Classical Rat Pack shows a different side

YOU can see why Il Divo has had its fair share of detractors: unlike Susan Boyle and Paul Potts, the eye-candy classical-crossover act comprising tenors David Miller and Urs Buhler, baritone Carlos Marin and pop singer-songwriter Sebastien Izambard didn't have to jump through hoops to impress Simon Cowell - in fact, they were cherry-picked by the latter to form the group in 2003.

But nobody argues with sales of 30 million albums and Il Divo's predominantly-female following couldn't care less if classical purists think the Armani-clad warblers' lusty brand of pop opera is light on nuance and heavy on schmaltz.

But to prove they are more than just a quartet of finely-tuned human jukeboxes, the singing ladykillers have been pulling out all the stops on their latest tour Amor & Pasion, named after their new album, which they brought to The Star Theatre on Monday evening.