Il Volo: Tribute to Ennio Morricone; What I Thought About The Concert Streamed from Arena Di Verona

After a year and a half it was so nice to see Il Volo back in action again. So here are some of the components of the concert that I loved, and some elements that I could honestly have passed on.

Also, fantastic photo taken above by Alessandro Peruggi and many more on social media circulating, taken by him.

The concert was televised live on Rai1 in the Arena di Verona, showing a crowd of 6,000 gathered in the arena...the biggest gathering in Italy since COVID-19 began. That alone is a huge accomplishment, and I wish I could have been there in person to see it all unfold. Instead, I streamed live, and the emotion was definitely just as strong through the screen as it would have been in person.

Before we start, everything about the Tribute was in good taste, and did Morricone justice to his memory as an artist and a person.

There were many things about this concert that I loved, and also some things that I wasn't too crazy about, but as a whole it was a beautiful experience.

Let's start of on a positive note, here are some of the things I loved about the Tribute To Ennio Morricone.

Here's To You

Okay, I had never heard this song before although it's from the movie, Sacco & Vanzetti. The way they added the drama to this song was perfect. I loved how they went down into the audience, the faces on the people watching them were priceless; just in complete awe. I've had this song playing on a loop in my mind since I heard it, it just reminds me of an anthem for FIFA or The Olympics. One part in particular that gave me goosebumps was when Ignazio started the round, Piero held the note and Gianluca sang the melody. It was just incredible, really gave the Il Volo feeling that we all missed.

Here are the lyrics, if you didn't catch them during the performance.

Here's to you, Nicola and Bart

Rest forever here in our hearts

The last and final moment is yours

That agony is your triumph

Ignazio's Solo: Listen

I've been a fan of Il Volo for a long time, and I've seen many things, including the progression of their solo choices. I am so happy to see Ignazio choose something modern, more of a pop/rock vibe; something relevant. Gianluca also had a solo, Your Song, and although that was fantastic, something about Listen just enticed me. Definitely my favourite solo of the entire Tribute. The pint sized saxophonist that accompanied him was fantastic, and as a saxophonist myself, I was very impressed with his ability at such a young age. Ignazio's voice soared in this song, it makes me excited to see what other solos he will choose for an upcoming tour.

Se Telefonando

Something I had missed hearing from Il Volo was a romantic song with a pop sound, in Italian. The key change in this song, accompanied with Piero's voice was insanely passionate, intense and powerful. I cannot wait to hear the studio version of this song, as well as one day soon, seeing it live. The lyrics, music and their harmony just makes it sensational, I can't get it out of my head.

I Colori Dell'amore

From what I understand, the lyrics were written for Il Volo but the music was written by Morricone. The lyrics, however, just have me so intrigued because they are so romantic, and what can I say, I'm a sucker for a love song. Gianluca and Ignazio together, in the second verse is just so beautiful, the highest and lowest voice together are just so fantastic, I want to replay that over and over again. Of course, Piero comes in with the power and passion for the chorus, this whole song could be used in a Rai Fiction original movie in my honest opinion...

Now, here are a few things I wasn't too crazy about, during the Tribute.

The Guests

There were some nice surprises in this Tribute, Riccardo Cocciante, Nina Zilli, the dancers in the back (that's another conversation) but I found that these guests took away some attention from the men of the hour, Il Volo. Especially Cocciante singing Il Mondo with the three, he took the spotlight and I wasn't too crazy about it since he wasn't the headliner. After that, he went on to sing a song alone, Il Volo watching him from the side of the stage. Again, since he wasn't the headliner, I found that he took too much of the attention and spotlight, shifting the focus off of Morricone and Il Volo and onto himself.

Piero's Solo: No Puede Ser

Now, this is in no way a criticism of Piero or his voice, ability, talent, ecc. I thought he did a fantastic job, as he always does. Effortless and passionate, he's got this solo nailed. That being said, he's also been singing it since 2014. We have just heard it so many times. Seeing how his bandmates changed their solos for this new Tribute, to more modern, pop-style songs, I wished Piero had done the same. I realize his voice is more operatic than his bandmates, but there are about 10 songs that come to mind - A Mano A Mano, Lamento di Federico, Roses Are Red (My Love), Tengo Todo Excepto a Ti - that Piero could absolutely smash if he sung them for his solo.

Just to put the emphasis on how long Piero's been singing this solo, here is his solo from 2014...

And again in 2018...

And one more time in 2021...

He never fails to give a fantastic performance of this song, and each time he does it, I really do love it, but I was just excited to see what new solo he was going to come up with since the opportunity presented itself.

The Dancers

I noticed particularly during Gianluca's solo and Se, that there were some dancers. Now, I've seen this before, another classical crossover/pop opera group has done the whole "dancers while we sing" trope and it wasn't a good fit then, it's not a good fit now. It took away from the talent and emotion of the song, as well as the main act, Il Volo. Instead of watching the emotion on Ignazio's face while he sang, I was distracted by a guy spinning in a hoop.

Here is Gianluca's solo, that was fantastic but the dancers took away from him.

And here is Se, that confused me with the people in the hoops on the side, that I was staring at trying to figure out what they were doing there exactly.

Like I said, I really do love Il Volo and their work, that's why there are many more things that I loved about this Tribute rather than what I didn't like, and for the most part, what I didn't like, didn't include them anyway but rather the other people involved in the performance.

I was very happy to see them on a stage again, and they seemed so happy to be back at work, you could really feel the passion through the screen. I have to say, i've never seen a live Il Volo concert in my bed before, in my pyjamas....COVID's circumstances gives us a first time for everything I guess, haha.

Did you enjoy the Il Volo Tribute to Ennio Morricone? Let me know your thoughts, let's have a conversation!

Vi voglio bene,

Melissa