ARONOFF CENTER FOR THE ARTS
CINCINNATI, OH
DECEMBER 12, 2009
It has been a while since the Irish Tenors have done a concert in
Cincinnati. It used to be they did concerts in the Three "Cs" in Ohio.
Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati. It seemed to me that Cincinnati
welcomed them back with open arms last night.
The scene of their triumph was the beautiful Arnonoff Center - Proctor
& Gamble Music Hall right smack in the middle of downtown Cincinnati.
It was a cool, some might have said cold, evening but the turnout was
very warm for the fellas. The Aronoff Center is beautiful, when you walk
in you get the impression of vast space beautifully decorated for the
season. There are lots of steps to get to your seat but well worth
the journey.
I don't know if the stage is smaller than in some venues, but the
orchestra was right to the edge of it. I have to say the orchestra was
wonderful under the baton of Eric Stern. We also noticed as we took our
seats the fellas microphones seemed like they were about to fall off the
front of the stage. But as we said a tenor in your lap would not be a
bad thing come to think about it.
The song list has been reported previously, but again I have to say no
matter how many times you may have heard the songs at different times,
Finbar, Anthony and Karl make them sound brand new.
The audience was a mixture of all ages. Some that knew the Irish Tenor
from their previous visits and some who were new to the group. At
intermission and also at the end of the concert all I heard was compliments
on their singing and how much they enjoyed the performance, even if
they didn't know Finbar from Karl, or Karl from Anthony. One young girl,
anyone under 30 I consider young, heck anyone under 50 is young to me,
anyway said she had heard what nice people the fellas are and now
after seeing them in person she truly believed what she had heard.
They came across as talented and nice people.
It is hard for me to pick out my favorite song in the concert, it could
have been anyone one of the solos, or the duet with Finbar and Karl
singing the Little Drummer Boy and, I think it is called, Peace On Earth,
or it could have been the trios with the great blend that Finbar, Anthony
and Karl have. It might be the light-hearted Christmas songs like
Rock Around The Clock. But if I were told I had to pick one right
now it would be Silent Night sung in three languages. Again maybe
it would be Feliz Navidad done in Spanish and Italian. Each time I
think what my favorite song was it changes, I guess I am fickle.
One thing I am not fickle about is my opinion that Finbar Wright, Anthony
Kearns and Karl Scully are three very talented performers. I call
them performers rather than singers because what they do is perform
to the best of their abilities for the pure joy of their audiences and last
night the audience gave back the love to them that they have been
sending to audiences for over 10 years each and every time they
step onto a stage. I may be bias and I admit I am, but for me the
Irish Tenors are the best and the is what they always give to their fans.
Susan Swinehart
