When he walked onto the stage Sunday evening, many in the large crowd awaiting his performance gasped.
After all, here was one of the world’s greatest tenors ever on the stage in front of them in Lynn.
However, it was not the Julio Iglesias of the 1980’s and 1990’s that performed on the stage at Lynn Memorial Auditorium Sunday.
The once soaring voice that some believed was a near equal to the great Pavarotti has slipped a bit during the past decade.
Iglesias remains one of the world’s great tenors but his day has past.
This was the consensus of many of the more than 2,000 people who attended his concert.
According to auditorium officials, the show was sold out almost instantly.
“We could have sold an additional 500 tickets,” said Jamie Marsh who is charge of the auditorium.
Marsh said the auditorium is a great success story.
“In the beginning we were seeking out artists. Now artists and agencies are coming to us,” he said.
Marsh said the Iglesias concert raised about $145,000 including income from censcessions and that after expenses, there was a tidy sum remaining to be deposited in the auditorium account – which is now holding about $150,000 in an account maintained at the Eastern Bank.
It is a revolving account. It operates separate from the city budget.
According to Marsh, there are three major costs for each show: the cost for paying the artist; advertising; and stage crew and lighting technicians.
In addition, he said he is constantly upgrading the lighting and sound to make it possible for major acts to grace the stage.
At the auditorium Sunday night there was a total mix of people.
In age, it appeared that the crowd had an average age of about 50.
When the concert ended, three of the city’s major downtown restaurants drew record crowds, the same way bars and restaurants draw large crowds from restaurants across from the TD Garden in Boston.
“These concerts are really helping the downtown economy in a big way,” said Marsh.
Next at the Lynn Auditorium on December 18 is the legendary Kenny Rogers.
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