Hop on popera with Il Divo

By Trish Crawford Entertainment Reporter
May 16, 2012

Sébastien Izambard may belong to one of the most famous singing quartets in the world — Il Divo — but that doesn't get him out of bedtime duty with his three kids.
He serenades them with “London Bridge,” “Three Little Monkeys” and “Frère Jacques.”
The baby of the family, 1-year-old Jude, is hooked on “If You're Happy and You Know It” and makes the French member of the international singing troupe sing it over and over.
That's how “The Wheels on the Bus” ended up in the classical quartet's repertoire. “It makes the show more personal and more for everyone,” says Izambard in an interview before the group arrives at the Air Canada Centre on Saturday. “People come to be entertained, they don't come to see a classical concert.”
The group of singers assembled by Simon Cowell in 2004 keeps expanding its repertoire, Izambard says, adding, “People come to see something between pop and opera.”
Which covers a whole lot of territory, he admits, but Izambard might be a particularly valuable member of the group because of it. Unlike the other three singers — Spanish baritone Carols Marin, American tenor David Miller and Swiss tenor Urs Buhler — he was not classically trained; his background is in pop music.

Maybe that's why, of the songs they'll be performing Saturday from their new album Wicked Game — including “Time to Say Goodbye,” “Don't Cry for Me Argentina” and “Crying (Llorando)” — Izambard is particularly proud of “Crying.”

“It's completely different from Roy Orbison and k.d. lang. We put it somewhere else.”
Resisting the temptation to torture a tonsil on the finale, the song ends quietly, he says.
“With a big ending, it's so easy to overdo it. We have to keep it little, that's what the song is about.” When you have four strong singers, he says, they have to be careful not to “overwhelm” a song.
All the same, bringing something of themselves to others' signature songs, like “My Way” and “Unchained Melody,” is important to Il Divo; Izambard says the foursome works diligently to create new interpretations.
They'll be arriving in Canada following tea with Queen Elizabeth II, the prospect of which had Izambard in a dither.
“How often in your life are you invited to have tea with the Queen?” he says, adding that the group has already performed for her at a Jubilee celebration.
This is a wonderful time for Izambard, who takes his wife and three children with him on the road.
The family will be stationed in Montreal for two weeks while the group tours Canada and then they'll spend some time in New York City before going to Los Angeles for five weeks.
Home is in England, but the family has been on the road for months as the group travelled to Australia and Japan.
“For me, I can't live without my kids and my wife. It is impossible.”
Seems “The Wheels on the Bus” is really for all of them.