“Please, release me. Let me go.”

Engelbert Humperdinck serenaded a sold-out house Saturday night at the Maine Center for the Arts in Orono.

The 67-year-old singer’s voice may have thinned over the years, but its tone matched the lush, red interior of the Hutchins Concert Hall.

“So, release me and let me love again.”

The audience rose to its feet and leaned forward as if to keep the crooner in its arms a few moments longer, the way the lover for whom the songwriter penned the lyric must have done. Humperdinck tossed one last silky orange scarf into the outstretched arms of his woman fans and left the stage for good.

The 67-year-old singer performed an energized 90 minutes without an intermission. Backed by an excellent Nashville-based band and two woman backup singers, Humperdinck sang the hits the crowd most likely first heard 40 years ago on their transistor radios.

“The Last Waltz,” “After the Lovin,'” “There Goes My Everything,” “Release Me” – he performed them all, urging the audience to sing along.

The highlight of the evening, however, wasn’t hearing the Englishman sing his own hits. Humperdinck’s interpretation of classic rock ‘n’ roll tunes eclipsed his performance of the songs that made him famous.

The singer raised the roof and rocked like a man half his age when he performed Jerry Lee Lewis’ classic “Great Balls of Fire.” His voice took on a raw edginess not revealed in the smooth, romantic ballads that are his signature.

It was his Elvis impression, however, that was dead on – both a loving tribute and comic satire. Humperdinck, a friend of the King, mussed his hair, unbuttoned his black satin shirt, curled his lip and wiggled his hips in an interpretation that would put most professional Elvis impersonators to shame.

Internationally,Humperdinck still performs 140 shows a year such as the one Saturday at the MCA. He has sold 130 million albums and continues to record new material.

If the response from Maine fans is any indication, as long as Humperdinck is willing and able to perform the fans will be in the seats refusing to release one of pop music’s last but still best crooners.

Judy Harrison is a NEWS Staff writer. She can be reached at jharrison@bangordailynews.net.