Urs Toni Bühler (born 19 July 1971) is a Swiss classically trained

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

. He is a member of the

classical crossover Crossover is a term applied to musical works or performers who appeal to different types of audience. This can be seen, for example, (especially in the United States) when a song appears on two or more of the record charts which track differ ...

group

Il Divo Il Divo (; ) are a multi-national classical crossover vocal group. The male quartet, which originated in the United Kingdom in December 2003, consists of tenors Urs Bühler, David Miller, and Sébastien Izambard. It also included baritone ...

, who have sold over 30 million copies worldwide discs.

Biography

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. He was 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 , neighboring_municipalities= Adligenswil, Ebikon, Emmen, Horw, Kriens, Malters, Meggen, Neuenkirch Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a ...

Tenor

At that 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

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, where he studied voice at

Sweelinck Conservatorium The Conservatorium van Amsterdam (CvA) is a Dutch conservatoire of music located in Amsterdam. This school is the music division of the Amsterdam University of the Arts, the city's vocational university of arts. The Conservatorium van Amsterdam ...

with Udo Reinemann, a well-known German baritone. Under the private tutoring of Swedish tenor Gösta Winbergh of the

Royal Swedish Opera Royal Swedish Opera ( sv, Kungliga Operan) is an opera and ballet company based in Stockholm, Sweden. Location and environment The building is located in the center of Sweden's capital Stockholm in the borough of Norrmalm, on the eastern side ...

and French tenor Christian Papis, Bühler enriched his classical repertoire. He sang in the choir of the Dutch opera and performed in the

Salzburg Festival The Salzburg Festival (german: Salzburger Festspiele) is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer (for five weeks starting in late July) in the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amad ...

under the direction of

Claudio Abbado Claudio Abbado (; 26 June 1933 – 20 January 2014) was an Italian conductor who was one of the leading conductors of his generation. He served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the London Symphony ...

. Before joining Il Divo, he was mainly based in the Netherlands, 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

In December 2003, Bühler became a member of the international musical quartet Il Divo along with

Carlos Marín Carlos Marín Menchero (13 October 1968 – 19 December 2021) was a Spanish baritone and a member of the classical crossover group Il Divo, which has sold over 28 million records worldwide. Early life Born in Rüsselsheim, West Germany and r ...

(

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Sébastien Izambard Sébastien Izambard (; born 7 March 1973) is a French singer, composer and record producer. His vocal range is classified as popular melody or ''vox populi'' to a loud, so it has a tenor tessitura phonic. He has been a member of the classical c ...

(

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

), and David Miller (

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

). He had an informal first audition with the group's creator,

Simon Cowell Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality, entrepreneur and record executive. He is the creator of ''The X Factor'' and ''Got Talent'' franchises which have been sold around the world. He has judged on t ...

. In Cowell's office, he simply asked Bühler to sing for him unaccompanied. Impressed by Buhler's tenor voice, Cowell offered him a place in Il Divo. Their first album, ''

,'' became a worldwide multi-platinum 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 Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stud ...

from the number one spot in the charts. Their second album, ''

Ancora ''Ancora'' is the third studio album released by classical crossover vocal group Il Divo. The album was released in the United Kingdom and other parts of Europe on 7 November 2005, excluding the United States and Latin America. The album was l ...

'', was released on 7 November 2005 in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. Il Divo's third album '' Siempre'' was released on 21 November 2006 in the

and on 27 November 2006 internationally. Their fourth album, '' The Promise'', was released on 10 November 2008 (world) and 18 November 2008 (US), and shot straight to number 1 in the UK.

Discography

The Conspiracy

*Studio album #1991 – ''One to One''

Il Divo

*Studio album #2004 – ''

'' #2005 – ''

'' #2006 – '' Siempre'' #2008 – '' The Promise'' #2011 – ''

Wicked Game "Wicked Game" is a song by American rock musician Chris Isaak, released from his third album, '' Heart Shaped World'' (1989). Despite being released as a single in July 1989, it did not become a hit until it was featured in the 1990 David Lynch ...

'' #2013 – ''

A Musical Affair ''A Musical Affair'' is the seventh studio album by the classical crossover group Il Divo. Il Divo is a group of four male singers: French pop singer Sébastien Izambard, Spanish baritone Carlos Marín, American tenor David Miller, and Swiss ...

'' #2015 – ''

Amor & Pasión ''Amor & Pasión'', initially released in Japan on 28 October 2015, is the eighth studio album by the classical crossover musical group Il Divo, formed by a male vocal quartet; the Swiss tenor Urs Bühler, the Spanish baritone Carlos Marín, t ...

'' #2018 – ''Timeless'' *Seasonal album #2005 – '' The Christmas Collection'' *Compilations #2012 – '' The Greatest Hits'' *Live albums #2009 – '' An Evening with Il Divo: Live in Barcelona'' #2014 – '' Live in Japan'' *Special editions #2005 – ''Il Divo. Gift Edition'' #2006 – ''Il Divo Collezione'' #2006 – ''Christmas Collection. The Yule Log'' #2008 – ''The Promise. Luxury Edition'' #2011 – ''Wicked Game. Gift Edition'' #2011 – ''Wicked Game. Limited Edition Deluxe Box Set'' #2012 – ''The Greatest Hits. Deluxe Limited Edition'' #2014 – ''A Musical Affair. Exclusive'' #2014 – ''A Musical Affair. French Version'' #2014 – ''Live in Japan. Japan Versión''

Videography

Il Divo

# 2004 – '' Live At Gotham Hall'' # 2005 – ''Encore'' # 2005 – ''Mamá'' # 2006 – ''The Yule Log: The Christmas Collection # 2006 – '' Live At the Greek Theater'' # 2008 – ''At the Coliseum'' # 2009 – '' An Evening with Il Divo: Live in Barcelona'' # 2011 – '' Live in London'' # 2014 – '' Live In Japan''

Performances

*''Ba-ta-clan''. Opera Minora. Festival Aan Zee in Noordwijk. 23 May 2001. *''Der Vogelhändler'' (plays leading role, Adam). Nieuwstad Operette in Nieuwegein. November 2002. *''Eine Nacht in Venedig'' (plays leading role, Caramello). Nieuwstad Operette in Nieuwegein. 7 November 2003. *''Johannes Passion''. Oude Kerk, Delft. With Philharmonisch Koor Toonkunst Rotterdam. 17 April 2003.

References

External links

*
Il Divo official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buhler, Urs 1971 births Living people English-language singers from Switzerland French-language singers of Switzerland Italian-language singers of Switzerland Opera crossover singers Spanish-language singers of Switzerland Swiss drummers Swiss male musicians Male drummers Swiss guitarists Swiss male singers Swiss pianists Swiss tenors Swiss violinists Male violinists Swiss clarinetists Conservatorium van Amsterdam alumni Swiss-German people Il Divo members Male pianists 21st-century drummers 21st-century clarinetists 21st-century violinists