Il Divo | 
| Artist: Il Divo
Label: Sony
Category: Music
List Price: $13.98
Buy Used: $3.98
You Save: $10.00 (72%)
New (49) Used (34) Collectible (1) from $3.98
Rating:  336 reviews
Sales Rank: 303
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.1
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 4.9 x 0.4
MPN: 93963
UPC: 827969396322
EAN: 0827969396322
ASIN: B0007QS4KK
Release Date: April 19, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Tracks:
| • | Unbreak My Heart (Regresa A Mi) | | • | Mama | | • | Nella Fantasia | | • | Passerà | | • | Every Time I Look At You | | • | Ti Amero | | • | Dentro Un Altro Si | | • | The Man You Love | | • | Feelings | | • | Hoy Que Ya No Estas Aqui | | • | Sei Parte Ormai Di Me | | • | My Way (A Mi Manera) | | • | Unchained Melody (Senza Catene) |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Album Description
"Il Divo have taught me more than I have taught them. I am actually intimidated and slightly in awe of their talent! I am more proud of this album than anything else i've ever been involved with, they are going to be huge." --Simon Cowell
Album Description
Japanese-only SHM-CD (Super High Material CD) pressing of this album. SHM-CDs can be played on any audio player and delivers unbelievably high-quality sound. You won't believe it's the same CD! Sony/BMG 2009.
Amazon.com
While not exactly classical crossover's take on The Monkees, this international quartet of young male vocalists from America, France, Spain, and Switzerland shares a similar genesis. Assembled after a long talent search and audition process, they were teamed with pop producers Per Magnusson and David Krueger (Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys) and Steve Mac (Charlotte Church, Kelly Clarkson) and turned loose on a slate of classical-pop favorites, with a dramatic, dynamically nuanced read of Toni Braxton's signature "Unbreak My Heart" setting the standard. While the deceptive ease of their harmonies belie the group's disparate nationalities and talent search roots on the melodramatic "Hoy Que Ya No Estas Aqui," Morricone's glorious Mission theme, "Nella Fantasia" and the cascading "Passera," the album's pop-oriented material is a decidedly more mixed bag ."Everytime I Look at You" and "Feelings" (not Morris Albert's) soar gracefully, while "The Man You Love" seems more a throwback to the producers' boy band roots. The standard "My Way" and a lovely, bonus cut Italian version of "Unchained Melody" close the album out on a high note, even if their safe familiarity doesn't offer the promising quartet a sufficient musical challenge. --Jerry McCulley [NOTE: A DualDisc version including DVD is now available.] More Divine Crooners to Explore 
Haunted Heart, Renee Fleming | 
Stardust, Rod Stewart | 
Andrea, Andrea Bocelli | 
Follow Your Heart, Mario Frangoulis | 
On the Moon, Peter Cincotti | 
Taking a Chance on Love, Jane Monheit |
From the Label
Il Divo are four exceptional young men with formally trained voices who take popular songs, old and new, to another level where the historic rift between pop and classical music is finally healed. The band were formed after a worldwide search which took more than two years. Consisting of an American, Frenchman, Spaniard and a Swiss, Il Divo spent the first half of 2004 in London rehearsing and recording. Some of their songs will be familiar like "Nella Fantasia" (based on Gabriel's Oboe from Ennio Morricone's penned score of The Mission) and a unique and powerful version of Toni Braxton's "Unbreak My Heart". The four principles share the lead throughout, combining to deliver choruses whose awesome power is matched by their tonal delicacy. Passion and restraint they show to be an irresistible aphrodisiac. Reflecting the multi-national character of the group, the songs are not all sung in English but drift between Spanish, English and Italian. However they are worded, all use the emotional Esperanto of love.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 331 more reviews...
 Il Divo - A musical chocolate bar April 20, 2005
M. Raeann Gooch (Napa, CA USA)
299 out of 343 found this review helpful
Il Divo, Simon Cowell's latest brainchild, was put together through a two year search of singers from around the world. The group is comprised of David Miller (US), Carlos Marin (Spain), Urs Buhler (Switzerland) and Sebastien Izambard (France). David, Carlos and Urs are all classically trained, while Sebastien is self-taught. David was seen on Broadway a couple of years ago in La Boheme. Carlos has done several musicals and operas, notable roles including The Beast in Disney's Beauty & the Beast and Marius in Les Miserables. Sebastien appeared in Le Petit Prince in France.
