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I guess if anyone could do it, three handsome Irish gentlemen could fool Mother Nature! They, and Maestro Arnie, boarded the bus, still clad in their tuxes, in order to leave Lowell, and get to Uncasville, CT, to perform their Christmas Spectacular, at Mohegan Sun Casino, Sunday afternoon.

It was a great show, with all four looking marvelous. Maestro Arnie Roth strode out to much applause, and began the overture of excerpts from the show. I have to say at the outset, that Maestro Roth is a really wonderful conductor. He gave the orchestra crisp, cohesive direction, and they produced a lovely sound. And he always paid special attention to his soloists, in trios and duets, and especially in their solos. He was attentive to each individual tenor, and their various strengths, giving a good but not obtrusive beat, and letting the music flow with their voices.

The program began with a splendid "Hark the Herald Angels Sing." I love this carol, and the men were able to carry it off while walking onstage. After Ronan introduced everyone, the men sang "We Three Kings." This is becoming as much a signature song for the Tenors, as any Christmas carol. It suits them, and of course to us, they ARE three kings. The first duet came next, as Anthony and Ronan sang a lovely "Panis Angelicus." One thing I noticed, sitting in the first row, just a tiny bit left of Finbar, was that hearing the voices up that close, I was very much aware of each man's individual harmony in the duets and trios. Each man did a terrific job of singing the harmony when one of the other two was singing the melody, and in some cases, the harmonic line was just lovely. Finbar especially, sang some beautiful harmony in "Silent Night", and "Hark the Herald Angels." The new arrangement of "Nearer My God To Thee" was next. Not everyone liked it. I prefer the original arrangement, but the tricky and ascending flights of song were very deftly handled by the lads. I don't think I would have discerned this if I'd been sitting further back, but it was very expertly done. Each tenor had one new solo, and one that we've heard before. As usual, Finbar brought the house down with the beautiful "How Great Thou Art." His voice was strong and sure, without sacrificing any beauty of tone. It's a barnburner, all right! Anthony's first solo was "It Came Upon The Midnight Clear", and his voice soared effortlessly, making the phrase "to hear the Angels sing" sound as if we were already hearing one. No one can touch Ronan, when he gets into his Jamaican mood for "Mary's Boy Child." He sang it wonderfully, and the swaying audience loved it. The first half ended with a gorgeous "You'll Never Walk Alone". This is a very special song to me, and as Anthony began singing "When you walk through a storm, hold your head up high…", you could have heard a pin drop in the arena.

The second half began with the overture "Mise Eire", or "I am Ireland." Again Maestro Arnie led the orchestra proudly and beautifully. I much preferred this to last year's "Kerry Bear's Picnic." "Danny Boy" followed, and I like having "Danny" in this position. For one thing, we can enjoy it without feeling it's the end of the concert! The new solos were in the second half. They were a history of Ireland, and they were all terrific. Finbar began with "The Foggy Dew", and his perfect enunciation and beautiful tones made it a great success. Ronan's solo was a lovely song called "Song for Ireland." He brought great emotion and soft singing to the piece, and it was very moving. Anthony's solo was a magnificent song called "The West's Awake." He began softly, (…the West's asleep), and as pride and emotion built up, his voice became stronger and more ringing, until the last lines soared out (….the West's awake), and his final high notes personified not only the beauty of his voice, but the beauty of Ireland itself. The penultimate song was "Amigos Para Siempre", which many may recognize from one of Finbar's CDs, as a duet. All three Tenors sang this, and it was another very appropriate song for them. Despite their "sniping" at one another, and Ronan's forever trying to break Anthony's concentration (or break something!) the camaraderie, and genuine affection these men have for one another, was quite apparent, and very sweet to see. The men sang "America the Beautiful", instead of "God Bless America", as their final song, and they left the stage, with the cheers, whistles, and foot stomping of a very satisfied audience still ringing in their ears.

Berta Calechman