For one night only — pop opera pin-ups Il Divo score in Musgrave Park

The sounds of a live orchestra and operatic trills are not often accompanied by wolf whistles, but that is the type of excitement Il Divo create.

Bringing midsummer magic to Musgrave Park in the heart of Cork city on a balmy summer’s evening, Il Divo — a quartet of tenors and baritones who effortlessly blend pop, opera and musical classics — had the audience eating out of their hands.

As the City of Cork Symphony Orchestra ran through a quick medley of some of the songs we were about to hear performed, we knew this night was going to be something special.

“Thanks for having us,” American tenor David Miller said by way of warming up the crowd, “Anytime” roared a very appreciative woman to my left who was definitely not an ‘Il Divo virgin’.

Opening the show with Tonight from West Side Story, they belted out some classics, some given an Italian twist, such as Memories from Cats, Abba’s Winner Takes it All and The Lion King’s Can You Feel the Love Tonight.

Any question marks about whether or not they were singing live were answered when the Sebastien Izambard from France couldn’t hear the music and fluffed his part in Somewhere over the Rainbow, but was quickly rescued by the rest of the group. You could really see the camaraderie they share as they laughed with him and it is no surprise they are marking 10 years in the business this year.

Each of the members of the group spoke to the audience about their connection with musical theatre and when Urs Buhler, the Swiss tenor, apologised for his hay fever, the Il Divo diva to my left shouted out “we have so much in common.”

But it is Spanish baritone Carlos Marin who captured the hearts of most of the women there.

He plays the role of Latin lothario well, emphasising his single status, bemoaning the fact that he has only one night in Cork, with even his bandmates chiming in to remind fans Carlos is on Twitter and Tinder and always on the look-out for lovely ladies.

The audience really came to life when the sun finally set and they sang the Liverpool anthem You’ll Never Walk Alone and Frank Sinatra’s My Way. Their last song, Time to Say Goodbye, saw thousands leave their seats and rush to the stage to get a small bit closer to their opera heroes. Only in Cork would four lads singing opera be in danger of a crush, with the lone security guard at the front looking genuinely worried.

The posts at this famous rugby ground were moved for the first time in 60 years to make way for this evening of opera and classical music. Earlier in the evening, the Irish Sopranos helped get the crowd going in blazing sunshine.

It was an unusual evening where women of all ages, wearing everything from sunglasses and pearls to floaty floral dresses — to those who had brushed off their white jeans, mingled with the few brave men who continued to show their support for Munster rugby by way of their shirts.

There’s not many concerts where you can get glasses of Prosecco served in plastic champagne flutes accompanied by gourmet pulled pork sandwiches.

It was Il Divo’s first time in Cork; let’s hope it won’t be their last.