An interview with the Ten Tenors

Right now, the group is touring throughout Germany for the summer. Coincidentally, Germany is where The Ten Tenors (TTT) became an overnight sensation, despite having been touring in Australia since 1998. APT had a chance to catch up with them during their tour where the tenors spent some time answering questions as a collective group.

Q: What is it like to tour throughout Germany and why do you think there is such a positive reaction to you in Europe?

A: Germany’s a fantastic place to tour, especially if you’re interested in beer, sausages, great looking girls and outstanding automotive engineering. (Which happen to be some of our favorite things, although not necessarily in that order!)

The European audiences have always been incredibly enthusiastic about us. In a way, taking a group with an “operatic” foundation to Europe was a bit like bringing potatoes to Idaho, but that was part of the challenge for us. I guess we love the adrenaline rush that comes from taking music that nobody would expect us to perform, twisting it around and putting our own spin on it. We love the challenge of making the opera fan love us in spite of themselves.

Q: In September, TTT will leave Europe and begin a fall tour throughout the United States. While you have toured the US before, what are your expectations for this upcoming tour? How do you think the US audiences will receive the group?

A: The USA is like the Holy Grail for entertainers the world over. For us, the fun is in the thrill of the chase as far as the audience is concerned. To get the chance to win over Americans is pretty exciting. We’ve been plotting the show we’re bringing to the States for quite some time, so we’re quietly confident we’re going to knock their socks off. Let’s put it this way, we haven’t reserved any space on our Web site for negative feedback. Ha.

Q:Your new album “Larger Than Life” comes out in September, your major label American debut. Is your public television special The Ten Tenors: Larger Than Life and current tour based on this album?

A: The live show we’ll be touring through America and the television special grew out of “Larger Than Life.” Not only are many of the songs from the album featured, but the things we learnt about ourselves and our work while creating the album have really influenced the work we’ve done since. We’re a group that musically likes to really keep things fresh. We’re constantly (and I mean daily) tinkering under the hood of our show to make sure it’s as finely tuned as possible.

Q: Over the last two or three years, since your popularity has grown internationally, how have you seen the group evolve through song and performance?

A:The album, the live show, and the TV special are intrinsically connected but each is really unique and exciting and that’s what our fans have come to expect from us. Each TTT experience is different. We have fans who’ve followed us around Europe for weeks watching shows night after night, just to observe the changes and evolution of the show as it progresses. That’s a real compliment to us — that says the music is alive and growing, and that’s as it should be!

Q:What is your favorite moment when you perform in front of a live audience? Is there one song or performance that you look forward to each evening?

A: For me, the last few minutes before we run on stage are when I’m really pumped. You can hear the buzz of the audience and feel their anticipation. We feed off our audiences so much — it’s such a synergistic process. It’s like a drug. Each day you’re just waiting for that next hit. Favorite moment? Hard to say, really hard … one is “Thunder Point” a song on the CD “Larger Than Life,” which we’re performing in a really simple arrangement. We’ve stripped down all the bells and whistles and it’s just us, the piano and the audience. I love that moment — it proves to the audience that we’re up there singing our hearts out live (which people, sadly, sometimes find surprising these days).

Q: TTT has been described as “hip,” “wild,” “thrilling” and “humorous.” These are not words typically used to describe musicians trained to sing opera and classical. How would you describe your musical style as a group?

A: Our musical style is focused on three things: great songs, kicking arrangements and the element of surprise — in short, quality. We don’t mean that in an arrogant way, but we’ve learnt over the years that with our style of performance you tread a very fine line of between being sensational or being terrible. The thing that separates the two is a commitment to quality in everything you do. We’re in the business of the art of highly organized chaos. If our audiences aren’t aware of how hard we’re working behind the scenes to make it look so effortless, then we’ve done our job right.

Q: Why do you think this sound will appeal to US public television audiences?

A: Growing up in Australia, we were exposed to so many fantastic cultural influences, and clearly great American artists and icons of popular culture were part of that. Subtly, we’ve integrated classical “European” elements (the opera) with American influenced elements of comedy and showmanship, and naturally combined that with our own Australian traits to create our unique look and sound. We’re hoping the US public television audiences will really enjoy what we’ve put together. We can’t wait to get there!

This interview is available for uses that are related to the marketing and/or promotion of this series (program guides and/or Web sites). No part of this interview may be used relating to any product or service, other than the program.