Three Tenors Plus One
A Tribute to Luciano Pavarotti

Three Tenors Plus One returns to the Sharon for two incredible performances paying tribute to the life and works of Luciano Pavarotti. Featuring beautiful arias from a selection of timeless Operas, accompanied by masterful piano performances by Maestro Bill Doherty.

You'll be transported, uplifted, and enchanted by the fabulous voices of our Three Tenors Plus One. Ticket sales help support the Music Scholarship Program for talented young musicians, presented by the Opera Club of the Villages.

The Three Talented Tenors for 2026 will be Ed Washington, Fan Young Du, and Grant Norman.

Featuring the talents of 'Plus One' Mary Jo Vitale!


Bill Doherty
Bill Doherty has been performing as a concert pianist since the age of four and continues to delight audiences all over the world with his virtuosity at the keyboard. His musical studies included intensive training in piano, conducting, musical composition and voice, studying with such well-known teachers as Albert Bowen (Tanglewood), Barbara Marchesani, Pasquale Caputo, Solomon Mikowski and Sonia Vargas (Manhattan School of Music), Abraham Kaplan (Juilliard School of Music), Carmen Savoca and Peyton Hibbitt, and Rita Shane (Metropolitan Opera, Vienna StaatsOper). As an operatic tenor, he sang with the Mohawk Valley Opera and the Tri-Cities Opera, and was later mentored by the legendary soprano Licia Albanese (Metropolitan Opera, La Scala).

As a pianist and conductor, Mr. Doherty has performed in some of the world's finest performance halls and Cathedrals including The Prudential Center (Boston), Lincoln Center (New York), St. Patrick's Cathedral (New York), the Villa Faccanoni - Lake Iseo (Italy), and on tour throughout the Italian Riviera. He received international critical acclaim for his performances in Kyoto and Osaka Japan with operatic soprano Takako Yamamoto and tenor Oscar Feliu. Most recently, he conducted members of the Central Florida Lyric Opera and the St. Timothy Choir in a special Mass of Thanksgiving at the Vatican for Pope Benedict XVI and in concerts in an around Rome, Italy. He has conducted and accompanied extensively in opera for over 20 years, collaborating with some of the world's greatest operatic stars including the legendary Licia Albanese and serving as accompanist to world-renowned Metropolitan Opera sopranos Deborah Voigt and Susan Neves.

Mr. Doherty is also one of the nation's leading voice coaches and operates a teaching studio in both Florida and New York City. His students have drawn international attention in principal roles with opera companies throughout the United States and Europe, on and off Broadway, and by winning top awards in national and international vocal competitions including the Metropolitan Opera Competition (NYC). Most recently, his student Fernando Varela and his trio "FORTE" has been featured advancing in the world-renowned talent competition America's Got Talent. An internationally recognized teacher and workshop clinician, Bill Doherty has conducted Master Classes in opera and voice at universities and conservatories throughout the world, including Marymount Manhattan College NYC, and the Conservatoire Leo Delibes, Ville de Clichy-La-Garenne, France, among others. His interviews and performances have been broadcast on PBS, CBS, and NBC. He has also appeared on various talk shows including the "Late Show with David Letterman".

Year after year, for the past eighteen years, Mr. Doherty has served as adjudicator for the Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation's International Vocal Competition in New York City and has also performed as an accompanist for the Foundation's Gala concert at Lincoln Center, NY. He also is adjudicator for the prestigious Gerda Lissner International Opera Competition, NYC.

He is Founder and General Director of the Central Florida Lyric Opera, Inc. His recent work with the International Opera Center of America, Central Florida Lyric Opera's International Exchange Program, has been recognized and commended by both Florida Governor Charlie Crist and former United States President George W. Bush. Mr. Doherty is the Director of Music at St. Timothy Catholic Church in the Villages. Among his many other honors and awards, Mr. Doherty is the recipient of the New York State Council on the Arts Humanities Award. Most recently, his signature has been immortalized on the Muro di Alassio in Alassio, Italy.


Edward Washington
American tenor Edward Washington II was born in England raised in Saudi Arabia and lives in NewYork City. He was selected for intensive vocal study Mollie Rich, Craig Maddox, Kenneth Kamal Scott and Marquita Lister. He is a former artist with Orlando Opera, Central Florida Lyric Opera, Opera Orlando, International Festival of the Voice, New York City Opera and the Metropolitan Opera.

Mr. Washington's roles include "Edwin" in Gilbert and Sullivan's Trial by Jury, "Ralph" in Gilbert and Sullivan's HMS Pinafore, "Robbins" in George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, "Parpigol" in Puccini's La Boheme, "Gherardo" in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi, "Spoletta" in Puccini's Tosca, "Pang" and "Pong" in Puccini's Turandot, "Tamino" in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, and "Mr. Scratch" in Moore's Devil and Daniel Webster's among others. He has premiered a number of new songs by America composers/arrangers.

Edward has been a featured artist with the United States Air Force Band, Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, Orlando Philharmonic, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Morgan State University Choir, and the American Spiritual Ensemble. He was a featured soloist while on tour in Argentina, and was a featured vocalist twice at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Edward Washington II was formerly the Music and Education director of the "Negro Spiritual" Scholarship Foundation based in Orlando, Florida and directed their ensemble "Master Singers" . He still is a proud ambassador for the foundation. He is excited to perform once again for the Opera Club of the Villages.


