptized here more than 10 years ago.
Let’s open this segment with the guys from Il Volo who will come here, in the studio, with us, and with this clip, Il Volo introduces itself.
(begins a video that traces many moments of Il Volo’s career. Immediately after, Il Volo, in the studio, sings “SE”).
Il Volo, celebrates more than 10 years of success at Porta a Porta. Piero Barone, 29 years old, Ignazio Boschetto, 28 years old, and the plague, Gianluca Ginoble, the worst of all, who runs away, cannot be found, is undisciplined, messy😁(he says it in a benevolent tone), but he is only 27 years old that we have to do??
GIANLUCA= I’m the youngest, by the way I just turned 27, just last week.
IGNAZIO= He is the smallest! (Maybe he also says it in a double sense, he also means height) 😁
PIERO = So, I’m the oldest at the table.
VESPA = Madonna, how old are you.
IGNAZIO = Can we sit down?
VESPA = Sure.
PIERO = Bruno, what did I tell you a little while ago?
VESPA + PIERO = The promises are kept. (They had promised to return soon to Porta a Porta)
VESPA = Look, I know it takes a long time . We love you so much, you love us so much, we have brought each other luck ….
PIERO = This program brings good luck, you were the first to invite us and tell everything we were doing outside (means outside Italy).
IGNAZIO = I can say that your program and you were the first person and the first (Italian) program who believed in us, and never took us for granted. We always have Porta a Porta and you in our hearts.
VESPA = Thanks, thanks, thanks.
After two years of hiatus due to the pandemic, who would have said it would last that long, seven thousand people sent home to Los Angeles (he refers to the canceled concerts) and now, go home and then in June ….
PIERO = Exactly, we will start in May from Japan (they didn’t go, I remind you that this episode was recorded in February), in June there will be concerts in Italy, we start from the Arena di Verona, 3 and 4 and maybe … . (implies that there might have been another date) ….
IGNAZIO = Yes, because we have been postponing it for two years
PIERO = Two years, and it seems that we are finally leaving…
VESPA = How many concerts in Italy?
PIERO = In Italy, there will be more or less 15 concerts, I don’t know exactly it’s all in the planning phase.
VESPA = And then instead in autumn: United States …..
PIERO = Autumn: September US, South America will follow and we will return to Japan, then concerts in Europe, we have to recover two years of work.
VESPA = There are many people waiting for you.
Well, we first heard “SE”, taken from the movie “Nuovo Cinema Paradiso”, now we listen to “Ecstasy of Gold” beautiful music by Morricone …
IGNAZIO = Then we also have Clint Eastwood here in the studio (he jokes referring to Gianluca, applause)
GIANLUCA = You two are targeting me, I understand.
VESPA = You have to go straight (a way of saying to be good)
GIANLUCA = I’m going straight, I’m the most restless one, right?
VESPA = Let’s hear these guys (Ecstasy of gold video starts).
This splendid video was filmed in Sardinia, “Il Volo Sings Morricone”, released on November 5th and distributed all over the world. But now we have to go back nine years, you are celebrating 10 years.
IGNAZIO = Yes, we have been celebrating this for two years now (laughter).😁
GIANLUCA = The celebrations never stopped.
VESPA = But you were just out, remember, we took you that you were in swaddling clothes, very small.
GIANLUCA = We have always been a little kids, now almost men.
VESPA = You were kids on December 17, 2013.
PIERO = We were here.
VESPA = Here, at Porta a Porta, let’s see. (a video of Porta a Porta starts and the boys sing “Un Amore così Grande”)
You were really little, and you had already been to America, however, you came from America.
IGNAZIO = We came from America. I remember.
PIERO = What is 2017?
VESPA + IGNAZIO = 2013
VESPA = (Turning to Piero) You looked the youngest, you looked really small, small …
PIERO = I didn’t have a beard, that tuft, a little restyling was done.
GIANLUCA = Before, when we were a little younger, people liked us , because we were child prodigies, in short, who sang with a different voice than our peers, we dressed a little like “grown-ups”.
Today it’s the other way around, see? (touches his beardless face) Today one takes off his beard and wants to look younger.
IGNAZIO = You take off your beard because you want to look younger. 😁
PIERO = He must always speak in the plural.😁
GIANLUCA = As a child you want to look older, do you see how we were dressed? We were dressed in our thirties there.
VESPA = Can I tell you something? Only once in my life did I feel old … who knows why at 27, at your age (talk to Gianluca)
GIANLUCA = Is it true?
VESPA = You saw, we had the same feeling, and now you are rejuvenated.
GIANLUCA = You can see that at 27 we Abruzzo feel “old”.
VESPA = At 27 we hear it and then we don’t !!
PIERO = The crisis of the 27th year.
VESPA = Yes, the 27th year crisis. (laughter) 😁
So, you then moved on to the theme songs of the television novels.
PIERO = For this you have to talk to Ignazio.
VESPA = Ignazio !
IGNAZIO = But I’ve always had a passion for writing music, I was in Sicily, and I remember I was sitting on the veranda, and the melody came out. So I carried it on and Makari was born.
VESPA = But during Covid?
IGNAZIO = Yes, it was that summer that seemed ….
VESPA = …. that things would return to normal?
IGNAZIO = Yes, like baby candy, right?😁
VESPA = Exactly.
IGNAZIO = And then I found myself writing this melody, and then, with Danilo Ciotti, our collaborator, we presented this song to the Palomar family, who are the producers of Makari, and so it all started.
