album cover of the 1990 concert in Rome left-right Domingo,Carreras, Mehta, Pavarotti

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, on July 7, 1990, with Zubin Mehta conducting the Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and the Orchestra del Teatro dell'Opera di Roma. The idea of the concert was originally conceived by the Italian manager/producer Mario Dradi. The first concert was held to raise money for Carreras's foundation and also as a way for his contemporaries, Domingo and Pavarotti, to welcome their friend and colleague back to the world of opera after his successful treatment for leukemia. Image File history File links Three_Tenors. ... Image File history File links Three_Tenors. ... This article is about the year. ... City motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus – SPQR (The Senate and the People of Rome) Founded 21 April 753 BC mythical, 1st millennium BC Region Latium Mayor Walter Veltroni (Left-Wing Democrats) Area  - City Proper  1285 km² Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 2,553,873 almost 4,300,000 1. ... A right-handed Cartesian coordinate system, presenting the z (up) vector and y (forward) vector, the right is defined to be the positive x vector. ... Plácido Domingo (born January 21, 1934) is a famous Spanish opera singer, well-known for a voice that is versatile, strong and possessed a squillo less tone in the lower part of its range, while lacking good high notes above A. Biography and career Plácido Domingo was born... José Carreras The Catalan tenor Josep Carreras (born December 5, 1946) is a famous Spanish opera singer much admired for his Verdi and Puccini roles. ... Zubin Mehta (born April 29, 1936) is an Indian-born conductor of European classical music. ... Luciano Pavarotti The Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti (born October 12, 1935), is one of the most famous living singers, not only in the world of opera, but across all genres. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... In music, a tenor is a male singer with a high voice (although not as high as a countertenor). ... Plácido Domingo (born January 21, 1934) is a famous Spanish opera singer, well-known for a voice that is versatile, strong and possessed a squillo less tone in the lower part of its range, while lacking good high notes above A. Biography and career Plácido Domingo was born... José Carreras The Catalan tenor Josep Carreras (born December 5, 1946) is a famous Spanish opera singer much admired for his Verdi and Puccini roles. ... Luciano Pavarotti The Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti (born October 12, 1935), is one of the most famous living singers, not only in the world of opera, but across all genres. ... The Baths of Caracalla, in 2003 The Baths of Caracalla were Roman public baths, or thermae, built in Rome between 212 and 216 CE, during the reign of the Emperor Caracalla. ... City motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus – SPQR (The Senate and the People of Rome) Founded 21 April 753 BC mythical, 1st millennium BC Region Latium Mayor Walter Veltroni (Left-Wing Democrats) Area  - City Proper  1285 km² Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 2,553,873 almost 4,300,000 1. ... The 1990 Football World Cup was designated by FIFA in 1984 to be held in Italy, making it the second country to host the event two times. ... Zubin Mehta (born April 29, 1936) is an Indian-born conductor of European classical music. ...

The three subsequently sang together, in concerts produced by Hungarian Tibor Rudas and others, 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. Dodger Stadium has been the home of the Los Angeles Dodgers Major League Baseball team since 1962. ... This article is about the largest city in California. ... The 1994 Football World Cup held in the USA was won by Brazil who beat Italy 3-2 on penalty kicks after the game and extra time ended 0-0. ... View of Champ de Mars from the top of the Eiffel Tower The Champ_de_Mars is a vast public area in Paris, France, located in the 7th arrondissement, between the Eiffel Tower to the northwest and the École Militaire to the southeast. ... The Tower at sunrise The Eiffel Tower (French: Tour Eiffel; IPA pronunciation: , eye-full English; , eh-fehl French) is an iron tower built on the Champ de Mars, beside the River Seine in Paris. ... The Eiffel Tower has become a symbol of Paris throughout the world. ... Yokohama (Japanese: 横浜市; -shi) is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan. ... The 2002 Football World Cup (Official name: 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan) was held in South Korea and Japan from May 31 to June 30. ...

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 (which holds the Guinness World Record for the best selling classical album), 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. The Guinness Book of Records (or in recent editions Guinness World Records, and in previous US editions Guinness Book of World Records) is a book published annually, containing an internationally recognized collection of superlatives: both in terms of human achievement and the extrema of the natural world. ... Zubin Mehta (born April 29, 1936) is an Indian-born conductor of European classical music. ... James Levine (born June 23, 1943) is an American orchestral conductor and pianist. ...

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. Broadway theatre is often considered the highest professional form of theatre in the United States. ... For the 1979 song by M, see Pop Muzik. ... Nessun Dorma is an aria from Italian composer, Giacomo Puccinis opera Turandot, which gained popularity due to the version sung by Luciano Pavarotti, used as the theme for the 1990 Football World Cup. ... Giacomo Puccini Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini (December 22, 1858 – November 29, 1924) is regarded as one of the great operatic composers of the late 19th and early 20th century. ... Turandot is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, to an Italian libretto by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni, based on the play by Carlo Gozzi. ... O sole mio is a universally famous Italian romantic folk song. ...

The Three Tenors phenomenon is applauded by some for introducing opera to a 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". The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. ... Wembley is a place in the London Borough of Brent. ... Gesamtkunstwerk is a German term attributed to the German opera composer Richard Wagner which refers to an operatic performance which encompasses music, theater, and the visual arts. ... Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner (May 22, 1813 in Leipzig – February 13, 1883 in Venice) was an influential German composer, conductor, music theorist, and essayist, primarily known for his operas (or music dramas as he later came to call them). ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ...

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 Warner Bros.) in order to protect sales of the jointly released album of the Paris concert. Antitrust or competition laws are laws which seek to promote economic and business competition by prohibiting anti-competitive behavior and unfair business practices. ... FTC headquarters, Washington, D.C. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an Independent Agency of the United States Government, established in 1914. ... The WB Shield used from 2003 to present day Warner Bros. ... Vivendi Universal (VU) is a French conglomerate active in media and communications with activities in music, television and film, publishing, telecommunications and the Internet. ... PolyGram was the name from 1972 of the major label recording company started by Philips as a holding company for its music interests in 1945. ...

A Three Tenors concert was scheduled as the inaugural event for the Universal Forum of Cultures, to take place in Monterrey, México. Pavarotti was unable to attend because of an illness, and so the concert took place without him on June 4, 2005. The Forum of Cultures (Catalan: Fòrum de les Cultures) is an international cultural event. ... Monterrey is the capital city of the Mexican state of Nuevo León. ... Mexico or, in Spanish, México, is: Mexico, a federal republic in North America Mexico City, that countrys capital city Mexican Federal District, the federal district containing that capital city Estado de México (State of Mexico), one of that republics 31 constituent states Mexico is also the... June 4 is the 155th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (156th in leap years), with 210 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The success of the Three Tenors formula has led to various imitations, such as the Irish Tenors, Tenor Australis, the Three Canadian Tenors, the Ten Tenors, Three Tenors and a Soprano, and the Three Sopranos.

External links

• The Three Tenors Paris 1998
• A Tenor Who Knows No Bounds - includes Domingo's thoughts on "purists" and the Three Tenors
• "A Requiem for Classical Music?" from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston's Regional Review - discusses the influence of the Three Tenors' success on the classical music market
• FTC press release on the "Tenors" antitrust action
• The Friends of José Carreras International Leukemia Foundation