The Tragic Tale of the Three Tenors

“We didn't realize in Rome that we created the Beatles for the senior citizens. It's something the people have been waiting for for a long time. Only nobody knew they were waiting for it." -Tibor Rudas, 1996
What began as a charitable concert by José Carreras, Plácido Domingo, and Luciano Pavarotti expanded throughout the 1990s into a veritable juggernaut, a touring musical act like the world has never seen. But what was lost in the transition? And will we ever see something like this again? Zach Barr (they/them) analyses the mesmerizing, and ultimately tragic, story of The Three Tenors - a concert series that brought opera to the masses, for better and worse.
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[@christopherhillier9190]

Well in the real opera world. All three are recognised as 3 of the greatest singers of their generation individually well before those concerts. The first concert and their Australian concert inspired me to be an opera singer. The three tenors concerts made them known to general public. But they were always gods of the opera world

[@GoddessEmpire]

WOW, THIS WAS THOROUGHLY ENTERTAINING AND INFORMATIVE... ABSOLUTELY LOVED EVERY BIT OF IT! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

[@kiaraeijo]

Not only are the Three tenors considered legendary in the opera world but Zubin Mehta is also considered a legend in the classical music world ( Back in 1969 I think it was, he performed/recorded the Schubert Trout Quintet with Daniel Barenboim on piano, Itzhak Perlman on violin, Pinchas Zukerman on viola, the late Jacqueline Du Pre on cello, and Zubin Mehta on Bass). Some of the best known cellists other than Yo Yo Ma are Mischa Maisky, Steven Isserlis, Sol Gabetta, and Sheku Kaneh-Mason (the cellist who played in Prince Harry’s wedding to Meghan Markle the Duchess of Sussex)

[@uppityglivestockian]

Bravo. Very enjoyable mini-doc, and well researched (I was waiting for a bad factoid or misquote, as so often happens, but, happily, none arrived). You've earned my Like / sub / notif. I was glad you mentioned the dirty dealing Pavarotti did with Decca to his compatriots. Decca, had they been decent, would've compensated Domingo and Carreras the way they did Pavarotti. To this day I wonder if that was entirely Pavarotti's doing or if his rapacious manager, Herbert Breslin, was to blame. I find it highly improbable that _only_ Domingo objected to the secret side-hustle. Carreras had not worked for some time while fighting leukemia, so I'm sure he could've used some extra cash. I could go on. lol Very nice outro btw of the Hoffman barcarole. Oh, there's a Texas Tenors, by way of * _ahem_ * AGT, which I'll ignore for now. Here they give a tip of the hat to the original greats at Caracalla doing O Sole Mio: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nl6xlKCmfc53ipo

[@kennethwayne6857]

I'd put my money on Breslin shouldering a good deal of the blame.

[@uppityglivestockian]

@@kennethwayne6857 Ditto.

[@maggiehall3471]

Thank you for underlining how important Mehta, the music director, was to these proceedings!

[@bethfiori4708]

We cannot underestimate the grit, tenacity, and talent of Jose Carreras. He nearly died, came back to the world of opera, and has been active in music and philanthropy for decades. ❤

[@AK53519]

Great documentary, thank you!

[@leonardopizzella7834]

En el minuto 08:50 de este video Pavarotti canta Rondine al nido y no Recondita Armonía.

[@musikaalimielinen]

Where has this channel been hiding all my life?? Super interesting video essays, I've been binging your videos the whole week. Thanks for putting your work out there!

[@TheLotusdragonfly]

Domingo is still performing and to cheering audiences!!!

[@TheLotusdragonfly]

The 'unplanned' o' sole mio variation at 7.55 was definitely planned. The tenors will do the same thing a few years later in the US.

[@livrowland171]

The first concert was great and very memorable on its own. It's a shame they dragged it out and it all became more commercial and less fun.

[@hipstereagle6050]

19:30 and now the three tenors would like to perform a medley of the Filthy 15!

[@themountainwanderer]

So enjoyable to watch. Definitely a phenomenon that is unlikely to repeat in the same form. As usual, once something catches fire someone will be there to squeeze the most out of it, irrespective of the performers wishes or at least dangling the big payday prospects to override any potential concerns. It would be interesting to see what the three tenors have or had to say about that time. How do they look back on it?

[@signeermegasejxD]

For future topics, I don’t really know - but I especially love all your videos that focus on classical music (papps pirates, rite of spring, this video). You do excellent work :-)

[@hipstereagle6050]

I’d love to see something like The 3 Guitarists: Jimmy Page, Tony Iommi and Ritchie Blackmore each playing together on stage

[@getalifeloser-y4s]

G3

[@trashymc4564]

This episode was a direct parody!? Dang.

[@bethfiori4708]

Nice overview. No matter what, their individual contributions to opera cannot be overstated, and Carreras' decades-long work for leukemia patients and their families, along with a research foundation, is phenomenal.

[@29planets]

This video was SO GOOD! Extremely underrated, keep it up!!

[@Mythologos]

"Traditional opera" WAS pop music, for 300 years! It didn't end until WW2.

[@mikeymullins5305]

There was plenty of non opera pop music dating back to the late Victorian years.

[@JunkerDC]

no laserdisc sales?