Il Divo star dies at 53, days af ter he fell sick with Covid
Tributes to ‘beautiful soul’ as singer’s life support turned off
‘Great voice, great man’
IL Divo star Carlos Marin has died just days after falling ill with Covid.
The Spanish classical singer had reportedly been battling the virus since December 7 and was admitted to an intensive care unit at Manchester Royal Infirmary a day later.
Marin, 53, had been placed in a medically induced coma after coronavirus ‘compromised’ his oxygen.
Yesterday, news came through that the baritone had died after his life support machine was turned off.
The rest of the group – Urs Buhler, David Miller and Sebastien Izambard – confirmed his death on Twitter last night in a tribute to the ‘beautiful soul’, saying ‘there will never be another voice or spirit like Carlos’.
‘It is with heavy hearts that we are letting you know that our friend and partner, Carlos Marin, has passed away,’ they wrote. ‘For 17 years the four of us have been on this incredible journey of Il Divo together, and we will miss our dear friend.’
Marin had been part of Il Divo since it was created by entertainment mogul Simon Cowell in 2003. The classical quartet, which has sold more than 30million albums worldwide, was inspired by Luciano Pavarotti’s opera group The Three Tenors.
Il Divo were one of the first groups to make the operatic pop genre, dubbed ‘popera’, mainstream.
They had previously told fans that they were ‘hoping and praying for a speedy recovery’, after announcing that Marin was in hospital on December 16. They also thanked their supporters ‘for your prayers and well wishes for our dear Carlos during this time’.
On Saturday, Marin’s sister Rosa told Spain’s ABC newspaper: ‘He’s in the care of very good doctors. We’re all praying for his swift recovery. Carlos had been vaccinated but we are not going to say anything more.’
The quartet had performed in Bournemouth, Brighton and Bath as part of the final leg of their tour before Marin fell ill. Their concert in Bath on December 6 was his last stage performance and just two days later he was admitted to hospital, according to El Espanol.
Live shows in Harrogate, Hull, Nottingham and Edinburgh were cancelled or rescheduled ‘due to illness’ before Il Divo announced that all remaining dates for their UK tour had been postponed until December 2022.
Former Strictly Come Dancing judge and choreographer Bruno Tonioli, who worked with the group, wrote: ‘Devastated Il Divo Carlos Marin passed away.
‘We had the best time putting together the first Il Divo performance 17 years ago. Great voice, great man. A true passionate spirit with a wicked sense of humour. We will miss you. So sad.’
Chat show presenter Lorraine Kelly added: ‘This is so sad. I had the joy of interviewing Carlos and Il Divo many times over the years. He was such a class act. Thoughts with everyone who loved him.’ Mezzo soprano Katherine Jenkins, who toured Europe with Il Divo in 2013, wrote on Instagram: ‘RIP Carlos Marin. How sad that you have left us so early. Keep singing those big notes up there.’