The choice is yours:  either enjoy "Three Mo' Tenors" for what's good in
it or cry foul about the plague of crossover.  I admire RCA Victor's moxie
- and that of the Three - and found a great deal to like in the project.

The tenors on this new CD are three black singers from Broadway and from
opera, and they perform a truly mixed program, of Verdi, Donizetti,
Puccini, blues, spirituals, pop - and "America the Beautiful."

The singers are Victor Trent Cook, Rodrick Dixon, and Thomas Young.  Dixon
and Young have a great deal of opera experience, the latter notably active
in contemporary works.  He had roles written for him by John Adams (in "The
Death of Klinghoffer"), Anthony Davis ("Amistad," "Under the Double Moon"),
Tan Dun ("Marco Polo").  Young's "Nessun Dorma" here (oh, yes) is fine, but
there is a squeezing-pushing quality, which doesn't work too well for me.

On the other hand, Dixon's "Ah!  Mes amis" alone is worth the price of
admission - I don't recall such a straightforward delivery of all those
high C's, from the chest and in your face.

Cook, who participates in a collective "La Donna e mobile" even while
clearly lacking an "operatic voice," is fabulous in "Were You There" with
a small but mighty Gospel ensemble.  The three have a wonderful time in
strange but effective medley of Broadway tunes and spirituals.

Janos Gereben/SF
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