Who: Las Vegas Tenors
When: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Where: Las Vegas Hilton Theater
Tickets: $29.95 to $39.95; (800) 222-5361 or www.lvhilton.com/entertainment
Fans have been singing the praises of the Las Vegas Tenors since the vocalists first performed together on May 22, 2005 , in the Bootlegger Bistro on South Las Vegas Boulevard.
The 272-seat restaurant/lounge was packed that Sunday night. Bootlegger's graceful manager, Ruth Catalano, was eager with anticipation because she was the one who had suggested the trio pool their talents, in the vein of the internationally acclaimed opera stars Placido Domingo, Jose Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti, who performed occasionally as The Three Tenors.
The local singers called themselves the Three Tenors of Las Vegas that evening at the Bootlegger. They were Bill Fayne, longtime musical director for Clint Holmes; Mark Giovi, a rocker-turned pop-singer who had recently moved from New Jersey ; and Bobby Black, a veteran cruise ship entertainer.
It was a magnificent performance, accentuated by wild applause and standing ovations.
Because the founding three had busy schedules, they brought Teddy Davey into the musical fold to fill in when necessary. He was so good - and the four-person harmonies worked so well - they made him a regular member.
After two years of harmonizing a melange of opera, rock, pop, jazz, blues, R&B and Broadway in lounges and increasingly large showrooms at locals casinos across the Las Vegas Valley, the Tenors have landed their first major engagement.
The group will premiere at the 1,600-seat Las Vegas Hilton on Friday and Saturday.
Instead of tapes or four-piece combos , the Tenors will be backed by a 15-piece orchestra and a string octet of female musicians in a show some call "Pavarotti meets the Rat Pack."
Music is Bill Fayne's life. At State University of New York in Fredonia, where he met fellow freshman Clint Holmes in 1964, he majored in classical voice.
After college he taught vocal music and drama in high school before forming his own traveling band.
He and Holmes crossed paths often and 30 years ago Fayne became Holmes' musical director. Last year, after a seven-year run at Harrah's, they began working on a musical about Holmes' life, which they hope will land on Broadway.
Meanwhile, for the past 2 1/2 years he's been helping the Las Vegas Tenors find their voice.
The Hilton show will be the biggest yet, with orchestration and a medley of songs that will dip into opera, swing and vintage Las Vegas.
Holmes will emcee the show.
Fayne hopes the Hilton is just a step on a longer journey - pop concerts across the country, and maybe cruise ships.
"We have arrangements now for an orchestra, so if we had an offer from, say, the San Diego Symphony to do a concert , we could do it."
Fayne said the group started out as a lark, performing at the Bootlegger, some theaters in Sun City, a gig at the Golden Nugget, weekends at the Gold Coast, a few engagements at the Sun coast.
"An amazing thing happened," Fayne said. "They booked us at the Sun coast for a New Year's noon concert. They expected 250 to 300 and we ended up with 675 people. They had to turn people away."
"When Bill first called me to do the Tenors I was on a cruise ship," Black recalled. "He told me he had a good idea and wanted me to be part of it and asked if I knew anyone else we could call.
"I told him I knew this kid, Mark Giovi, who is such an amazing talent."
After the Bootlegger performance, Black had to head back to sea, so his buddies brought in Davey to fill in.
Eighteen months ago Black, a professional photographer in addition to performing, decided to give up the ships, at least for a while.
"I took a sabbatical to concentrate on the Tenors," the Georgia native said. "It's growing a lot faster than we expected it to.
"And it's only going to get bigger."
Mark Giovi was 17 when he met Clint Holmes, who was hosting a cerebral palsy telethon in New York City. Giovi, who has cerebral palsy, sang on Holmes' show.
Giovi had started out in heavy metal bands, but his powerful voice is equally adept at blues, show tunes, opera and R&B.
Holmes told him to look him up if he ever came to Las Vegas.
About 18 years later, Giovi finally showed up. That was three years ago. A lot has happened since . He now has a 3-year - old daughter and a 7-month - old son. He's had a variety of gigs around town, but for more than two years he has been a vocalist in the cast of "Bite," the vampire-themed topless show at the Stratosphere.
And he recently joined a rock band, Far Cry, as its lead singer.
At the end of September he and other "Bite" performers head for Greece, where they will do their musical in a casino for a month. Black will fill in for him in the Vegas production during the hiatus.
Giovi recently talked to the Sun by phone from a recording studio in New York where he was making a CD with his new group, which hopes to perform at rock festivals and concerts across the country.
Giovi noted how the tenors' show has evolved, from a collection of solo performances to singing as a group, harmonizing.
"We found that we needed to do more together," Giovi said. "That's what people love."
He says he saw the potential from the beginning.
"Bill says we put it together for fun and it started growing," Giovi said. "I said it could be pretty cool. It could be pretty big."
A lot of people remember Davey from the dinner show "Ba Da Bing," which knocked around town for several years and had a constantly changing cast.
Among the cast members was Kelly Clinton, a long-time Vegas entertainer who dates Clint Holmes.
When the Tenors were looking for someone to fill in for Black from time to time, Clinton suggested Davey, who has performed in lounges and other Vegas venues for the past eight years.
"Finally, everything is moving in the right direction," Davey said. "It's nice to finally be in the right place at the right time."
Davey performed the second concert with the Tenors and has been with the group since.
"I thought this was a great idea from the get go, from the first moment," Davey said. "Ruth approached Bill with the idea and from that moment it's been so organic, so overwhelming. It's a completely visceral experience."
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