Jon Vickers | |
|---|---|
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| Born | Jonathan Stewart Vickers (1926-10-29)October 29, 1926 Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada |
| Died | July 10, 2015(2015-07-10) (aged 88) Ontario, Canada |
| Education | The Royal Conservatory |
| Occupation | Opera singer (tenor) |
| Organizations | |
| Awards | Governor General's Awards |
Jonathan Stewart Vickers (October 29, 1926 – July 10, 2015), known professionally asJon Vickers, was a world renowned Canadianheldentenor.
In 1957 Vickers joined London’sRoyal Opera House, Covent Garden company. In 1960 he joined theMetropolitan Opera.
Vickers became world-famous for a wide range of German, French, and Italian roles, but especially in theWagner tenor roles inDie Walkure,Tristan und Isolde,Parsifal and in Beethoven'sFidelio. He was the foremost Wagner tenor of his era.
Vickers performed operas with prominent conductors such asOtto Klemperer,Herbert von Karajan, SirColin Davis,Hans Knappertsbusch, and SirThomas Beecham. With Karajan he recorded several operas accompanied by theBerlin Philharmonic Orchestra.
Born inPrince Albert, Saskatchewan, Vickers was the sixth in a family of eight children. In 1950, he was awarded a scholarship to study opera atThe Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.
Vickers was born into the musical family of William, a teacher and school principal, and Myrle (née Mossop). As a youth he sang in his father's church, and his initial intention was to study medicine. He worked on a neighbour's farm and acquired the muscular stature that characterized him. During a semi-professional production his leading lady made a recording of his voice and sent it to The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. He auditioned there withEvery Valley Shall be Exalted from Handel'sMessiah and was offered a scholarship.[1]
Vickers studied withGeorge Lambert atThe Royal Conservatory of Music[2] and sang professionally in Canada from the early- to mid-1950s. In 1952 he won theNos futures étoiles competition onCBC Radio.[3]
His international career began with his 1957Covent Garden Riccardo inVerdi'sUn ballo in maschera. He continued to appear there into the 1980s, putting his personal stamp on the roles of Énée inBerlioz'sLes Troyens, Radamès in Verdi'sAida and the title role in hisDon Carlos,Handel'sSamson, Florestan inBeethoven'sFidelio, Tristan inWagner'sTristan und Isolde, Canio inLeoncavallo'sPagliacci, and the title role inBritten'sPeter Grimes.[4] Some critics praised Vickers' Tristan as the best sinceLauritz Melchior's.[5]
On 20 November 1957, Vickers sang the title role in a performance ofThe Dream of Gerontius by SirEdward Elgar in Rome conducted by SirJohn Barbirolli with the RAI Rome Symphony Orchestra and Chorus.[6]
Vickers gained major international recognition in both the U.S. and the UK in the role ofGiasone (Jason) in performances ofLuigi Cherubini'sMedea withMaria Callas in the title role at bothDallas Civic Opera in November 1958[7][8][9][10] and the following season atRoyal Opera House,Covent Garden in London, UK, in June, 1959.[11][12] This was a joint co-production between Dallas and Covent Garden. Vickers and Callas both emphasized dramatic skills as well as singing ability, and they worked well together, Vickers stating that “...when we finished the big love duet, she flew across the stage and put her arms around me and said, 'At last, a tenor who can act!'”[13] The same production was staged atLa Scala Opera House inMilan, Italy in 1961-1962, again with Callas and Vickers heading the cast.[14][15] The libretto by Hoffman was based onEuripides' tragedyMedea, onSeneca the Younger's playMedea and onPierre Corneille's playMédée.[16]
He debuted at theBayreuth Festival in 1958 asSiegmund inDie Walküre and sangParsifal there in 1964, both presentations conducted by legendary Wagner conductorHans Knappertsbusch.[2] Later negotiations withWieland Wagner concerning appearances as Siegfried inGötterdämmerung ceased on Wieland's death in 1966.
