Il Divo: Unbreakers of Hearts

One fourth Swiss. One fourth Spanish. One fourth French. One fourth American.

Put them together and what do you get?

Yes, Il Divo, the quartet of classically-trained singers who mix pop and opera with such amazing result that its self-titled debut album, released last year, sold more than five million copies, smashing the Led Zeppelin’s 25-year-old record of being the only band to achieve a No. 1 album without a commercial single release.

Organized by Simon Cowell (of American Idol fame), Il Divo is composed of Urs Buhler, a tenor from Switzerland who attended the Amsterdam Conservatory where he studied Voice with Udo Reinemann and trained under the late Swedish tenor Gosta Winberg and French tenor Christian Papis; Carlos Marin, a baritone from Spain who has established a reputation as "primo baritono" in many operas including La Traviata and La Boheme; Sebastien Izambard, an accomplished songwriter from France and the only self-taught singer in the quartet; and David Miller, a tenor from USA with a bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance and a master’s degree in Opera Theater.

"There’s no conflict between opera and pop," said David Miller. "Opera used to be the pop music of the 17th century."

Overnight, Il Divo became a worldwide hit, especially after the quartet sang a Spanish version of Toni Braxton’s Unbreak My Heart (included in the group’s first album) in the Miss World pageant in China last year. Since then, Urs, Carlos, Sebastien and David have earned the reputation as, in a sense, "unbreakers of hearts" with the magic of their magical voices matched with gorgeous looks.

Il Divo has just released its second album, Ancora (also from Sony BMG), which carries, among other songs, Mariah Carey’s Hero and Unchained Melody in Spanish and Italian respectively, I Believe in You (a stunning duet performed in English and French with Celine Dion), Ave Maria and a rousing version of O Holy Night.

Il Divo was in Hong Kong two Saturdays ago for the Asian launch of Ancora and to perform at the inaugural party for the Four Seasons Hotel. I sat down for a 30-minute free-wheeling Conversation with them.

Did you consider any other name aside from Il Divo? And why Il Divo?

Carlos: Well, Simon Cowell chose the name Il Divo because he wanted something that would call to mind the opera. So he said, "Let’s call your group Il Divo," not Los Divos because the four of us are taken as one. We blend together so well that our sound seems to be only one.

Aside from a beautiful combination of opera and pop, what do you think makes Il Divo different from any other group?

Sebastien: I think what makes us different is that people want to hear beautiful voices from true singers. And also, the four of us were trained in opera and people I guess have never heard four opera singers singing together a combination of pop and opera.

You were organized by Simon Cowell. Were you chosen American Idol style – you know, by elimination?

David: Actually, no. The way in which we were put together is closer to the way an opera company would audition singers to put together an opera. Simon sent representatives around the world and the representatives contacted opera agencies which helped in the auditions.

Sebastien: In my case, I just auditioned for one person in a small room in France.

Would you know how many auditioned before the four of you were chosen?

Urs: I don’t know how many auditioned but I know that they auditioned to people in 17 different countries.

I presume you didn’t know each other before you were a group. How were you able to bond together?

Carlos: It was fine. We just met each other at the studio and we were told, "Okay, guys. Just be friends for a few years and be together." We speak four different languages but we understand one another. My mother tongue is Spanish. When I speak English I actually think in Spanish. In Spanish you can use a lot of swear words and I do that. It’s a good thing nobody is translating the swear words that I sometimes say. (Laughs)

Was there some kind of culture shock among the four of you, having come from four different cultures?

David: Oh, absolutely! I think there might be a little bit of misconception because I’m the American, so I might be perceived as the "outsider," the foreigner in the group, the three other guys being European. But we actually blend together because we spend so much time together every single day. Each country is different from the other. For example, on the map Spain and France are so close to each other...Spain looks like an extension of France...but actually, their cultures are very different from each other. Switzerland is next door to France but people from those two countries have different mentalities. But in the end, we found out that we are alike in many ways.

How do you meet on a common ground without using language?

Sebastien: Through music. The language of music can be understood by anybody. Music is a universal language.

You blend together very beautifully musically. Do you always agree on everything?

Urs: No, not all the time.

What do you usually disagree on?

Urs: On lots of things, you know. I mean, we are four very different persons...I would say that we are four very strong persons. I think that’s one of the most important lessons we have to learn to make Il Divo work – you know, nobody has the right to judge the others on their different personalities, you know. Everyone here has an equal right to exist and to express his own ideas and his own individuality. And that’s what makes Il Divo so colorful. So you just have to accept it. In the end, if you disagree on certain questions we just have to find a compromise, you know. But that’s okay; that’s what life is all about...You try to kind of find a middleway and that works out very well. And the longer we know each other, the better things will turn out.

So there’s democracy among the group...

Carlos: ...No. Oh, I mean yeah. Yeah, yeah. There’s democracy among us.

What about moods. Who’s the most moody among you – The Spanish, the French, the American or the Swiss?

Carlos: I sometimes go into a Spanish mood. And the three others go into their respective moods.

So what’s the difference between the Spanish mood, the French mood, the American mood and the Swiss mood?

Sebastien: They are all the same. The only difference is the time the mood sets in.

And what is the Il Divo mood?

Carlos: Oh, we all have it. The Il Divo mood is very romantic and very touching.

Speaking of romance, do you like the same type of women?

Carlos: No, we don’t!

What type of women do you go for?

Carlos: All types of women! Especially my girlfriend.

Sebastien: I don’t know. I don’t have a special type. I don’t even have a girlfriend.

David: My type is 5’9", curly-haired, brown-eyed, with a big smile and a great heart. Actually, I’m describing my girlfriend. She’s also a singer. My girlfriend is my only type.

Urs: The woman I go for is my girlfriend.

What’s the first thing that you look at when you see a woman?

Carlos: The eyes.

Sebastien: Everything, from head to foot!

David: The eyes, the windows to the soul.

Urs: I don’t look at women. (He’s kidding, seriously now...) If you see a woman, there’s something that strikes you. It can be her eyes, her hair, her breasts. It’s just something that catches your eye. And then, you look at the whole person, the whole package.

Of course, you’re aware that women swoon not only over your music but also, more so, over your looks. How do you feel about it?

Carlos: Nothing!

You have become some kind of sex symbols.

Sebastien: We are so busy that we haven’t even come to think about it!

Come to think of it, what is sexy to you?

Carlos: She must have a very fine personality.

Sebastien: Her femininity.

David: For me, it’s her ability to express herself not by singing but in a way that you can hear the music inside her.

Urs: It’s the way a woman moves, the way she moves, the way she sits.

Since you became Il Divo, you’ve been busy with recording, concerts and your album promo tour around the world. Do you ever have time for yourselves, away from each other?

Sebastien: We are busy promoting our album around the world and we’re always together. So no, we don’t have time for ourselves away from each other, we don’t have time for anything else.

So what else, besides individual time for yourselves, are you sacrificing for Il Divo?

Carlos: Everything! Time for our families, time for our girlfriends.

Do you also go out together not for work but for fun?

Urs: First of all we hardly have time to go out. And normally, when we have time for our own, I just like to be alone, all by myself.

Back to the sexy topic. If you have to name just one sexy woman, who would that be?

Carlos: Monica Bellucci.

Sebastien: Natalie Portman.

David: Angelina Jolie.

Urs: I couldn’t tell.

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