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The Three Tenors were an operatic singing trio, active between 1990 and 2003, and termed a supergroup (a title normally reserved for rock and pop groups) consisting of Italian Luciano Pavarotti and Spaniards Plácido Domingo and José Carreras. The trio began their collaboration with a performance at the ancient Baths of Caracalla in Rome, Italy, on 7 July 1990, the eve of the 1990 FIFA World Cup final, watched by a global television audience of around 800 million. The image of three tenors in formal evening dress singing in a World Cup concert captivated the global audience. The recording of this debut concert became the best-selling classical album of all time and led to additional performances and live albums. They performed to a global television audience at three further World Cup Finals: 1994 in Los Angeles, 1998 in Paris, and 2002 in Yokohama. They also toured other cities around the world, usually performing in stadiums or similar large arenas to huge audiences. They last performed together at Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio, on 28 September 2003.

The Three Tenors repertoire ranged from opera to Broadway to Neapolitan songs and pop hits. The group's signature songs included "Nessun dorma" from Puccini's opera Turandot, usually sung by Pavarotti, and the song "'O sole mio", which all three tenors typically sang together.

History

Luciano is a born communicator, one of the most charismatic figures I have ever seen on stage. He only opens his mouth and with the first note, he gets the audience. It is something he was born with. Placido is the most complete artist I have ever seen on stage. There is the quality of his acting besides his great vocal skills and achievement. For me – a tenor lover – it is a great honor and privilege to sing with them. They are two great guys and very high humans.

Italian producer Mario Dradi, along with German producer Elmar Kruse and British composer and producer Herbert Chappell, conceived the idea of the first concert in 1990 in Rome. It was held to raise money for Carreras's foundation, the José Carreras International Leukemia Foundation. It was also a way for his friends Domingo and Pavarotti to welcome Carreras back into the world of opera after undergoing successful treatment for leukemia. The Three Tenors first performed in a concert for the 1990 FIFA World Cup. Zubin Mehta conducted the orchestra of Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and the orchestra of Teatro dell'Opera di Roma. The performance captivated the global audience. A filmed version of the concert was produced by Herbert Chappell and Gian Carlo Bertelli for Decca and became the highest-selling classical disc in history.

The three subsequently sang together in concerts produced by Hungarian Tibor Rudas and other producers, at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles to coincide the final match of the 1994 FIFA World Cup, at the Champ de Mars under the Eiffel Tower during the 1998 FIFA World Cup, and in Yokohama for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Nearly 50,000 people attended their 1994 concert at Dodger Stadium and around 1.3 billion viewers worldwide watched it.

Following the big success of the 1990 and 1994 concerts, The Three Tenors opened a world tour of concerts during 1996–1997. In 1996 they performed at Kasumigaoka Stadium in Tokyo, at Wembley Stadium in London, at Ernst Happel Stadion in Vienna, at Giants Stadium outside of New York City, at Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden, at Olympic Stadium in Munich, at Rheinstadion in Düsseldorf and at BC Place in Vancouver on New Year's Eve. In 1997 concerts followed at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, at Skydome in Toronto, at Pro Player Stadium in Miami and at Camp Nou in Barcelona. The tour was scheduled to end in Houston with a final concert which was eventually canceled due to very low ticket sales. In addition to their 1996–1997 world tour, The Three Tenors also performed two benefit concerts – one in Pavarotti's hometown Modena in the summer of 1997 and one in Domingo's home town Madrid in the following winter – in order to raise money for the rebuilding of the Teatro La Fenice in Venice and the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona and for the Queen Sofia Foundation.

A second series of concerts outside of the FIFA World cup events held again in 1999 including cities like Tokyo, Pretoria and Detroit followed by a Christmas concert in Vienna in December the same year. In 2000 the Three Tenors toured again performing live in San Jose, California, Las Vegas, Washington, D.C., Cleveland and São Paulo. However, the production had to cancel two planned concerts for this tour; one in Hamburg on 16 June due to difficulties in finding a suitable orchestra and conductor, and another one in Albany, New York, on 22 July due to poor ticket sales. The later one was replaced by the Brazilian concert in São Paulo. One more benefit concert was given by The Three Tenors in December 2000 in Chicago to donate the AIDS Foundation of Chicago. In 2001 two more concerts were given in Asia: one in Seoul and one in Beijing inside the walls of the Forbidden City. Finally in 2003 they performed in Bath at the Royal Crescent and later in September the same year they gave their last Three Tenors' concert, which took place at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio. A Three Tenors reunion concert was scheduled to take place on 4 June 2005 at the Parque Fundidora in Monterrey, Mexico, but because of Pavarotti's health problems, he was replaced by Mexican pop singer Alejandro Fernández.

