While the pandemic left a scar on the careers of many musicians and performers, it snuffed the life of one Il Divo member. The classical crossover male quartet lost one of its original members, baritone Carlos Marín, to COVID-19 in 2021, and the remaining three singers were left bereft and unsure if the group could go on. “We went through the mourning and grieving process on stage, which was difficult,” said Il Divo tenor David Miller.
“We asked Steven LaBrie from the opera world to step in and be a musical shoulder to cry on, to complete the sound of Il Divo.” The group, composed of three tenors and a baritone, needed another baritone: “It was either that or Il Divo was over,” said Miller, who was raised in Littleton. Luckily, LaBrie was interested and his voice suited the music and blended well with the group.
“We thought this might be the universe winking at us and saying you guys aren’t done yet,” Miller said. LaBrie joined the group, and members went to work on “XX: 20th Anniversary Album,” which was released his year. Il Divo will perform Saturday at Pikes Peak Center.
Miller describes the group’s genre, classical crossover, as “the nebula between what could be considered classical music or technique and what is considered pop music or pop technique. As an opera singer, I had to create pop technique. And Sebastian, as a pop singer, had to create opera technique.
We switch in and out of these gears every song. We’re a hybrid.” Simon Cowell.
