Urs Bühler
Encyclopedia
Urs Toni Bühler in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
) is a classically
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
-trained tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
and member of the operatic pop
Operatic pop
Operatic pop, pop opera or popera is a subgenre of pop music that is performed in an operatic style, or a song, theme or motif from classical music stylized as pop. The term popera and adjectives poperatic and popical are used by some media editors and music reviewers...
musical quartet, Il Divo
Il Divo
Il Divo is a multinational operatic pop vocal group created by music manager, executive, and reality TV star Simon Cowell. Formed in the United Kingdom, they are also signed to Cowell's record label, Syco Music...
.
Early life
His musical training started at the age of five, when Bühler began singing in a choir and also learned to play violin, clarinet, piano, guitar and drums. His musical career, though, started when he was fifteen in an entirely different genre from lyrical song, being a member of a cover band and later the lead singer of a heavy metal band called "Conspiracy" when he was seventeen years old in Luzern. At the same time, he was already receiving music lessons at the Academy for School and Church Music. His progress in the field led him to move to AmsterdamAmsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, where he studied voice at Sweelink Conservatorium with Udo Reinemann, a well known German baritone. Under the private tutoring of Swedish tenor Gösta Winbergh
Gösta Winbergh
Gösta Winbergh was a Swedish tenor and Mozart admirer.Winbergh was born in Stockholm. He is often mentioned as among Sweden's and, indeed, the world's finest tenors, included with Jussi Björling and Nicolai Gedda....
, member of Stockholm’s Royal Opera, and French tenor Christian Papis, Urs enriched his classical repertoire. He sang in the choir of the Dutch opera and even performed for one season in the Salzburg Festival
Salzburg Festival
The Salzburg Festival is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer within the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart...
under the direction of Claudio Abbado
Claudio Abbado
Claudio Abbado, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI , is an Italian conductor. He has served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, principal guest conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, music director of the Vienna State Opera,...
. Urs spent the last seven years prior to his commitment to Il Divo in Holland, singing oratorios and performing with the Netherlands Opera Gezelschap (NOG). Despite many performances there are only a handful of recordings available of him before Il Divo
Il Divo
Il Divo is a multinational operatic pop vocal group created by music manager, executive, and reality TV star Simon Cowell. Formed in the United Kingdom, they are also signed to Cowell's record label, Syco Music...
.
Il Divo
In December 2003, he became a member of the international musical quartet Il DivoIl Divo
Il Divo is a multinational operatic pop vocal group created by music manager, executive, and reality TV star Simon Cowell. Formed in the United Kingdom, they are also signed to Cowell's record label, Syco Music...
along with Carlos Marín
Carlos Marín
Carlos Marín is a Spanish baritone and member of the operatic pop musical quartet Il Divo.-Early life:Born in Mörfelden-Walldorf near Rüsselsheim but raised in Madrid, Spain, Carlos started his career in music early in life, recording his first album when he was eight years old, produced by...
(Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
), Sébastien Izambard
Sébastien Izambard
Sébastien Izambard is a French pop singer and a member of the operatic pop musical quartet Il Divo.-Early life:Sébastien Izambard was born in Paris, France on 7 March 1973 to a poor family...
(France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
), and David Miller (United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
).
Besides their musical experience and prowess, the members of Il Divo
Il Divo
Il Divo is a multinational operatic pop vocal group created by music manager, executive, and reality TV star Simon Cowell. Formed in the United Kingdom, they are also signed to Cowell's record label, Syco Music...
are also recognized for their impeccable taste in fashion, dressing almost exclusively in Armani suits, along with their handsome looks. Their first album, called Il Divo
Il Divo (album)
Il Divo is the debut album of the operatic pop vocal group Il Divo. It was released on November 1, 2004 in the United Kingdom on Syco Music and on April 19, 2005 in the United States on Columbia Records....
became a worldwide multiplatinum selling record when released in November 2004, entering Billboard at number four and selling five million copies worldwide in less than a year and knocking Robbie Williams
Robbie Williams
Robert Peter "Robbie" Williams is an English singer-songwriter, vocal coach and occasional actor. He is a member of the pop group Take That. Williams rose to fame in the band's first run in the early- to mid-1990s. After many disagreements with the management and certain group members, Williams...
from the number one spot in the charts. Their second album, Ancora
Ancora
Ancora is the second album of the operatic pop vocal group Il Divo. It was released in the United Kingdom and other parts of the world on November 7, 2005, excluding the United States and Latin America. It was later released in the United States and Latin America on January 24, 2006. It debuted at...
, was released on November 7, 2005 in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Il Divo's third album Siempre was released on November 21, 2006 in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and on November 27, 2006 internationally. Their latest album, The Promise
The Promise (Il Divo album)
The Promise is the fifth studio album by the operatic pop group, Il Divo. The Promise was released globally on November 10, except in the US and Canada, where it was released November 18, Ireland where it was released on November 7, and Japan, on 26 November. The album reached the No.1 spot in the...
, was released on November 10, 2008 (world) & November 18, 2008 (US), and shot straight to number 1 in the UK.
Discography
- Il DivoIl Divo (album)Il Divo is the debut album of the operatic pop vocal group Il Divo. It was released on November 1, 2004 in the United Kingdom on Syco Music and on April 19, 2005 in the United States on Columbia Records....
(as member of Il Divo, 2004) - AncoraAncoraAncora is the second album of the operatic pop vocal group Il Divo. It was released in the United Kingdom and other parts of the world on November 7, 2005, excluding the United States and Latin America. It was later released in the United States and Latin America on January 24, 2006. It debuted at...
(as member of Il Divo, 2005) - The Christmas Collection (as member of Il Divo, 2005)
- Voices from the FIFA World CupVoices from the FIFA World CupVoices from the FIFA World Cup is a collection of songs released at the time of the 2006 FIFA World Cup.-Track listing :Disc 1# "The Time of Our Lives" - Il Divo and Toni Braxton...
(as member of Il Divo, 2006) - Siempre (as member of Il Divo, 2006)
- The PromiseThe Promise (Il Divo album)The Promise is the fifth studio album by the operatic pop group, Il Divo. The Promise was released globally on November 10, except in the US and Canada, where it was released November 18, Ireland where it was released on November 7, and Japan, on 26 November. The album reached the No.1 spot in the...
(as member of Il Divo, 2008) - An Evening with Il Divo: Live in Barcelona (as member of Il Divo, 2009)
Performances
- Der Vogelhändler.Nieuwstad Operette in Nieuwegein. 2002.
- Eine Nacht in Venedig (plays leading role, Caramello). Nieuwstad Operette in Nieuwegein. 2003.
- Johannes Passion. Oude Kerk, Delft. With Philharmonisch Koor Toonkunst Rotterdam. April 17, 2003.
- Ba-ta-clan. Opera Minora. Zee-festival. May 25, 2003.
- Il Divo Live Concert. Recorded at the Teatro Clásico in Mérida, Spain. For the "Encore" DVD, 2005.
- Il Divo World Tour Concert 2006
- Il Divo World Tour Concert 2007
- Il Divo World Tour Concert 2009: "An Evening With Il Divo"
- Christmas Concert 2009