The Ten Tenors, one of the world’s longest-running classical crossover groups, will perform their greatest hits, including “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Hallelujah,” on Feb. 28 at the Irvine Barclay Theatre. Tenor Boyd Owen describes the Australian music ensemble’s 29-year career.
How do you curate a setlist?
We work hard at cultivating a connection to our audiences. We go out after every performance and meet our audience. We get to know many of them by name. Through that, we’ve developed a keen intuition as to what our audiences enjoy.
Your favorite song to perform?
One piece that has remained part of every show is the aria ‘Nessun Dorma.’ It’s like the Mount Everest of singing that can take a tenor many years before it settles into their range and their technique.
Describe the chemistry among members.
I count these guys among my best friends. We work hard on the internal culture of our group, to be an encouraging place to develop creatively and as a performer. Even in the audition process, we try to gauge how they might fit in on tour.
What can we expect at your show?
This show represents the crowd favorites from thousands of shows. We will include the classical hits people know and love. We also bring a bit of Australian culture to the U.S. with some famous Australian songs. We pay tribute to some of the most famous divas of music in a fun medley. We encourage the audience to sing and dance along with us.
