So it goes without saying that The Three Tenors were the greatest classical vocal trio of all time. But what fans celebrated in their historic 1994 FIFA World Cup show went beyond their incredible talent and majestic voices. Many fans loved to see their brotherhood, and how much joy and love they shared. There’s a magical moment when they hit the final thunderous harmony together and the audience gives them a standing ovation, and they embrace, smile from ear to ear, and just enjoy the moment together.
Plácido Domingo and José Carreras open the performance of the tune from Giacomo Puccini’s Turandot opera, each delivering refined performances. Luciano Pavarotti then kicks it up to another level, using that genre-defining voice to give a deep gravitas and emotional power to Puccini’s masterpiece. And when those three voices sing together at the end, it touches the soul in some kind of primal way. The Music Man has to say we will never see the likes of The Three Tenors again.
Warner Classics uploaded the 1994 FIFA World Cup stadium show to YouTube, where it hit 5.5 million views. Fans loved to see the concert from the hit-making trio, and added comments such as “I wonder if anyone else gets this extraordinary feeling when they sing the last note and then smile afterwards, together” and “I love how they weren’t competing but enjoying each other’s talent.”
The songs from the 1994 show are some of the most popular classical pieces on YouTube. Another great moment from the show came when they sang “Libiamo ne’ lieti calici” from Giuseppe Verdi’s La traviata. This drew 76 million views, and it’s no secret as to why. The late, great Luciano had a voice like a force of nature. The fact that he was able to glue together such a long-running and fruitful collaboration with two of the other great voices of his era is something all music fans can be thankful for.
The Three Tenors performed at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on July 16, 1994. The concert was presented in association with FIFA and held the night before the World Cup final in the city. The Music Man readers may recall that the historic concert was broadcast live to 1.3 billion television viewers across the planet. The show was later issued as The Three Tenors in Concert 1994 live album, which went multi-Platinum in nine national markets.