THERE were no special effects, no gimmicks and no fancy scenery at the BIC on Tuesday night – it was all about the voices.

And what voices they were.

Il Divo is made up of four of the most powerful vocalists you’ll ever hear.

Describing themselves as something in between opera and pop music, the group demonstrated just why they have been around for nearly nine years, wowing the crowd with their spine-tingingly dramatic performances.

I couldn’t understand most of what was being sung, and only half recognised many of the tunes, but found myself completely swept away with the drama and intensity of the music.

The crowd were on their feet with appreciation numerous times during the night, as the foursome tackled classical numbers interspersed with chart hits.

I was mesmerised by their beautiful versions of songs I normally hate, such as Roy Orbison’s Crying and Shakespeare’s Sister’s Stay, but their attempt at My Way still didn’t better Ol’ Blue Eyes for me.

My personal favourite had to be an emotionally-charged rendition of the West Side Story classic Somewhere – simply spellbinding.