VESPA = And it went well, let’s hear it. (begins the video of the song Makari)
And good Ignazio!
IGNAZIO = Thanks.
VESPA = Five million viewers!
IGNAZIO = Oh yes.
VESPA = It went really well. What did you three do during the two years of Covid?
(he turns to Gianluca) What have you done?
IGNAZIO = He took off his beard! 😁
GIANLUCA = But no! We decided not to live them passively, trying to stimulate creativity. I learned a little to play the piano, I accompanied me while I sang, it was my wish.
Then I studied acting a little. We reinvented ourselves, we thought of new projects. Morricone’s project was born thanks to two years of silence.
VESPA = (he turns to Ignazio) And what about you?
IGNAZIO= You think, I lost weight in the pandemic, and then I gained weight, when everything was sorted out (I think he meant that he had lost weight around the time of his father’s passing away).
I found love.❤ I studied a lot in the studio, and I improved.
VESPA = Did love distract you a lot?
IGNAZIO = Absolutely not!
VESPA = Did the love train you? Has it invigorated you?
It makes you dream, breathe ….
IGNAZIO = Love is beautiful when it makes you feel good, I’m fine. 😘
GIANLUCA = (to Vespa) You know it’s nice to see you in this role, I don’t see you asking about Meloni’s love (she is a political representative)(Gianluca means that: Porta a Porta is a program that deals with many topics, even political ones, often guests are politicians and they are not asked about their loves, of course) 😁
VESPA = You rather, you sentimentally, how are you doing?
GIANLUCA = I’m in love, I found love too last year, on the red carpet of the Venice Film Festival, think, what a story, like a fairy tale, do you realize? ❤
VESPA = Mamma mia! (and then turns to Piero)
IGNAZIO = Piero never talks (about the subject of love)
VESPA = I don’t want to invade privacy
PIERO = I like privacy, I prefer to live it for myself.
VESPA = …. live it for yourself, so is there a story? ….
PIERO = I mean my private life, for me my private life remains private ….
IGNAZIO = (he comes to his friend’s rescue by trying to change the subject) Morricone was a great project, we worked hard 😁😁😁
VESPA = Look at these (Ignazio and Gianluca) talking. What happened during Morricone?
IGNAZIO = Look, I’m perhaps the wrong person if you want to know something, I have a concrete stomach.
PIERO = About what?
IGNAZIO = On private lives, our gossips.
PIERO = In these two years we have had more time at our disposal, we have always had a hectic life, we have committed all our energies to Ennio Morricone’s project because you know, facing this world requires a lot of study, a lot of research and many thanks to the family of Ennio Morricone.
We have to thank his son, Andrea Morricone, also a great conductor, we had great support from him, he was like our compass, the world of Ennio Morricone is infinite and thanks to our producers and our team we have created Il Volo Sings Morricone, we also gave you vinyl for Christmas….
VESPA = Beautiful, beautiful, thank you!
PIERO = ….. we are delighted to have given voice to Morricone’s melodies, hoping that people are satisfied.
IGNAZIO = Can I add a little thing? At the beginning, perhaps we did not have a great knowledge of Ennio Morricone’s culture.
Once we thought about carrying on this thought, this idea, we immediately began to study, to understand who Morricone really was, because we had the opportunity to meet him in 2010, when we recorded our first album, and we had the opportunity to share the stage with him in 2011, but now we were more interested in understanding who he was and when we entered his world it was like taking a dip in a pool full of culture and emotions, full of feelings who always have something in store for you, it’s hard to explain!
VESPA = Now let’s see a video about who the three guys from Il Volo are all the way through. Come on.
IGNAZIO = Help! (part of a video with images of Il Volo a Porta a Porta)
In the video:
WOMAN’S VOICE = It’s been 10 years since Ignazio Boschetto, Piero Barone and Gianluca Ginoble came to visit us for the first time in Porta a Porta, at the dawn of their success.
Ten years in which Il Volo reached unimaginable heights, first, the enormous success in the US, with the invitation of Quincy Jones at the concert for Haiti, with stars of the caliber of Barbra Streisand, Bono and Lady Gaga, the transmission of Hellen De Generes and the lighting of the Christmas tree at the Rockefeller Center.
Then the consecration in Italy with the victory at the Sanremo Festival in 2015, a real triumph, so much so that Grande Amore, reaches 110 million views worldwide (now there are over 215 million views), and drags the trio to third place in the prestigious Eurovision Song Contest, where they are the most voted by the public.
That year we also accompanied them to New York, touching on their popularity, their kindness, their uncommon values, namely: bel canto, family, principles, sobriety, education and respect, especially among themselves, nothing that is taken for granted nowadays.
In the span of a decade they bring the Italian classics all over the world, modernizing them, without upsetting them, it is the boys in sneakers who sing Nessun Dorma and O Sole Mio, to use their words.
They also have the honor of singing in front of Pope Francis and over a million people in Panama on the occasion of World Youth Day.
Even during the health emergency, they continue to make all their fans feel the warmth, participating in the most important international streaming reviews, with a great sense of community and responsibility.
And now, as a sign of rebirth and hope, their world tour is about to start, 110 dates around the world, to celebrate their first 10 extraordinary years of career, an eagerly awaited reunion with the public, to continue to proudly bring Italy and its beauty around the world.
VESPA = We have taken the baton from Aunt Antonella, Antonella Clerici, (Ti Lascio Una Canzone).
GIANLUCA = We greet you with great affection.
VESPA = With great affection. But you, when did you get together?
