The Three Tenors

The Three Tenors is a name given to collabarative concerts of the three operatic tenors Plácido Domingo, José Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti. The trio began their collaboration with a debut concert at the ancient Baths of Caracalla in Rome held on the eve of the 1990 World Cup final in Italy, with Zubin Mehta conducting the Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and the Orchestra del Teatro dell'Opera di Roma. The idea of the concerts was originally conceived by the Hungarian producer Tibor Rudas. The first concert was held to raise money for Carreras' foundation and also as a way for his contemporaries, Domingo and Pavarotti, to welcome their colleague back to the world of opera after his successful treatment for leukemia.

Related Topics:
Operatic - Tenor - Plácido Domingo - José Carreras - Luciano Pavarotti - Baths of Caracalla - Rome - 1990 World Cup - Italy - Zubin Mehta - Hungarian - Tibor Rudas

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The three subsequently sang together at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles for the 1994 World Cup finals, at the Champs de Mars, below the Eiffel Tower in Paris during France '98 and in Yokohama during the 2002 tournament. They have also played in other cities around the world, usually performing in stadiums or other large outdoor venues.

Related Topics:
Dodger Stadium - Los Angeles - 1994 World Cup finals - Champs de Mars - Eiffel Tower - Paris - France '98 - Yokohama - 2002 tournament

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The concerts were a great commercial success, and have been accompanied by a series of best-selling recordings including Carreras - Domingo - Pavarotti: the Three Tenors in Concert, 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.

Related Topics:
Zubin Mehta - James Levine

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The Three Tenors' repertoire extends beyond opera to Broadway numbers and even pop hits. Their signature tunes include Nessun Dorma from Puccini's Turandot and the Italian ballad standard O Sole Mio.

Related Topics:
Broadway - Pop - Nessun Dorma - Puccini - Turandot - O Sole Mio

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The Three Tenors phenomenon is applauded by some for introducing opera to wider public, but some opera purists scorn it, regarding it (in their words) not so much as music for the millions as music for millions in view of the large payments (in excess of US$ 1 million dollars each) that the three singers and conductor Zubin Mehta received. Some critics contest that performing opera arias in sports stadiums such as Wembley with heavy amplification, contributes little to the understanding and appreciation of opera as a Gesamtkunstwerk (whole art work) as Wagner conceived it. "I understand the complaints of purists," Domingo told an interviewer in 1998. "But I don't want the purists to go to the Three Tenors".

Related Topics:
US$ - Wembley - Gesamtkunstwerk - Wagner - 1998

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The success of the Three Tenors also 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 Warners) in order to protect sales of the jointly released album of the Paris concert.

Related Topics:
Antitrust - Federal Trade Commission - Warner Bros. - Vivendi Universal - PolyGram

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A Three Tenors concert was planned as the inaugural event for the Universal Forum of Cultures 2007, to take place in Monterrey, México. Pavarotti was unable to attend because of an illness, and the concert took place without him on June 4, 2005. The concert was a failure due to the lack of organization, and the huge number of people who demanded their money back because of Pavarotti's absence.

Related Topics:
Universal Forum of Cultures 2007 - Monterrey - México - June 4 - 2005

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The success of the Three Tenors formula has led to various imitations, such as the Irish Tenors and the Three Sopranos.

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