Since emerging on the world scene in 2010, the Italian operatic vocal trio Il Volo has secured a leading position in classical crossover pop through a style that fuses traditional opera, pop, classical symphonic elements, and Latin touches. Performances in major opera houses worldwide, victory at the Sanremo Music Festival, and chart-topping studio albums such as 2013’s Buon Natale: The Christmas Album and the 2016 Plácido Domingo collaboration Notte Magica: A Tribute to the Three Tenors—both Billboard classical number ones—have kept the group prolific and dominant. After completing a tenth-anniversary tour, they opened their second decade with Il Volo Sings Morricone in 2021, then issued AD ASTRA in 2024, their first collection consisting entirely of original songs.
The members came together in 2010 while competing on the reality television vocal contest Ti Lascio una Canzone. Piero Barone, Ignazio Boschetto, and Gianluca Ginoble form Il Volo. Initially appearing as separate contestants, the three were paired by producers to sing “O Sole Mio” together on a May broadcast, at which point the trio was created. They won the competition and quickly rose to prominence across Europe, representing Italy on Quincy Jones’ charity single “We Are the World: 25 for Haiti” and performing at the 60th Sanremo Music Festival in February 2010.
The group recorded its debut album in London, Los Angeles, and Rome with producer Humberto Gatica, drawing on standards, classic Italian repertoire, and new songs by contemporary writers such as Diane Warren. Released in Europe in November 2010, the self-titled Il Volo reached platinum status; it reached the U.S. in May 2011, coinciding with an American Idol appearance. The audio/video package Il Volo Takes Flight: Live from the Detroit Opera House followed in February 2012 and was succeeded later that year by the November release of the second studio album We Are Love. In 2013 Il Volo returned with Más Que Amor, the Spanish-language counterpart to We Are Love that included a duet with Mexican singer Belinda, plus the holiday set Buon Natale: The Christmas Album; its companion live DVD, Buon Natale: Live from the Fillmore Miami Beach at Jackie Gleason Theatre, appeared before the holiday season.
Early in 2015 the trio participated in and won the Sanremo Music Festival, after which they issued the Sanremo Grande Amore EP containing pop covers and the new song “Grande Amore.” The victory qualified Il Volo to represent Italy at that year’s Eurovision Song Contest, where they placed third and “Grande Amore” received the Marcel Bezençon Press Award. Later in 2015 they released the concert video Live from Pompeii alongside their third album, Grande Amore. Blending original material with classics, the album charted in Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Belgium, and the United States. The following year Il Volo honored one of their chief influences with Notte Magica: A Tribute to the Three Tenors, recorded with Plácido Domingo.
For their next studio album the members traveled to Miami to work with producer Emilio Estefan, resulting in the late-2018 Latin pop release Ámame. Early 2019 brought the Musica album marking their tenth anniversary. The Best of Ten Years Tour concluded its North American dates in early 2020. The trio’s first recording of the new decade was the 2021 tribute Il Volo Sings Morricone. They followed that covers project with AD ASTRA, their first album of entirely original songs, issued in 2024 and featuring Italian singer/rapper Irama.