Their talent is very evident on this album. Whether the lyric is in English, Spanish or Italian, these men have a great ability to express emotion through the songs, especially Carlos. Considering his stage experience, this is not surprising.
Their voices blend well together and it does not sound as if they are competing with each other.
The album is mostly mild ballads, but with varied lyrical content.
Nella Fantasia is about dreaming of a world that is just, where souls fly free .
Passera has a very interesting lyric about how songs help us through pain in life, pain that will pass.
Dentro Un Altro Si speaks of finding love again after a loss.
Regresa A Mi, a Spanish translation of Toni Braxton's UnBreak My Heart, is even better than the original.
The Man You Love is one of the most beautiful tracks, co-written by Steve Mac (Flying Without Wings).
Feelings and My Way are two of the weaker selections. They don't quite have the depth of the majority of the songs.
Unchained Melody (Senza Catene) was added for the US release of the album and it is a pleasant surprise. Rather than just use this song as another overblown ballad, it begins simply with a single voice, Sebastien, and a harp and then progresses into a beautiful crescendo.
The arrangements and orchestrations are lush and a joy to the ears. The album never seems rushed and flows very nicely.
There is nothing musically ground-breaking or astounding about it. It is simply a collection of beautiful songs, sung by beautiful voices.
It is the musical equivalent of a chocolate bar. It is rich and comforting. Sometimes that chocolate bar is infinitely more satisfying than an entire meal.
For those of us who had to import the album for a pretty penny last year, the US release is somewhat bittersweet. But it is great that these talented men are reaching a larger audience. Having already sold over 3,000,000 copies in Europe, they are already a success. American exposure will certainly only further that success.
As dinner background music, roadtrip material or a de-stress tool, this album will be a great addition to any collection.
Responses to some unfounded (and uninformed) criticisms May 22, 2005
Emmanuel Chan (Toronto, Canada)
106 out of 116 found this review helpful
Il Divo's debut CD has subtly bridged the gap between pop and classical but positioning itself in a new musical niche. I won't spend too much time praising the singers' wonderful voices since I think many of the reviews also allude to that.
However, I've noticed that many of the more negative reviews seem to be based on some rather incorrect, inaccurate, or downright ignorant perceptions or conclusions. I would therefore like to take this opportunity to respond to some of these flawed criticisms.
First, many criticisms attack the CD has being a "mockery" of pop music or classical opera. Well, anyone who is familiar with the purpose of Il Divo will realize that the CD was never meant to be pop music nor was it ever presented as classical music. Instead, the purpose of the group was to sing romantic songs using classical vocal techniques. Therefore, those who criticize the CD as being neither pop or opera are missing the whole point.
Second, many chastise that the songs have little variation in style. The CD was meant to really feature a collection of romantic songs, so it's highly unlikely that you'd find much upbeat music here. However, anyone with a good amount of musical training would realize that the 12 tracks on the CD exhibit quite a variation of styles, ranging from aria-type music to ballads, Broadway musical-type songs to straight pop/adult contemporary music. The one common thread that ties them all together is Il Divo's interpretation using classical vocal technique.
Third, a lot of the negative comments focus on the supposed lack of harmony and the observation that it sounded like all four singers were trying to outsing each other. Anyone with any classical music training would understand that in classical vocal music (i.e. opera/oratorio), the interpretation of "harmony" is quite different from that of pop music. If people were looking for pop-like harmonies where all four voices blend seamlessly into each other, they won't find it here. Classical vocal techniques don't really create that type of sound. The harmonies produced by Il Divo are more consistent with the sounds you'd hear in traditional operas (i.e. Verdi, Wagner, etc.).
Fourth, don't compare Il Divo to singers like Josh Groban. That's like comparing oranges to grapefruits. Yes, the type of music that they sing is similar, BUT the method of interpretation is very different. Josh Groban's techique is NOT classical operatic/vocal technique. As a result, Il Divo and Josh Groban are really in two close but different music genres.
Fifth, some reviewers quite ignorantly comment that Il Divo represents a sad decline in American music. Well, guess what? Il Divo does not purport to be singing American music (they're imported from Europe, in case they haven't noticed). And since when did American music become the global standard anyways? Perhaps these reviewers need to open their eyes and ears and realize that there is a much larger musical world beyond the shores of the United States. Europe has a much more developed and vibrant musical scene than the USA and when it comes to genres such as classical music, Europe is much more developed than the United States. There is a reason why Il Divo has done so well in other parts of the world even before arriving in North America.
