In December last year, less than four months ago, Carlos Marín, one of the original members of the successful lyrical vocal group Il Divo, died. A real tragedy.

Nearly two months later, the remaining members of the multinational group – the American David Miller, the French Sebastien Izambard and the Swiss Urs Buhler – they are back on stage Y they re -launched the tour which they organized, is now named “Greatest Hits Tour – Homage to Carlos Marín”.

Yes special guest, brought in Mexican-American baritone Steven LaBrie and put together the best hit repertoire, instead of promoting their latest album, a tribute to the Motown label and the songs of the ’60s and’ 70s. The title is For Once In My Life: A Motown Celebration.

Il Divo is the group of crossover most successful classical in music history. Sa over 30 million albums have been sold160 gold and platinum albums in 33 countries, the first Classical Crossover ensemble to have a debut album at #1 on Billboard’s Top 200 chart.

The statement after the tragedy

“Carlos is a larger than life personality, with an extraordinary combination of an incredibly beautiful, God-given voice and absolutely immense talent. His passion, joy and sense of humor have made him a magical man, and his laughter will always make anyone happy, ”began the band’s official statement after the death of Carlos Marín, by Covid.

“He is loved by millions of fans around the world and we are fortunate and honored to be able to perform with him with us for many years,” it continues.

“We will absolutely miss her joy, friendship, and brilliant voice. In her honor, we will create the Carlos Marin Foundation and pay tribute to her singing in our future shows. May everyone remember her for her good soul, in his incredible talent, and may he rest in peace forever. ” Miller, Izambard and Buhle said.

The conversation in front of Luna Park

After four shows in the United States, the group Il Divo headed to Japan, embarking on an international tour that will keep them busy throughout this season. Included in the tour a new visit to Argentinawhere they are so famous.

It will be a recital May 8 at Luna Park. Nearly two months earlier, Urs Bühler had chatted with Zoom and talked about how hard it is to move on and how important the love and support of his fans is.

“It’s very special what we’re doing,” he said, “because it’s really very exciting to perform live again, in everything we’ve been through, from the two years of confinement to losing Carlos and having a special guest. We’re very happy and fun to get back on stage and sing and make music ”.

-How about the internal conversation to see if this is the end of Il Divo or if they continue in honor of Carlos?

-The tour of England had to stop when Carlos went to the hospital, and ten days later he died. I remember we were on a group call with the manager and the tour manager when one of them called from the hospital and told us the news. Everyone leaves the chat and drops the call, because it’s something so powerful! I think the death of someone never touched me, probably because of all the time we spent together and all the things we experienced together.

-And when else have they chatted and been together?

-We just talked again a few days later, and what decided us to continue with Il Divo were the comments on social networks. Everyone told us that what happened was horrible, but they asked that Il Divo please not end it. And I think meeting again and continuing to sing together helped us get through all the sadness and loneliness.

-What’s harder on stage now: not hearing his voice or he’s not by your side?

-(Thinks for a moment and responds almost in a whisper) I don’t think I’m listening. Making music feels and sends emotions, so you never know what’s going to happen, but I’ve discovered that there are always special moments where I get emotional.

The tour of Japan

Regarding the current part of the tour, Urs said, “It’s always a good experience going here. The unexpected thing is that everything is very, very closed. We arrived three weeks ago and in Sapporo the restaurants closed for with us at 8 pm.and when I was with my wife for breakfast at the hotel there was a plastic screen between the two of us, all masked 24 hours a day!

-What was the first post-quarantine and the first without Carlos?

-In Florida, in Tampa, a month and a half ago. It was like going back to normal, with the public without a mask and everyone seemed excited to go out and watch the concert. We’ve done about 20-25 tour shows and we’re pretty used to it, but in the beginning it was exciting. The four of them spent 17 years together on stage.

The challenge of a pop record

“The idea of ​​Motown came out for the label’s 60th anniversary, in 2020. Everything was postponed because of Covid, but the album and the tour had to come out that year. It was a great challenge for Il Divo , because it’s the farthest we have ”It’s gone from the classical repertoire. There are lots of fast rhythms and songs! I wondered how we would interpret it with belief in the sound of Il Divo, but we left all stereotypes aside and in the studio we let go. the voice flows and it works great. “

-How do these ideas come about? Is Simon Cowell still here?

-She’s gone, a few years ago. After the sixth album, we found that he was busy with his own career as a TV personality, so ideas were coming from anywhere, from one of us or from management, on the train, on the plane, on a dinner, before a show. .or then. We make ideas and some are lost and others we pursue until we finalize them. Now we’re thinking about the next album, because we need to see what we’re going to do in a year or two.

-Why don’t you encourage them to make Beatles songs, which were heard so much after the documentary? back and forth?

-laughs) I’m not a fan of the Beatles, but I know they have great songs. Now just at breakfast an orchestral version of Yesterday and I was amazed at how nice it sounded. So why not. Not lacking in ideas, huh.

-Last question: do you remember the first show in Argentina?

-Yes. It’s in Luna Park, which is very particular because it’s so vast, so you see people everywhere. The public was incredible and we had a lot of best friends in Argentina, so coming back to Buenos Aires was always very nice. We can finally act again and share a very special moment.

mfb