‘We’ve broken all the rules’

Described as “Ireland’s greatest voices”, The Three Tenors have always strived to put their audience first.

Sometimes that might mean swapping Pavarotti for Garth Brooks while enduring criticism from certain “highbrow people”, but that’s fine with them as long as the audience goes home happy.

Like so many other performers, Kenneth, Paul and Kevin were forced to postpone a whole list of shows when the pandemic hit but now they are making up for lost time with a new tour, and Cork Opera House is next!

“Cork is our favourite place and I’m not just saying that!" laughs long time group Manager John Conway.

“Dublin is great as well but there's something about the Cork audience, something really warm about them and we always enjoy playing there. There's always a bit of fun.”

John has been managing the lads for more than 12 years and plays a big role in painstakingly selecting and assembling every programme of songs they perform.

“The audience can look forward to a very uplifting show. We have changed around the programme and made it very contemporary, a kind of programme with something for everyone and there’s a Celtic streak running throughout,” he says.

When John says there’s something for everyone, he’s not messing, with everything from the operatic classic Nessun Dorma to Van Morrison’s beloved Have I Told You Lately, to Wild Rover by The Dubliners, to Bruce Springsteen’s I’ll See You In My Dreams’, there really is something for all tastes and ages in their show. There’s even a guitar!

“One of them plays guitar which is most unusual for a tenors show. Sometimes some highbrow people might frown on that kind of thing because they're supposed to be tenors.

“We've broken all the rules. Some people have said to us that they should do more classical stuff and the answer we give to that is, 'Well look, it's the audience that decides what we play’. The way we do it, it's all about the audience and what the people like to hear. Our job is making people happy and making sure they are going home happy after the show,” explains John.

Throughout their career, The Three Tenors have played some very important shows. In 2013, the trio headlined the sell-out European premiere for the film Lincoln, sharing the stage with stars like Sinead O’Connor, Shane McGowan and Chris De Burgh.

Among the attendance were Hollywood superstars Daniel Day Lewis, Steven Spielberg and Sally Field who all became immediate fans of the group.

In 2016, the group was selected by the Irish Government to headline the 1916 Centenary State Reception in Dublin Castle, on Easter Sunday, March 2016 where they played to 3,000 relatives of those who perished the 1916 rising.

The Three Tenors play Cork Opera House on Saturday night. Doors open at 7pm. For bookings, visit corkoperahouse.ie.