You have to hand it to
Il Divo
, or rather, black-fitted T-shirt aficionado
Simon Cowell
. The internationally successful operatic pop quartet and their internationally successful manager/creator know how to keep things in their (luxuriously decorated) wheelhouse.
A Musical Affair
, the group's sixth studio album, finds tenor
Urs Buhler
(Switzerland), baritone
Carlos Marin
(Spain), pop artist
Sebastien Izambard
(France), and tenor
David Miller
(United States) applying their considerable vocal prowess' to some of Broadway's biggest set-pieces -- a limited run of performances at The Marquis Theater with special guest
Heather Headley
will accompany the release. That alone would have won them favor with their legions of fans, but they've gone and sweetened the pot by bringing in duet partners like
Kristin Chenoweth
("All I Ask of You" from Phantom of the Opera),
Nicole Scherzinger
("Memory" from Cats), the aforementioned
Headley
("Can You Feel the Love Tonight" from the Lion King),
Michael Ball
("Love Changes Everything" from Aspects of Love), and
Barbara Streisand
("Music of the Night" from Phantom of the Opera), the latter of which is the only track that wasn't recorded specifically for the project, having been issued previously on
Streisand
's 2006
Live in Concert
album (with
). As has been the case with previous
outings, the arrangements, musicianship, and vocal performances on
are all strong, and the selections are on par with the group's penchant for sticking with the familiar, even as they branch out from their opera/holiday music/pop balladry comfort zone. ~ James Christopher Monger