IGNAZIO = We met on that TV show, (Ti Lascio Una Canzone), we didn’t know each other before ….
VESPA = Where did you go to sing separately ….
IGNAZIO = We met for the auditions in Rome, in via dei Gracchi.
VESPA = Via dei Gracchi, but each one had gone on his own.
IGNAZIO = Yes, yes! Then in Sanremo, which was where the broadcast took place, we met and in the fourth episode we sang together for the first time (25/04/2009).
PIERO = …. O Sole Mio.
IGNAZIO = … yes, O Sole Mio.
PIERO = Excuse me.
IGNAZIO = But calculate that Gianluca, we couldn’t see him.
VESPA = Was Gianluca terrible?
IGNAZIO = Do you know when you create small groups at school of the normal ones, the quiet ones and the cool ones? 😁
He was part of the cool, but it showed (applause and laughter), then in the end he came in our way, understood!
VESPA = He has converted.
IGNAZIO = And so it all started from there.
VESPA = (to Gianluca) But why are they talking about you like that?
IGNAZIO = Because we love him after all, at the bottom, at the bottom …..😘
GIANLUCA = ….. but at the very bottom 😁.
But that was our strength right from the start, did you understand? (to be united). Not only artistically, it was the first time that children sang O Sole Mio.
But then I like to see these videos and remember those moments, because Bel Canto allows you to perform in unique places, but above all to support yourself in projects like Morricone, like in Placido Domingo, like the Maestro Vittorio Storaro who accompanied us on this adventure. We have the honor, at our age, to join these names in cinema and music.
VESPA = Then I will ask you to sing a piece of O Sole Mio, sitting here, so a cappella …
IGNAZIO = If Barone says yes, that’s fine !! 😁
VESPA = Is he the boss?
IGNAZIO = Yes yes, (he jokes) see how he is placed with his arms folded …..
PIERO = I’m listening!
I link to what you were saying, seeing these old videos is really exciting, but on a daily basis it is difficult to find the stimulus and clearly find ideas on what to do. We sang in front of the Pope ….. and now what do we do? And I must tell you that it is a team effort, especially with our manager Torpedine, Mr. Torpedine, he is the mind of this group, and now a little while ago we were looking at the images of last Christmas, we sang three songs in St. Peter’s Square , this year we did it from the Frasassi Caves, a magical place.
VESPA = You will go to Bethlehem.
PIERO = And next year, we are working, by now we are at a good point … (he looks at Torpedine to have approval of the news he is saying)
IGNAZIO = We are checking in.
PIERO = We will sing in front of the grotto of the Nativity in Bethlehem and all this, we must say, also thanks to the support of the Undersecretary for Culture, for whom in November, we will sing in the world meeting of ministers of culture.
VESPA = Beautiful, very beautiful.
PIERO = Yes, I have to tell you that they are very beautiful things.
IGNAZIO = Can I say something? I want to reach out more to young people, to those who, like us, try to send their message. Nowadays it is very easy to arrive, with social networks, with the internet, it is very easy.
VESPA = The problem is to stay.
IGNAZIO = The problem is to stay, and in any case we always tell everything we have done, because we are very proud and grateful ….
PIERO = Do you have an itchy mustache?
IGNAZIO = No, it helps me to think. 😁
PIERO = Ah, ok !!
IGNAZIO = …… and we are very grateful for everything that has happened to us, but in recent years it has not been all roses and flowers, there are moments …..
VESPA = When was the most difficult moment?
IGNAZIO = There are moments in an artist’s career where difficulties come, in our case it was in 2014, when L’Universal did not …..
PIERO = Clearly there has been a change between one record company and another, and therefore there have been three or four months of “darkness”, but I remember that our manager was very good at hiding this from us, we didn’t live in that period of anxiety, he was: ”Yes, yes, don’t worry, everything is fine, tomorrow I have a meeting”. Instead there was nothing.
IGNAZIO = This is to make it clear that yes, today it is very easy to get there, but maintaining oneself, building oneself, sacrifices, is all very important …
VESPA = When you were little I used to tell you: “Guys down to earth”.
IGNAZIO = Absolutely ….
VESPA = Never mount your head, NEVER, when you think you are something more, already what you are is already a lot, always fly low low ….. (Vespa is referring to not being full of oneself)
IGNAZIO = I wanted to say it here.
VESPA = I don’t remember, what happened in Sanremo in 2015!
IGNAZIO = What happened?
VESPA = Bho! Let’s see for a moment! (the video of Grande Amore in Sanremo starts). (At some point the video loses audio due to a problem raised by the composer).
VESPA = (He turns to Ignazio). Now you do it again (the final note and Ignazio does it)
(Ring the bell, enter Vittorio Storaro on the show.)
VESPA = We have to greet a great person: Vittorio Storaro. Vittorio, it’s a great pleasure to have you here, thank you. Three Oscars, please take a seat. You can take off the mask.
STORARO = Now it can be done, respecting the distances, the rules and the possibility of being careful, not only with the vaccine, but also with the distances and the embrace of well-vaccinated friends.
IGNAZIO = But that’s why I’m away from Gianluca, for nothing else. 😁 (he jokes)
GIANLUCA = He (Ignazio) is angry with me, he is angry with me master …
STORARO = He (Gianluca) has a great energy, it is the energy that we have that usually brings the affections too. But be careful not to lose it, with the distance.
IGNAZIO = In what sense?
GIANLUCA = You have to be careful.
