There’s no Il feeling now
MULTINATIONAL vocal group Il Divo have become one of the bestselling classical music combos in the world, but Urs Buhler admits their first couple of years together were strained.
“We were complete strangers when we got together and we were working 24/7 for more than two years, pretty much without a day off,” Urs says.
“That was a very difficult environment. You get on each other’s nerves. But since we got over that period we have been getting on great and enjoying what we are doing. We are as happy as pie, all of us, because now we work at a very good pace and our group is established.”
Although Il Divo, who will play the Summer Series at Trinity College on July 24, are Simon Cowell’s creation, these days he lets them get on with it like a proud parent.
“I regard Simon these days as a great old friend,” Urs tells me. “I see him once or twice a year and today it’s not like meeting the boss.
“He always says, ‘I miss you guys, I’m so proud of you, we should have dinner’. And, of course, that never happens because none of us ever has time.
“But Simon, with everything he has seen and done and produced in his life, still says that Il Divo, the act he created, is the one he is most proud of in his life.
“What a compliment to hear that!”
Still regarded as the original and the best classical crossover group of all time, Il Divo are hugely entertaining.
“We are well established as a four-piece now, so we don’t have to stand on stage holding four mics,” Urs points out. “We sing solos, we play instruments and we even do some dancing. And that just makes for a very entertaining show.”