Recordings

The concerts were a huge commercial success, and were accompanied by a series of best-selling recordings, including the original Carreras-Domingo-Pavarotti in Concert, subsequently reissued as The Three Tenors In Concert (which holds the Guinness World Record for the best-selling classical music album), The Three Tenors in Concert 1994, The Three Tenors: Paris 1998, The Three Tenors Christmas, and The Best of The Three Tenors. Zubin Mehta conducted the performances in 1990 and 1994. The Paris concert was conducted by James Levine.

Carreras and Domingo have appeared together on a number of other albums including Gala Lirica (with various other artists), Christmas In Vienna (with Diana Ross), and Christmas in Moscow (with Sissel Kyrkjebø).

Royalties

For their initial appearance together in Rome in 1990, Carreras, Domingo, and Pavarotti agreed to accept relatively small flat fees for the recording rights to their concert, which they then donated to charity. Their album unexpectedly reaped millions in profits for Decca Records, causing some resentment on the part of the tenors, who officially received no royalty payments. As reported in the press, Domingo suspected that the record company paid Pavarotti on the side, in order to keep one of their top contracted artists content. Pavarotti denied this, insisting: "We got nothing." Years later his former agent and manager Herbert Breslin wrote that Pavarotti had indeed secretly received $1.5 million that the other two tenors, who were not under contract to Decca, did not receive. For subsequent concerts and recordings, the singers were much more careful in assuring financially advantageous contractual terms for themselves.

Criticism

While the Three Tenors were applauded by many for introducing opera to a wider audience, some opera purists criticised the group. Domingo responded to critics in a 1998 interview: "The purists, they say this is not opera. Of course it's not opera, it doesn't pretend to be an opera. It's a concert in which we sing some opera, we sing some songs, we do some zarzuela, then we do a medley of songs... We respect very much when people criticise it. That's fine. They shouldn't come... But they should leave the people who are coming and are happy."

Other critics such as Martin Bernheimer complained that the tenors performed for excessive financial remuneration, rather than art. On their first worldwide tour, each tenor received around one million dollars per concert – unheard of for classical musicians. In a joint interview with his colleagues, Pavarotti responded to complaints about their incomes: "We make the money we deserve. We're not forcing someone to pay us." Domingo added about the world of opera: "I am giving 17 performances in 25 days. Ask me how much I get for that... For 30 years we have given in blood the best of our lives and our careers. You think we don't deserve money?" Carreras, for his part, stressed how little they made compared to many athletes, pop singers, and movie stars.

Legal issues

The success of the Three Tenors led to antitrust action by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission against Warner Bros. and Vivendi Universal. It found that they had conspired not to advertise or discount the albums of the Rome concert (released by PolyGram, later taken over by Vivendi) and of the Los Angeles concert (released by Warner Bros.) in order to protect sales of the jointly released album of the 1998 Paris concert.

The Three Tenors also encountered trouble with the German government. In 1999, two of the three singers paid an undisclosed fine to the German government as part of an out-of-court settlement for tax evasion. In addition, the German government accused the tenors of owing large back-taxes. Their concert organizer and promoter, Matthias Hoffmann, who was in charge of their taxes at the time, was sentenced to jail time for his role in the alleged tax evasion.

In popular culture

• Throughout the Seinfeld episode "The Doll", José Carreras is repeatedly referred to as "the other guy", while the names of Domingo and Pavarotti are easily recalled.
• The Animaniacs episode "Three Tenors and You're Out" featured the trio performing at Dodger Stadium.
• The Canadian sketch comedy series Royal Canadian Air Farce parodied The Three Tenors in a sketch.
• In Encore! Encore!, Nathan Lane plays an opera singer who was to become "the Fourth Tenor" before injuring his voice.
• The trio was featured on the MTV animated show Celebrity Deathmatch, in a match against The Three Stooges.
• In the Japanese version of Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, The Three Emperors of Yliaster are named after the Three Tenors.