Fanyong Du
Fanyong Du, Mongolian Chinese tenor, has frequently performed in America, Canada, Italy, Czechoslovakia, Switzerland, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Russia and China, most recently a concert with the renowned Baritone Renato Bruson in Italy, with Giuseppe Sabbatini in China, recital tour in Czech Republic, Carnegie Hall in New York and also Lincoln Center. Besides various concerts, he also performed leading opera roles including Lensky in "Eugene Onegin", Rodolfo in "La boheme", Nemorino in "L'elisir d'amore", and Rinuccio in "Gianni Schicchi". He also recently performed as a soloist for Rossini's "Stabat mater" in Switzerland. He received critical acclaim as Nemorino in "L'elisir d'amore" from Opera News Magazine (published by the Metropolitan Opera NYC): "Du brought a real sense of Bel Canto style to bear, with fine gradation of dynamics and tone color culminating in a really admirable "Una furtiva lagrima", complete with perfectly executed messa di voce at the close."


Grant Norman
Best known for his portrayal of the Phantom in the Broadway production of Andrew LLoyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera, Broadway star Grant Norman, himself a graduate of Central Florida Lyric Opera's Resident Artist Training Program started out in theater with the Red River Dance & Performing Company in Fargo, ND. He was a member of their company for 4 years, during which time he worked his way through the ranks to become a principal dancer. During his 11 original productions with the company he was fortunate enough to work with its directors, Kathy & Eddie Gasper. Their experience and generosity proved to be invaluable to Grant. Kathy was a successful classical ballerina and Eddie was a Broadway veteran and former Assistant to Bob Fosse. Under their tutelage he learned Tap, Jazz, Ballet and Character dancing. Grant Norman's first starring role in musical theatre was with the Red River Dance & Performing Co. as "Paul" in Carnival; which happened to be a joint production between the Red River Dance & Performing Co. and The Fargo/Moorhead Community Theatre. In the following years, Grant began working in many wonderful regional theatres throughout the country while returning to Fargo and the Red River Dance & Performing Co. to play "Tony" in West Side Story. Some of his most highly acclaimed regional roles included "Smudge" in Forever Plaid (Alley Theatre, TX), "Petruchio" in Taming of the Shrew, "Curley" in Oklahoma (Jupiter Theatre, FL), the "Prince/Wolf" in Into the Woods (Seaside Music Theatre, FL), "Max" in Lend Me a Tenor (Hippodrome Theatre, FL), "Gaston" in Gigi (Royal Palm Dinner Theatre, FL), "Johnny Canton" in 1940's Radio Hour (Ruth Foreman Theatre, FL), "Adam" in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Mark II Dinner Theatre, FL), "Corporal Billy Jester" in Little Mary Sunshine (North Dakota Repertory Theatre, ND), and "Sydney Carton" in A Tale of Two Cities (Backers Production, NYC).

In 1990, Grant Norman began his long-standing musical affiliation with Maestro Bill Doherty when he joined the Central Florida Lyric Opera's Resident Artist Training Program. As a member of the training program, Grant studied classical Italian opera singing with Mr. Doherty and also appeared in numerous concerts and opera programs with Bill Doherty and the Central Florida Lyric Opera. Grant moved to New York City in 1991 where he immediately joined the cast of two legendary Broadway shows - Miss Saigon and The Phantom of the Opera. "My time with The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway led to the opportunity to tour the U.S. as the Phantom in the National Touring Company. I then went on to play the Phantom in London at Her Majesty's Theatre. After I returned to the States, I took some needed time off; and then accepted a contract, working for Disney, touring the U.S. and Canada as the "Beast" in Beauty and the Beast", (a role for which he was nominated for two National Theatre Awards). "Although I loved touring our beautiful country, I was happy to be home again in New York." Once back in New York, he landed a role in the Off-Broadway production of Johnny Guitar where he can be found on the Original Cast Recording. Most recently, Grant Norman finished a 2 1/2 year run playing the role of Gaston in the Broadway production of Disney's Beauty and the Beast and also appeared in the hit television drama "Law & Order".



Mary Jo Vitale
A Florida native, Mary Jo Vitale was born and raised in Ft. Lauderdale. She attended the University of South Florida on a full music scholarship and was the premier vocalist for the Pinellas Opera League in St. Petersburg FL in 2002. She regularly performs concerts and cabarets for sold out crowds in the Villages and surrounding areas. Mary Jo's musical versatility and charisma on stage has earned her the title of "The Sweetheart of the Villages". She has been invited to perform in several local musical theater productions such as Mary Magdalene in Jesus Christ Superstar (2017), Eva Peron in Evita (2018), Johanna in Sweeney Todd (Oct. 2018) and Eliza Dolittle in My Fair Lady (2019). She starred in Rogers and Hammerstein's beautiful musical Carousel as Julie Jordan and as Sophie Sheridan in Mamma Mia!(2021) to rave reviews. She played Antonia in Man of La Mancha (2022). Ariel Truax in Grumpy Old Men (2023) and Christine in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Spring 2024) and most recently as Glinda in The Wizard of Oz (Fall 2024)! Her favorite role of all, though, is that of wife and mother. Mary Jo has been married to her college sweetheart, Jon Marc MacLean for 19 years and they have two children together; Danny (14 years old) and Lila Rose (8 years old). Mary Jo's husband is the Lead Pastor of Hope Lutheran Church in the Villages where he has been serving for 15 years. Mary Jo regularly leads worship at Hope Lutheran Church's new southern campus at Everglades Recreation Center. The Villages is certainly proud to call this versatile entertainer one of their own.