IGNAZIO = No, no, I am like a magnet for him, we attract the two of us.
VESPA = Vittorio Storaro won three Oscars (photography award), 1980 for Frencis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, 1982 for Beatty’s Reds and Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Last Emperor in 1988.
Beyond these awards, even we reporters who have approached the cameras a few times, looking at the light of Vittorio Storaro, already looking at it, we have learned something.
We learned what is beautiful and what is ugly, and what is beautiful, you did it. And this was truly a great lesson.
STORARO = All this comes from the great studies of Hippocrates who studied the elements of life, the natural elements that arrived on our body, on our organism.
We see light, not only with the eyes, but with the whole body, we are a sensitive plate. Light is visible energy and therefore it reaches us with a certain frequency, and the more it touches us, the more it excites us.
VESPA = So ….. what do you have to do with Vittorio Storaro? What have you done together?
PIERO = The moment before I met Storaro, I wasn’t sure whether to give him the you, the her, or the you or theirs, I wanted to give theirs (he means that he was in awe of respect for Storaro), but we have one thing in common, we were born on the same day, different year, the 24th of June ….
STORARO = We are Cancer (zodiac sign).
PIERO = Maestro Storaro, before being a great artist is a great person, he transmitted so much, so much wisdom, and so much art to us and we have to thank him because, you know, sharing his experience, his art, his being, with three boys of 27 or 28 years, it is not obvious, it does not happen every day.
VESPA = You have put together Morricone’s music, the images of Storaro, Oscar winner …
IGNAZIO = Yes, because we have been trying to collaborate with Maestro Storaro for years and we never managed to find a just cause, deep and sincere, with great significance and this year, that is last year, that moment has come, it has come that idea.
VESPA = So let’s see this clip, Il Volo in the Caves …..
STORARO = Can I explain first a moment? Is useful.
VESPA = You’re welcome.
STORARO = It is true what Ignazio says, I had two Don Abbondio (he means two people who wanted to do this project … Don Abbondio is the character of the Promessi Sposi, a novel by Manzoni). Michele Torpedine called me, wrote to me every now and then to invite me to their concerts, he said, at least you know each other, it would be nice to make a video together.
While they were in Verona, I was in New York with Woody Allen, they went to New York, and I was always with Woody Allen in Spain or so on.
Then there was Maurizio Tosoroni who is the person in charge of the Frasassi Caves who asked me and Francesca (daughter of Storaro) who you know well, if we could conceive with modern technologies, and with a different creativity, that beautiful lighting they have the Frasassi Caves, which in this period of Covid were totally dark, totally closed and told me: “Why don’t we think about a project?”
The two Don Abbondio got together, they called me and I began to rehearse with lights, which we created together with Francesca related to the arts, because there was a phrase that struck me from our minister of culture, Dario Franceschini, that it is right to follow all the scientific warnings, medicines, vaccines, distances, masks, but if we add the energy, the creativity of the arts, maybe we can help so that everything can come back to life in a certain way.
VESPA = Of course, music and art give us hope, they help us to find the light.
STORARO = Do you understand? Also because we conceived the lights with Francesca, also linked to the muses, that is to the arts, and then I thought: “What can I do, with the trio Il Volo, inside the Frasassi Caves” and reminding me that they had told me that it was the fiftieth anniversary of the year in which three young speleologists descending from a hole with a rope, had discovered this incredible archaeological site among the best in the world, with the three of them (Il Volo) we reconstruct, not in a realistic way, but in a symbolic way, because they cannot go down with the suit and then sing, but in a tuxedo, and therefore in a symbolic way we have reconstructed the descent of the three , one at a time, first Gianluca, then Piero, then Ignazio, and little by little one descends, the light begins to rise …
VESPA = How wonderful! Let’s see it.
STORARO = Wait, I say one last thing. Only when Gianluca begins to sing, then Piero and then Ignazio, are together, they are like a seed that fertilizes mother earth and regenerates, and the trio becomes another trio, two trios, ten trios, one hundred trios, one thousand trios, none , one hundred thousand by Pirandello (Italian author). This was the creative energy of Il Volo.
VESPA = Well, let’s see it now. (The full video made in the Frasassi Caves begins.)
How wonderful!! Really what a treat !! Beautiful beautiful beautiful.
STORARO= Nothing is random. I have made 7 films with Ennio Morricone, and 10 films with Bernardo Bertolucci, and coincidentally this song comes from the film that the subject was written by Bernardo Bertolucci. I remember when I came here to say goodbye to Bernardo with you, and I told you about the possibility that I made him a promise, to restore and preserve all 10 films we made together, and I’m doing it now in the Cinecittà laboratory, with very modern technologies and with the possibility that these icons can last indefinitely.
VESPA = How wonderful! Bravo, bravo Vittorio, also for this.
GIANLUCA= I wanted to say that for us, our greatest goal is also to bring the beauties of our country. The Frasassi Caves, deserve to be, as they are already known all over the world, but even more so.
This was the perfect soundtrack, it was a wonderful experience in a magical place and living it with Maestro Storaro was even more so. It was truly an honor to be able to work together.
VESPA = Speaking of magical places, well, Santa Croce, in Florence (Notte Magica), but who would have thought it, direct by Placido Domingo.
PIERO = That was a great evening.
VESPA = Florence 2016 (The Magic Night video starts)
You didn’t have time to meet our friend Luciano Pavarotti.
IGNAZIO = Unfortunately not.
VESPA = In my opinion he would have put his hand on your shoulder, he was a person of absolute generosity who was really looking for, he was looking for new talents.
