What do you get when you cross 10 suave and dashing young men with smooth, operatic vocal styling? The platinum-selling, Australian-based Ten Tenors, of course. Famous for a unique blend of opera, pop and rock, the group brings their prowess to the Fox Theatre on May 20.
The Atlanta stop is part of the multi-continent Nostalgica World Tour 2009. “Nostalgica is not only a songbook journey through the hits of the 20th century by the artists that made them great, but also a trek through The Ten Tenors’ decade-long history — a greatest hits tour with a twist,” stated Graham Foote, the show’s musical director.
The Ten Tenors consists of classically trained tenors, ages 23 to 33, many of whom have musical theater backgrounds. Credits range from principal to ensemble roles in such productions as Jesus Christ Superstar, Les Miserables, Sweeney Todd and My Fair Lady, among others. Their combination of artistry, charm and comedy has garnered them critical acclaim and wooed audiences all over the world. To date, they have sold out shows on four continents and performed for over 90 million people. They also have appeared on an ABC-TV “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” season finale, and performed alongside artists such as Rod Stewart, Alanis Morissette, Andrea Boccelli and Christina Aguilera, to name a few. Previous recordings have topped European pop charts, and in 2003 they recorded the theme song “Jungle Rhythm” for Disney’s Jungle Book 2.
Originally, when the group first formed in 1995 at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, it was informal and not quite what you’d deem a world-class musical sensation (an early goal was simply to earn an extra bit of beer money). Ironically, fans thought them to be nothing short of phenomenal, and their growing audience quickly shifted from being mainly corporate groups to music lovers throughout Australia. In 1998, they took their show on the road for the first time, playing mostly local cities. Their big break, however, came in 2002, when they were invited to perform at the German entry selection event for the Eurovision Song Contest. Within hours of their appearance, tickets for all their upcoming shows sold out. Today, they are one of the most successful acts to ever tour Germany.
Years (and several member changes) later, they’re still traveling the globe — about 10 months out of the year, playing around 250 shows on any given continent. Recently, they wrapped up a two-month long German engagement, during which they collected donations after shows as part of the Red Cross Relief Aid for the 2009 brushfires in Victoria and floods in Queensland, Australia. They launched the North American leg of the spring world tour in April. Additional tour stops will include cities throughout Europe, South Africa and Australia.
For complete tour listings and group blog updates from the road, visit thetentenors.com.
