Three Tenors promoter hopes to turn soap opera into grand opera

VANCOUVER (CP) -- Despite promotion controversies resembling more soap opera than grand opera, the Three Tenors concert is tuning up for New Year's Eve.

Technicians are dressing B.C. Place Stadium for opera's top talents, Jose Carreras, Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti.

How do you turn a 58,000-seat stadium into a concert hall?

"It's very easy," says New York promoter Matthias Hoffmann. "First you spend about $2 million US."

Local co-promoter Tina VanderHeyden and her Headquarters Entertainment Corp. are sidelined after promotion troubles went before the courts.

Despite her attempt to cancel the concert when seat sales sagged plus a controversy over discounted tickets, Hoffmann says it will be a first-class performance with staging and sound matching the talent.

Thousands of square metres of curtains are draped under the stadium's Teflon dome to kill sound reflection.

"So wherever you sit, you should only hear three tenors, not six," says Hoffmann. "I promise you will hear this concert live like on a CD in front of the best CD player at home."

B.C. Place, where football game announcements sound muddy, has been carpeted in thick pile. Truckloads of flowers bank the stage. Even extra portable toilets are tastefully masked by greenery.

The game plan's the same for Saturday's concert at Toronto's SkyDome where most seats cost $25-$550 compared to $45-$650 in Vancouver.

Controversy has dogged the gala since VanderHeyden saw ticket sales stall and tried to cancel the event, citing lack of staging information from Hoffmann.

He blocked that with a court injunction.

Then thousands of sponsors' tickets were discounted, some 80 per cent. Patrons who forked over $1,250 for a gala seat flanking the stage could be sitting beside someone paying $190.

"I never sell discount seats," says Hoffmann. "We heard about it and I used all my influence to stop it."

Meanwhile, Headquarters Entertainment employees quit and local suppliers demanded payment. By Christmas, VanderHeyden was out and Hoffmann took over.

"We normally keep such problems away from (the tenors) but nevertheless, they are informed," says Hoffmann.

"They said,'Matthias, it is your job to jump in there now and save the situation'.

"Now I'm sitting backstage in a (trucking) container instead of skiing with my wife and kids."

Ticket sales have passed 42,000 and Hoffmann expects a 45,000 house.

"We came here with a bunch of cheques, paid every outstanding invoice and that has put everyone in a good mood."

Facts about Tuesday night's Three Tenors concert in Vancouver:

The performers: Jose Carreras, Placido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti; 109-member orchestra led by Metropolitan Opera conductor James Levine.

Repertoire: Mixture of classical and crossover.

Sound engineer: Briton John Pellows, who masterminded recording and live broadcasts of Three Tenors in Rome and Los Angeles.

His tools: 112 microphones costing $5,000 each; 20,000 square metres of curtain for baffling; computerized acoustic reproduction system.

Stage: 54 by 36 metres; illuminated by 500 lights.

Top ticket: $2,000, which includes memorabilia and post-concert party with Three Tenors.

For cheap seats: Two 35-square-metre, high-resolution jumbo screens.

Quote: "Nothing is local. I apologize but everything is specially worked out for these concerts." -- Promoter Matthias Hoffmann.

Copyright © 1996 The Toronto Sun