Since their 2009 reality TV win, Il Volo – Piero Barone, 19, Ignazio Boschetto, 18, and Gianluca Ginoble, 16 – have toured with Barbara Streisand, performed across the world, released a platinum-selling album in Italy, and topped the Billboard Classical Crossover Albums chart in America with their classically influenced music.
On Thursday, Il Volo will take the stage at The Westchester County Center in White Plains. The concert has been generating local buzz with fans of all ages, including Jeanne Lolya, a self-described “little old lady from Ossining” who told us how much she loved their music and impressed us with her knowledge of the group. “Ignazio is the one with the dimples!” she pointed out. “I want to tell them to keep singing.”
“The people [in America] are very warm,” Gianluca said when we mentioned loyal fan Lolya during a phone call on Friday. “We can’t wait to come to White Plains.”
While winding down from rehearsals, the trio also chatted about their music, competing on reality TV (they offered some advice for two locals who are currently competing on “The Voice” and “X-Factor”), and shared their admiration for their legendary tourmate Barbara Streisand.
LW: You three are perfect together. It sounds like you have been singing together all of your lives. But we hear that’s not the case?
Ignazio: We met on an Italian reality TV show. We were solo singers on the show. They decided to put our voices together and, from there, Il Volo was born.
LW: What was it like trying to build a friendship in the beginning?
Ignazio: This project started with a friendship. And now, we are like three brothers. We are sharing everything...almost everything. Not the girls.
LW: Speaking of girls, are there a lot of teenage girls at your shows?
Ignazio: We have a lot of fans of all ages in America. In May, we did a Latin American tour and we were in Mexico, Argentina, and Venezuela. There were a lot of teenagers. In the US, it is a little bit different. In the US, we have fans from all the ages.
Piero: This kind of music used to be just for people over 50 years old, like 60. Now we are getting all of the generations. There was a moment at a show that we had. There was a daughter with her mother and grandmother. There were three generations.
LW: Are you proud to introuduce classically influenced music to new audiences?
Ignazio: We are so proud because we can see the young generation listen to this music. We are so happy that we are bringing this kind of music all over the world and we can share our emotion with the people. If we fell in love with this music, anyone who listens for the first time is also going to fall in love.
LW: If you wanted to try something new, what genre of music would you sing?
Ignazio: We are young. We listen to all kinds of music, but we feel this kind of music in our blood. We have this kind of music in our veins.
LW: What should fans expect from an Il Volo show?
Ignazio: It’s amazing because when we did the South American tour, we did all the songs in Spanish. And with this American tour, we sing in English, Spanish, and Italian too. We can also sing French and German.
Piero: We learned these languages with our producer and thanks to everyone. Going around the world, you hear a lot of languages, and see a lot of things. So you learn a lot.
LW: Just talking to you guys, I’m sensing that you have very different personalities. Do you agree?
Piero: Ignazio is the funny one. He’s the funny boy. Gianluca is the serious one who wants to do everything perfectly. I am the smart one who controls the situation.
LW: Right now, we have two people from our local area who are competing on reality shows. Colin McLoughlin is on “The Voice” and the Carly Rose Sonenclar is on “The X-Factor.” Do you have any advice for them?
Piero: Our advice is when you follow your dream, never give up. And when you realize your dream, you have to stay humble and remember what happened in the past. We can say this because we learned this touring with Barbara Streisand and meeting a lot of stars. The first thing they told us is to be humble. Being humble, you can touch the sky.
LW: Great advice! And what was it like touring with Barbara Streisand?
Piero: Barbara Streisand was really amazing. It was cool to sing with her. She is the humblest artist in the world. She is the best. She is a professional. She’s so humble and like a nun for us!
Source: lohud
No comments:
Post a Comment