Guys from Il Volo came back to Poland in the most difficult moment of their career, when the enormous amount of hate for the latest album was poured to the band. The tense atmosphere prevailing at the beginning of the concert couldn’t be hidden from the audience, but the fans did not disappoint. Support and involvement from the audience as well as the great created ambience, caused the team once again left our country with a sense of success, a well-done job and the belief, that fans in Poland will always embrace them splendidly. This is a report both from the concert and backstage, but also a message for those who are too eager in their online hating comments. There, on the other side of the monitor is also a man with whom you can of course disagree, but you can not cross a certain limit.
Paparazzo Barone or (almost) everything on Instagram
A few years ago, Gianluca was the one who most often showed the details of his life on social media. Now the steering wheel of the chief informant about the actions – both his personal and team ones – is undisputedly held by Piero, and Instagram is his favorite social platform. We’d follow the third visit of Il Volo to Poland from the beginning of December, when we saw Piero in front of his wardrobe thinking about what to pack in this distant land of snow and frost. The next morning, our paparazzo mounted camera in his suitcase showing how (with the note “Varsavia”) it enters the airport transmission belt into the abyss of the Roman airport Fiumicino. How do we know that was Fiumicino? About the morning flight to the Polonia informed the sleepy Ignazio from a bus, took him from the terminal door to the plane’s door. It was enough for clever fans to check the schedule of flights to Warsaw to know when to wait at Chopin Airport. And they waited. What about the hotel? One of the most closely guarded information – because the artists spend their private time there – was made public when Piero – shortly after accommodation – went to the gym and showed a very original interior design. The rehearsal before the concert – also not available to the public – we could watch in the same place. At the Inastagram, we also had the opportunity to see ourselves, because the boys willingly took out the phones on stage and filmed enthusiastic reacting audience. I will sum it up by paraphrasing the statement which a few years ago hit the canon of suicidal goals of the Polish political scene with a bang: sorry, such times we have. And, in general, this is better because artists shorten the distance between the star and the audience, which in the era before social media was huge and clear. The question remains does shorten the distance is always good for the artists? After the recent events, I have mixed feelings.
Before the Atlas Arena door was opened
After months of waiting for the new album, as I wrote in the post “Il Volo are coming back to Poland”, November 30th – just nine days before the concert in Lodz – become quite unexpected premiere of “Amame”, a Spanish-language album recorded in the Latino style, which is very different from the one we know, which people loved Il Volo. In the net a real hell for artists was unleashed. A huge amount of fans – though it might be better to call them observers – began to criticize the team in social media exaggeratedly. Wasting talent and selling themselves for the desire to draw money from the latino market are just a few harsh, but not the worst reviews. Explicit call to hate, withdrawal of likes and willingness to show boys how some of the audience is angry, has taken on a huge scale. In the period between the release of the album and departure from Poland, Ignazio lost around 1,000 followers on Instagram. It’s pathetic, very pathetic and at the same time scary. I understand, that not everyone liked the new album, but cannot you limit yourself to writing: “listen, I prefer you in the classic edition”? Particularly because the band has emphasized, that this album isn’t a permanent change, but only a stylistic experiment and the desire to try something different. Besides, the album is really nice, but different. This huge amount of hate couldn’t fail to affect the mood in the team, it’s normal. And so Gianluca – when I saw him for the first time – had a clearly bad day, Piero also didn’t burst with special energy, only Ignazio seemed cheerful. In any case, there were plenty of relations on the Instagram profiles of both men, as well as mutual banter between tracks and Polish language exercises.
Tough first minutes of the concert
This was the first appearance of the boys since the release of the album “Amame”. When I was later thinking about the reason for the beginning of the concert, it occurred to me that maybe they were afraid. They were worried about whether on the audience was sitting – albeit partly – those nasty people who hate their posts on social media. Will there be no whistles or thrown tomatoes on the stage or other manifestations of frustration. Perhaps on that moment they did not know yet that Polish fans responded positively, not everyone is delighted with new album, but there is no hate or criticism in Poland. The beginning of the concert was a bit stiff, with a distance. Gianluca was still depressed and upset, he looked like a miles from the stage, Piero composed, but I must say too much, not quite the very confident Piero, whom we saw in Warsaw. Ignazio, on the other hand – always happy and prone to jokes and entertain the audience – from the first moments he gave even more than usual. Excellent flirtation with the audience and enthusiastic reaction of the audience to every, even the smallest of his gestures, caused that both Piero and Gian relaxed and began to have fun. The change was particularly visible on Gian’s face, who was smiling more and more from song to song and from ovation to ovation. Ignazio started the whole event to such point that finally the emotions – both fans and all three – in Atlas Arena exceeded those from Warsaw Torwar from a year ago.
