Janis Sidovsky Presents 4 Musical Tenors & Friends: Best of Broadway in Review
Michael Bragagnolo, Tenor; Jan Kriz, Tenor; Pavel Vitek, Baritenor; Marian Vojtko, Tenor
Special Guest Singers: Daniel Assetta, Heather Makalani, Rachel Zatcoff
Instrumental Musicians: Frantisek Krticka, Piano; Craig Klonowski, Guitar;
Chrystelle Catalano, Violin; Viktor Jan Kuru, Violin; Vladan Malinjak, Viola; Simon Marek, Cello
Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY
May 11, 2026
The sensational singing group known as 4 Musical Tenors (or 4 Tenoři to their base of the Czech Republic) made a highly successful return to New York this Monday, inspiring their audience at Carnegie (Zankel Hall) to several standing ovations. A crossover group in the style of their predecessors, the Three Tenors (Pavarotti, Domingo, and Carreras), they combine operatic selections and popular showtunes. Based on this concert, they tend to favor the latter, but they proved to have ample gifts in both areas. Having elicited comparison to other renowned groups such as Il Divo and Il Volo, they have had several Gold and Platinum albums in Europe and have accumulated more than 16 million views on YouTube. They even drew a good-sized crowd to Zankel Hall on a Monday evening, not always an ideal time. The audience, as well as including several dignitaries from the Consulates of the Czech Republic and Slovakia, included some youngsters, which was nice to see. A portion of the proceeds from the concert were to go to the organization Broadway Cares.
The concert opened dramatically with an instrumental ensemble onstage (a piano, guitar, and string quartet) setting the mood for the first selection, “This is the Moment” from Jekyll & Hyde (Wildhorn). After a brief musical introduction, the four charismatic tenors strode onstage – Michael Bragagnolo, Jan Kriz, Pavel Vitek, and Marian Vojtko. The feeling was, as their opening title suggests, momentous, and they moved seamlessly from exchanging solo lines to converging in powerful harmonizations. The sound was miked, with several speakers spanning the stage, but one had the sense that all would have been sufficiently powerful to fill the hall with no amplification.
Jan Kriz introduced the next selection, as he did through much of the evening, and the four followed with “Never Enough” from The Greatest Showman (Benj Pasek/Justin Paul), riding the tide of their energetic opening. The next two selections were from musicals by Andrew Lloyd Webber, starting with “Love Changes Everything” from Aspects of Love. It opened with a touching gentleness, setting up what would be a long build-up from all four. It was quite moving.
Shifting to a more comedic note, Jan Kriz took the spotlight for the next Webber selection, “King Herod’s Song” from Jesus Christ Superstar, a rock opera which he described as a favorite of his since childhood. He added that with such a small ensemble as theirs, there were few songs he could select from this rock opera. Though this listener can’t quite agree (thinking “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” – with its heavy debt to Chopin’s Op. 35 – could also work with a small ensemble), Mr. Kriz did a splendid job. As many know, there is a special appeal in playing the villain, and Mr. Kriz did so with exceptionally nasty relish. The pianist, Frantisek Krticka, unleashed his own wicked vaudevillian fire to match. Beyond this, the singers had great support all evening from guitarist Craig Klonowski, violinists Chrystelle Catalano and Viktor Jan Kuru, violist Vladan Malinjak, and cellist Simon Marek.
For the next selection, “A Whole New World” from Aladdin (Alan Menken) the group introduced their first special guest, soprano Heather Malakani, joined by the four tenors. Ms. Malakani seemed in her element singing as Princess Jasmine, a role she has sung extensively. Her lovely soprano sound balanced beautifully with the four lower voices. She then took the solo spotlight with “Astonishing” from Little Women (Jason Howland). Here was a more intimate outpouring, and she plumbed its depths with drama and passion, receiving a loud cheering ovation.
4 Musical Tenors & Friends. Photo Credit: Rebecca J. Michelson
Emotions of longing continued to flow as the four tenors returned to the stage for a stirring rendition of “Bring Him Home” from Les Misérables (C. Schönberg). It was clear that all four felt a strong attachment to this musical, having all played roles in it, and their performance was heart-rending. It led well to the evening’s only true opera aria, Puccini’s “Nessun Dorma” from Turandot, sung by Michael Bragagnolo (described in introductory remarks as the most operatic of the four tenors, with a nod to his Italian roots). Mr. Bragagnolo’s powerful operatic resonance was commanding, right up to the infamous high B in the final word “vincerò” which typically leaves an audience gasping – this audience being no exception.
Shifting away from opera, the four singers then reconvened for “Can’t Help Falling in Love” (made famous by Elvis Presley and featured in the musical All Shook Up (Peretti / Creatore / Weiss). It was a beauty, as was the subsequent selection, the nostalgic “Massachusetts” (B. Gibb/R. Gibb/M. Gibb). The latter was introduced with an invitation for the audience to join in – and one cringed slightly at the thought, as such a song can be rather unforgiving for “herd singing” – but mercifully the only singing was from the stage. Sometimes it’s best to leave such things to experts – and they came through beautifully.
Four Sondheim hits followed, including the first solo for Pavel Vitek, “Send in the Clowns” from A Little Night Music. Mr. Vitek captured its melancholy perfectly, with poignant pauses just where they would convey the song’s spirit the most. A Bernstein-Sondheim collaboration followed, with all four tenors savoring the perennial favorite “Maria” from West Side Story. More from West Side Story would be heard, with their second special guest Daniel Assetta joining the quartet, but first Mr. Assetta took the spotlight with Sondheim’s “Losing My Mind” from Follies. This listener has never been a huge fan of this song, but Mr. Assetta’s thoughtful and persuasive interpretation really “sold” it, showing what artistry can do. “Somewhere” from West Side Story (Bernstein/Sondheim) found all four tenors returning to form a quintet with Mr. Assetta to good effect.
After what was close to an hour of music (and what might have been time for intermission, had there been one) there were six songs left, the first four by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The first Webber selection was “Till I Hear You Sing” from Love Never Dies, performed by the four tenors with great tenderness. The following three were from The Phantom of the Opera, starting with”The Music of The Night” with Marian Vojtko as soloist. Mr. Vojtko, who has sung the title role in productions of the musical, exhibited a huge range, from his breathy opening to his expansive development and peaks in an extreme treble register. One had noticed throughout the evening that Mr. Vojtko had shown a supportive versatility in the ensemble pieces – but here it was front and center.
The evening’s third and final guest, Rachel Zatcoff, was introduced next to continue the Webber-fest, and she took the stage for “Think of Me” (again from The Phantom of the Opera). Having sung the role of Christine in this musical, she was clearly in her comfort zone, and she gave the song a virtuosic ride, complete with dazzling high notes in a cadenza near its close. The audience seemed enthralled and gave her a standing ovation. Mr. Vojtko and then the rest of the quartet came on to join her in the title number, “The Phantom Of The Opera,” cranking up the drama alongside still more stratospheric high notes from Ms. Zatcoff.
The group then announced that their final song would be next, “You Raise Me Up” by Rolf Løvland – it was beautifully done, but this listener was sad, as the program had also listed a finale of “Seasons of Love,” from Rent (Jonathan Larson) – a seemingly perfect closer. As it turned out though, the Rent hit was performed afterwards, and it brought the house down. All seven singers came onstage to cap off what was truly a memorable evening – and for this, the audience did join in, unasked.