PIERO = This evening, the evening in Florence in Santa Croce, Tribute to the three Tenors, we had, in some way, the support from the three, because the maestro Placido Domingo directed the orchestra, but the Pavarotti foundation supported this idea because Nicoletta Mantovani (Pavarotti’s wife) gave the okay and said these very words: “The master would have liked this project”.
VESPA = Yes, absolutely yes.
VESPA = So, 2019, so these are the last things before Covid, at the Bolshoi Theater …
PIERO = To the Moscow Bolshoi
VESPA = La Traviata.
PIERO = Beautiful.
IGNAZIO = I was terribly ill, I had a fever that evening.
VESPA = Did you sing with a fever?
IGNAZIO = Yes, but I’m strong!
VESPA = Go, go. (The video of La Traviata starts)
So, (he turns to Piero) we went to New York together, we went to another big theater, the Metropolitan, do you remember?
PIERO = Yes.
VESPA = I don’t know if you remember, the room was empty, you and I were sitting next to you and I said to you: “But when you grow up, what do you want to do?” Was it your dream, does that still remain?
PIERO = Yes, in these two years, especially in the last 6 months I have studied a lot, I’m still studying, because you know very well how much study it takes. Just yesterday I did two and a half hours of lesson on Verdi, La Traviata.
VESPA = I have been to the Bolshoi with Riccardo Muti (well-known conductor), with the Friendship Concerts, and I assure you that if there is one who slaughters singers it was him.
PIERO = Mamma mia!
VESPA = Now it is no longer used, the masters have no desire or time, but before, a great singer always had his teacher who always kept him in the studio. You have to study a lot, every day.
IGNAZIO = I too, yesterday I did a two and a half hour session of the “tagliata (typical meat), I was very focused! (laughs) 😁😁😁
Sorry for the joke!
VESPA = He is always disheveled, undisciplined, the one who arrives late. Where is Gianluca!
GIANLUCA = This is what the two of them make you believe!
But it is nice that we are a group, but we continue to cultivate our passions, we respect and esteem each other, which is not obvious, as you know often groups are in competition …
VESPA = I know, you all never fight.!!
GIANLUCA = This is our great merit, because now 13 years together this is the beautiful thing.
Nice that Piero has his goals, for example, as I told you before, I am starting to approach the world of acting, trying to understand if one day, who knows, I would like to be an actor, but this enriches anyway, studying acting on stage , for a singer, it also helps you to express, to interpret songs better.
VESPA = So. (he turns to Piero) You say, we sang for the Pope, that’s enough, but no.
2019 Pope Francis, Panama (video of Panama starts)
In the video:
PIERO = His Holiness.
P + I + G = What a pleasure to see you again.
PIERO = This is our gift to you.
POPE = Thank you.
GIANLUCA = The dream and the desire to sing for him is coming true, we met in private audience last year and we sang for him an Ave Maria (Hail Mary) and here tonight we will sing it for him and for all the young people, we are truly honored.
POPE = Thank you.
PIERO = Can we take a picture?
POPE = Yes.
PIERO = A selfie like young people do. (The Pope gives a souvenir to Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca)
IGNAZIO = We are grateful to you. See you later.
GIANLUCA = As you know, the power of Italian and Neapolitan music has reached overseas, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, but also Elvis Presley himself …..
IGNAZIO = The Pope has just passed, sorry, the Pope comments, ….
PIERO = But what does Elvis Presley have to do with Pope Francis, can you explain to me?
GIANLUCA = Oh well, first let’s talk about the Pope and then we want to give you a small gift.
VESPA = A small gift?
GIANLUCA = Yes, yes, a little present.
VESPA = Wait, first now I want to ask you something, we want to dedicate to Vittorio Storaro, who represented Italian art in the world, one of the most popular songs in the world, like this, here a cappella. (O Sole mio)
GIANLUCA = This is why I said, the great Elvis Presley interpreted the song in English “It’s now or never”, do you remember that?
VESPA = Go !! (begins the a cappella song)
Well, we want to thank this magnificent group of romances, eight violinists, two cellists, thank you, thank you very much and congratulations, you are very good. And then (to Il Volo) I greet you now …
IGNAZIO = We leave you with a great masterpiece, you know the story of Sacco and Vanzetti well. We are truly honored to be able to tell it even to an audience that does not know this story, to an audience that is not Italian and perhaps has not known the injustices that can exist in life. We are very proud to sing this song.
GIANLUCA = We would like to thank you again, we also thank the Maestro Storaro.
VESPA = Thank you. (then he turns to Storaro) And what about you, beyond the restoration of Bertolucci’s films?
STORARO = Basically we’re still in the early stages, Woody sent me his fifth script to start, we had to do it first in New York, then we moved to France, now he’s looking to another country, Covid follows, depending on where it’s possible we’re going to do it.
VESPA = Good luck !!
PIERO = We would like to thank our audience for their love, support and support received over the years, thank you.
VESPA = And then: Sacco and Vanzetti! (start the song)
Really a nice chat between friends. You have noticed the masks and spacers, much more rigid in February than they are now.
Although it was not advertised, but was announced only by the tam-tam of the fans pages (incredible), this episode had very high ratings.
Congratulations as always, to Il Volo !!
But that of Porta a Porta was not the only appointment of Il Volo in this period, they were also in promotion Austria, on the TV show “Garden Party of the stars”.
Here they are.
Please click on the photo below to view the video.
Very nice this video shot in Austria in front of the beautiful Grillenstein castle.
