Streisand the Ticket Master : Concerts: Singer’s Anaheim shows quickly sell out, as do three added shows. TicketMaster says it received 1 million phone calls.

Barbra Streisand fans turned out in force at ticket outlets and tied up phone lines Sunday morning as three concerts at the Anaheim Arena sold out in less than half an hour, and three added shows were sell-outs by noon.

TicketMaster reported the biggest response ever since it began operating in Southern California in 1983, with an estimated 1 million calls logged for the Anaheim shows. Fred Rosen, president and CEO of TicketMaster, said the fourth and fifth concerts had been planned, if demand warranted, but the sixth show was spur of the moment.

A source said the concerts are expected to gross $2 million each, probably a record for a pop concert tour. The average sold-out arena concert grosses between $300,00 and $500,000, according to PollStar, a trade magazine that tracks the concert business. Tickets for the Anaheim shows ranged from $350 down to $50, much higher than most pop concerts but less than tickets for Streisand’s Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 shows in Las Vegas, where the top price was $1,000.

Crowds numbering into the hundreds were reported at TicketMaster outlets across Southern California, while the Anaheim Arena box office drew an estimated 4,000.

Tickets for all 12 announced shows on Streisand’s national tour went on sale simultaneously (at 9 a.m. Pacific Standard time), and demand across the country was reported strong with an estimated 5 million attempted calls into the TicketMaster system reported in the first hour. Two shows were added for the New York dates, and one for the stop in Michigan. Anaheim is the only venue to have six shows.

The Las Vegas shows marked the singer’s return to live concerts after a 22-year break. Streisand’s Anaheim dates will be May 25, 27, 29, 31, June 2 and 4. The U.S. tour will open May 10 in Washington and will continue in Auburn Hills, Mich., before coming to Anaheim. Then, it will move on to San Jose and will close at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Before tickets went on sale for the Anaheim show, the TicketMaster limit was cut from six to four per person, to give more fans a chance. At the Anaheim Arena box office, the limit was six until the last show was added, then was cut to two, after a vote of the more than 1,000 fans still waiting for tickets by that time.

Promoters held back some tickets for the final show, making them available only to those who stood in line at the arena box office.