EYE-POPERA THE FOUR SEXY GUYS OF IL DIVO HAVE FANS HOT AND BOTHERED.

Byline: Fred Shuster Music Writer

We're not divos!''

David Miller, the lone American in the internationally popular classical crossover quartet Il Divo, stops short of insisting the poperatic boy band with the GQ looks are just ordinary fellas with diva complexes. But he does want it known that none of his fellow Armani-clad fly guys throw tantrums backstage just because the caviar may not be fresh off the boat from the Caspian Sea.

In the world of Il Divo -- Italian for ``divine male performer'' -- there's plenty of top-quality caviar to go around.

``We're having fun,'' Miller says, ``but this is a serious endeavor. We have to be at our very best at all times. Nobody wants to see an Il Divo in disrepair.''

So far, so good. Il Divo, a United Nations of romantic fantasy comprising French pop singer Sebastien Izambard, Swiss tenor Urs Buhler, Spanish baritone Carlos Marin and classically trained tenor Miller -- who look like four male models in search of a runway -- is doing so well, the ensemble has been added to Barbra Streisand's 20-date charity tour this fall (which arrives at Staples Center on Nov. 20).

``It makes an already can't-miss event even stronger,'' said Gary Bongiovani, editor of Pollstar, which covers the concert industry. ``Both appeal to similar audiences.''

Il Divo was formed (some would say manufactured) three years ago with the help of ``American Idol'' judge Simon Cowell, who discovered each member after a two-year talent search.

Cowell's Svengali-like touch, kicked into high gear by the mouth-watering sales of Andrea Bocelli, Sarah Brightman and the Three Tenors, is evident in the savvy marketing.

To ensure a global market, the group sings in Italian, French, Spanish, Latin and English with a particular fondness for retooling today's pop hits as dramatic, pseudo-operatic pieces. During Il Divo's current tour, which touches down at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles for two nights, Tuesday and June 28, expect to hear, among other numbers, ``My Way,'' ``All by Myself'' and ``Unbreak My Heart'' administered in soaring Italian. Young British singer Katie Melua opens the shows.

``Basically, Simon spotted a gap in the market for these kinds of acts,'' Robbie Macintosh, a senior vice president of Sony BMG in Britain, told The New York Times earlier this year. ``He then went about finding singers ... When we had done these auditions and put the act together, he then put the songs together, which we were all involved in. And off we went.''

Predictably, there's much gnashing of teeth from critics, neatly drowned out by the near-religious fervor of fans, most of whom are middle-age females. A quick survey of cyberspace commentary from fanciers of the divine Divo ranges from ``hot and gorgeous in the extreme'' (Venezuela) to ``so good, I can hear them night and day'' (Netherlands) to ``even my husband fell in love!'' (Northridge).

Success came fast, but, Miller said, nothing was guaranteed. At first, the idea of four guys from different parts of the world singing operatic pop music seemed like the climax of ``Tosca'' accidentally played out in Act 1.

``When Simon told us what it would be, I thought to myself, `We'll see. I have a feeling I'm going to be looking for another gig soon,''' Miller, 33, recalled. ``And I bet the other three were thinking the exact same thing. Plus, we really couldn't communicate with each other too well. And we have very, very different temperaments.''

Before he got the part, the New York-based Miller, who studied at Oberlin Conservatory of Music and had sung all over the world, was set to make his Metropolitan Opera debut.

But after a career-defining slot on ``The Oprah Winfrey Show,'' with Cowell in tow, the group's self-titled debut shot to the No. 1 slot on both Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com, eventually hitting top chart placement in 25 countries, frequently without radio support or an on-air music video. It's all enough to make Verdi green with envy.

At the time of the breakthrough, Cowell allowed that he was ``slightly in awe of their talent'' and ``more proud of this album than anything else I've been involved with.''

Critics dismiss the ensemble as cheesy, overwrought, preoccupied with their own looks and completely inauthentic as opera singers. Miller says that last part is comparing apples to Enya.

``We don't go around telling people we sing opera,'' Miller said. ``We're singing in that style, but the material is plainly pop music. We hope there are people who hear us and are moved to attend an opera or listen to (Russian soprano) Anna Netrebko. But we're operating in a different world. It's a blending of vocal techniques. We are each good singers.''

While Il Divo -- which has issued three albums, including a Christmas set and a DVD -- currently owns the classical crossover domain, Billboard's sales chart for the genre is positively polymorphous. The list takes in Bocelli, Brightman, the soundtracks to ``The Da Vinci Code,'' ``Memoirs of a Geisha,'' ``Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith'' and ``Pride & Prejudice,'' and offerings from the Irish Tenors and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

``The category brings together a lot of different music for people who are open-minded about what they like,'' Miller said. ``And there are a lot of people who appreciate it. Look at it this way: We're reaching millions of people with music that has elements of classical music. When was the last time pure opera had a worldwide hit?''

Fred Shuster, [phone]

[e-mail]

IL DIVO

Where: Greek Theatre, 2700 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles.

When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and June 28 (and Nov. 20 with Barbra Streisand at Staples Center).

Tickets: $45 to $89.50. [phone]; ticketmaster.com.

CAPTION(S):

6 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 2 -- color) Black tie AND Blue

(3) URS BUHLER

(4) CARLOS MARIN

(5) SEBASTIEN IZAMBARD

(6) DAVID MILLER

Getty Images