This 1998 television concert, produced in Dublin for U.S. exhibition,
suggests a cheerful reversal of the formula behind the epochal
Three Tenors extravaganzas that became classical crossover behemoths
during the '90s: instead of operatic superstars pitching a mixture
of high art and crossover fare to the masses, these lesser-known
singers dress up venerable Irish parlor and folk melodies with
symphonic backing and project them with operatic power and technique.
Craggy, curly haired John McDermott is actually Canadian Irish,
while partners Anthony Kearns and Ronan Tynan (who resembles
a younger, better-fed Wallace without his faithful dog, Gromit)
are true citizens of Eire; all three have big, powerful voices
and are unafraid of the sort of emotive zeal associated with
Irish music before the Celtic revival that surfaced in Ireland
during the '50s and then expanded on a global scale. In this
respect, fans of authentic Celtic music as well as its cannier
pop variants may well find McDermott, Kearns, and Tynan downright
corny, lobbing venerable tear-jerkers such as "I'll Take You
Home Again Kathleen," "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling," and, inevitably,
"Danny Boy" with great fervor. Even those songs that hew more
closely to folk sources get rafter-rattling treatments, epitomized
by an over-the-top "Will Ye Go, Lassie Go?" that may sound downright
fevered alongside more introspective, balladic interpretations
familiar to folk audiences.
Clearly, however, the Irish Tenors aren't courting fans of the
Chieftains, Enya, or U2. Rather, these forthright singers are
unapologetic vocal conservatives and heart-on-sleeve sentimentalists
comfortable with an old Irish stereotype so square that it's
suddenly hip, particularly when raising funds for public TV.
