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The Ten Tenors

It is wonderful to see ten young Australian men gathering together in such a novel way as The Ten Tenors. The potential for this group to bring forth all the brilliance and power of true opera music is there, and they continue to improve with each new album released. The Ten Tenors perform ‘modernized’ or ‘pop’ versions of traditional opera music. ‘Opera without the boring bits,’ they claim, as they make a bold attempt to attract a younger and larger audience to the opera genre. However, despite their best efforts, their sound lacks depth and personality. It is natural (though perhaps unfair) to compare the sound produced by The Ten Tenors to that created by The Three Tenors; José Carreras, Plácido Domingo, and Luciano Pavarotti. One could not expect a single voice amongst The Ten Tenors to match the likes of such opera greats, however all ten voices together should generate an intensity and richness of sound superior to The Three Tenors. Unfortunately, when The Ten Tenors join together in chorus, their sound is weak and emotionless. Their voices fail to add to the harmonics and power of the sound, and it falls flat and monotonous on the ear. As an example, The Ten Tenors rendition of ‘The Aria of Puccini’s La Boheme, Che Gelida Manina’ is no comparison to the raw emotion and stomach churning power generated by The Three Tenors in their version of the music. Despite this failure, the ‘The Ten Tenors’ have succeeded in jazzing up the original opera style into a form of pop, and their albums thus far have been both popular and well received by much of the public. They represent an original concept which may succeed in bringing a new and fresh audience to opera, and perhaps in time they will reach a depth of sound and harmonics that will make their music as soul moving as The Three Tenors.