Sixth, some reviewers suggest that the songs were not written for Il Divo's type of singing. Well, that's why Il Divo is deemed as being daring and innovative. They're taking songs from other genres (e.g. Unbreak My Heart) and reinterpreting them using new techniques. There is no point comparing it to Toni Braxton's interpretation because they are two DIFFERENT works of art. There is no right or wrong here. The same goes for Broadway musicals, which essentially was a reinterpretation of the classical opera. Again, they are two different spheres all together and trying to compare one with the other is rather silly.
Okay, after that discussion, here are some of my general comments about the CD.
1. Some improvement in the production can be strived for. Like some reviewers indicated, some tracks are softer than others, for some odd reason. However, this is a minor glitch and doesn't take anything away from the CD.
2. Il Divo is NOT a "tenor group" or "tenor quartet" as some have been calling them. In fact, Il Divo is really a mix of four very talented but very diverse singers. Carlos Marin is an operatic baritone (reminds me a lot of the Spanish tenor Jose Carreras). David Miller is a classically trained tenor but his voice resembles tenors that you'd hear in Broadway musicals. Urs Buhler is also a clasically-trained tenor but his voice resembles more the traditional opera/oratorio tenor. (Some have said that Urs' voice doesn't resonate and that he sings with no expression. Actually, Urs' voice is best when he is singing in the higher ranges. In the lower ranges, his voice doesn't project as well, which limits how expressive he can sound. But in the higher ranges, his voice is crystal clear and is quite beautiful.) Finally, Sebastien Izambard is a pop singer whose voice is interestingly quite compatible with the other 3 singers.
Overall, a wonderful start for the group. Their next CD should definitely be even better given that the group will have had more time to work with each other and to better understand each member's strengths and weaknesses. Eagerly looking forward to the next release.
GORGEOUS!!! April 19, 2005
David A. Preiser (Tacoma, WA United States)
92 out of 152 found this review helpful
"IL DIVO" Join The Ranks Of Russell Watson & Mario Frangoulis By Releasing A Beautiful Cd Of Romantic Songs!! Their Take On "Unbreak My Heart" Is Stunning, As Are "Mama", "Nella Fantasia", "Passera", "My Way" & The Bonus Track..."Unchained Melody"!!! I Am Looking Forward To Future Projects...A Christmas Cd Would Be Heaven!!!!! Also A Few SOLO Numbers On The Next Cd Would Be Nice...So That You Could Hear Each Member's Voice!!! As For Looks....CARLOS & SEBASTIEN = SWOON!!!!!
 Absurd. April 20, 2005
B. Ellis
30 out of 63 found this review helpful
This is a joke right? This is the worst music I have ever heard. Just because it was endorsed on the Oprah show does not make it alright. Just listen to the music clips and let me know if you think this is worth the 5 seconds you just wasted listening to this complete odure. If Oprah had Trey Parker and Matt Stone on her show and they put out an album classical pop favorites sung my Cartman, Terrence And Phillip, and Mr. Hankey would it become the number one seller on Amazon? What is wrong with Americans? I am embarrassed by this music and by all of you who actually bought this absolute joke called music.
 Overwrought, overdone, lacking harmony May 8, 2005
Furiae (USA)
29 out of 49 found this review helpful
The beauty of much of 'classical' music is harmony. Certain voices go with certain pieces, and certain voices go with other pieces. Two sopranos, while both being sopranos, may be completely different from one another, and depending on their range, power, and age, will be chosen to sing different pieces. Il Divo is what you get when pop producers try to cash in and take a piece of the "popera" pie. Saccharine sentiment and overwrought love songs are chosen and given precedent over pieces that would have really showed off the talent and range of these four (obviously) talented men. When you are trying to showcase beautiful voices, you should give them beautiful music. Unfortunately, here the beautiful voices are given sappy pop, love songs that were written for pop singers (who generally have a smaller range and less power), so what you get is a severe case of oversinging... in other words, it's all too overdone. Basically, the song choices don't do justice to what these men could do.
