My Encounter

On August 16th I attended the Three Sopranos concert in Reno, Nevada. It was an incredible concert and beside some unexpected problems (the incredible wind, my mother stepping on Cynthia Lawrence's dress, etc.) everything ran smoothly.

The Three Sopranos performed the same pieces they had performed in their Los Angeles concert but no one in the crowd assembled at the Reno Hilton Outdoor Ampitheatre seemed to mind at all. Misses Cassello, Lawrence and Esperian sang wonderfully and delighted the audience for around an hour and a half. They were called back for 4 encores: the "My Favorite Things/I'm In Love With A Wonderful Guy/(S)He's In Love" combo, "Granada", The Latin Medley and their always enchanting trio rendition of "Sempre Libera" from Verdi's La Traviata.

Everyone who attended enjoyed the concert but I, as well as some others, was let in to the backstage area to meet the divas themselves. Before the concert, my mother & I had run into Michele De Clue, another Three Sopranos fan with whom I have been in contact with for quite some time. The three of us found our backstage passes and tickets and we all sat together in the 5th row. Another fan who attended was John Brown, whom we met during the intermission.

Miss Cassello and Miss Lawrence knew I was coming since they had been in contact with me ever since discovering my pages devoted to them. Michele & I got all 3 of the Three Sopranos to sign our programs and smile for some pictures. For those of you who are wondering what the Three Sopranos are really like, rest assured that it would be difficult to find 3 nicer women on the planet. They seemed to have avoided the "Prima Donna Syndrome" that has plagued so many successful sopranos and certainly that was proved after my mother stepped on Cynthia Lawrence's dress. Miss Lawrence remained very calm and the dress, fortunately, was not damaged.

After some brief chats with various people near the stage, they changed out of their gowns and into some more comfortable clothes. The whole group moved on to the Reno Hilton where there was a post-performance party going on. From then on, Misses Cassello, Lawrence and Esperian sat at individual tables as distinguished fans got autographs and pictures and moved on to the next table until their collection was complete.

I went back up to my room at around 12:30 in the morning, just as the Three Sopranos had left their tables and were mingling with their guests. It had been a great day and one which I will never forget.