What do opera singers do when they are not singing opera?

If they are members of Il Divo, they sing pop songs, show tunes, and a few operatic pieces.

This multinational group brought their show to Hammond's Horseshoe Casino Friday evening to perform for an audience that one of the singers joked: "included no one from Hammond."

The quartet alternated between singing harmonies, providing background vocals for one another, and each performer singing a solo song. Each singer introduced his song with a brief story of how his interest in music began.

The evening mixed songs by pop singers Mariah Carey and Toni Braxton with those by classical composers (George Frederic Handel), along with some love songs and standards. A highlight was their Italian language version of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah." They overcame technical difficulties when the microphones failed for a few minutes during the opening number. The string trio Simply 3 opened for Il Divo before settling in as the quartet's accompanists for the main act.

Il Divo was founded in 2003 by Simon Cowell (yes, that Simon Cowell!), and included tenors Urs Bühlerand, David Miller, and Sébastien Izambard, along with baritone Carlos Marín. Steven LaBrie joined the group in 2022 to replace Marin, who died of COVID-19. After more than two decades, the group remains strong and continues to entertain audiences.