Planes, Trains and The Irish Tenors

I flew up to Washington D.C. on Friday for the sold out performance of The Irish Tenors at the Strathmore, the home of the National Symphony! It was cold, well colder than Florida, and snow was predicted. No bother, I had a front row seat to see The Irish Tenors and no little flurry of snow was keeping me from attending.

As the day progressed Mother Nature opened her bag of tricks and unleashed the last blast of winter upon the Northeast! The snow embraced cities from New York to Boston and wreaked such havoc on the airports that even holy men were cursing their lot! Ice began to rain down upon Washington D.C. and surrounding areas as Dante's vision was surely coming true! National Reagan airport had become Hell and travelers were stranded as flights were delayed and then cancelled all across the northeastern USA. Mine may have been one of the last flights in or out of National that day and I was grateful to have made it under the radar, as it were.

No matter, I was in the warm confines of the Marriott Hotel/Convention Center and within a mile of Strathmore and The Irish Tenors. We called for a car to take us to the music center. Ice was pelting the windshield and the streets were accumulating a small layer of the stuff as five of us piled into a large black sedan and headed out for an evening of friendship, song and a bit of Irish craic. Our short drive became a comedy of errors as our sweetheart of a driver tried three separate entrances before we finally arrived at valet parking near the back of the venue. It seems the Strathmore has a few buildings on the premises, all of which are blocked off from one another. It was the proverbial, "You can't get there from here" scenario.

We found our places and as the concert began, I could see the weather's effect by the few seats that remained empty. Nothing could dampen the spirits of everyone there because the show was fabulous! Finbar was again funny, handsome and sexy all at the same time. Karl was adorable and has incorporated his own husky dance move into the "Percy French" medley. As "Mrs. Cafferty," his King-Kong is hilarious and as Paddy Reilly, "the babe" is now a muscular, powerful man! Anthony joined in and was as animated as I have ever seen him. All three proved to be real crowd pleasers! Clearly, the audience enjoys this tom-foolery and the Tenors seem to as well!

Of course, standing ovations, woo-hoos, whistles and foot stomping brought the three Irishmen back for encores and everyone left happier and a lot warmer than when they had arrived.

Saturday morning saw horrendous delays at airports and I decided to change my flight to Sunday evening... thereby allowing me to stay for the added concert at the Strathmore. The Sunday afternoon showtime came and the house was packed to the rafters! The Irish Tenors were greeted with tumultuous adoration and they themselves did not disappoint. These spring concerts are fast-paced and fun! All three tenors were as animated as they were Friday night. Finbar really played up the part of Kate McGee with Anthony as they were twisting and smirking and flirting almost shamelessly with one another. The audience literally roared with laughter! The dancing was full-blown as Finbar, Anthony and Karl kicked up their heels higher than seemed possible, leaving the ground several times to the amazement and enjoyment of the concert-goers. No stodgy, opera singers, these... These men are real entertainers and a true source of pride for the Irish everywhere!

So there, Mother Nature! Do your worst but you will never dampen the spirit of the Irish... nor apparently The Irish Tenors! Bravo!!!

All eyes smiling for Irish Tenors

It was a balmy 8 degrees in Lowell Thursday night, and the ground was bare except for the remnants of snow left over from the recent storm, but inside the Lowell Auditorium, all was green. The legendary Irish Tenors commanded the stage at the Auditorium, and a sea of Irish eyes were smiling as the three vocalists, Finbar Wright, Anthony Kearns, and Karl Scully, aptly backed by an orchestra directed by Arnie Roth, sang old Irish classics, heralding in next weekend's St. Patrick's Day, the only day of the year when everyone is Irish.

After a few changes, including the addition of Scully in 2005, the new line-up began the night with an Irish medley, including the classic Gaelic song, "Trasna Na Dtonnta," a beautiful lick about a sailor's joyful return home. Gaelic is such a beautiful and nearly lost language, and one couldn't help but notice the different inflections and syllabic patterns of the ancient language. After the medley, Wright reminisced about past visits to Lowell, and how it's always snowing when they arrive. "When I think about Lowell, I think about heaven, all pure and beautiful."

