Talented voices of Il Volo take Italian heartthrobs to new heights

They might be teenagers, but they sing the kinds of songs that bring moms and daughters to concerts together, and they do so well enough to capture the attention of Barbra Streisand, who invited the Italian trio to sing with her on her 2012 tour.
Il Volo, which appropriately means “the flight,” has skyrocketed to worldwide fame in three short years, and wraps up its first North American tour Sunday at 7:30 p.m. at Toyota Presents the Oakdale Theatre.Tenors Ignazio Boschetto and Piero Barone and baritone Gianluca Ginoble have made quite a name and following for themselves with mature and glorious vocals that can handle an Italian aria as well as a U2 song. They reflect the song choices on their first two albums, the 2010 debut “Il Volo,” which went platinum, and the most recent “We Are Love,” around which this tour was based.Boschetto, 18, took a few minutes before the trio’s Atlanta concert to talk about the wild wave they’re riding, with a refreshingly gee-whiz reaction that makes you believe we won’t be reading any stories of them spitting off the hotel balcony on fans a la Bieber any time soon.“Sometimes I wake up in morning and have to hit my head on some wall, because I don’t believe,” says Boschetto. “For us, is a dream coming true. We have done so many things so far. I have to say thanks to our family and people believing in us, always supporting us.”
The Streisand moment remains the high point.
“Omigod, I always say it’s an experience we will never forget in our lives. I will never forget that. I remember more the tour with Barbra Streisand than maybe if I shake hands with the pope, I’m not going to remember, because it’s Barbra Streisand we’re talking about.”
The operatic pop trio’s tour has been a resounding success, both at the box office and critically, critics gushing about their young voices, which, though they might not want to hear this, sound like a younger version of Il Divo.
“People love the song,” Boschetto says, referring to the title cut from the CD, “and I think this year the show is more varied, because it has songs from the first and second album. You can have a really beautiful moment, then a bit of quiet. We’re really happy, because people at the end of the concert are like crazy. They love the concert.”If you had told the three lads from various parts of Italy that since 2011 they would have sung with Streisand, Josh Groban, had their own PBS special DVD, another one, “Buon Natale,” upcoming for Christmas along with album of the same name, appeared on “American Idol” and a half-dozen major American TV talk shows, as well as an acting stint on “Entourage,” they wouldn’t have believed it either.Plucked from a singing competition and paired together, Il Volo went on to become the first Italian artists signed by an American label, when Music Group produced the first album, which was recorded in Los Angeles and Rome and London’s famous Abbey Road Studios — yes, they were pinching themselves again.
In their second go-around in the recording studio with Interscope Records, Boschetto says the group wanted to expand its repertoire, which it has done with covers of songs by Aerosmith, Sarah McLachlan and U2 and standards (“Smile”), along with original songs, such as the title song (by Mark Portmann and Latin Grammy winner Edgar Cortazar), which they sing in Italian, Spanish and French. The album also has a duet with Placido Domingo.
Boschetto says the fan base has definitely changed from the first tour, where the audiences were a bit older. This time, the demos reflect the song mix, attracting “three generations, from kids 1 to 92,” he laughs, as he talks about the mutual love affair with their fans.
“They always bring us some gift. Every concert, we are full of gifts. Really, we LOVE them, because they gave us like, expensive things. Yes. Gianluca, someone gave him Ray-Bans, a cashmere sweater. They’re crazy, and we love them.”
IF YOU GO
Event: Il Volo
When: 7:30 p.m. Sunday
Where: Toyota Presents the Oakdale Theatre, 95 S. Turnpike Road, Wallingford
Tickets: $50-$109.50
Info: 800-745-3000, www.livenation.com
Contact Donna Doherty at 203-789-5672.
Source: nhregister