Cover From left: Il Divo members David Miller, Sébastien Izambard, Urs Bühler and Steven LaBrie (Photo: courtesy of Natalie Schiller)
From left: Il Divo members David Miller, Sébastien Izambard, Urs Bühler and Steven LaBrie (Photo: courtesy of Natalie Schiller)
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The classical vocal group returns to Hong Kong in November for a one-night-only concert with a new baritone
Classical vocal group Il Divo is returning to Hong Kong with its latest concert A New Day Tour. This is the male quartet’s first Asia tour with its new member Steven LaBrie, who replaced the group’s Spanish baritone Carlos Marín after he passed away due to Covid in December 2021.
LaBrie, a Texas-born, New York-based baritone, is known for his rich timbre and his dramatic presence in operatic performances. He has won the George London Music Foundation’s top prize in 2016 and has performed with historic companies like the New York City Ballet and the Washington National Opera. In 2017, he was in Hong Kong to take part in Opera Hong Kong’s The Barber of Seville as the lead character Figaro.
Il Divo’s Hong Kong concert will take place at Kitec’s Star Hall on November 15, and the tour will continue to Taipei, Bangkok and Seoul after that. Tatler catches up with LaBrie ahead of the tour, and discusses his experience of joining the crew, performing in Hong Kong and more.
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What can Hong Kong’s audience expect in Il Divo’s concert?
A New Day Tour is an opportunity for the group to move forward from the tragedy that befell everyone last year [when group member Marín died]. There’ll be a lot of beautiful songs, some of which are audience favourites. There will be a few songs from the earlier albums too such as Every Time I Look at You, Feelings, The Man You Love, and my personal favourite, Melanconia.
We put together A New Day at the beginning of this year. Then we took six to seven months off to record the 20th anniversary album, which is going to be released next year.
What are you looking forward to the most in Hong Kong?
Back in 2017, I spent three weeks in the city, so I had plenty of time to explore. I love nature. I was blown away by how a city can incorporate so much nature into it. Walking around on those elevated sidewalks and seeing parks everywhere was such a peaceful experience.
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Above Il Divo (Photo: courtesy of Mario Schmolka)
Il Divo (Photo: courtesy of Mario Schmolka)
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How does the performing arts scene in New York compare to Hong Kong?
It was a really different experience when I was in Hong Kong. In the US, normally you’ll have rehearsals in a studio with a pianist for a couple of weeks, and then you’ll move to the stage and rehearse for maybe another week there before practising with the orchestra.
For Hong Kong rehearsals, we had the orchestra for two of the three weeks for two sessions every single day, which is so unusual in classical music. It was really cool to have so much time with the orchestra.
I also found the audience in Hong Kong to be super-enthusiastic. You could feel their appreciation for the singers, the orchestra and the production. Classical music is really revered in Asia and ingrained in Asian culture.
What was your impression of Il Divo before you joined?
I discovered Il Divo when I was in high school—I’m a little bit younger than the rest of the members. I was walking through a CD store and I came across an Il Divo album, and I said, “Oh, who are these four studs with an Italian group name?” And I put on the headphones and was mesmerised by their amazing voices. Now, being a part of this group that I have known about for my entire adult life and music career is such an honour.
Tell us how you came to join Il Divo.
I met [Il Divo’s tenor] David Miller and his wife Sarah Joy in a concert ten years ago at St Barts Music Festival in the Caribbean. We sang together and it was super fun. We kept in touch over the years. In February 2020, he asked me to sing a duet with him for his solo album. When [baritone] Carlos Marín fell ill, David asked me if I would be interested in covering for him for a couple months for Il Divo while he was recovering. I said, “sure, I’m interested in helping out”. But then he suddenly passed away and we went on a memorial tour for a year. It was a super difficult experience for everyone. Having the opportunity to honour him and travel the world to help the mourning process was a special experience for me and the other guys. That helped us bond quickly.
What new visions or styles will you bring to Il Divo?
I bring a different perspective. I don’t have a 20-year history with them. I don’t have preconceived ideas about how anything works. So I come up with questions like: why don’t we try this? why don’t we do that?
What inspired you to choose a music career in the first place?
I’m not from a musical family. When I was 11 years old, I went on a field trip with my school to see [Giacomo Puccini’s opera] La Bohème by The Dallas Opera. It was a full production in an opera house with amazing singers in costumes and an orchestra. I heard the music and it pierced right into my soul. We went back to the classroom, and I said, “I want to be an opera singer”.
Apart from music, what else keeps you busy?
I’m continuing my work with a charity in Mexico called Rancho del Ray, which is a home for boys whose parents are from disenfranchised communities. Also, my friend invited me to do a rhino rescue expedition in South Africa, which I am excited about.
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Zabrina is the Senior Editor, Arts and Culture of Tatler Hong Kong. She specialises in performing arts, visual art and film. Her wanderlust was first fuelled by the Mighty Rovers Antarctica Expedition 2010. Over the years, she has interviewed A-list artists and filmmakers, including Oscar winners Chlóe Zhao and Tim Yip, Golden Horse winner Sylvia Chang, In the Mood for Love cinematographer Christopher Doyle, Pachinko author Min Jin Lee, and Coachella’s first Chinese solo singer Jackson Wang. She won gold at the WAN-IFRA Asian Media Awards for her 2021 feature on the waves of hate crimes targeting Asian Americans.
