IL DIVO

My early attachment to Mario Lanza and Italian ballads seems to have re-surfaced.

" Il Divo" is a group of four young men of different national background -American, French, Swiss, and Spanish. The group was brought together by Simon Cowell (of American Idol infamy).

The name of the group means "divine performer" - the male version of more familiar 'Diva'.

Il Divo's official website declares

"The fusion of four exceptional voices, bringing the passion and virtuosity of their classical training to the interpretation of romantic and popular songs, has brought a sense of opera into the mainstream and thrilled the world in the process."

From the first time I heard them sing on TV in the UK, before their first record, I was hooked. As well as sounding wonderful, they look so good !

There's something special about song in the Romance languages ,French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, ( languages derived from Latin - Rome-ance). Songs gain an extra dimension, a different quality which I find entrancing. Il Divo's versions of "Unbreak My Heart" and "Nights in White Satin" were a revelation!

This is one group I'd love to see performing live, but an opportunity seems unlikely in this part of the world - adrift between the Great Plains and the Great South-western Desert.