Three seasoned tenors who have performed the title role in “The Phantom of the Opera” on Broadway and elsewhere will be sharing the stage with the Cleveland Pops Orchestra and conductor Carl Topilow Saturday at Severance Hall.
Gary Mauer, Craig Schulman and Ciaran Sheehan will be performing songs from “The Phantom of the Opera,” “Les Miserables,” “Guys and Dolls,” “Sweeney Todd” and other shows as Carl Topilow conducts his orchestra’s 16th annual New Year’s Eve Concert and Dance.
The tenors have all previously preformed with the Cleveland Pops, although not all at the same time. Schulman, the brains behind the three-Phantom format explained how they decided on which songs to perform and who would sing what.
“It’s a question of balance,” he said. “Everybody needs to sing about the same number of songs. I’ve endeavored to make it three artists with equal talents and credits, not Craig Schulman & Friends. ‘The Music of the Night’ we sing as a trio, so we all come together at the end of the show.”
Schulman was a veteran Phantom, as well as Jean Valjean in the Broadway and touring productions of “Les Miserables.” He has more than 2,000 performances under his belt, and in 2004 was urged by a colleague to devise a trio program. At first, he envisioned a concert titled “The Three Valjeans,” but it unfortunately lacked appeal. Thus the switch to “The Three Phantoms.”
“The Phantom has a lot of emotional issues, and if you fully invest yourself in the character, it takes as much, if not more, energy to sing and act in the role,” he explains, sounding delighted that the two other Phantoms will be on hand to help him ring in the New Year in Cleveland.
The New Year’s Eve Concert will take place at 9pm on Saturday, December 31 at Severance Hall at 11001 Euclid Ave., Cleveland. Tickets are $44 to $108.