List of concerts

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Discography

Live concert albums

Filmography

References

1. McDannald, Alexander Hopkins, ed. (2000). Americano Annual 2000. Grolier. p. 201. ISBN 978-0-7172-0231-7.
2. "The Original Three Tenors in Concert". Classic FM.
3. ^ The Music Industry Handbook. Routledge. 2016. p. 219.
4. ^ Malone, Gareth (2011). Music for the People: The Pleasures and Pitfalls of Classical Music. HarperCollins Publishers. pp. 34–. ISBN 978-0-00-739618-4. Retrieved 30 July 2013. The association with football must have helped it, but achieving a Guinness world record for best-selling classical music with the Three Tenors in Concert CD shows that a great tune, well sung, has mass appeal even if it is classical.
5. Hynd, Noel (2009). The Prodigy: Author's Revised Edition. Damnation Books. pp. 244–. ISBN 978-1-61572-022-4. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
6. Orient-express Magazine. Venice Simplon-Orient-Express Limited. 1996. p. 32. Retrieved 30 July 2013. The Three Tenors' tour begins on June 29 at the Kasumigaoka National Stadium in Tokyo, then on July 6, it is Wembley Stadium in London, scene of Pavarotti's solo triumph a decade ago. Vienna Prater Stadium follows on July 1 3, the New ...
7. Fox, Dan (2002). Mandolin Gold: 100+ of the Most Popular Selections Arranged for Mandolin. Alfred Music Publishing. pp. 40–. ISBN 978-1-4574-1716-0. Retrieved 30 July 2013. No, the name of this piece is not "O Solo Mio."The correct title means "Oh, my sun." The Three Tenors always got ecstatic cheers when they sang this famous Italian song, and as "It's Now Or Never", the song was a hit for Elvis ...
8. ^ Lavin, Cheryl (10 December 2000). "Three Tenors And Grazie, Grazie, Grazie". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
9. The 3 Tenors - The Birth of a Legend
10. Żurawicki, Leon (2010). Neuromarketing: Exploring the Brain of the Consumer. Springer. pp. 209–. ISBN 978-3-540-77829-5. Retrieved 30 July 2013. Such was the case of the Three Tenors. When Luciano Pavarotti and Plácido Domingo thought of welcoming their leukemia surviving friend and operatic rival – José Carreras – they came up with the idea of a huge ...
11. Knight, David B. (2006). Landscapes in Music: Space, Place, And Time in the World's Great Music. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 193–. ISBN 978-0-7425-4116-0. Retrieved 30 July 2013. Luciano Pavorotti, Plácido Domingo, and José Carreras or, as they are popularly called, the "Three Tenors", attracted worldwide attention during the 1990 World Cup when six thousand people filled the Roman Baths of Caracalla ...
12. "A riot of colour, emotion and memories: the World Cup stands alone in the field of sport". The Independent. Archived from the original on 20 June 2022. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
13. ^ Blumenthal, Ralph (24 March 1996). "The Three Tenors Juggernaut". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
14. Emmis Communications (2000). "Orange Coast Magazine". Orange Coast. Emmis Communications: 46–. ISSN 0279-0483. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
15. Hugh Dauncey; Geoff Hare (1999). France and the 1998 World Cup: The National Impact of a World Sporting Event. Frank Cass. pp. 194–. ISBN 978-0-7146-4887-3. Retrieved 30 July 2013. Accompanied by the Orchestre de Paris, Carreras, Domingo and Pavarotti were heard by an estimated 150,000 ... music, synthetic image and laser concert on the Champs-de- Mars in front of a rather bigger audience than the three tenors had ...
16. Peter Wynter Bee (2007). People of the Day 2. People of the Day Limited. pp. 47–. ISBN 978-0-9548110-1-3. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
17. "Three Tenors in Traditional World Cup Performance". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. 28 June 2002. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
18. Tim Smith (February 1997). "3 Tenors Ticket Sales Not Bringing Down The House". Sun Sentinel. Florida. Archived from the original on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
19. Sue Leeman (October 1995). "Three Tenors return, Five-city tour includes stop in U.S." The Free Lance–Star. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
20. Melinda bargreen (1996). "Tenors of the Times – New Year's Eve Show in Vancouver Is More an Event than a Concert". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
21. "Three Tenors, video artist and Vienna in the news". Desert News. December 1996. Archived from the original on 26 August 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
22. "Astrodome owners are suing Three Tenors promoters". Boca Raton News. 23 December 1997. p. 16. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
23. "Three Tenors to Perform Benefit Concert for King Juan Carlos' 60th Birthday". PR Newswire. December 1997. Retrieved 17 September 2013.
24. "Ford Motor Company Brings Three Tenors to Detroit in July". PR Newswire. January 1999. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
25. "How sweet the sound of three tenors". The Baltimore Sun. July 1999. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
26. Natasha Emmons (17 April 2000). "Three Tenors on the Road Again; Trio To Make. Live Webcast Debut. (brief article)". Amusement Business. Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2013.
27. "The Three Tenors concert in Hamburg has been canceled". Pollstar. 5 July 2000. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
28. "Three Tenors to Perform South American Concert Debut. Brazilian show replaces Albany, N.Y., date that was canceled because of poor ticket sales". MTV News. June 2000. Archived from the original on 26 August 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
29. Mattalia Glendy (21 December 2000). "Three Tenors Concert on Cold Night Helps Aids Foundation". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 28 August 2013.
30. "The Three Tenors in Seoul". Meyer Sound. June 2001. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
31. "Three Tenors take Bath". CNN. August 2003. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