And then, live, during the show, they sang Ecstasy of Gold.
Please click on the photo below to view the video.
Really a nice participation, let’s enjoy some pictures.
Then there was the announcement of the two Australian concert dates, finally !!
Reposted from @ilvolomusic :
Hello everyone, We are very happy to announce that ticket sales are now open for our Australian concerts in Melbourne (October 18) and Sydney (October 24).
And finally, on May 12, I remind you that Il Volo is taking part in the Eurovision Song Contest.
For those who cannot follow them on TV, I propose you to follow them on you tube on the official ESC channel: @eurovisionsongcontest.
Il Volo will sing GRANDE AMORE, but in a new version, which has just been heard.
The title is YOU ARE MY EVERYTHING and is in the English-Italian version and I find it beautiful !!
Here it is. ❤
What a thrill everything is ready, see you soon !!
Daniela
BREAKING NEWS!
Unfortunately, the news recently came that Gianluca is positive for Covid, so he will not be on the Eurovision stage. His voice will be recorded, only Ignazio and Gianluca will perform !!
I am very sorry for Gianluca, unfortunately you can never let your guard down with this Covid. Ignazio and Piero will do their best to represent Il Volo !!
Here I am with the second part of this beautiful interview.
I assure you that you will not be bored.
Enjoy the reading!!
MARA = Come back here. (long applause) You are guys, but you have a great responsibility, because you have immense talent …
GIAN = With this song we also had the opportunity to show the beauties of our country with the Frasassi Caves.
MARA = Yes, there was the video.
GIAN = I also want to say this thing, because for us it was a great honor, to be able to work with maestro Vittorio Storaro, who is a “cinematographer” and not a “director of photography”, which is a small detail.
MARA = What’s the difference, for those who don’t know?
GIAN = There is a big difference. In America they say cinematographer …
MARA = …. three Oscars, he made all the films of Bertolucci (another Italian director who won the Oscar for The Last Emperor), Vittorio Storaro …
GIAN = … exactly three Oscars …. because every time it is a life lesson, not only artistic, but his wisdom has given us wonderful moments …
MARA = Sorry if I interrupt you, Gianluca, but I have a backstage video and I would like to send it and then you all can comment on it.
Let’s watch it together.
(the video of the Frasassi Caves backstage starts)
In the video: Gianluca’s voice = The melodies of the great master Ennio Morricone are the protagonists in this wonderful setting that are the Frasassi Caves.
Ignazio’s voice = Sharing this fantastic place also with maestro Vittorio Storaro was a great emotion. (applause)
MARA = It is so beautiful that it seems unreal, it seems magical.
PIERO = Have you ever been there?
MARA = No, never been.
PIERO = Look, time stops there.
MARA = But where is this place, exactly?
GIAN = Near Genga, in the Marche region.
MARA = Ah, in the Marche.
GIAN = Yes, this place is one hour from my house, I’m near Roseto degli Abruzzi.
MARA = So did you know this place?
GIAN = Yes, I had already been there, because schools often organize trips with pupils to make excursions.
MARA = It’s a magical place, I want to go there.
PIERO = We had the privilege of having the caves just for us and Vittorio Storaro, to shoot the video.
MARA = Illuminated by Vittorio Storaro.
GIAN = Think about the power of Bel Canto, associated with a wonderful place, it is the perfect soundtrack, but then it allows us to join idols, like Vittorio Storaro, or as before, you saw us joking with Woody Allen, it is the prestige of Bel Canto. As you know it all started with Pavarotti, then with Bocelli, so we, humbly, always try to follow in their footsteps, to bring this kind of music higher and higher.
IGNAZIO = I’ll tell you an anecdote. In the caves, we were collaborating with the master Storaro, and he was still trying to get an extra emotion out of us. So when there were our solos, he would say to Piero: “Piero concentrate you, try not to think about anything, as if there were no one, the caves, the emotion …”
GIAN = He (Storaro)was also a director on that occasion, just for us.
IGNAZIO = …. “let the emotion out” …. ok, Piero, does his (solo), Gian does his, it’s up to me and I ask: “Give me some more advice, master …”
MARA = You are giving HIM to the master. (in Italy it is a sign of respect)
IGNAZIO = Absolutely … and he tells me: “Ignazio, forget where you are, it’s just you, the camera and nothing else around.” I followed his advice.
PIERO = He added “…and think of a person dear to you ….”
MARA = Think of a person dear to you?
IGNAZIO = Yes. The playback of the song was over and I cried and I cried for 15 minutes …
PIERO = He burst into tears.
MARA = Who were you thinking of?
IGNAZIO = Your Love is a song that means a lot to us, also because we performed in Sanremo three days after my father’s death, so it means a lot to us.
MARA = The memory!
IGNAZIO = By now, I associate that song with that moment and therefore I was in tears for 15 minutes.
GIAN = The whole album is dedicated to Vito ….
PIERO = … to Ignazio’s father.
On this occasion Ignazio proved to be a great man, because three days before our performance in Sanremo, we received this terrible news by phone, and we all expected a NO, from Ignazio, we thought we would stay at home. Instead he, as a great professional, arrived in Sanremo, sang, did his duty. He has my highest esteem. ❤(appaluse)
MARA = Who knows how you were inside, love.
IGNAZIO = I think that the greatest happiness of a parent is to see their children happy.
GIAN = There was a backstage part that I would like to tell and that moved us all.
