Italian pop opera trio Il Volo were yesterday mobbed by adoring female fans as they touched down in Malta ahead of tonight’s performance at the MFCC, Ta’ Qali.

Piero Barone, who was joined by his band mates Ignazio Boschetto and Gianluca Ginoble, told the Times of Malta that they were delighted with the “fantastic” welcome received at the airport and could not wait to perform.

Meanwhile, fans jostled with excitement, breaking into bouts of ll Grande Amore as they swarmed the barriers at the arrivals lounge. Nineteen-year-old twins Claudia and Christine Casha were such massive fans of the trio that they had already booked tickets for their September 21 performance in Verona.

I am very excited. I keep laughing, crying – I’m out of control!

“We didn’t know they were coming to Malta when we bought the tickets. So now we’re going to hear them sing twice!” Claudia laughed.

Christine attributed her fascination with the trio to the fact that they refused to conform to commercial music and managed to carve out their own successful market.

Aicha Cassar, 15, clutched a jar of Nutella, adding that she was going to present it to Gianluca Ginoble, who was very fond of the hazelnut spread. She could hardly contain her excitement.

“I am very excited. I keep laughing, crying – I’m out of control!” the teen exclaimed.

The three young men were spotted in 2009 on the Rai TV show Ti Lascio Una Canzone, but it was thanks to the intuition of Michele Torpedine (the manager who built the careers of Andrea Bocelli and Zucchero) that they became a trio, Il Volo.

Over one million copies of their debut album was sold. They have collaborated with artists such as Eros Ramazzotti, Placido Domingo and Barbra Streisand.

They won this year’s Sanremo contest with Grande Amore and represented Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest, placing third.

Speaking to the media via a live link from their recording studio in Italy back last month, they said they hoped to see four generations of people at their concert, from five-year-olds old to centenarians.

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