32. "Three Tenors, Pavarotti, Carreras and Domingo postpone show". Ocala StarBanner. 5 December 2002. p. 17. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
33. Tim Page (December 2005). "Domingo Sees Little Chance for a Three Tenors Reunion". The Washington Post. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
34. Al Lieberman; Patricia Esgate (2002). The Entertainment Marketing Revolution: Bringing the Moguls, the Media, and the Magic to the World. FT Press. pp. 213–. ISBN 978-0-13-029350-3. Retrieved 30 July 2013. On occasion, each of the three would accompany a popular singing star on a CD, such as the collaboration of John Denver and Plácido Domingo. But these ... in front of a world-class orchestra led by a star conductor like James Levine or Zubin Mehta that "The Three Tenors" were born. ... Performances in Athens, Paris, and New York resulted in platinum CD sales, gold VHS sales, licensing fees for HBO ...
35. Graham Betts (2005). Complete UK Hit Albums 1956-2005. HarperCollins UK. p. 121. ISBN 978-0-00-720532-5. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
36. "Gala Lirica". Amazon.
37. "Christmas In Vienna". Amazon.
38. "Christmas In Moscow". Amazon. 2007.
39. Breslin, Herbert (2004). The King & I. Doubleday. pp. 216–18. ISBN 0-385-50972-3 – via Internet Archive.
40. Breslin 2004, p. 218.
41. Breslin 2004, pp. 218–222.
42. Sweeting, Adam (14 August 1998). "A crisp tenor". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 10 November 2005. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
43. Ng, David (16 July 2014). "A look back at the Three Tenors concert at Dodger Stadium". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 1 August 2015. One of the most popular and lucrative franchises in classical-music history, the Three Tenors was a cultural phenomenon, inspiring adoration among fans and disdain from music purists who regarded the enterprise as a shameless money grab... In the article, criticized the promotional hype surrounding the event and accused the tenors of trivializing their art form.
44. "Price-Fixing Charges Upheld". Los Angeles Times. 29 July 2003.
45. Alan Riding (1 September 1999). "2 of 3 Tenors Pay to Settle Tax Dispute In Germany". The New York Times.
46. Breslin 2004, pp. 224–225.
47. "The Doll". SeinfeldScripts.com.
48. "Steven Spielberg Presents: Animaniacs, Seasons 1–4, Episode 71". Google Play Movies.
49. "Royal Canadian Air Farce Season 2 Episode 4". TV.com.
50. James, Caryn (22 September 1998). "One Family's Regal Airs, Another's Upward Mobility". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
51. Jeff Lenburg; Joan Howard Maurer; Greg Lenburg (2012). The Three Stooges Scrapbook. Chicago Review Press. p. 245. ISBN 9781613740859.
52. Italian album chart positions for The Three Tenors:
    • For Carreras Domingo Pavarotti in Concert and The Three Tenors in Concert 1994: "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 14 June 2022. Set "Tipo" on "Album". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Carreras".
    • For The Three Tenors: Paris 1998: "History" (in Italian). FIMI. Retrieved 14 June 2022. Set "Ricerca per" on "Titolo", then search "THE THREE TENORS PARIS 1998" and click "Classifiche".
    • For The 3 Tenors Christmas: "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 14 June 2022. Set "Tipo" on "Album". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Tre Tonri".
53. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
54. "Discography José Carreras". Australian Charts Portal. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
55. "Discografie José Carreras" (in Dutch). Dutch Charts Portal. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
56. "Discography José Carreras". Swedish Charts Portal. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
57. "Carreras/Domingo/Pavarotti". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
58. Billboard 200 positions for The Three Tenors:
    • For Carreras Domingo Pavarotti in Concert and The Three Tenors in Concert 1994: "Zubin Mehta Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Archived from the original on 6 December 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
    • For Paris 1998: "Billboard 200". Billboard. 12 September 1998. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
    • For The 3 Tenors Christmas: "Vienna Symphony Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Archived from the original on 14 June 2022. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
59. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1992 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
60. ^ "American certifications – "Three Tenors, The"". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
61. ^ "British certifications – Placido Domingo". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 8 July 2015. Type Placido Domingo in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
62. ^ "Canadian certifications – Three Tenors". Music Canada. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
63. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Pavarotti)" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
64. ^ "Austrian certifications – Domingo" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
65. "Certificaciones" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Retrieved 8 July 2015. Type Domingo in the box under the ARTISTA column heading.
66. "Brazilian certifications – Tenores" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
67. ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ("3 tenors")". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
68. "French certifications – Les Trois Ténors" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
69. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1994 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
70. ^ "French certifications – Domingo" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 8 July 2015.

External links

• José Carreras
• Placido Domingo
• Luciano Pavarotti

• Classical music

• The Three Tenors
• Grammy Award winners
• Tenor vocal groups
• Musical trios
• Musical groups established in 1990
• Musical groups disestablished in 2007