Last Friday night I finally achieved one of my bucket list goals, and that was to see a live performance of the quartet Il Divo. I have been a fan of their music for years, but had only a dvd, and some you tube videos to use to entertain myself with their concert music performances...I was quite surprised when I finally saw them in person to realize how different they are on stage than in these many previous musical events...Seb and Urs are so much better in person that I was truly impressed with how strong and vital they are because always it seemed that Carlos and David out performed them on stage. Not so in this performance because both the two who seem like lightweights turned out to be the stars of this particular show.
I liked that as I have always liked Seb from the start when he first began...he and I share in a common problem and I often called him my soul child so I was interested in his performance and appearance. He is a very likable and natural personality, goofing around a lot if you ask me, wearing a baseball cap, and being one of the guys...Urs is outstanding as well in his voice projection and very equally friendly and warm to the audience..for some reason or other, both David and Carlos were less dynamic than usual since they appear to dominate most of the time.
Lea Solanga is a beautiful woman with a high soprano voice that is exquisite to hear...I really enjoyed her taking on the boys as she did, having to endure their madcap ways in this very LONG tour she told us...
Carlos did tell us that he admired Mario Lanza and that is a great proof of his credibility as an opera star turned classical pop and opera combo, and David likewise shared his many years of musical talent in both opera and pop music....Each of these men has voices that are vibrant and amazingly beautiful to hear so that as I said previously they appear to dominate the stage with their lung power....I love each one of their voices so much and as it seems that Seb stays a bit more subdued, it was a surprise to learn that he can belt it out and hold his own so well as he did on this particular night...I really appreciated seeing that both Seb and Urs had more than their share of chances to show their talent so well....it was a great start in my humble opinion.
I am so happy that they love America as they do, and are touring in the states now...Seb has bought a home in California which I am sure he will love...California is an easy state for anyone to enjoy forever and a day...I have always loved it myself, but all that love from so many is gradually turning it into a death trap in the Los Angeles basin...Arizona is totally different from California in its desert life despite the fact that southern California is all desert as well....The rolling hills of California are boom land too much and now instead of nice clean pastures and country, they have become housing tracts that rob the state of so much needed scenic beauty and valued countryside. When will California ever stop being a magnet for visitors to become permanent residents?
At any rate, the long anticipated wait is over and I have seen and enjoyed the four men who are the success story of pop/opera combination that Simon Cowell envisioned ten years ago. I am reminded of all that I have gone through since 2004 to 2014 also...Actually, most of this started long before this group was founded but ten years have been quite a change for me in my lifestyle also...Too bad that I have not yet fulfilled my end goal but hopefully, it is never too late.
I would like to see another concert sometime when they come up with a different program. I loved the songs and the set designs. One reminded me of the rare books at Burton Barr as I recalled the night that Louis XIV married Madame de Maintenon in a clandestine marriage...The candelabra from the Phantom of the Opera was a visual stimuli for me to recall that memory I once had of the king and his secret wife...What a story that one is!
I suppose now I will always associate The Musical Affair and il Divo with that recollection...it struck my funny bone since I had just gone to the library to make a change of clothes and found a musical program right next door there as well. Tents were all set up and the music was loud and great to hear...then I spied a poster advertising a special walk through the rare book section the following day...it made me recall when I went there to read Hillaire Belloc's book about the King and his strong Will. I loved that...My will is what is always one of the strongest aspects of my character.
So it goes.
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