Jon Vickers
Encyclopedia
Jonathan Stewart Vickers, CC
(born October 29, 1926), known professionally as Jon Vickers, is a retired Canadian
heldentenor.
Born in Prince Albert
, Saskatchewan
, he was the sixth in a family of eight children. In 1950, he was awarded a scholarship to study opera
at The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto
. In 1957 Vickers joined London’s Royal Opera House
, Covent Garden company. In 1960 he joined the Metropolitan Opera
. He became world famous for a wide range of German, French and Italian roles. Vickers' huge, powerful voice and solid technique met the demands of many French, German and Italian roles. He was also highly regarded for his powerful stage presence and thoughtful characterizations.
In 1968 he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada
.
at The Royal Conservatory of Music and sang professionally in Canada from the early- to mid-1950s. His international career began with his 1957 Covent Garden Riccardo in Verdi
's Ballo in maschera
. He continued to appear there into the 1980s, putting his personal stamp on the roles of Aeneas in Les Troyens
, Radames in Aida, Don Carlos
, Handel's Samson, Florestan in Fidelio
, Tristan in Tristan und Isolde
, Canio in Pagliacci
, and the title role in Britten's Peter Grimes
. Some critics praised Vickers' Tristan as the best since Lauritz Melchior's.
He debuted at Bayreuth
in 1958 as Siegmund in Die Walküre
and sang Parsifal
there in 1964. His debut role at the Metropolitan Opera
in 1960 was Canio in Pagliacci
. He appeared at the Met for 20 subsequent seasons in more than 225 performances of 16 roles, including Don Jose, Erik in The Flying Dutchman, Herman in Tchaikovsky
's Queen of Spades
, the Samsons of both Handel
and Saint-Saëns
, Don Alvaro in La forza del destino
, and Tristan
. At the ROH Covent Garden in London he sang Tristan, Britten's Peter Grimes (and changed the concept of this part forever), Handel's Samson - and, above all, Énée in Berlioz' epic opera Les Troyens
. He later recorded Énée with Sir Colin Davis
.
Although scheduled to sing Tannhäuser
at Covent Garden in the late 1970s, Vickers dropped out, claiming he could not empathize with the character. He did, however, sing Nerone in L'incoronazione di Poppea
at the Paris Opéra, plus Alvaro in La forza del destino at the Met (1975). His roles also included Don Carlo, Andrea Chenier and Samson. Many critics praised his interpretation of Verdi's Otello
, which he also recorded in 1960 (with Tullio Serafin
) and 1973 (with Herbert von Karajan
). Vickers filmed Otello with Karajan and later sang the role in a "Live from the Met" telecast in 1978.
Vickers also sang at the 'home' of Italian opera, Milan's La Scala
, as well as in the major opera houses of Chicago
, San Francisco
and Salzburg
. He retired in 1988.
Vickers' reputation rests on his exceptional grasp of characters in the grip of conflicting emotions. He was known to sacrifice vocal beauty and a smooth singing line for the sake of dramatic effect; but his basic musicianship and scrupulous histrionic preparation were never in doubt. His deeply committed portrayals of such tormented figures as Peter Grimes, Canio, Otello, Siegmund, and Samson were the keystones of his artistic legacy. His recordings of these roles are justly prized, but can only hint at the impact of his highly-charged live performances. Videos, however, of certain staged and filmed Vickers performances are available, including his renditions of Otello, Peter Grimes, Canio, Samson, Tristan and Don Jose.
His recordings, accepting their inferiority to 'real life', nonetheless carry a peculiar intensity which is often lacking in the studio opera recordings of lesser actors. The dramatic intensity he was able to invest in his first recording of Otello conducted by Tullio Serafin
alongside baritone Tito Gobbi
and soprano Leonie Rysanek
is all the more striking considering he had not yet performed the role on stage. That Jon Vickers was able to create such an impression in the studio surely attests to an innate dramatic awareness which is all too rare in singers of his calibre.
Vickers also starred in made-for-television films of his Pagliacci and Otello, both conducted by Herbert von Karajan
, and premiered the 1978 season of Live from the Met
with Otello.
In 1998, following his retirement from singing, he made his first recording as a reciter, in Richard Strauss
's melodrama Enoch Arden
, accompanied on piano by Marc-André Hamelin
.
In 1953 he married Henrietta Outerbridge. They had five children.
Further reading
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
(born October 29, 1926), known professionally as Jon Vickers, is a retired Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
heldentenor.
Born in Prince Albert
Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
Prince Albert is the third-largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. It is situated in the centre of the province on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River. The city is known as the "Gateway to the North" because it is the last major centre along the route to the resources of northern Saskatchewan...
, Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
, he was the sixth in a family of eight children. In 1950, he was awarded a scholarship to study opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
at The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
. In 1957 Vickers joined London’s Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
, Covent Garden company. In 1960 he joined the Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
. He became world famous for a wide range of German, French and Italian roles. Vickers' huge, powerful voice and solid technique met the demands of many French, German and Italian roles. He was also highly regarded for his powerful stage presence and thoughtful characterizations.
In 1968 he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
.
