General Hospital Performer of the Week: Giovanni Mazza as Gio Palmieri

General Hospital's Giovanni Mazza showed us what he can do this past week, and not just as an actor. The musical and dramatic performance this young actor delivered blew us all away in stunning fashion as we watched an uber-talented young man find his footing as the next big soap star.

Gio's violin

General Hospital's Giovanni Mazza blew us away on the violin as promised | Image: ABC

Since day one, we've known that Gio Palmieri is a child prodigy violinist who learned everything he knew from his mother and then honed his training with the financial help of his Uncle Sonny (Maurice Benard), who he now knows is his grandfather. Mazza is also a child prodigy violinist with a backstory not quite as dramatic as Gio's.

We've seen and heard Gio the character (and actor) playing on various small occasions throughout the last year, but what he did on that Nurses' Ball stage was both magnificent and magical. Mazza is well-known for spectacular NBA halftime violin performances. He brought that same energy and charisma to our daytime TV screens this week, playing "Glow," a tune he wrote himself when he was only 12 years old.

GH fans were left with their jaws on the floor after seeing and hearing that, something Rena Sofer warned us would happen a few weeks ago, but Mazza wasn't done.

Gio's most sunning General Hospital moment

Gio's very public meltdown shocked all on General Hospital | Image: ABC

Gio's emotional high after his well-received violin performance quickly vanished when he overheard something he never in a million years imagined. The life he had always known was a lie. His mother wasn't the classical musician Camilla Palmieri. Instead, his parents were Brook Lynn Quartermaine (Amanda Setton) and Dante Falconeri (Dominic Zamprogna).

When Emma (Braedyn Bruner) tracked down Gio in the Metro Court Gardens while he tried to process this information, Mazza showed us Gio's pain and confusion with his anguished stare and his quiet tone. We watched him shake as he took to the stage again to accompany Chase (Josh Swickard) and Anna (Finola Hughes) as they danced the Tango, and NEVER expected what came next.

Gio seemed poised and ready to go on with the show. Even when he paused to talk to the audience, Mazza gave no indication that he was about to break. Then, in an instant, Gio's stoic mask came down as he announced that Brook Lynn and Dante were the parents who didn't want him and gave him away. He smashed his violin to pieces as his life broke into pieces around him.

By this point, our hearts were breaking for Gio and our jaws were further on the floor. That's a testament to Mazza's stunning performance that left us just wanting more.

Catch all-new episodes of General Hospital weekdays on ABC and Hulu.