Il Divo on a wicked winning streak

 

Release seventh album

In the wicked game of show business, Il Divo tends to get its way. The four-piece singing phenomenon invented by Simon (American Idol) Cowell in 2003 has made operatic singing cool, thanks to sex appeal and modern musical embellishments such as drums and rock guitar.

Their newest recording finds Carlos Marin, Sebastien Izambard, David Miller and Urs Buhler continuing to do it their way. When the idea of going after Chris Isaak's hit song Wicked Game came up, the boss Cowell simply said no. Il Divo wanted to do the song in a language other than English. Isaak and his publishers said no. You'd think the plan would have ended there. Not so, Buhler said in a recent interview from Mexico.
"It turned out that Chris Isaak's mother is Italian, so she got wind of it and she said let the boys do it under the condition they do it in Italian. So we had an Italian translation written and submitted and that is how it came together."
The quartet has never met Isaak, but learned through reporters that he liked their version.
"That's always nice to hear," said Buhler, a Swiss who lives in London.
The album Wicked Game, the group's seventh, also includes Roy Orbison's song Crying and a song inspired by Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings called Dove L'Amoure. On past albums, Il Divo has incorporated pop and rock hits such as Nights In White Satin (Notte Di Luce) and The Power Of Love (La Fuerza Mayor).
The multinational group - Miller is American, Izambard from France and Marin from Spain - has enjoyed multinational success: More than 150 gold and platinum awards in 33 countries and tours spanning the globe. As it happens, Canada stands out for Buhler.
"I like Canadian people. Canadian people are lovely. Canadian people are friendly. Canadian people are not obnoxious. They don't make a big fuss about everything."
The avid motorcyclist was looking forward to a day off in Vancouver so he could motor up to Whistler.
Il Divo, Italian for divine performer, has played for crowds as big as 35,000 people. By the group's own standards, the current tour is relatively modest in its production values. This, despite having been designed by Brian Burke, who oversaw Celine Dion's show in Las Vegas.
"It's somehow simpler. We've got an orchestra on stage, which is a main feature," said Buhler. "We've got, like, 35 musicians with us, which is great and for us as classical singers, it's kind of a coming-home feeling."
The lighting and LED screens create what Buhler called a beautiful envelope for the music. The singers felt so in tune with Burke that they made a huge exception and let him create the set list.
"He came up with a proposal and we just looked at it and listened to it and thought, wow, that just flows beautifully. And the responses that we have gotten are incredible so far."
Buhler is classically trained in a variety of instruments as well as voice. In his younger days he fronted a heavy-metal band. He sees similarities between rock and classical. Fast runs on strings, for instance, foreshadow by a few hundred years the sound of fast, distorted, electric guitars. Wicked.
"The composer who had written that probably 300 years ago had probably the same intention in mind, although he had completely different tools at hand."
Urs Buhler on special guest Nikki Yanofsky:
"I think she's great. It's unbelievable when you hear her that she's so young. The voice is so mature and she sings fantastic. I think, yeah, she just needs proper guidance and to do the right thing and I think she's got a big, big career ahead."