The three tenors shared a noticeably warm chemistry together, while still retaining their signature voices and quirky personalities. Wright, the older, comical tenor, sang with all the robust history of Ireland in his voice; Kearns, demonstrating his operatic voice, exercised his vocals in deep and dramatic proportions; while Scully, who sang the majority of the love songs, projected a soft, almost lullaby-esque tone, likely to make any Irish lass swoon.

Filling the air with the enchanting sounds of violins, flutes, chimes, and a classic harp, the orchestra created an almost fairy tale like atmosphere. Wright had the great pleasure of recreating "Forty Shades of Green," Johnny Cash's ode to Ireland and his love, June Carter. Other traditional Irish tunes like "The Last Rose of Summer," "My Irish Molly-O," and a special tribute to the Titanic, whose last stop was in Ireland on April 11th, 1912, "My Heart Will Go On," which left many in the audience reaching for tissues.

The tenors returned with "Hail St. Patrick," and a three county medley, a string of three different songs representing three different counties and their football teams, which sent the vocalists into comedic antics, mock jigs, and a little friendly team rivalry. The crowd stomped their feet and clapped in time for favorites like "I'll Take You Home, Kathleen," and shed more tears over one of the most prolifically tragic Irish songs, "Grace." The ballad was written in remembrance of Joseph Mary Plunkett, the Irish activist executed by a firing squad for his involvement in the 1916 Easter Rising, only hours after his marriage to Grace Gifford.

The trio closed the night with "God Bless America," to which the entire crowd rose to their feet and sang in unison, pride swelling in their eyes and voices. The three tenors, along with orchestra director Arnie Roth, joined hands and gracefully bowed their good nights to the admiring crowd. All in all, a touching and inspiring evening of Irish pride and culture.

Lowell Sun
March 5, 2007
By Nancye Tuttle

With new blood, the Irish Tenors endure

LOWELL — Anthony Kearns melts hearts with his brogue. He ends conversations with an endearing “God bless you.” And when sings in his clear tenor, women swoon and men cheer.

Kearns — one third of the critically acclaimed, internationally known Irish Tenors — returns to Lowell Memorial Auditorium with his compatriots on Thursday, March 8.

Joining him are Karl Scully and Finbar Wright. Scully, the newest tenor on the block, joined the troupe last year and is amassing a legion of fans himself.

“Karl's the young one on the scene. All the girls like our Karl and want to hug him,” quipped Kearns, 35, who, with Wright, chose the newest member after an audition in Ireland.

Kearns and Scully, 29, chatted by phone Wednesday from their hotel in Weehawken, N.J. Wright, a former priest, was in Ireland for a few days, but returns to the States today to complete the trio's annual St. Patrick's Day tour.

The original Irish Tenors — John McDermott, Ronan Tynan and Wright — united in 1998 for a PBS special by Bill Hughes. It was the heyday of opera's Three Tenors — Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras.

“That's exactly why we were formed,” said Kearns. “Hughes figured there was wonderful Irish music and Irish people all over the world. And the rest is history.”

McDermott quickly went off on his own, so Kearns joined the group. Scully replaced Tynan.

The current trio hosted the popular Irish Tenors and Friends TV show in Ireland last summer.

“We had a great time and had guests on like Andrew Lloyd Webber. We're also working on some other projects in the United Kingdom, where we haven't done much,” said Kearns.

The tenors themselves enjoy this St. Patrick's tour.

“It's fun to be here now — you see shamrocks everywhere and everyone likes to celebrate their Irishness,” Kearns said.

And the show is Irish all the way. They do “My Heart Will Go On” from the film Titanic, since the ship was built in Belfast and made a final stop in Ireland before heading into the Atlantic. There will be tunes from Riverdance and, of course, traditional Irish ballads.

“And there's a lot of comedy, too. We have a good time,” said Kearns, who can't get enough of performing and does many solo gigs in Ireland and the U.S. He has adopted Florida as his second home, buying a house there to relax when he's not touring.

The operatically-trained Scully has lived all over the world, including Africa, Italy, California and Texas, and says he is “having a fantastic experience” with the tenors.

“But don't listen to Anthony. It isn't the girls who like me, it's their mothers and grandmothers,” he joked.

Kearns laughed heartily in the background.

