Il Divo set to bring Halifax fans to theit feet

Imagine, even with all of Il Divo’s successes worldwide, fear it will all suddenly end.
No more adoring fans. No more bringing people to their feet over their incredible musical talents.
But as large crowds gather across the United States and Canada, including in Halifax on Thursday night, for the group’s latest North American tour, the quartet can sleep well knowing they still got it.
“I never realize how popular we are,” Il Divo’s Sebastian Izambard said in a recent phone interview with Metro. “I know we are touring and there are people that come see us but I’m always worried that we’re not popular anymore, I’m a little paranoid.”
Fresh from Tea with The Queen in honour of her Diamond Jubilee, Il Divo is performing tonight at the Metro Centre for their latest album, Wicked Game. As experienced through their previous work, the album is a collection of original and popular pieces that have undergone a “pop-ra” makeover.
The brain child of Simon Cowell, of reality television producing and judging fame both here and across the pond, Il Divo is a unique combination of four operatic male voices. Scouting for over two years in 17 countries, Izambard came to the group from the French pop world.
“I was working in France as a pop singer and composer,” he said. “When I heard the songs they were working with I thought this will either never work or will be a tremendous success.”
Meant to be The Three Tenors for the modern generation, Il Divo’s producers capture the technique and romance of opera through accessible favourites such as Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah or the Broadway-turned-Blockbuster Evita’s, Don’t Cry for me Argentina.
“All of these songs are already covered so we have to keep the quality at that level,” Izambard said. “With our original songs, they are written by our three producers already with our individual strengths in mind.”
As the only member who is not classically trained, Izambard’s hesitant nature has slowly dissipated.
“It’s much easier than I thought it would be because I had worked so in pop music so going into the studio was second nature,” he said. “What I found difficult was the amazing vibrato of the other members because I wasn’t use to it but over time, we found the balance and eventually blended together and it worked.”