Vickers' debut role at theMetropolitan Opera in 1960 was Canio inPagliacci.[17] He would appear at theMetropolitan Opera in New York City, N.Y. over a period of 27 years in 280 performances of 17 roles, including Florestan inFidelio, Siegmund inWagner'sDie Walküre, Don Jose inBizet'sCarmen, Radamès inAida, Erik in Wagner'sDer fliegende Holländer, Herman inTchaikovsky'sQueen of Spades, Samson in both Handel's oratorio andSaint-Saëns'Samson et Dalila, the title role ofVerdi'sOtello, Don Alvaro in Verdi'sLa forza del destino,Peter Grimes,Tristan und Isolde, Laca inJanáček'sJenůfa, Vasek inSmetana'sThe Bartered Bride, and the title role in Wagner'sParsifal, giving his farewell in 1987.[17]
Although scheduled to singTannhäuser at Covent Garden in the late 1970s, Vickers dropped out, claiming he could not empathize with the character,[18] and that the opera itself was blasphemous in nature.[4][19] He sang Nerone in Monteverdi'sL'incoronazione di Poppea at the Paris Opéra, and Alvaro inLa forza del destino at the Met (1975). His roles also included Don Carlos, Andrea Chenier, Herod inSalome. Vickers sang Pollione inNorma.[20]
He also sang rarely heard roles such as Cellini in Berlioz'sBenvenuto Cellini,[21] Ratan-Sen inRoussel'sPadmavati and Sergei inShostakovitch'sLady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District.[22] Many critics praised his interpretation of Verdi'sOtello,[23] which he recorded twice: in 1960 withTullio Serafin and 1973 with Herbert von Karajan. Vickers also was a long time collaborator with American pianistRichard Woitach.[24][25]
Vickers became one of Karajan's favourite singers at the lavish Salzburg Easter and Summer Festivals inDer Ring des Nibelungen,Carmen,Otello,Fidelio as well asTristan und Isolde.
Vickers further sang at the 'home' of Italian opera, Milan'sLa Scala, as well as in the major opera houses ofChicago,San Francisco,Vienna, and at theSalzburg Festival. He retired in 1988.[26]
Among Vickers' most central recordings were those of Florestan inBeethoven'sFidelio released in 1962 conducted byOtto Klemperer with thePhilharmonia Orchestra[27] and also ofFidelio later in 1971 withHerbert von Karajan conducting theBerlin Philharmonic Orchestra.[28] In the Wagner repertoire, Siegmund inRichard Wagner'sDie Walküre in 1961 with conductorErich Leinsdorf and theLondon Symphony Orchestra,[29] alsoDie Walküre later in 1966 with Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra,[30] and Tristan inTristan und Isolde in 1971-1972, also with Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.[31] Vickers' most critically acclaimed performance of Parsifal in Wagner'sParsifal was from theBayreuth Festival in 1964 conducted byHans Knappertsbusch,[32] which was the great conductor's final performance.
The role of Énée (Aeneas) inHector Berlioz'Les Troyens withSir Colin Davis conducting theRoyal Opera House Orchestra in 1969 was highly regarded.[33][34][22][20] Also, there was a legendary and controversial 1959 recording of Handel'sMessiah with SirThomas Beecham.[35][20][36][37] Vickers' later roles included highly acclaimed recordings ofBenjamin Britten'sPeter Grimes conducted by Sir Colin Davis with the orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden[38] and of Verdi'sOtello conducted by Karajan with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.[39][40]
Vickers' huge, powerful voice and solid technique met the demands of many German, French and Italian roles. He was also highly regarded for his powerful stage presence and thoughtful characterizations.[41] (Conversely, he was sometimes incorrectly criticized for "scooping"—beginning a note below pitch and then sliding up to the correct pitch—and for "crooning".)[42] While his soft singing was often dismissed by critics as “crooning” or falsetto, it was actually an enveloping, fully supported sound, seeming to come from all around the theater.[43]
Vickers was too young to serve in World War II, although two older brothers experienced heavy action in the conflict, one becoming a prisoner of war. Vickers was always strongly anti-Hitler in his statements and judgments, including the role of Wagner's philosophy in influencing the Nazis.[44]
During the Bayreuth Festival of 1964, when Vickers was billeted at a local house, he was offended by some favourable remarks made by the house owner about the period under Nazi rule. Vickers declined further roles at the Bayreuth Festival.
Vickers was a dedicated, outspoken Protestant; one writer referred to him as "God's tenor" for this reason.[45]
In 1953 he married Henrietta Outerbridge. They had five children. After her death in 1991, he married Judith Stewart.[1] Vickers died ofAlzheimer's disease on July 10, 2015, in Ontario.[46][47]
In 1968 he was made a Companion of theOrder of Canada. Vickers received theGovernor General's Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement, Canada's highest honour in the performing arts, in 1998.[48]
Vickers' voice was recorded in dozens of performances, including:[22]
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