“Rehearsals are the closest thing to the military”: “Tenores” speaks, a Peruvian quartet that returns to the Gran Teatro Nacional

What do Luciano Pavarotti, Silvio Rodríguez, Andrea Bocelli and Paul McCartney have in common? All four are tenors. Under this concept was born the project “tenors”, a musical quartet made up of Peruvian singers that will present the “Tenores Rock” edition to celebrate its 15th anniversary. Unlike past seasons, this show will only have a date on July 4 at the Gran Teatro Nacional, where they will sing the most remembered international rock hits.

In this new adventure, the original line-up made up of Moshe Bautista, Jorge Pardo, Jhovan Tomasevich (ex-vocalist of Zen) and Aldo Rodríguez will return to present a show that remains essentially, but will have interesting variants such as moments of individual singing, in duo, trio and quartet, as well as having the participation of invited artists, a rock band as an accompaniment and a radio booth that will narrate chronologically the songs that will be presented from the oldest to the most recent.

“We must not forget that “Tenores” is a musical-theatrical show, which is why we complement the music with visual, light and theatrical elements.”, added Jorge Pardo in an interview with El Comercio, who believes that the validity of the quartet is due to the fact that they always leave their comfort zone and set the bar higher and higher.

a high level

“Trials are the closest thing to the military. All the songs must already be learned, the musical level must be kept high, the schedules fixed and everything must be read in scores, in addition to the fact that the sessions are meticulous”, adds Pardo.

The work of setting up the show also goes through the hands of Diego Gargurevich, in charge of the theatrical proposal; Mario Raez, in charge of lighting; Francesca Dasso, in charge of the visual elements; Carlos Ramírez, in charge of the musical direction; and many other members of the team that bring the show to life.

The show that began with two presentations at the sports center of the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, trying to be a project similar to “Pavarotti & Friends”, acquired its own identity that has been changing since its creation and that returns with new ideas that do not rule out no music genre In Pardo’s words: “There is no ceiling for us, everything unimaginable can happen in ‘Tenors‘”.

a unique event

In Peru there is no show that resembles the proposal that initially had a semi-symphonic format, with a chamber orchestra, string section, winds, rhythmics and a choir, which in 2016 would completely change when Mabela Martínez, together with the creative team, decided take the project in a new direction, adding “flavor” through unique thematic functions.

“Mabela is the one who comes up with these types of ideas and we thank her, since for us this is not a job, but a blessing because we do what we enjoy the most.”, adds Moshe Bautista, who believes that, although the editions change, the essence remains the same: constant innovation.

This is how editions such as “Tenores San Valentín” and “Tenores Love” arose, adapting to the presentation date on February 14, as well as the tribute to the Mexican composer Armando Manzanero through the edition “Tenores Manzanero”, where they cover songs like “ I learned with you”, “I adore” or “Nothing personal”.

In the case of “Rock Tenors”, the quartet seeks to have a repertoire that faithfully represents rock, encompassing Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Queen, The Rolling Stones and many other English-speaking groups that marked an era.

Once the setlist and technicalities are resolved, an element that has allowed great singers to stay together after a decade and a half comes into play: offstage egos. “If a song suits someone better and shines, no one argues with them, what’s more, we support them so that they come out in the best possible way because we understand that individual success, when working together, means group success.”, concludes Tomasevich, who alludes to a possible “Reggaeton Tenors” which, more than a joke, seems like a promise, because with “Tores” there are no impossible things.