Aria of, expertise
Rewiting the
opera rulebook? Introducing kids from the Bronx to the unsubtle joys of Puccini? Andrew Borthwick reckons Three Mo’ Tenors are up for the job.
hat‘s in a name'.’ l'or .\larion
.l ('al‘l'ey. lrankly everything. 'l‘alking
o\cl' the phone via Washington. the tllt't‘t‘lttl' Ul‘ the acclaimed [‘5‘ L‘ttttcel'l pcrl’ormance l/m't' .llo' ‘lt'riory. e\plains that linding the right name was crttcial to his [)t‘ttlec‘l.
‘I wanted to say something other than tltree lililk'h lL‘IlUl‘s Ul‘ llil‘L‘L‘ .-\l‘rican-:\merican tenors.‘ he says. '()I‘ course l‘tn playing ol‘l~ the name ol the original show httt the name had to signily something ia//y and unique ahotit tltis show. .-\nd the contraction ol' tnore to nio‘ was pcrl‘ect lor saying. "We‘re going to he more than what you e\pect."‘
Inspired hy a concert in which the original ‘l‘hrce 'I‘enors .lose ('arreras. l’lacido Domingo and Luciano l’avarotti perl‘ormed Broadway numhers in their own distinct style.
(‘al'l'ey was struck hy the vocalists‘ lack ol‘
versatility. ‘l have the utmost respect l‘or those gentletnen. httt no matter what material they sang. they sounded like opera singers.‘ l’crsonally aware ol~ classically trained. .-\l'rican :\merican tenors that could switch l‘rom style to style with authenticity. it occurred to the l'ormer singer that there might he me in a concert that would showcase a
versatility which (‘al‘l‘cy helicves is horn otit ol‘
a lack ol‘ opportunities l'or .-\l‘ricanA:\merican tenors in America‘s ol‘eras.
"l‘he only people lllttl l‘\e tllsc‘tHL‘I'L‘tl [his \ersatilil) in are .-\l‘rican-.-\merican tenors. (‘lassically trained white tenors have no reason to learn to sing other styles hecattse they can get work in the opera. Btit hlack tenors are not ot‘ten used in operas. So they have to sing in other styles simply to make a liv ing.‘
.-\nd at a packed Manhattan show prior to their lidinhurgh dehut. the group do more than
just that. retaining the integrity ol' each style
whilst injecting the proceedings w itlt showmanship and humour. In a captivating pcrl'ormance the group covers lour httndred years ol' music as they move hetween opera. Broadway. soul. ja//. hlues. pop and gospel. While some may question the credentials ol' a show that leaps l‘rom .\lassenet to (‘ah (‘alloway to l‘sher. tneettng the hand the ne\t morning it hecomes apparent that the musical
numhers are as much to do with the politics ol‘
.-\merican opera. as it is with crowd pleasing. ‘.-\.s classically trained .-\l‘rican-.-\merican
38 THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE 3 ' 5i . :
.3 v i t‘
‘AS CLASSICALLY TRAINED AFRICAN-AMERICAN SINGERS THERE ISN'T A PLETHORA OF WORK
OUT THERE FOR US'
operatic singers. there isn‘t really a plethora ol‘ work ottt there l‘or us.‘ says Duane :\ Moody. one ot‘ the cast memhers from the two groups Used (the groups rotate nightly in order to preserve the perl'ormers‘ vocal chords). ‘So the hasis ol‘ Marion‘s idea was also to showcase our ahilities and actually generate work for us.‘
(iracious. humorous and with ohviotts camaraderie. the trio ol‘ Moody. James Berger and Victor Rohertson had dil‘l‘erent routes into opera: .\lood_v hegan singing in church. Berger in the home. Rohertson was singing with a rock hand when a vocal coach offered him an operatic scholarship. Bttt all three are classically trained. They are also aware ol‘ the realities they lace as non-white opera singers.
‘I think it‘s a prohletn that you have ()thello heing pla_\ed hy a (‘aucasian in hlack face when you have .-\l‘rican-American tenors who can perl‘orm the role. with just as much vigour as anyone else.‘ says Moody. 'I mean. ()thello is a hlack man.‘
()t‘ course. the argument goes that opera companies respond to numbers: It casting white perl'ormers works. l‘inancers will he loath to upset the apple cart. The majority ot‘ audiences. alter all. are white. Black people just aren‘t interested in opera.
It‘s a myth the group are keen to dispel. Berger tells of a show in the Bronx for l l—l4
year old hlack students. ‘We came on stage and they were screaming like we were l‘sher. And I know we inspired those kids hecause we still get emails from them telling tts so. I‘ve said it hel‘ore hut there‘s no Venus and Serena
ol‘ opera. ‘l‘here‘s no Tiger Woods of opera. ll
we could represent that it‘d he major hecause then you‘d have people coming to opera saying. "He looksjust like tne. Mayhe I can do that loom
Rohertson agrees and helieves that experimentation is the key to drawing in new audiences. young or old. ‘lt doesn‘t matter what medium it is. People jttst want something that‘s real and takes skill.‘
And yet the group admit they‘ve endured snohhery from certain sections ol‘ the opera estahlishment tor the inclusion ot‘ non-operatic material in their set. But opera is dying. It has to reach a new audience in order to survive. lts image. rightly or wrongly. is stul'l‘iness and elitism and yet here is a group who are reaching lower and middle class audiences and children. They may come to hear Marvin (iaye. Ray (‘harles or Alicia Keyes but they‘re leaving hearing Puccini and Verdi. And they‘ve had a damn good time while doing it.
St George’s West, 226 2428, 4-27 Aug (not 8), 7pm, £12.50—£14 (£6.50—£13).