Irish Tenors Triumph in Triplicate: Irish Tenors Holiday Show

Sometimes a show just hits the spot and certainly the well-timed visit of the “Irish Tenors Holiday Show” to a joyful Performing Arts Center at midweek was exactly what the season demanded. The light-hearted offerings; mixing traditional beauties from the Emerald Isle, Holiday chestnuts and religious hymns combined for an evening that sparkled like ornaments on a mighty tall tree. This is the second visit for the Tenors and with only one change in personnel they continued to wow the Cerritos faithful with strength of voice and fine taste in repertoire. John McDermott has been replaced by Karl Scully who blends well with the veterans Anthony Kearns and Finbar Wright, demonstrating the shades of color within the tenor range. Kearns is strong and steady, Scully, higher in pitch and capable of sailing the high C’s while Wright can do it all with deep emotion. All of this Holiday cheer emanated from the large, festively decorated Performing Arts stage, framed by fir trees and backed by an orchestra directed by the excellent Arnie Roth.

At Cerritos the first half of the program was rooted in the Mother country. After a rousing opening by the orchestra of “Brian Boru’s March” the three men sang the sweet “Harp That Once Through Tara’s Halls” and the stunning paean “Isle of Hope, Isle of Tears.” saluting the struggles Irish-American immigrants coming through Ellis Island. From the film classic “the Quiet Man” came “Isle of Innesfree” alongside the contemporary “Song for Ireland” and “Love Thee Dearest” done by Wright, Scully and Kearns in that order. The proceedings turned, appropriately to the sacred with Finbar Wright captivating the entire house with a magnificent reading of “Shelter Me,” followed by the Three Tenors putting a gilded edge on “Be Thou My Vision,” “Lord of the Dance” and an Amazing “Amazing Grace” that garnered a standing ovation at the intermission.

The second half was much more Christmas oriented including “We Three Kings (of Orient Are),” Scully’s electrifying “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” and one more magnificent bit of sacred song from Wright in “How Great Thou Art.” The gentlemen stayed close to hearth and their Christian home treating the full house to “the Lord’s Prayer,” “a tri-lingual “Silent Night,” the cleaned up version of the Pogue’s neo-classic “Fairytale of Old New York” punctuated by Anthony Kearns revelation of “O Holy Night” sung in French. Despite their formal tuxedoed attire and the deluxe setting of the show the tenors seemed to be enjoying themselves and the large crowd’s obvious cheerful response to the music. The gents finished the show, showing their camaraderie with the jocular “Amigos Para Siempre” but the big crowd roared for more. Putting their three potent voices to the yuletide spirit the Three Tenors added a not trifling layer of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Sleigh Bells, White Christmas, Jingle Bells” and then topped it off with the everlastingly wonderful anthem version of “Danny Boy.” It was a fine night for the Irish Tenors and the lucky audience there to cheer them on.

The Irish Tenors
The luck of the Irish may be legendary, but there's a lot to say for the skill of the Irish, as demonstrated by the Irish Tenors' blending of traditional and modern songs at Wolf Trap on Friday night.

It's the first U.S. tour for this particular trio of Anthony Kearns, Karl Scully and Finbar Wright. As the new tenor on the block, Scully -- who just joined the group, replacing John McDermott -- had the most to prove, and prove it he did, with a wonderfully light voice and clear enunciation.

Kearns and Wright are old hands at this music. Their darker, fuller voices were a good fit with the many melancholy lyrics. The three tenors' tones blended beautifully in songs such as Phil Coulter's remembrance of Derry, "The Town I Loved So Well," as well as "The Irish Rover" and "The Stone Outside Dan Murphy's Door."

Many sentimental, nostalgic solos dealt with the Irish diaspora, such as Scully's heartfelt "A Song for Ireland." But some standouts had other sources: Wright's tender "The Isle of Innisfree" came from the 1952 film "The Quiet Man." Wright's "South of the Border (Down Mexico Way)" was the most incongruous song in the concert. Why perform it? Because the lyrics are by Ireland's Jimmy Kennedy, who also wrote the words to "Teddy Bears' Picnic" -- which the enthusiastic backup orchestra, under conductor Arnie Roth, played as an instrumental interlude. The tenors did not sing "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling," but plenty were smiling -- some tearing up -- by the evening's end.

Mark J. Estren