Sway to the Beat of Il Divo

They are drop-dead gorgeous, packaged in Giorgio Armani suits and bonded by four core values (1. Voices, 2. Style, 3. Romance and 4. Chivalry/Sophistication).

That, in a nutshell, are the four guys who make up Il Divo, a new pop-opera quartet whose self-titled debut album, initially released in UK in November last year and then in several other countries (last month in the Philippines, by Sony-BMG), has turned platinum in the wink of an eye. Si, señores y señoritas, the guys don’t just look good, they also sound good – and how!

Il Divo is the product of auditions among hundreds of classically-trained singers from 16 international cities conducted over a period of two years by Simon Cowell of American Idol.

Meet the Fabulous Four:

• David Miller (tenor), 31, of Denver, Colorado, a graduate of Oberlin conservatory in Ohio (BA in Vocal Performance and a Masters degree in Opera Theater) who recently sang in the Broadway production of La Bohéme;

• Urs Buhler (tenor), 33, of Switzerland, where he attended the Academy for School and Church Music (he later moved to Amsterdam where he studied Voice at the Amsterdam Conservatory) and has spent seven years in Holland singing oratorios and performing with the Netherlands Opera;

• Sebastien Izambard (vox populi), 31, of France, the only self-taught singer in the quartet, an accomplished songwriter who plays the guitar and the piano and who performed with Johnny Holiday as a guest in Holiday’s sold-out performances at the Paris Olympia in 2001; and

• Carlos Marin (baritone), 36, of Spain, a Madrileño who established a considerable reputation singing leading roles in the Spanish versions of Les Miserables, The Man From La Mancha and Beauty and the Beast.

I first heard the Il Divo at the Miss World Pageant late last year where they did a Spanish version of Toni Braxton’s Unbreak My Heart (included in their album). When Wilma Galvante, GMA 7’s SVP for Entertainment TV, learned that Il Divo would be in Sydney (two weeks ago) for a showcase, she didn’t stop until she got an autographed copy of the group’s CD. "I’m a big fan," said Wilma.

David, Urs, Sebastien and Carlos did a free-wheeling session with the media. Here are excerpts:

Is Simon Cowell very much involved with your group up to now?

David: Not really. I mean, he was the creator, it was his idea; he conducted the auditions and he put up the four of us together. He said, "You guys are the professionals. I trust you; you’ve had at least 10 years experience; each one of you in your own fields. You know what you’re doing. Here are the songs. Make me proud." And that’s about it. We only see him maybe once a month just to sort of catch up. Being the executive producer, he has the final say on the cuts that go on the CD but he basically lets us do our work.

You guys have been busier now than when you had your solo careers. What else has changed since you became Il Divo?

Carlos: It’s another kind of busy. Obviously, when I was doing opera I was travelling a lot. But normally, in the opera you have maybe one month that you rehearse for the whole period – well, you have free time to go here and to go there. Our schedule is so tight because we must go everywhere. What we’re doing now is just promoting the album in different countries and it’s amazing!

Urs: Yeah, I think that’s the main difference. Being a classical singer, you have concerts and rehearsals every day, every evening...you’re busy singing and singing for hours every day. We don’t sing so much now because we are busy with giving interviews that take up a lot of our time – and travelling, too. We are looking forward to doing more tours.

David: Yeah, I can’t wait for that!

Sebastien: A lot has changed. In France, you could take the train, you go like three or four hours away and you’re in the South of France where you do the promotion and you come back the next day. Now, we’re going away for weeks or months in different countries.

Your album debuted at No. 5 in the Philippines. Does each of you have a personal favorite from that album?

David: At the beginning I really liked Unbreak My Heart. Later, I thought Ti Amero was the best, the first song composed with us in mind. Then, I started to like My Way for a while, then The Man You Love for a while. It’s weird but everytime I play the album back, I like a different song.

Sebastien: Yeah, I agree with David.

Urs: When I listen to the album, I keep saying as each song is played, "Oh God, I love that song! Oh God, I love that song!"

Carlos: Each song has something...has a little of something.

Any message to your (growing number of) fans in the Philippines?

Carlos (Speaking for the group): If you still believe in love and you’re still romantic, better buy the album and use it maybe as a background (music) while having a nice dinner with your girlfriend or boyfriend, complete with beautiful candles and champagne. You will enjoy it, I’m sure!

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