[ ClassicalX ] Classically trained Aussie singers can bring down the house

Those experiencing the Ten Tenors for the very first time, insists Craig Hendry, are about to be dazzled in ways they never would have predicted.

Hendry should know.

He became one of the Ten Tenors eight years ago and has been having far too much fun to give it up and return to his university classes.

"We've just run with the opportunities as they've popped up," he said. "Truly, no one expected the Tenors to grow this popular and be touring in more than 20 different countries.

"I'm certain there was a time when the Tenors never expected to be traveling with their own band and crew."

Suffice it to say that Australia's Ten Tenors never followed in the deeper footsteps of the operatic Three Tenors.

True, all 10 are classically trained opera singers who studied at Queensland Conservatorium of Music in Brisbane, Australia. On the other hand, audiences may stand a better chance of hearing them sing Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" than a popular operatic aria.

The Three Tenors also were not known for hijinks and dance.

Consider a description of Hendry from a press release. "Craig Hendry: This Jude Law look-alike started out as a keyboardist and backup singer, but was so ridiculously good looking,' their manager jokes, that he was asked to join the cast to boost the group's sex appeal.

"Chendry,' as he's known, speaks German, writes many of the songs and collects more ladies' phone numbers than all the other tenors combined."

Hendry does insist that he did not write that release.

"What I love most about this gig," said Hendry, "is that we're not acting, that is, we're never playing a character. You just have to be yourself, or rather a larger-than-life extension."

He laughed and added, "It is obvious every night that people walk in expecting us to be, if not older, then a little more rotund than we are."

Hendry pointed out that the show "does have its roots in classical-style singing. If we were unable to sing well, the concert would not work.

"On the other hand, we're just as likely to bust out with some more Queen or Simon & Garfunkle, or maybe some Australian folk songs."

He said, "We do take our music seriously. But what binds it all together, I think, is our Aussie sense of humor."

Actually, Hendry, 27, said that he came very close to turning down the job when offered.

As he recalled, "I was enjoying my university studies, and I had a lot of good friends there. It was my parents who helped convince me. They said, Look, give it a try. The university's always going to be there.'

"I had to think long and hard about joining. But once I joined the group, I've been able to devote so much time to writing, arranging, and of course traveling and performing. I'm having too good a time to walk away."

Not all feel the same.

He said that the ensemble is experiencing "a little change-up at the moment.

"Newer guys are starting to average three or four years service. Some want to start families. And touring 10 months a year can get very hard."

Hendry doesn't seem to feel the same pressures.

"It can get lonely," he said, "and it's easy to lose touch with family or a good friend. Then again, in the early days, we didn't even have laptops.

"Now there's cell phones, e-mail and web chats. So it's pretty hard to feel isolated."

Source: lubbockonline.com