King of the Saturday evening Ignazio Boschetto
© Jakub Janecki
Ignazio, like no one else, mastered the art of audience amusement, making her laugh and seducing. I don’t think you can learn it, you just have to be born with it. Already after the second song (movie – minute 8:49 – 10:30), he stole the whole show with Polish speech. Last year’s, not always correct in Polish “thank you” and “ladies and gentlemen”, which a year ago entertained the audience, this time it was not enough for him. After “Granada”, he decided to present the Orchestra of the Musical Theater in Poznan, the first violin of the orchestra Patrycja Furman – Zadrozniak and the maestro Agnieszka Nagorka. For this purpose, he wrote each name on a piece of paper (I would like to see it) and with only minor inaccuracies he realized his plan, giving the audience admiration. The fluent “thank you” this year has appeared many times on the stage and beyond, you will also hear Polish “yes” on the film in part from behind the stage. Interestingly and also worth emphasizing, Piero and Gianluca do not speak a word in Polish.
With such cards, Ignazio read the name of the orchestra and names and surnames © Jakub Janecki
The first violin of the orchestra Patrycja Furman – Zadrozniak gives a sign that Ignazio coped well with the pronunciation of her name and surname © Jakub Janecki
You know, that ten years ago …
Before the song “O sole mio” very interesting conversation happend. After a brief by Gianluca reminder how the story of the Trio started in the TV show “Ti lascio una canzone” Ignazio went into more personal memories of the beginnings of his career. A considerable distance to himself allows to joke about himself and remind fans, that he weighed 120 kg as a teenager:
– I was a little ball… like this… I was a arancino with hands, and Piero was a
– Actually when we were young…
– You had a little problem. You caught too much air. What happened to your ears?
– I was on a motocycle, and the wind fixed my ears…
– Was Doctor Wind or what?
– It was Wind…
Piero also told us about Ignazio:
– This year, actually in 2019, we will celebrate 10 years of career… together… Can you imagine me and Gianluca living for 10 years with Ignazio? Can you imagine living with tchem…? – said Ignazio. Now you’re laughing and enjoying this time for just two hours, but 24 hours (pinted on Ignazio) every single day…?
From opera music to pop, or like fish in water…
© Jakub Janecki
This concert was different to the Warsaw one with one more reason. While the repertoire of the Warsaw performance was well known to the public, this time the list of songs was kept in secret. Only in the day of the concert the organizer decided to reveal that the long-awaited song “Il Mondo” will appear among performed songs. It was so important, because the fanclubs once again prepared performance on the event. Unfortunately, in the absence of sufficient information to almost the last minute, it was not possible to mobilize the audience as much as in Warsaw. The flags of course went up during the song, but some of the audience had no idea why they found colored cards on their chairs. Despite only a partial success of the action, the efforts of the girls have been noticed and appreciated, more about it I’ll describe later in the post. Although before the concert, fans ware asked about their preferred repertoire and most of them answered, that they wanted to hear pop and songs from older albums, despite the repetition of “Notte Magica” the audience was delighted. However, the “real madness” – both in the audience and on the stage – began when the operatic repertoire gave way to the pop venue at the end of the performance. “Il Mondo”, “Nel blu dipinto di blu” (Volare), or “Grande Amore” sang the artists together with the audience, which once asked to rise, did not sit down anymore. Piero and Ignazio, after the change of microphones, dropped off their jackets and it was impossible to hide, that they feel the best without them. Gianluca also cope better with entertaining the audience when he holds the microphone in his hand and could walk freely around the stage. Giana’s transformation proceeded with each successive song until the end of the evening.
Emotion, emotions and promises for 2019
– We promise you that we’ll be back next year, and you promise us that you’ll always be with us, even for the next ten years – said Gianluca, making the wave of excitement and huge ovation of the audience.
– Thank you for supporting us all these years – added Piero.
