Customer Reviews

The Three Tenors Christmas

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This dvd is great entertainment no matter what the faults; and absolutley worth having as what will most likely the last time the tenors are released on DVD together. The air is light and the old guys are obviously enjoying themselves more than in the paris concert the year before.
Domingo is the clear best in this concert. He is 100x better than the year before in paris. He is sleak and younger looking; his voice not missing a beat. The instrument is just as glorious as it was for the first 3 tenors concert. He is getting up there in years and his voice shows no sign of going away. He sings with a dark and soothing tone all night annd some of his performannces are really quite memorable; and understandable. His english is charming and excellent. Bravo Placido!
Carreras sounds much better than he did in paris. I might even go as far as to say that his middle range is more solid than in los Angeles in 1994; but his high notes weren't there in Vienna. It was refreshing to see him in this concert because he comes off as an artist; not as someone who was an artist before he blew out his voice and started wobbing his way through showy and glitzy galas playing off of his former talent. The main difference is he stays within his limits; he sings above the staff only twice all night and keeps away from his warbling fortissimo's as much as possible. There is no doubt the voice that rocked opera in the early eighties is gone; but he presented a charming, well rounded baritenor sound only slightly warbly. His piano's are still graceful and his solo is surprizingly solid. His reapearence on the opera stage in SLY appears to have brought his voice into a cohesive unit again. He also looks much more charming with undyed hair.
Pavarotti sounds like Pavarotti. He sings a billion high notes and his tone is still spinning like a much younger man. Beyond his great sound the concert is a failure for him. His pronuciaton is a mockery of english. Words roll out of his mouth like drool which ruins the unbroken legato with which he usually sings. This is expecially bad in the more classical nummbers like O holy night. He also fails to bring the same amount of energy that the other two bring. But look at it this way: His doing well for a man in his late 60's. I know alot of them who are in nursing homes; So its all relative. I tip my hat to a sextagenarian popping off high notes with relative ease.
The mood is light and the singing is fabulous. There are some pronuciation isssues, but overall the tenors stay within their aging voices and give a good performance.

I just received the VHS today. It was very gratifying but,I felt that Pavarotti at times was not keeping up with both Domingo and Carreras. I was most impressed with the Amazing Grace selection. I thought that Carreras and Domingo were singing it properly but wished that Pavarotti was not included. I would have prefered Carreras to have performed that selection alone

Many of the selections are English and I find that both Carreras and Domingo are better with the language than Pavarotti. Also I always enjoy when Domingo and Carreras sing together.

If you are looking for a VHS that is based on the 3 tenors past videos this one is different. There is more medleys than you would expect. I would have liked to have seen a Christmas video with more individuals performances but overall it was very enjoyable.

Anyone who is a Three Tenors fan I would recommend this VHS. It is nice holiday music to listen to

If you expect the three of them to sound like they did 30 years ago, this is not the dvd for you. Even if they are the superstars of opera, they're not supernatural and to me it doesn't feel right to constantly compare a singer to his former performances. However, all three tenors are in good mood this evening and their singing is wonderful, so if you're looking for a dvd to put you in the right Christmas spirit, try this one.

This concert is a mixture of solos and duets as well as all of them performing together. The repertoire spanning from traditional Christmas songs to more popular versions makes this dvd very enjoyable. There are beautiful renditions of the Spanish songs "La Virgen lava pañales" and "Feliz navidad" where Carreras and Domingo obviously feel at home. I also love Carreras' rendition of "Pregaria". And "Carol of the drum" is one of my favourites. It's fun listening to "I'll be home for Christmas", "Sleigh ride" and "Winter wonderland". The two latter will probably make you start toe-tapping.

It's true that Pavarotti's mastering of the English language isn't too good. He's actually giving some of these songs a whole new meaning, but shouldn't we forgive an old man for that? I find it amusing when he's singing "I'll be home for Christmas, you can play on me...". Or what about when he's singing "I'll be home for Christmas, please have snow and MISTLE AND TOE......" And the first time I watched this dvd and heard him calling HOO-HOO and saw Carreras' reaction to it, I just had to laugh. In my opinion this only adds to the charm of these three opera singers. The minor mistakes we hear them doing makes them only more approachable. And after all, it is a live concert - not a studio recording.