Aside from the songs being an ill fit for the singers singing them, the issue of harmony is another problem with this record. You don't have to be a classical buff (which I'm not) to understand the importance of harmony with vocal groups. The Righteous Brothers could bury these guys under a mountain, and the Righteous Brothers, last I checked, weren't opera singers. Anytime two or more singers come together to sing, you have to check to see if they're compatible. Do their tone colours blend well? When they sing together do the very sounds of their voices fit, or does it clash? How about range? Power? Projection? I am by no means any authority on music, but I know enough to know that some voices go well together and others don't, and just because they're all classically trained tenors doesn't mean they can sing together. Simon Cowell said the inspiration to put together a classical group was partly due to hearing Sarah Brightman's and Andrea Bocelli's duet "Time to Say Goodbye." What Mr. Cowell seemed to fail to recognize was that TTSG didn't succeed simply because two classical voices were singing operatic-style. It succeeded because it is A) a good piece of music that B) fit the voices of both singers and C) Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli simply sound GOOD together. Il Divo's members don't sound good when they all sing together; they harmonizations just don't work. They sound like each is showcasing his voice instead of trying to sound good together with his bandmates, so what you get is cacophany when they sing together sometimes.
I am not saying the members of Il Divo aren't talented. They are. They are each of them good singers individually, but they are going to need work if they're going to sing together. Not only that, they are going to need to find somebody who can put together music that suits their voices. Pure pop songs just don't work when you're trying to showcase a classical voice. Note that I said "pure pop songs" don't work. I fully understand this is a pop-classical crossover group, but that doesn't mean you can just take a pop song written for another style of singing altogether and make it work with an operatic voice. Il Divo will need to look to their predecessors for guidance--Sarah Brightman, Andrea Bocelli, Charlotte Church, Josh Groban, OperaBabes, Amici Foreverj--who didn't choose to sing pop pieces, but, instead, chose easy-listening/classical pieces that appealed to pop audiences. This is a very vital point that Il Divo's team missed. The successful classical-crossover acts didn't sing pop, they just sang classical (or classical-inspired) pieces that pop audiences could enjoy.
I'll admit Il Divo is approaching success from a different angle by singing pop pieces operatically, but to me it makes just about enough sense as a pop singer singing opera in a popular style. Il Divo's harmonies need work, they need to learn to sing together (keyword: "together"), they need someone to choose better songs for them. No matter how well they can sing 'Un-break My Heart,' it'll never sound as good as someone like Toni Braxton singing it because it was written for a voice like hers, not four operatic tenors. A huge reason behind Josh Groban's success is David Foster being his producer. When singers don't write their own songs, they need to take extra care to choose pieces that fit their voices, and Foster does just that for Groban. (For all of Simon Cowell's grumblings on American Idol that contestants don't choose the right music for their voice, he sure does a poor job here with supplying this particular tracklist for Il Divo.) I was not happy with Charlotte Church's 'Enchantment' album for similar reasons. The song choices are simply not excellent. I wouldn't give two hoots if Sarah McLachlan didn't choose music that didn't match her voice properly, because she's a singer-songwriter and I listen to appreciate her skill as a songwriter more than as a singer. This is not the case for singers like the four tenors from Il Divo who depend on the song as a vehicle to showcase their voices. Song choice is of the upmost importance, and Il Divo's songs are mediocre (and a bit hokey) at best.
If you want to hear beautiful voices singing pop-friendly songs, there are many singers out there who do easy-listening better. Andrea Bocelli, Josh Groban, Michael Crawford are all terrific. Sarah Brightman (a beautiful voice; my favorite artist), Katherine Jenkins (a extraordinarily talented 23-year-old Welsh mezzo-soprano), OperaBabes (the two women from this duo harmonize wonderfully) have also put out good records and are each of them incredibly talented. Even Enya and Loreena McKennit qualify here as 'beautiful voices.' If you want to hear beautiful harmonies, you could also try the Mediaeval Baebes (especially their Worldes Blysse album). For those wanting a new twist on classical music, if you liked the 'Diva Dance' number from the movie 'The Fifth Element,' you'll certainly enjoy Operatica's albums (which blends techno/dance with opera). Even the opera group Amici Forever, whose album I was only mildly impressed with completely outshines Il Divo's record. Amici Forever understood the importance of good harmonies and chose a better array of songs. (Amici Forever did a far better job of interpreting a pop song. They sang 'Unchained Melody' in Italian. They at least chose a song that required high technical skill and the ability to harmonize, which is right up an opera group's alley.) Amazon sells albums from all the artists I've listed, and I highly encourage you to sample their songs.
Simply put, Il Divo is good, but there is really so much better out there for those of you wanting to dabble in the pop/classical crossover genre.
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