During the rehearsals Fiorello (co-host of Sanremo), approached Ignazio and hugged him for three minutes, they hugged tightly, I’m telling you, because unfortunately he also experienced the same situation ….. and by the way we say goodbye to the great Fiorello, hello Fiore !!
MARA = (turning to Ignazio) Were you far away, when your dad passed?
IGNAZIO = I was in Bologna, we were, there. Before, we talked about the pandemic, and the lockdown, there are positive sides, I was lucky enough to spend a year and a half with my whole family, and that’s what we hope all the young people, all the boys of our age, have done – have the opportunity to spend time with their families, and to understand how important their support is.
MARA = I think so.
PIERO = But in these years…. we have been together for 13 years …
IGNAZIO = We are together, that is, we work together ….
MARA = But there would be nothing wrong, Ignazio ... (being together can be meant sentimentally)
PIERO = No, no, we are together
IGNAZIO = Of bad, nothing, but Piero, it’s not that I like him so much. 😁
MARA = Are the two of them engaged? (Piero and Gianluca). About you (Ignazio) we learned that you have a girlfriend in Brazil …
GIAN = The two of them who ??
MARA = Not the two of you together, although there would be nothing wrong with that.
GIAN = No but imagine, there would be nothing wrong …
MARA = Do you, your fiancée, have it?
GIAN = Yes, yes, I do.
MARA = You have her! And you Piero?
PIERO = No, I …
GIAN = Piero no.
MARA = Is he single?
GIAN = Piero is single, the only single, that’s right.
MARA = He is in love with Bellucci, he is waiting for Bellucci.
IGNAZIO = Morricone was one of the most beautiful projects we have ever thought …
MARA = Do you want to change the subject?
IGNAZIO = Is it understood ?? 😁
MARA = You are smart, eh !!! But when you can, with aunt !!! (she means that the aunt, that is Mara, discovers the smart ones)
IGNAZIO = (He gets up and sings to Mara, hugging her) “I’ll take you and I’ll take you away.” (applause)
MARA = Come on, another film I loved is Sacco and Vanzetti, directed by the great Giuliano Montaldo, starring Riccardo Cucciolla and GianMaria Volontè.
PIERO = For this piece, we studied a lot, because we didn’t know so many things ….
MARA = Wonderful movie.
PIERO = The story is truly poignant, because unfortunately there is injustice.
MARA = Exactly. Great movie.
GIAN = We are here, eh !!
PIERO = I was telling her about Sacco and Vanzetti …
IGNAZIO = We felt a little lonely.
MARA = Here he is (Piero), I brought him to you.
PIERO = This song is called: HERE’S TO YOU. (applause, here’s to you begins)
(applause and standing ovation at the end)
MARA = Well, you wonderful ones! I just want to say that this is an important film, an important theme, it is the story of two Italians, two emigrants who were unjustly condemned, and we at this moment want to greet all our compatriots who cannot be here.
I + P = Absolutely.
GIAN = And it is also nice to remember that soon we will be on tour, from March in the United States, we start in RCMH on March 4th, and then we will reach many people who have been waiting for us for two years since the last tour that unfortunately we had to stop due to the Covid.
MARA = So you will reach our compatriots, and not only !! But then I will also say all the dates.
Let’s move on because there is another beautiful song.
PIERO = There are many (dates)
MARA = Yes, a lot.
PIERO = More than 100 concerts in six months.
MARA = But when are you leaving?
PIERO = March 4th …
MARA = And are you coming back?
PIERO = In December
MARA = Next year (2022)
PIERO = Yes, and we will sing in Italy, we will do concerts in the summer and concerts in the winter.
MARA = How long are you away?
PIERO = From March to December no stop, only 7-8 days in July
MARA = Are you going back to Italy?
PIERO = Yes, at home.
MARA = Love !!
GIAN = At least, a little sun, a tan, otherwise we will be pale, tired, with travel …..
MARA = Let’s go on, now they make you listen to another beautiful song, music ….
PIERO = What is it?
MARA = SE TELEFONANDO
IGNAZIO = Another of my favorites.
MARA = I like it a lot too.
PIERO = Do you know how it was born?
MARA = Maurizio Costanzo (he wrote the words)
PIERO = Yes, but Ennio Morricone was at the post office paying a fine, a bill, I don’t know what it was, he heard the sound of the ambulance, the siren of the ambulance “ta-ta …. se telefonando” and from there makes you understand the genius of the master Morricone.
MARA = What a beautiful song.
PIERO = Magnificent.
MARA = Why him, great musician, great author, but then this is a song that everyone can sing, in truth.
IGNAZIO = Absolutely. But then the genius of the master Morricone was that he was inspired by silence, for him silence in his works was fundamental …
PIERO = Determinant
IGNAZIO = I like to compose, and sometimes, removing is more difficult than adding.
MARA = It’s true.
IGNAZIO = The essential is something difficult to achieve. It can only be reached by those who are geniuses, like the maestro Morricone.
MARA = How wise have you become, aunt’s love. (she hugs Ignazio)
IGNAZIO = Mamma mia, I’m getting emotional!
MARA = Come on, come on, come on, SE TELEFONANDO, Il Volo!! (starts Se Telefonando)
(applause and standing ovation at the end)
MARA = IL Volo, on Domenica IN, which makes us spend the wonderful Boxing Day !!
Good, good guys, good, good guys (she applauds the guys).
Now I’m sending something with you, from here, from this position. Last year was December 25, 2020, exactly one year ago, and where were you? In St. Peter’s Square ..
