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Il Divo brings Broadway to Jakarta
Majestic: Il Divo members (from left to right) Urs Buhler, David Miller, Carlos Marin and Sébastien Izambard
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Majestic: Il Divo members (from left to right) Urs Buhler, David Miller, Carlos Marin and Sébastien Izambard. (JP/Jerry Adiguna) (from left to right) Urs Buhler, David Miller, Carlos Marin and Sébastien Izambard. (JP/Jerry Adiguna)
Majestic: Il Divo members (from left to right) Urs Buhler, David Miller, Carlos Marin and Sébastien Izambard. (JP/Jerry Adiguna)
Classic Broadway sounds warmed the night when multinational pop-classical quartet Il Divo performed last week at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in South Jakarta.
Loud cheering from the audience welcomed the appearance of tenor Urs Buhler of Switzerland, Frenchman Sébastien Izambard, baritone Carlos Marin of Spain and tenor David Miller of the US on stage as soon as the overture from the orchestra ended.
Without further ado, the group opened its concert, titled: 'A Musical Affair: The Greatest Songs of Broadway Live' with 'Tonight' from the Broadway musical West Side Story in 1956, which was followed by 'Some Enchanted Evening' that was the signature tune from Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical South Pacific.
'Selamat malam [good evening], Jakarta! Thank you so much for having us here again, we promise you a wonderful show,' Izambard said, greeting the audience.
Il Divo's show in Jakarta was part of the Asian leg of the group's tour to introduce its new album, A Musical Affair, a compilation of songs inspired by Broadway shows. It was the group's fifth show in Jakarta and the members still received the warmest welcome from classic music fans in the capital.
The performers ensured the crowd they would present a completely different repertoire this time as it would all be from musicals.
Throughout the concert, the foursome was very communicative with the audience, explaining each song, generating a warm and friendly moments with their fans.
Apart from performing classic Broadway songs in the concert, they also sang several popular soundtracks from the big screen, which were then adapted to musicals, such as 'Can You Feel the Love Tonight' from The Lion King, 'Unchained Melody' from Ghost, 'I Will Always Love You' from The Bodyguard, 'Don't Cry for Me Argentina' from Evita and 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' from The Wizard of Oz.
These popular songs, although sometimes sung in Spanish, prompted the audience to sing along with the quartet.
Those songs have been performed many times by other singers, but the power of their voices that at times blend perfectly but at other moments sound very distinctive on top of each other's, gave a fresh feeling for the audience.
The show became more intimate as each of them was given a few minutes to talk a little about their affairs with musicals.
Miller told the audience that he sang 'If Ever I Would Leave You' from Camelot for his first musical audition before the group sang it; Buhler recalled his hobby of watching musicals when he was a boy; while Marin talked about his involvement in musicals since he was very young.
In the second part of the show, the group changed outfits, from black and white, to all-black suits with glittery accents on their jackets.
Il Divo performed 20 songs in the two-hour show, singing other numbers, like 'The Winner Takes It All' from Mamma Mia!, 'Bring Him Home' from Les Misérables, 'Love Changes Everything' from Aspects of Love and 'The Impossible Dream' from Man of La Mancha.
Miller also thanked the audience for always supporting the group throughout their 10th year musical journey before proceeding to sing 'Who Wants to Live Forever'.
The four then had fun with Frank Sinatra's 'My Way', laughing and joking with one another in the beginning. The audience was moved to its feet at the end as they enjoyed a rousing version of the song.
With spectacular lighting that complemented the musical elements, the whole show became very alive and majestic.
'Alright, so this is the final song,' Izambard said, drawing an immediate negative response from the crowd as they did not want the night to end.
With 'Time to Say Goodbye', Il Divo ended its musical affair with Jakarta, bowing to the audience to close the night.
