On Saturday night at Carnegie Hall here in New York City, Mario Lanza put the final touches to a superlative performance by concluding with Nessun Dorma.

As the magnificent voice of this wonder star reverberated around the massive auditorium, the packed audience rose as one to salute one of the greatest tenors to grace the hall since The Great Caruso.

Lanza responded accordingly, with a huge smile. Triumphant, proud and invigorated. New Yorkers will be talking about this performance for some time.

On Saturday night, we weren’t in New York. Instead, but to everyone’s advantage, we were at the Clink Theatre to witness a young man, Blake Bowden, play the role of Lanza and display talent unsurpassed in recent times.

And yes, Bowden did end the evening with Nessun Dorma, on a night when the appreciative audience related to his repertoire which included Caro Mio Ben, Granada, Be My Love, Drink, Drink Drink, The Loveliest Night of the Year, among others.

To complement the show, co-performer Phil Scott played multiple roles which provided an insight into Lanza’s troubled life. And as talented as Bowden is with his singing, Scott is no slouch at the piano.

Blake Bowden could have sung all night and the audience would have been spellbound. Instead, we were treated to an hour of pure magical bliss and just like New York more than 60 years, we’ll be talking about this young man for a long time.

The Clink’s Michael Kerr deserves praise for bringing this duo to Port Douglas. It was a real coup for Port Douglas residents to enjoy rich talent and quality entertainment.