Il Divo all set for Resorts World concert

MANILA, Philippines - Il Divo (photo), the multi-national operatic-pop vocal group created by Simon Cowell, will perform at Resorts World Manila’s Newport Performing Arts Theater on Wednesday, March 19, with Lea Salonga (rightmost) as special guest. The record-breaking classical crossover group’s current tour is called Il Divo — A Musical Affair: The Greatest Songs of Broadway Live. Formed in the United Kingdom, Il Divo is a group of four male singers: French pop singer Sébastien Izambard, Spanish baritone Carlos Marín, classically-trained American tenor David Miller and Swiss tenor Urs Bühler. To date, the group has sold more than 26 million albums worldwide.

The idea behind Il Divo’s creation came to Cowell after hearing Andrea Bocelli singing Con te partirò while watching The Sopranos. In 2004, G4, a quartet of operatic male singers, also appeared in the UK on Cowell’s TV show The X Factor. The group finished as runners-up, but was signed by Sony records — interestingly, the lead singer of the group, Jonathan Ansell, had previously auditioned to be a member of Il Divo.

Cowell was already aware of the new appreciation for lyrical voices and classical music. He had decided to form a multinational quartet (the members hail from Spain, Switzerland, France and the US although the group name is in Italian) that recreated the style of The Three Tenors.

Cowell conducted a two-year worldwide search for young singers who were willing to embark on the Il Divo project. The group sings in Spanish, English, Italian, French and Latin.

After having completed a six-month tour of America, Australia and Europe, Il Divo then participated in all 20 concerts of Barbra Streisand in her North American tour as special guests. Streisand: The Tour with Il Divo was ranked second for all tours for 2006.

Il Divo continues to perform to sold-out concerts worldwide and its current tour features Lea wherein she performs solos as well as duets with the group. The Manila concert is promoted by Ovation Productions. Tickets are available through www.ticketworld.com.ph and its outlets, and also at the Resorts World Box Office with tel. no. 908-8000 loc. 7700. Ticket prices are P30,000, P25,000, P20,000, P15,000 and P8,000. Sponsors are Marriott Hotel, The Philippine STAR, Manila Bulletin, BusinessWorld, Resorts World Manila, 2nd Avenue, Jack TV and Jack City.