This is meant for all performers as well as budding performers. Those who aspire to become performing artists as well as established performers in any fine art, be it music, theatre, art, dance, painting, etc.

To become an artist in any genre there are possibly two basic requirements, talent and a good teacher to nurture what is a divine gift. There are also very well known artists who did not have much of the former but flourished due to being with the right teacher at the right time. Performing arts has a great attraction because of the show and pomp, the applause, fame, and of course money. Invariably due to these factors the scene will be crowded with many aspirants many of whom may not reach the pinnacle. This also means very heavy competition sometimes bordering on vicious emotions bordering on hatred between performers. This is a story of three exceptionally talented opera singers, their bitter personal rivalries, and how the sickness of one transformed that rivalry to a friendship so strong as to create a partnership that seemed impossible at one time.

The “Three Tenors” as they were later called were, Luciano Pavarotti, a Italian, Placido Domingo, and Jose Carreras, both Spaniards. In the European classical music system, a tenor is a word used for a particular type of a male singing voice. It falls between two other types of voices called the Baritone and the Alto. It is considered to be the highest note that can be achieved by an ordinary male singing voice. A majority of male singing voices usually fall in this category. These three gentlemen are considered to be the greatest exponents of this type of singing. Individually the three tenors were arguably the world’s top opera stars of the 1970s and 1980s. As is usual with all human beings there was bitter rivalry between these for both fame and fortune. The most bitter was probably between the two Spaniards, Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras.  What brought them together was the devastating illness of Carreras, who was diagnosed with leukemia in 1987 and was given very little chance of survival. In fact almost given up for dead. A friendship sprang up as Pavarotti and Domingo visited him in the hospital regularly during Carerras’ long fight with the disease. Eventually after a great struggle Carreras did recover and so well that he was able to sing again. The overwhelming feeling at that time was the feeling that such a person with such a divine gift should not be lost to the world at the peak of his prowess. Carreras then suggested to his erstwhile rivals that they join together and perform, the first such performance was for a benefit concert for a leukemia foundation created by him. The rest, as they say, is history. The “Three Tenors” became such a overwhelming success to an extent that none of them ever imagined. The dimensions of the Three Tenors’ success became clear when the album Carreras, Domingo, and Pavarotti - The Three Tenors in Concert - sold over ten million copies and became the best selling classical album of all time. More than any album of the masters ever sold or were produced. Between 1994 and 2003 the Three Tenors performed about 30 concerts together at large stadiums around the world. The power of friendship and camaraderie is amply demonstrated in this wonderful story of mutual respect and admiration between such supremely talented human beings. It also demonstrated that there was enough space for everyone and no one in any form of art need to feel threatened.

The story of the three tenors is also a lesson for all of us who are constantly fighting a feeling of jealousy and ennui when someone in our acquaintance does better than us or is praised more than us for a performance that we have been part of.  It applies probably more to elders than it does to the young. This gives rise to unfair criticism against our perceived rivals, people in authority not giving talent its due, lost or missed opportunities, favouritism, etc. These are evil thoughts that must be checked if the art as a whole has to evolve to reach its zenith.  Sadly this is not always the case but such inspirational stories go a long way in helping people understand the power of cooperation. It is something all young people must learn to appreciate.