Il Divo's North American tour kicks off in Canada
By Lois Abraham The Canadian Press
The classical crossover quartet — which has sold some 25 million albums — had tea with the British monarch at Windsor Castle last week.
“That was brilliant,” Urs Buhler said with a laugh, adding that the group spent last weekend taking part in celebrations to mark the Queen’s diamond jubilee.
“Friday afternoon we had the extreme pleasure to be invited for afternoon tea at Windsor Castle, which was exceptional. Absolutely. It was just an experience to see the castle, to actually be allowed into the castle. Only the few rooms we’ve seen are opulent, unbelievable,” Buhler, 40, said during a recent stopover in Toronto en route to Windsor, Ont., for the group’s first concert of a North American tour.
“She’s sweet. It’s always very brief because she has to meet a lot of people, but (we still) get star-struck because you don’t meet someone like that every day. You just don’t. So that was fantastic,” added Buhler, a tenor from Switzerland.
Canadian jazz-pop sensation Nikki Yanofsky, 18, is opening for Il Divo at the Canadian shows, which include stops in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax, Moncton and Saint John, N.B., Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Winnipeg and London, Ont.
Yanofsky’s phenomenal voice and jazz style made her an international success at age 15 and she catapulted onto the international stage with her performance during the 2010 Winter Olympics’ opening ceremonies.
“If you put on a show we have our audience and the first thing you look out for is somebody to share a bill with you or a supporting act,” said Buhler. “You want somebody who will appeal to that same audience and we thought Nikki fit that bill.”
Tenor David Miller, who was born in San Diego and raised in Colorado, added the tour organizers like to feature local artists when possible. “I know that she had a very large success and kind of the beginning of her career with the Winter Games in Vancouver, so she’s very topical and in the movement, so I think that’s why she was top of the list.”
The show was designed by creative director Brian Burke, whose credits include Celine Dion’s five-year run of “A New Day” at Caesars Palace, both in Las Vegas.
Il Divo, which means “Divine Performer” in Italian, was formed by music impresario Simon Cowell in 2004 after a worldwide search of opera houses and concert halls. The group — three opera singers and one pop singer — are said to have pioneered the classical crossover genre. The group was recently named artist of the decade at the Classic BRIT Awards.
The other two members are Carlos Marin, 43, who was born in Germany and raised in Madrid, and pop singer Sebastien Izambard, 39, a native of Paris.
“There’s so much hodgepodge with Il Divo. We’re a U.K. act, none of us are from the U.K., Italian name and none of us are Italian,” said Miller.
“We have four different personalities, four countries represented, more than four languages spoken between the four of us. Four very distinct voice types and trying to bring all of that together in a single moment song by song is a real balancing act.
“I feel that we have a wider colour palette than most solo artists have because they have just one voice they’re bringing to the table whereas we have four. It’s a wider framework for people to be able to latch on to,” added the 39-year-old.
Buhler said the group is a pop act. “But what we do, we introduce the sound of the classical voice, the sound of the classical orchestra in … well-known melodies to a broader public that listens to pop music and so far I think we open a lot of doors that people can probably lower their thresholds a bit to listen to opera or other classical music.”
The group’s fourth world tour follows the November release of their fifth studio album, “Wicked Game,” which includes their versions of Roy Orbison’s “Crying” and Samuel Barber’s “Adagio For Strings.”
“It is a benchmark of where we’re at in our maturation process,” Miller said. “I think it is our fullest work, it displays some of the best singing that we’ve ever done. It’s got some of the best orchestrations that we’ve ever had and I think the combination of the songs, the track listing on this album, is as good as the first album.
“I’ve always maintained, in a way, the first album has always been our best album because there were no expectations, just four guys making music.”
“That was brilliant,” Urs Buhler said with a laugh, adding that the group spent last weekend taking part in celebrations to mark the Queen’s diamond jubilee.
“Friday afternoon we had the extreme pleasure to be invited for afternoon tea at Windsor Castle, which was exceptional. Absolutely. It was just an experience to see the castle, to actually be allowed into the castle. Only the few rooms we’ve seen are opulent, unbelievable,” Buhler, 40, said during a recent stopover in Toronto en route to Windsor, Ont., for the group’s first concert of a North American tour.
“She’s sweet. It’s always very brief because she has to meet a lot of people, but (we still) get star-struck because you don’t meet someone like that every day. You just don’t. So that was fantastic,” added Buhler, a tenor from Switzerland.
Canadian jazz-pop sensation Nikki Yanofsky, 18, is opening for Il Divo at the Canadian shows, which include stops in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax, Moncton and Saint John, N.B., Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Winnipeg and London, Ont.
Yanofsky’s phenomenal voice and jazz style made her an international success at age 15 and she catapulted onto the international stage with her performance during the 2010 Winter Olympics’ opening ceremonies.
“If you put on a show we have our audience and the first thing you look out for is somebody to share a bill with you or a supporting act,” said Buhler. “You want somebody who will appeal to that same audience and we thought Nikki fit that bill.”
Tenor David Miller, who was born in San Diego and raised in Colorado, added the tour organizers like to feature local artists when possible. “I know that she had a very large success and kind of the beginning of her career with the Winter Games in Vancouver, so she’s very topical and in the movement, so I think that’s why she was top of the list.”
The show was designed by creative director Brian Burke, whose credits include Celine Dion’s five-year run of “A New Day” at Caesars Palace, both in Las Vegas.
Il Divo, which means “Divine Performer” in Italian, was formed by music impresario Simon Cowell in 2004 after a worldwide search of opera houses and concert halls. The group — three opera singers and one pop singer — are said to have pioneered the classical crossover genre. The group was recently named artist of the decade at the Classic BRIT Awards.
The other two members are Carlos Marin, 43, who was born in Germany and raised in Madrid, and pop singer Sebastien Izambard, 39, a native of Paris.
“There’s so much hodgepodge with Il Divo. We’re a U.K. act, none of us are from the U.K., Italian name and none of us are Italian,” said Miller.
“We have four different personalities, four countries represented, more than four languages spoken between the four of us. Four very distinct voice types and trying to bring all of that together in a single moment song by song is a real balancing act.
“I feel that we have a wider colour palette than most solo artists have because they have just one voice they’re bringing to the table whereas we have four. It’s a wider framework for people to be able to latch on to,” added the 39-year-old.
Buhler said the group is a pop act. “But what we do, we introduce the sound of the classical voice, the sound of the classical orchestra in … well-known melodies to a broader public that listens to pop music and so far I think we open a lot of doors that people can probably lower their thresholds a bit to listen to opera or other classical music.”
The group’s fourth world tour follows the November release of their fifth studio album, “Wicked Game,” which includes their versions of Roy Orbison’s “Crying” and Samuel Barber’s “Adagio For Strings.”
“It is a benchmark of where we’re at in our maturation process,” Miller said. “I think it is our fullest work, it displays some of the best singing that we’ve ever done. It’s got some of the best orchestrations that we’ve ever had and I think the combination of the songs, the track listing on this album, is as good as the first album.
“I’ve always maintained, in a way, the first album has always been our best album because there were no expectations, just four guys making music.”
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