In different surroundings, the "Ingemisco" would be a tenor show-stopper; here it is an entirely moving plea for divine mercy.
That Mr. De Biasio has not had a couple decades' experience as a tenor shows.
In both arias, the much-heralded young tenor showed once again that he has a fine voice, but gave rise to concern through his aggressive use of it.
Mr. Heppner's hearty tenor showed occasional signs of strain, but it would be difficult to imagine a performer better suited to convey Ahab's complex mix of demoniac compulsion and fleeting heroism.
The finale is "A Lot of Living' to Do" a burner that features Alexander's tempestuous tenor showing why he is one of those players that can realty turn it on when he wants to with no discernible loss of clarity at any speed.
An audience feels that uncertainty, that missing commitment, and this crowd stayed mostly subdued, hearing none of the pumped-up volume it expected from the recordings nor the vocal glamour of a Three Tenors show.
Concert-goers who attended Friday night's Irish Tenors show with Mr. McDermott as guest soloist at the 17,000-seat Nassau Coliseum -- visible across Earl Ovington Boulevard -- forked over $65 for floor seats and $50 or $35 to sit farther back.
His voice is pure gold, and few tenors show s much total emotional control as he does.
Starting on Sept. 12, "Tenors," the show in which a trio of black tenors sing selections from opera, blues, Broadway and other musical genres, will be sitting down for a four-month engagement at the Little Shubert Theater on 42nd Street.
As Masaniello, the tenor Michael Spyres shows a genuine affinity for French style.
But last season at the Met the Texas-born tenor Jay Hunter Morris showed another approach to the vocal challenges by singing Siegfried with a more youthful, less heavy sound.
