o,
now you know...our special event was to see Il Divo in concert
at The Point in Dublin. The Point Depot
is Ireland's premier venue for concerts such as this. The building
is a converted railroad depot on the North Quay, next to the
River Liffey in Dublin.
Il
Divo is my favorite group and I became mesmerized by them
when they appeared on The Oprah
Winfrey Show in 2004. I had The Oprah Show on, but I was
in another room. Then I heard those wonderful male voices
singing
a familiar tune. I went back to the TV and saw those four
gorgeous men singing an Italian version of "Unbreak
My Heart"
by Toni
Braxton. In Italian it is called Regressa A Mi, and it
was beautiful. That was it ... I was hooked!
Il
Divo's unique sound brought Terry and I back to our teenage
years in the late 1950's to early 1960's. Their music is
reminiscent of romantic ballads sung by harmonizing male
groups with big voices. Since then, you rarely hear songs
of that caliber; that is, until Il Divo happened. For those
of you who don't know of them, they are an international
group of four handsome and
stylish young men based in the UK, who sing what some call
"Popera". Three of them are classically trained opera singers
and one is a pop singer/songwriter. Most of their music is
in Italian, but some is in Spanish, French and English. They
specialize in slow romantic ballads, and believe me, their
stage persona fits their music.
Il
Divo, Italian for "divine male performer", was discovered
by Simon Cowell, the British pop impresario from American
Idol and other similar talent search shows. After a world
wide search
and auditions, he found these four remarkable talents: David
Miller, tenor from America; Carlos Marin, baritone from Spain;
Urs Buhler, tenor from Switzerland; and Sebastien Izambard,
pop singer from France. The blend of their individual voices,
and the emotions they put forth in their performances, make
thousands of women, all over the world, melt into pools of
ecstasy.
The
opening act for Il Divo was Natasha Marsh, a soprano from
the UK. She performs a variety of musical numbers using
her
beautiful voice to sing pop songs and old standards. Natasha
is accompanied by a string quartet and is also a gifted
pianist herself. I really enjoyed her rendition of the Roberta
Flack
song "The First Time".
After
a short intermission, the Il Divo Orchestra and Band appeared
on stage playing a medley of their most popular
numbers. Then the curtain dropped to the floor and there
they were...I
was on Cloud 10. Not only are they handsome and talented,
but they are funny too. And, Carlos, the only married
one, flirts
the most.
We
had great seats, and I think I bought the last two tickets.
I was trying to buy some through Ticketmaster but they
were
Sold
Out. Ahah! Ebay! It only took a couple of minutes and
I was on it ... two tickets, front row center in the
balcony
...
I snapped them up so fast ... and I was very lucky!!
The seller was from the UK. I asked him to send the
tickets to Mary Lydon
in Ireland because I wasn't sure I would receive them
before we left on our trip.
The
concert was spectacular and I loved it. I was taking lots
of photos and even tried to take a couple of short
film clips.
During La Vida Sin Amor, which has a Latin
beat, they were dancing around on stage ... so cute.
Close to the end
of the concert, the first of two nights, and just
before My Way, Seb spoke to the audience about how
great it was being
there and he hoped Dublin would invite them back
again. Then David says, Like tomorrow night. Everyone
roared with laughter
and poor Seb looked embarrassed. He kept laughing,
with no help from his comrades, and was having a
very hard time getting
his composure back. Finally, by the end of the song,
he managed to collect himself for the finish. It
was great!! I just loved
being there doing my two favorite things...vacationing
in Ireland and listening to Il Divo sing - LIVE!!
o,
now you know...our special event was to see Il Divo in concert
at The Point in Dublin. The Point Depot
is Ireland's premier venue for concerts such as this. The building
is a converted railroad depot on the North Quay, next to the
River Liffey in Dublin. 
Oprah
Winfrey Show in 2004. I had The Oprah Show on, but I was
in another room. Then I heard those wonderful male voices
singing
a familiar tune. I went back to the TV and saw those four
gorgeous men singing an Italian version of "Unbreak
My Heart"
by Toni
Braxton. In Italian it is called Regressa A Mi, and it
was beautiful. That was it ... I was hooked!
variety of musical numbers using
her
beautiful voice to sing pop songs and old standards. Natasha
is accompanied by a string quartet and is also a gifted
pianist herself. I really enjoyed her rendition of the Roberta
Flack
song "The First Time".
send the
tickets to Mary Lydon
in Ireland because I wasn't sure I would receive them
before we left on our trip.