Sellout crowd cheers famed opera stars

Robert Macy

Monday, April 24, 2000 | 9:08 a.m.

In a venue more accustomed to championship boxing matches and rock stars, famed tenors Luciano Pavarotti, Jose Carreras and Placido Domingo drew cheers from a sellout crowd.

In a city better known for showgirls and magic acts, the three opera superstars wowed their audience, drawing shouts of "bravo" and returning for four encores.

A crowd of 11,000 turned out for Saturday night's show, many of them adorned in tuxedos and ball gowns.

The Three Tenors were accompanied by the 84-piece Glendale Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Marco Armiliato.

The show at the Mandalay Bay Resort Events Center will be the only West Coast concert during 2000 for the trio.

Ticket prices ranged from $95 to $900.

Pavarotti christened the center last April, shortly after the hotel-casino opened on the Las Vegas Strip.

The show started with each of the three singing passages from well-known operas, then returning to sing half a dozen opera numbers together. The second half consisted of more of the same, with the trio winding up the night singing half a dozen American medlies.

The Mandalay Bay Events Center is one of the smaller venues for the Three Tenors.

In 1994, the Three Tenors' Los Angeles performance was seen by a sell-out audience at Dodger Stadium and viewed by a worldwide television audience of more than 1.3 billion.

Earlier, Pavarotti said his 1999 concert at the Strip resort was a special evening.

"It's a good concert venue," the famed tenor said. "I had an absolutely fantastic time."

The Las Vegas concert was the first on a 2000 tour for The Three Tenors. Other appearances are set for Washington, D.C.,; Cleveland; Albany, N.Y and Hamburg, Germany.