15-Apr-05
THREE MO’ TENORS TWO MO’ TIMES
By Rosalind Cummings-Yeates
What’s old is that there’s a trio of Black tenors who are electrifying audiences nationwide with their innovative renditions of everything from opera to ragtime to modern hip-hop. What’s new are the performers themselves, and the fact that the group, Three Mo’ Tenors, has not only expanded its repertoire, but has also grown in number, into two distinct sets of three crooners, each with its own tone, style and appearance. Apparently, these boys were so nice, they decided to do it twice.
Well, not exactly. When the original cast of tenors first burst onto the stage, they wowed audiences with their operatic power, musical versatility and infectious showmanship. Then, the concept of three Black men who could hold their own against Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras was a novel one. “I watched these icons do classical and Broadway tunes but they were so stiff,” says Marion J. Caffey, creator, director and choreographer of “Tenors.” “It sounded like opera stars singing Broadway without any integrity of the style.” Since the veteran Broadway performer knew some classically trained African American tenors, he developed the “Tenors” concept to showcase those talents and to force audiences to question why those voices weren’t being featured on opera stages. The troupe moved from a workshop to a showcase and culminated in a 2001 PBS “Great Performances” taping which quickly catapulted Three Mo’ Tenors to national prominence. So quickly, in fact, that Caffey was unprepared for the sudden success or for the fallout when, according to the director, the original cast grabbled their newfound fame and literally ran off with it, leaving him with a concept, but no performers. “It was a great lesson and I’m more prepared now,” he says, hence the decision to feature six, rather than just three performers and to have variations which differentiate the two shows. In this case, the need for artistic security was the mother of invention.
Fresh from their official debut last November at Chicago’s Oriental Theatre, the six new performers of Three Mo’ Tenors represent the versatile path that African American tenors are often forced to navigate. “The reason that they don’t hire African American tenors in opera houses is the intimidation factor,” says new Tenor Duane Moody, a classically trained vocalist since age 13. “They have a hard time seeing an African American man with a white heroine. So you have to do other things.”
“Other things” is an understatement. The six men who comprise the two “Tenors” casts don’t just stand on stage and sing – they put on a foot-stomping, high-energy production worthy of any Broadway musical. For 90 minutes, they belt out arias, scat to jazz standards and groove to ‘70’s R&B classics with the polish of seasoned song and dance professionals. None of the performers – Moody, Ramone Diggs, Kenneth Gayle, Marvin Scott, James Berger and Victor Robertson – received formal theatrical training, but despite their varied backgrounds, they were all groomed to be professional operatic tenors.
Ramone Diggs, Kenneth Gayle and Marvin Scott have worked together on the show for about nine months. Their stage presence is smooth and assured; brimming with the confidence that comes from experience. Strolling out in formal white tails, they launch into a series of arias. Scott offers “Recondita Armonia” from Puccini’s Tosca, rendered in flawless Italian. His animated face flashes with amazement and joy as he infuses the piece with emotion. Diggs presents Rachmaninoff’s somber “Spring Waters” in evocative Russian, illustrating the graceful beauty of the work with effortless vocal range. Gayle performs Massenet’s “Le Reve” from Manon in French, with all the color and crescendos that opera demands. From this operatic showcase, the singers leap into “The Three Mo’ Way,” a lively adaptation of a Jelly Roll Morton tune that cautions, “Opera has rules and you should obey them.” Of course, that’s not the Three Mo’ Tenors way at all, and soon, they have the audience clapping and laughing to a rollicking version of “Let the Good Times Roll.”
Though the two shows include most of the same material, there are differences. In comparison, James Berger, Duane Moody and Victor Robertson have been working together for a shorter period of time. On stage, they exude youthful energy, illustrated by Robertson’s textured, copper-colored hair, Moody’s “Harlem Shake” dance move in the middle of a song, and the bling of their earrings and the turn of their baseball caps during the “new school” segment. Their more contemporary attitude is even apparent in their choices for solos. Eschewing standards, Robertson hands in a soaring, scatting take on Al Jarreau’s “Spain,” Moody delivers a charismatic performance of the rhythmic “Rain,” from Once On This Island and Berger stops the show with a stirring medley of Luther Vandross’ “Superstar” and Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On.”
“I just love to sing,” says Diggs of the show’s dizzying repertoire. “I enjoy getting on stage and communicating with people. I watch the audience; I want to see if they’re getting it.”
Three Mo’ Tenors is a show that most people “Get” – whether they’re familiar with opera or not. “I’d put these two shows up against any others out there,” says producer Willette Klausner. “We have diversity as a people, but when you put it in the classical category, that kind of diversity is extraordinary.”
“We came out of nowhere, that don’t mean a thing, especially when we sing,” croon the tenors in “Three Mo’ Tenors (That’s Us).” And while it’s true that these singers’ names are not yet world famous, after they’ve stylishly tackled eight musical styles during a theatrical excursion that spans 400 years, their performance is one that won’t soon be forgotten.