The Tenors

Three Tenors sing Nessum Dorma Link to You Tube
I remember well The Three Tenors, when I first saw them perform on a PBS special back in the 1990s. They were Italian tenor and likeable character Luciano Pavarotti, the most well known at the time, Placido Domingo from Spain and the one whose name I can never remember until I hear it, Jose Carreras, also Spanish. I learned recently that this trio first performed in July of 1990 as a fund raiser for Carreras' charity the International Leukemia Foundation and also for a chance for his friends to introduce Jose back into the opera world after his own fight with Leukemia. Today, he still is singing, as is Placido. Luciano died in 2007. But who knew that one idea would take off touch people who might never have heard opera performed before, or opera singers performing things other than opera. And who can ever forget their Nessum Dorma.

After these three tenors, came the Irish Tenors.

They were brought together specifically for a PBS special in 1998. They are Anthony Kearns, Ronan Tynan and Finbar Wright. My sister-in-law actually saw one of them perform right here in South Yarmouth at her church once. I couldn't remember if it was Anthony Kearns or Ronan Tynan, I am embarassed to say, until I Googled it and confirmed it was Anthony Kearns. But it was an amazing performance and I remember it well, just not which one it was! These three are still performing, mostly Irish songs, but certainly a variety of classics, folk and contemporary music to keep anybody interested. Who could forget their performance of Danny Boy?

YouTube link to Irish Tenors singing Danny Boy

But last night we saw another group. They were originally called The Canadian Tenors, but now are just known as The Tenors. I hadn't heard about these four until Ed saw a PBS special a few weeks ago and told me about them. As a birthday gift he bought two tickets to see them appear here at the Cape Cod Melody Tent, a theater in the round that rotates and attracts top names every summer. I've been to quite a few concerts here. But by far, this one for me was the most enjoyable.

 These four young guys, all of them probably in their twenties and thirties are so personable that you can't help but like them. After all, they are Canadian.

From upper left going clockwise, Remigio Pereira, Fraser Walters, Victor Micallef, and Clifton Murray

The first set was a few songs perfomed as a quartet, each of them featured at some point during the songs. But then they left the stage momentarily followed by one tenor returning and taking the stage himself. The first was Clifton Murray, who wears a little fedora for most of the show. He told us a little about himself and how he got started in music. He was very funny and then he sang a solo with the backup band. Each of his mates returned one by one, entering singing to rejoin the quartet for the next few numbers. One by one they did that, giving the audience a chance to learn a little bit about each of them. It was very endearing.

They also told us about their charities and invited us to go to their website The Tenors where you can read about their charities as well as other information about them. It's a very well done site. They had just returned from two weeks in Africa where they worked with a group of orphans and they were all very moved by their experience. And recently they've partnered with the Horatio Alger Foundation to benefit US school kids. They are really grateful for their success and are actively giving back.

Their act included a very talented backup group who they brought up front and featured during a three song medley at one point. The Tenors' repertoire includes some opera, of course. I mean you can't feature big tenor voices without some opera, but mostly pop songs and ballads. They did several Dylan songs, including Forever Young that they just knocked out of the park. Their last song was  Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah, a favorite of many of us, in a way I'll never forget. Here is a video of that song, which they won a Canadian Grammy.
Link to The Tenors Singing Hallelujah

 

And they also sang Ed's and my song, Elvis's I Can't Help Falling in Love With You. That was really beautiful. And one of the most impressive moments was when Fraser sang a solo, accompanied only by piano, of the tearjerker from Les Mis, "Bring Him Home". That was incredible. Their encore was none other than "Nessum Dorma".

If you get a chance to see them I hope you go. It's not a rock band, but it's a night of beautiful music performed by some very talented guys whose voices blend just beautifully. It was a wonderful evening. Thanks Ed! Love Ya!