The fans are already waiting for the next concert, but there is no information on this subject and probably will not be there for a long time. Remember that this is a business with own rules. However, it’s impossible to hide, that when tickets are sold almost entirely, it’s a very positive signal that it is worth to come back to Poland. The huge bonus in the form of a very large and positive load of good emotions with which the guys are leaving from Poland is also an important aspect. This change and the return of a good mood, that took place during the show certainly satisfied everyone, not only the artists, but also those responsible for the functioning of this team. Because Il Volo is not just Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca, it’s a large group of people working for the success of the behind-the-scenes team. So when can we expect them again in Poland? Putting only assumptions, I bet that not before the autumn fall. Why? Because unofficial information shows that they are currently working on a new album to appear on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of their careers. When it appears, probably around April, then they will have to promote it, and then summer will come. Summer is, in turn, a period in which they can give concerts in Italy under the open sky, so autumn remains. We’ll see.
Behind the stage it was also fun
© Jakub Janecki
The activity of the boys at the meetings behind the stage is very different and it is difficult to predict what in a given day can be expected. Piero was the most energetic in Warsaw, Ignazio stood quietly, and his thoughts circled elsewhere, Gianluca was only active few times. In Lodz, Piero showed the most moderate enthusiasm, but good humor, but the smile and prank on Ignazio did not leave him until the very end, even when the cameras were already turned off. Gianluca was smiling and clearly touched, not only at the end of the concert, but also at the meeting with the fan club. A lot of gifts made him very thoughtful, referring in part to Poland and the band itself. Pay attention to the bags, they were not accidental. Bravo for girls from Il Volo Poland for creativity and organization. Gianluca said in the conversation, that the boys see and appreciate all the gestures and involvement of the fans. Anita Olszewska:
“A few months before the concert the collect began, from which the money was earmarked for a concert performance and gifts for boys which were: plush Polish dumplings called “pierogi” – cushions, nightingales, sweets (chocolate cake made by Wedel) and a short letter from fans. The boys liked the gifts very much, they were delighted with them. Gianluca said, that he thank you very much for the actions and gifts, because he noticed the moment when we started to show people that it was time, and after a while they saw the effect of our and fans work. It was something amazing, we are very happy, that a lot of people were involved in the concert performance, the boys noticed that the gifts are full of symbolism, which is an additional advantage, thanked us very warmly, they promised that they would come back and invite us to take a photo together.”
A few shots from the meeting with the guys in which I took part along with the girls from Il Volo Poland can be seen on the film from the concert. And as a curiosity, I would like to mention that in Łodz, two dads have accompanied their sons: Gaetano Barone and Ercole Ginoble. Once, when the boys were underage, they had to have some guardian with them, but now? I think that just gentlemen Ercole and Gaetano – like their sons – likes Poland 😉
The movie from the concert of Il Volo in Lodz
Il Volo concert in Łodz with the 100th Prestige MJM event
Equal to one hundred concerts and large caliber events within ten years of being founded. Prestige MJM Agency is first of all a well-chosen team of specialists, good energy and positive attitude to work, that is a passion and adventure, which on the other hand is not easy and only pleasant. Before Il Volo returns to Poland, on the Vistula River – or rather on the Warta River – another Italian artist who likes our country very much will come. Andrea Bocelli in Poznan at the Lech Arena on Bulgarska street on May 11th, you can still buy tickets here. I heartily recommend!
Il Volo Christmas concert in Rai 1
After the concert in Lodz, the boys flew with identical performances to Budapest and Bratislava, and then with a mysterious mission to Lebanon. Initially, it was difficult to guess what was going on, because suddenly the relations on Instagram Stories ceased. It is hardly surprising, because – as it turned out later – Piero, Ignazio and Gian were in the base of Italian troops performing a peacekeeping mission, and such objects are not shown for security reasons. The guys performer a concert of carols for soldiers, they also visited the base and it will be broadcast on the Italian public television Rai 1 on the first day of holidays, on December 25th at 22:45 (CET – UTC +1). Will we be able to see the broadcast in Poland? This question is difficult to answer, since Rai is encoding some programs from time to time for some countries, including Poland. I do not know the key, according to which this procedure takes place, if someone knew how the countries and programs for blocking are selected, then I am asking for info in the commentary. In any case, the chances of watching the concert are big, because even if it is blocked, the fans will find a way to reach it by a different route;)
All the best
Natalia
The Author of the main photo – Jakub Janecki
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