Customer Reviews

The 3 Tenors Paris 1998 [VHS]

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have both the CD and DVD of this concert. I also have the CD of the Rome concert. The 3 tenors are the supreme live show of this decade, and I hope for the new millenium also. You could not ask for a better combination of voices and songs. This is a defenite buy, especially on DVD.

Even after hearing this concert, and enjoying it, I still think it was a mistake. It is almost tear-jerking to see these tenors progress from the top of their voices to the wobbly twilights of their careers. Despite the enjoyable atmosphere of this concert,none of the tenors are in very good form. it is hard to compare to the origonal concert.
Its very hard to judge Domingo. He is the only one of the three who has not dyed his hair which makes him look very old. He looked as if he has aged 20 years from the last concert! His voice didn't reflect this totally but there was some tiredness to his voice. The most Urksome thing about his performance were his facial expressions and gestures. I know domingo's voice is still healthy but his faces on high notes look like he is being put through torture. His Amor Ti Vieta, sounds okay but when he hits his highnote on the work "Amor" which means love, it looks as if he were goig through immence pain. its hard to believe his performances when he was so old and tired looking. This wasn't true at the christmas concert the next year, so it must have been a momentary lapse.
Carreras does not even resemble the tenor he once was, or even a tenor at all. He is wobbing high and low now and singing at one very loud volume. His whole face shakes as he sings and on the rare high notes during medleys he clamps down on a hard E vowel which can only be descibed in this review as: aieeeeeeeee. He makes up for his disintigrating voice by gesturing like he was in a silent movie. His solo's all resemble baritone art-songs rather then Arias for tenor. i think that by this concert his voice was past its use by date. It almost brings a tear to the eye to listen to because at 52 he should still be singing in full, dark, spendor. I would refer anybody to his earlier material compiled in his Cd, The Golden Years. Carreras is not even a shadow of his former self in this concert. Like i said it is enjoyable to see my favorite tenor giving his whole heart to the audience, but sad to see that his voice is no longer what it was.
pav is in okay voice. For a sextagenarian he is an amazing talent. He is the only one who sings a Old School style Three tennors concert, diving into some tough material with his accusomed vigor. his voice is not what it was 4 years ago, but it is still top notch. Singing Nessun dorma as well as he does well into his Sixties is the highlight, while a sub-par Granada is a a low-light. A feature of note is that he sings the only high c in three tenors history in the first song of the finale medley. (Nessun dorma, despite often being billed as a high C, ends with a B resolving to an A.)
The medley is fun and exciting, despite being nowhere near the quality of the prevoius concerts.
The Encores are great, despite the last high note in La Donna E Mobllie where Domingo and Carreras make two of the most painful faces in Tenordom hitting a Bflat.

Overall this is a must have for Three Tenors fans, like myself. But if your looking for a definitive rundown of what the tenors are all about, go with one of the previous outings.

This is a nice concert with some beautiful songs. I especially love Pavarotti's "Caruso" which he sings better than any other person who attempted to sing this song. (Bocelli really botches it up badly.) Domingo and Pavarotti show some wear and tear since their 1994 concert, but they are still all terrific. Time moves on, and we shouldn't criticize such talent. Although, Pavarotti looks ridiculous in his black hair and painted eyebrows. He needs a makeover. Carreras seems to be in good health abd good form again and probably did the best in this concert. A must have for Three Tenor fans! I did enjoy watching this performance.

This is a treasure DVD. The venue was outstanding although the crowd was a bit stuffy. Pavarotti tries not to upstage his two partners which would be an impossible task unless he was sick.

The voices are OK, but there's no feeling like in the previous concerts, and i don't feel completely satistied after each viewing. The medleys are the best, and the production below the Eiffel Tower looks awesome.
My problem after seeing this was the edition. The opening is so cold and unatractive, and everything goes so fast, that i lose the attention, altough the arias are interesting...

Good concert, but looks unatractive.

One is incapable of finding words to describe the majesty and power of Pavarotti, Carreres and Domingo. BRAVO!

Beautiful images of Paris. Beautiful program, but the sound is awful. Probably the tunel like stage in which the wind go through and the Champ de Mars to wide. Pavarotti does not seem at ease at all, for an hour. He is a sound fanatic as we know. His interpretation of Granada is a flop. Worth the buy?...Yes. You will have to ajust your sound system. Refer to CD edition for titles of the songs.

Domingo @ Carrera were up to the job: Domingo`s voice is eminently educated. He sings with natural gusto, with intensity and consistency. Although Carrera's singing is traditionally uneven, this time he was surprisingly accomplished and even. Pavarotti is the ultimate singing machine with the highest notes all in his pocket. However, he was not up to himself in this Paris concert. He failed to render a superior and consistent singing performance. His Italian accent overpowered all other accents mostly producing unintelligible lyrics in non-Italian renditions along with cold-dry lyrical interpretations. Both Domingo and Carrera are worth your time and money.

the tenor voices themselves are marvelous, as usual. However, I would have to rank it 3rd behind the original 1990 Rome concert (1st) and the 1994 Los Angeles (2nd) concert. Also - and I hate to say this - Levine is nowhere near as charismatic and entertaining as Mehta. Sorry.

A VERY GOOD CONCERT, BUT NOT AS GOOD AS THE LA CONCERT. NOW THAT PAVAROTI HAS PASSED, IT IS A CONCERT YOU WILL WANT TO KEEP!!