Bangkok--Feb 21--Sony Music
Il Divo is a new vocal concept featuring 4 internationally renowned young male singers who apply operatic technique and virtuosity to the interpretation of romantic songs from the popular repertoire, with full orchestral accompaniment.
THE CAST
David Miller, tenor (USA), is a graduate of Oberlin conservatory in Ohio where he took a BA in Vocal Performance and a Masters degree in Opera Theatre. For the last 10 years he has been based in New York and has sung over 45 operatic and music theatre leading roles with opera companies all over South and North America, Australia and Europe including Tony in Westside Story at La Scala in Milan. Most recently, he appeared on Broadway as Rodolfo in Baz Luhrman’s acclaimed production of Puccini’s La Boheme.
Sebastien Izambard, vox populi (France) is the only self-taught singer in the group. He is also an accomplished songwriter who plays guitar and piano. He has lived in Paris and produced for many other French artistes. In 2001 he performed with Johnny Haliday as a guest in his sold-out performances at the Paris Olympia. In 2002 Sebastien played one of the leading roles in the Richard Cocciante penned musical Le Petit Prince. He was working on a solo album when he joined Il Divo in 2003 and plans to contribute original material to the group’s repertoire.
Urs Buhler, tenor (Switzerland), began singing publicly aged seventeen with Conspiracy, a hard rock band based in his home town of Luzern, where he attended the Academy for School and Church Music. He later moved to Amsterdam, where he studied Voice at the Amsterdam Conservatory under the tutorage of Udo Reinemann. Urs also benefited from private tuition with the late Swedish tenor, G?sta Winbergh and the French tenor, Christian Papis. In addition to a season at the Salzburg Festival, where he sang with the choir under the direction of Claudio Abbado, Urs has spent the past seven years in Holland singing oratorios and performing with the Netherlands Opera.
Carlos Marin, baritone (Spain), Based in Madrid, he established a considerable reputation singing leading roles in the Spanish versions of Les Miserables, The Man from La Mancha and Beauty and The Beast. After vocal masterclasses with Alfredo Kraus, Monserrat Caballe and Jaime Aragall, in recent years Carlos has charmed audiences worldwide and won critical acclaim as ‘primo baritono’ in many operas, including renowned works such as La Traviata, The Barber of Seville, La Boh?me and Madame Butterfly.
THE PLOT.
In 2001, an idea was conceived for a mould breaking quartet: 4 exceptional young men with formally trained voices who could take popular songs, old and new, to another level where the historic rift between pop and classical music is finally healed. The band were born in December 2003 after a worldwide search and christened Il Divo Note: this is an Italian word meaning ‘Divine Performer — or a male Diva’. Their multi-national identity reflects the universal appeal of the music.
Rehearsals and recording sessions took place during the first half of 2004 in London, where all of Il Divo currently live. Some of their songs will be familiar like Regresa A Mi (or ‘Unbreak My Heart’ by toni Braxton),‘Nella Fantasia’ (based on Gabriel’s Oboe from Ennio Morricone’s penned score of The Mission) and ‘A Mi Manera’ (Frank Sinatra’s ‘My Way’). What makes them soar is the heartstopping quality of the vocal performances and arrangements. Il Divo remind us that great arias and classic pop songs are but two sides of the same coin. The 4 principals share the lead throughout, combining to deliver choruses whose awesome power is matched by their tonal delicacy. Passion and restraint they show to be an irresistible aphrodisiac.
Reflecting the multi-national character of the group, the songs are not all sung in English — but drift between Spanish, English and Italian. However they are worded, all use the emotional Esperanto of love.
THE LAST WORD
‘The idea of this band is like a woman: enchanting, unpredictable and never the same.’ Seb
‘It reminds me of Queen without the guitars.’ Urs
‘Since we first got into the studio the Il Divo sound has been evolving and what we’ve now created is something completely new and extremely exciting.’ David
‘There are only four of us — but the sound we make could be mistaken for a whole opera.’ Carlos
Click for photo release at www.thaipr.net End.