Il Divo goes Broadway at Mandalay Bay
If it’s Saturday, it must be Vegas.
At least that’s what Carlos Marin and the other three-quarters of Il Divo might be thinking as they prepare for this weekend’s “A Musical Affair” concert at Mandalay Bay Events Center — by kicking off their North American tour Friday in Phoenix. (Il Divo previewed the show on Broadway in November.)
The international “popera” quartet — along with “Miss Saigon” Tony-winner Lea Salonga — just finished their Asian tour Sunday. And they have two more months on the road in North America before an extended break.
Not a problem, says Marin, the Spanish baritone among Il Divo’s international lineup. (Swiss-born tenor Urs Buhler, French pop singer Sebastien Izambard and American tenor David Miller round out the quartet.)
On the phone from the Philippines during the last leg of the group’s Asian tour, Marin acknowledges the challenge of around-the-world appearances.
“It’s quite difficult,” he says. “It’s more about the jet lag” than anything else.
From Mexico to Japan, for example, it’s “15 hours difference,” Marin say. As a result, “when you get to the concert, yeah, you are sleepy.” At least until “you have the presence and applause of the audience,” which acts as an instant wake-up call.
As does the concert’s all-Broadway song list, which ranges from golden-age classics (“Some Enchanted Evening” from “South Pacific,” “Tonight” from “West Side Story”) to more recent stage hits, including selections from “Les Miserables,” “Phantom of the Opera” and “Wicked.”
Salonga joins Il Divo for such numbers as “Memory” (from “Cats”), the “Phantom” favorite “Music of the Night” and “The Lion King” Oscar-winner “Can You Feel the Love Tonight.” There’s also another Oscar-winner, one Salonga introduced as the singing voice of “Aladdin’s” Princess Jasmine: “A Whole New World.” (And, as she points out, “Aladdin” is “now officially a Broadway musical.”)
“I gotta say, singing ‘A Whole New World’ with Il Divo is an absolute thrill,” she acknowledges in an email from the Philippines.
On her own, Salonga performs “Wicked’s” stirring “Defying Gravity,” along with “Back to Before” (from “Ragtime”) and “Les Mis” selections “I Dreamed a Dream” and “On My Own.”
The “Les Mis” connection seems particularly appropriate, because Salonga has played both Fantine and Eponine (“I call them the ‘two dead girls,’ ” she emails) on Broadway — and for the show’s big anniversary celebrations (Eponine at the 10th, Fantine at the 25th).
Marin, meanwhile, made his stage debut at 22, in 1992, playing “Les Mis’ ” ardent young Marius — a role he played for 685 performances. Other musical roles range from “Beauty and the Beast’s” Beast to “Man of La Mancha’s” Don Quixote.
He received an offer to play “Phantom’s” title role in 2003, but opted for a different offer — from Simon Cowell (yes, “American Idol’s” Simon Cowell), who was forming an international “classical crossover” quartet.
In the decade that followed, Il Divo has racked up 26 million in international album sales, with more than 50 No. 1 records and 160 gold and platinum records. To say nothing of the quartet’s four world tours.
On this current trek, Marin seems happy to be back on the musical stage — at least in concert.
“I love musical theater,” noting that beyond “the beauty of the song, you can show the singer, you can show the actor, you can dance,” he says. “It’s the most complete art.”
Moreover, musical theater’s appeal cuts across cultural boundaries, Salonga says, citing a performance in Genting, Malaysia, where “everyone in the audience knew the songs by heart, lyrics and all. They sang along to everything. They applauded each song at its first line, and in some cases, during the introductions.”
In her view, that demonstrates that “there is something immediately relatable and accessible to musical theater songs. It’s quite amazing,” she writes. “The songs are about love of many kinds, heartbreak, hellos and goodbyes, excitement and anticipation, emotions that every single person can relate to.”
For Marin, there’s “something magical in musical theater,” he says. And that magic, in part, is “the difference between a musical theater piece and a pop song — you need to interpret a little more.”
And for Il Divo, that interpretation involves arranging the songs to showcase the group’s rich, complex harmonies.
Take, for example, “Camelot’s” swoony romantic ballad “If Ever I Would Leave You.” (Introduced on Broadway by none other than that late great Las Vegan Robert Goulet.)
Because Marin’s the baritone, he’s the logical lead singer, but in Il Divo it’s necessary “to put songs in the right keys and find the melodies for harmony, to make it sound like it was written for more vocalists,” Marin says.
“It’s really difficult,” he acknowledges, “but we are now together for 10 years.” And “with even the most difficult song,” the group members can figure out a way to “give it 150 percent.”
For Salonga, it helps that she’s singing “songs that I just positively love, whether as a performer or a listener,” she emails.
She chose the songs, in part, because “I wanted to sing material that excited and challenged me, stuff that I just really enjoy singing,” Salonga says, “especially since there are over 40 performances coming up; I’d better actually like what I’m doing!”
After a decade together, liking what they’re doing is a matter of course for Il Divo’s members, according to Marin.
“It’s not only just a job for us,” he says. “Il Divo has something magical. We’re like four brothers. We have a lot of fun,” especially when trying to give “something fresh to our fans and audiences.”
And that holds true even while they’re on tour. (After Saturday’s Mandalay Bay concert, they’re off to Santa Barbara, Calif., for another concert — before a one-day break on the road to San Diego.)
“Sometimes it’s tough,” Marin says. “But you have, always, the presence of the audience.” And that, he concludes, is “like the best of the Red Bulls.”
Contact reporter Carol Cling at ccling@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0272.
Preview
Il Divo: “A Musical Affair,” with Lea Salonga
8 p.m. Saturday
Mandalay Bay Events Center, 3950 Las Vegas Blvd. South
$49.50-$129.50 (702-632-7580)