I know what I'm going to do this Christmas. I'll light a lot of candles, possibly light the fire, get out all the Christmas candy and make myself a cup of hot chocolate before curling into a comfy chair and watching this concert. Feliz Navidad to the three tenors from the "bottoN" of my heart......

I currently live in Vienna Austria and was fortunate enough to obtain tickets for this concert held in December 1999. I was excited at the thought of being among the small audience of 1200 and anxiously awaited the evening which we planned to attend with friends visiting from the UK. On that very cold December night, we arrived well dressed but were surprised to see most attendees in formal attire, and subsequently learned that many had purshased tickets for a dinner with the Tenors following the concert and were to be transported there via horse and carriage. We anxiously took our seats as the stage darkened and a lone announcer explained (in many languages) that the evening would be filmed for future broadcast, and that cell phones were strickly forbidden. Our anticipation grew as the stage lights came up and Placido Domingo stepped out on stage accompanied by spontaneous applause. The orchestra began playing ......and my heart was racing...... and then he began to sing. Nothing prepared me for the impact of that single moment. I was crying. I glanced to my right ..my dear friend was crying, to my left my husband was reaching for his handkerchief. The night, the hall, the orchestra, the staging, and most of all the music were simply magic. I can only hope the video captures it.

My whole family enjoyed this DVD. I would expect to play this as a family tradition every year. The reason I did not give this 5 stars is because it does not come in wide screen.

I have enjoyed very much the show. However, there is the risk of you to get disappointed if you intend to hear one of the three singers to reach the level of an opera performance or even the orginal "The Three Tenors". The musical repertoire is not also perfect. On the other hand I thought the arrangements, the children's choir and the sound quality very nice. I am very pleased to have purchased this DVD.

What other DVD for X'mas do we have that would appeal even to the children that are also sung in English? The orchestra was superb and the children's choir was wonderful too. Domingo was young no more, neither was any of the other two. But their voice and singing was not aged at all. Very enjoyable.

Having said that, are we really that short of composer that there is no way we could make a proper trio or a duet out of these marvelous opera singers? Instead we only have them sing solos or doing the same part all the time AFTER ALL THESE YEARS!Particularly so when Domingo is at the same time such a wonderful baritone singer. We could have at least some better arrangement than that.

Purchased the DVD last year and quite enjoyed playing it in the back ground while hosting Xmas socials. Several mentioned how much they enjoyed the performance and so decided to by a few of the DVD's as gifts. The recipients were delighted to receive.

Buy it!
For all those who love the 3 tenors, Christmas, joy, or any other wonderful feeling, BUY IT. I Love how Pavarotti adds an Italian version to "Feliz Navidad." Listen to "Un Nuevo Siglo" & "Children of Christmas" written by Domingo's son, Placido jr.; SUPERB!
Listen to Pavarotti's excellent ending of "I'll be Home for Christmas." He has THE BEST HIGH NOTES IN THE WORLD!
Listen to "Ave Maria, Dolce Maria"- co-written by Pavarotti
(Notice how after the performance of that song, Carreras leans over and compliments Pavarotti,"Bravo, Signor.")
Speaking of Carreras, who doesn't love him? He is just adorable in this concert, althogh his singing is rather...safe,...Non-Challenging, for lack of a better term.
Oh, well, He's out of this world for any tenor, much less for a man who has been through leukemia.
Domingo is his lovely, charismatic self, much improved from the 3 tenors 1998 Paris performance.
The concert is nicely recorded w/2 audio choices and bios of the tenors.
Buy it, Listen and watch, be enthralled, Love it!!!

Always fabulous! The Three Tenors take my heart away and leave it soaring above the clouds with every appearance on DVD or CD!