A solo concert by Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo or Jose Carreras can make a splash in every corner of the world, let alone a joint performance by all three.

It is an opportunity Chinese audiences have eagerly awaited for a long time. Now their hopes will come true.

After nearly three years of planning and preparation, the Beijing concert by the three tenors is scheduled for June 23.

The concert will mark the International Olympic Day as China gears up to bid for the 2008 Games.

The three tenors first teamed up for a concert on the eve of the 1990 World Cup final in Rome, a media event which was transmitted around the globe.

Since then the "tenor dream team" have performed to audiences on most continents including some charity performances for world peace, environmental protection and children living in poverty-stricken areas around the world.

Among them the most memorable concerts were the extraordinary performances on the eves of the 1994 World Cup in Los Angeles and 1998 World Cup in Paris.

The televised concerts were watched by over 2 billion people worldwide.

Opera and football - as Domingo has said - cross all boundaries because both speak a universal language.

In reality, all sports speak the universal language of emotion, which is why the three tenors are throwing their support behind Beijing's Olympic bid.

Beijing is competing against Paris, Toronto, Osaka and Istanbul for the 2008 Games.

The International Olympic Committee will award the Games to one of the cities in July. This makes the timing of the concert even more important.

As for the stage, the organizers have chosen the Forbidden City.

The Forbidden City, also known as the Palace Museum, is located in the centre of Beijing.

It was built between 1406-20 during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). It was the imperial home of 24 emperors of the Ming and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. From their throne in the Forbidden City, they governed the country by holding court sessions with their ministers, issuing imperial edicts and initiating military expeditions. The Forbidden City was turned into a museum and opened to the public in 1949.

The site is one of the largest and best-preserved palace complexes in the world. There are over a million rare and valuable objects in the museum.

It is not the first time the vast former imperial palace has formed the backdrop for an opera.

In September 1998, Puccini's opera 'Turandot' was performed there by the Florence Opera House Company with Giovanna Casolla playing the icy Princess Turandot.

This time, the stage will be built on the Wumen (Meridian Gate) Square. The auditorium will be extended to Duanmen in the south, to Imperial Ancestral Temple in the east and Zhongshan Park in the west.

More than 100,000 people are expected to enjoy the live performance.

The production will be a combined effort between the three tenors,their agent company, China National Culture & Art Company (CNCAC), the Ministry of Culture, and the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Bid Committee.

There are 23 classes of tickets ranging from US$200 to US$2,000.

Besides Beijing, domestic audiences can book tickets in nine other cities including Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Nanjing, Xi'an, Kunming, Chongqing, Dalian and Urumqi.

Overseas audiences can book tickets at some Chinese travel agencies or over the Internet.

Luciano Pavarotti is acclaimed as the "King of the High C's" for his incredible range.

His voice - robust, resonant and immediately recognizable - gave him the type of worldwide fame usually reserved for pop stars and Hollywood icons.

Born in Modena, Italy in 1935, Pavarotti grew up in a very poor family. His father was a baker and his mother worked in a cigar factory.

As a boy, he was a good athlete and a member of the town's soccer team. Later he aspired to be a teacher, and by the age of 19, he was teaching elementary school and making the equivalent of US$8 a month.

That was also the year that the Rossini Male Chorus of Modena, a group to which Pavarotti belonged, won an international choral competition.

He decided to pursue music full-time. Within a few years, he gave his debut performances at Covent Garden, La Scala, and the Met. By the 1970s, he was an international sensation, and millions responded to his performances blending warmth and vulnerability.

Since the 1980s, Pavarotti has organized an ongoing international competition for young singers.

The second competition in 1986 coincided with the 25th anniversary of the start of Pavarotti's operatic career.

To celebrate, he brought the winners to Italy for a gala performance of "La Boheme" in Modena, his home town.

He then made a historic visit to China.

At the conservatory in Beijing, he conducted "Master Classes" for young Chinese singers. To conclude the visit, he gave a concert in the Great Hall of the People before an audience of 10,000 people.

Placido Domingo was born in Madrid in 1941 shortly after a performance in which his mother, a zarzuela singer, played the main part.

From his parents, both of whom were excellent singers, he inherited an extraordinary talent, diligence and respect for the art.

He moved to Mexico at the age of 8. After studying conducting and piano at the Mexico City Conservatory, he was side-tracked from a career as a conductor when his singing potential was discovered.

He has appeared in 111 different roles, more than any other tenor in the history of music.

He has sung in every important opera house in the world and has made over 100 recordings, of which 93 are full-length operas, and for which he has earned nine Grammies.

Jose Carreras also occupies a privileged position in the music world. Born in Barcelona, he studied music in his hometown. In 1970, he started his professional career in the Gran Theatre del Liceu of Barcelona.

His meteoric music career resulted in early performances at the world's most prestigious opera theatres and festivals.

Together with his opera activities, he has given frequent recitals in the most famous halls of the world.

His wide concert repertoire includes over 600 titles of the most diverse styles ranging from baroque to contemporary music.

The three tenors have all visited China on separate occasions.

In 1998, when Carreras gave a solo concert in Beijing, he lingered at the enchanting Forbidden City so long that he missed his rehearsal.

Domingo, who gave a concert in Shanghai last month, also longs to sing in the Chinese imperial palace.

As for Pavarotti, he wants to give this concert to mark the 40th anniversary of his singing career.

It is the first time the three men will perform together in Beijing as well as their first joint concert in the new millennium. Organizers and the sponsors are busy with an intense publicity campaign in preparation for the performance. The three tenors are also busy rehearsing their signature tunes.

(China Daily 02/07/2001)