P + G + I = Yes, St. Peter’s Square.
MARA = With ???
PIERO = Nobody, there was nobody. Ours is a dream job, we are dreamers and we saw that surreal situation, lockdown, at home at ten, and we wanted to wish the whole country a Merry Christmas from there. We got organized, with the director of RAI1.
MARA = Stefano Coletta.
IGNAZIO = Let us wish him well for Santo Stefano.
G + P + I + M = Greetings director !!
PIERO = And so from there, we made these four songs, to wish a Merry Christmas, with St. Peter’s Square completely empty.
MARA = Let’s see it then. (start the video of Merry Christmas from San Pietro 2020)
In the video: Gian = On this very special day, in which, even if we are close, we are forced to stay away, we wanted to find a way to wish you a Merry Christmas.
Ignazio = With music, in this extraordinary square.
PIERO = The hope is that Christmas, with its magic, can bring a smile to your homes, and warm your hearts.
MARA = How beautiful !! It’s beautiful, I think you have performed everywhere, but I think this was an emotion …… (addressed to Piero) at one in the morning did you tell me?
IGNAZIO = In fact there was still a curfew, so thanks to the Municipality of Rome, and the Vatican who gave us permission to be able to register it. So as not to create a crowd, we did it after curfew, we finished at 1am.
I want take this opportunity to reiterate that the mind that thinks these things is Michele Torpedine, who has all these fantastic ideas.
MARA = That we say hello to Michele (she blows a kiss), where is Michele? It should be around here!
PIERO = Do you think that Luciano Pavarotti called him (Torpedine) Great Boss, and he too (Ignazio), jokingly also called him Great Boss.
I’ve never done, it but I told him: “The day you make us sing in front of Pope Francis, I’ll call you Big Boss”, and now I have to!
GIAN = Behind every singer, there are people who allow them to be able to fully express their art, surely he is the person …..
PIERO = Can you turn the camera? He is there, behind …(Michele is nearby)
MARA = No look, let’s do one thing: “Come here, Michele, we’re talking about you” (applause)
PIERO = Great Michele.
MARA = (drags Torpedine on stage). Sorry, they were talking about you.
MT = You know that these things embarrass me, I’m not used to it.
MARA = Come on. Listen, we are almost at the end of this beautiful segment, I don’t know how to thank you.
How do you handle these boys, Torpedine?
MT = How do you manage three dynamites like this, they go it alone, just say yes or no to things.
MARA = Now you all go, go around the world for months …
MT = Around the world, we hope that everything goes well with Covid.
MARA = We hope, we hope so.
IGNAZIO = We thought we would leave you with a Christmas song, since they told us that Christmas songs are sung until the Epiphany.
MARA = Come on, the witch is here. (herself)
PIERO = White Christmas.
MARA = White Christmas, Il Volo, and I take Michele away. (White Christmas song begins)
Thanks guys, (applause), thanks, thanks. Happy New Year!
IGNAZIO = We want to thank you.
MARA = Thanks to you.
IGNAZIO = We wanted to congratulate you for the new year.
PIERO = We never had the opportunity to spend all this time together, you are really human !!
GIAN = Thanks for believing in us.
MARA = You gave me a great gift, guys.
IGNAZIO = And you gave us a great gift, because talking about each other, is not always easy.
GIAN = Best wishes to you too who are following us, hoping that it will be a 2022 of normality.
IGNAZIO = We wish you to collect all the most beautiful, unthinkable and imaginary fruits, because “nothing is impossible”.
MARA = And it’s true !!
GIAN = He is also international, him.
PIERO = Only optimism !!
MARA = Come on guys, but see you, you go around the world …
PIERO = See you in concert in Italy …
MARA = At the Arena ??
PIERO = In June at the Verona Arena and Taormina …
MARA = And so, see you in March. They go and then they come back: Il Volo !!!
I have no words after this beautiful interview, it was long, but not boring at all.
I believe that when our young men open their hearts, we only know of good feelings.
This is also what we like about them, their way of being, unites us and brings us closer and closer to their human side, they are not only excellent artists, there is much more.
And behold, Christmas time has come again this year. Despite all the problems due to the pandemic, for better or for worse, the year has passed.
So, here we are exchanging the best wishes !!
We thought we had already passed the period of the pandemic which, unfortunately, has taken away many loved ones from us.
But instead, here we are again, fighting, but we will win, we must be positive and we will do it !!
Many concerts await us, many opportunities to meet, get to know each other, listen to melodious voices.
Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca will lighten our days and we will fly with them.
So to all our readers, to all the crew a big wish from the bottom of the heart:
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
Jana, Pat, Daniela, Susan, JoAnn, Daniela Ci and Kelly
and of course a kiss from:
Gianluca, Piero and Ignazio ❤❤❤
Meanwhile, let’s re-look at their beautiful performance, on the night of Christmas Eve from St. Peter’s Square in Rome in 2020.
Please click on the photo below to view the video.
Il Volo, last Sunday, was a guest on Domenica In, a Rai 1 program, where he sang E PIÙ TI PENSO, dedicated to the actress Monica Bellucci who played Malena in the film.
Here is the video of their speech.
Please click on the photo below to view the video.
Il Volo, tonight after the Pope’s Mass, (h.21,20 Italian time) will sing from the Frasassi Caves: O Holy Night and on Sunday 26 will be a guest again on Domenica In for a long television intervention.
See you soon! 😘🤗
Credit to owners of all photos and videos.
Come in and share the love of life, friends and Il Volo!