Career
Vickers studied with George LambertGeorge Lambert (baritone)
George James Lambert was an English baritone and voice teacher who was primarily active in Canada.Lambert was born in Long Preston. Following World War I, he studied singing in his native country with Frederic Lord while concurrently playing soccer professionally. He was highly active as an...
at The Royal Conservatory of Music and sang professionally in Canada from the early- to mid-1950s. His international career began with his 1957 Covent Garden Riccardo in Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
's Ballo in maschera
Un ballo in maschera
Un ballo in maschera , is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi with text by Antonio Somma. The libretto is loosely based on an 1833 play, Gustave III, by French playwright Eugène Scribe who wrote about the historical assassination of King Gustav III of Sweden...
. He continued to appear there into the 1980s, putting his personal stamp on the roles of Aeneas in Les Troyens
Les Troyens
Les Troyens is a French opera in five acts by Hector Berlioz. The libretto was written by Berlioz himself, based on Virgil's epic poem The Aeneid...
, Radames in Aida, Don Carlos
Don Carlos
Don Carlos is a five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French language libretto by Camille du Locle and Joseph Méry, based on the dramatic play Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien by Friedrich Schiller...
, Handel's Samson, Florestan in Fidelio
Fidelio
Fidelio is a German opera in two acts by Ludwig van Beethoven. It is Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto is by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly which had been used for the 1798 opera Léonore, ou L’amour conjugal by Pierre Gaveaux, and for the 1804 opera Leonora...
, Tristan in Tristan und Isolde
Tristan und Isolde
Tristan und Isolde is an opera, or music drama, in three acts by Richard Wagner to a German libretto by the composer, based largely on the romance by Gottfried von Straßburg. It was composed between 1857 and 1859 and premiered in Munich on 10 June 1865 with Hans von Bülow conducting...
, Canio in Pagliacci
Pagliacci
Pagliacci , sometimes incorrectly rendered with a definite article as I Pagliacci, is an opera consisting of a prologue and two acts written and composed by Ruggero Leoncavallo. It recounts the tragedy of a jealous husband in a commedia dell'arte troupe...
, and the title role in Britten's Peter Grimes
Peter Grimes
Peter Grimes is an opera by Benjamin Britten, with a libretto adapted by Montagu Slater from the Peter Grimes section of George Crabbe's poem The Borough...
. Some critics praised Vickers' Tristan as the best since Lauritz Melchior's.
He debuted at Bayreuth
Bayreuth Festival
The Bayreuth Festival is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th century German composer Richard Wagner are presented...
in 1958 as Siegmund in Die Walküre
Die Walküre
Die Walküre , WWV 86B, is the second of the four operas that form the cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen , by Richard Wagner...
and sang Parsifal
Parsifal
Parsifal is an opera in three acts by Richard Wagner. It is loosely based on Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival, the 13th century epic poem of the Arthurian knight Parzival and his quest for the Holy Grail, and on Chrétien de Troyes' Perceval, the Story of the Grail.Wagner first conceived the work...
there in 1964. His debut role at the Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
in 1960 was Canio in Pagliacci
Pagliacci
Pagliacci , sometimes incorrectly rendered with a definite article as I Pagliacci, is an opera consisting of a prologue and two acts written and composed by Ruggero Leoncavallo. It recounts the tragedy of a jealous husband in a commedia dell'arte troupe...
. He appeared at the Met for 20 subsequent seasons in more than 225 performances of 16 roles, including Don Jose, Erik in The Flying Dutchman, Herman in Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...
's Queen of Spades
The Queen of Spades (opera)
The Queen of Spades, Op. 68 is an opera in 3 acts by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky to a Russian libretto by the composer's brother Modest Tchaikovsky, based on a short story of the same name by Alexander Pushkin. The premiere took place in 1890 in St...
, the Samsons of both Handel
George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music...
and Saint-Saëns
Camille Saint-Saëns
Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns was a French Late-Romantic composer, organist, conductor, and pianist. He is known especially for The Carnival of the Animals, Danse macabre, Samson and Delilah, Piano Concerto No. 2, Cello Concerto No. 1, Havanaise, Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, and his Symphony...
, Don Alvaro in La forza del destino
La forza del destino
La forza del destino is an Italian opera by Giuseppe Verdi. The libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on a Spanish drama, Don Álvaro o la fuerza del sino , by Ángel de Saavedra, Duke of Rivas, with a scene adapted from Friedrich Schiller's Wallensteins Lager. It was first performed...
, and Tristan
Tristan und Isolde
Tristan und Isolde is an opera, or music drama, in three acts by Richard Wagner to a German libretto by the composer, based largely on the romance by Gottfried von Straßburg. It was composed between 1857 and 1859 and premiered in Munich on 10 June 1865 with Hans von Bülow conducting...
. At the ROH Covent Garden in London he sang Tristan, Britten's Peter Grimes (and changed the concept of this part forever), Handel's Samson - and, above all, Énée in Berlioz' epic opera Les Troyens
Les Troyens
Les Troyens is a French opera in five acts by Hector Berlioz. The libretto was written by Berlioz himself, based on Virgil's epic poem The Aeneid...
. He later recorded Énée with Sir Colin Davis
Colin Davis
Sir Colin Rex Davis, CH, CBE is an English conductor. His repertoire is broad, but among the composers with whom he is particularly associated are Mozart, Berlioz, Elgar, Sibelius, Stravinsky and Tippett....
.
Although scheduled to sing Tannhäuser
Tannhäuser (opera)
Tannhäuser is an opera in three acts, music and text by Richard Wagner, based on the two German legends of Tannhäuser and the song contest at Wartburg...
at Covent Garden in the late 1970s, Vickers dropped out, claiming he could not empathize with the character. He did, however, sing Nerone in L'incoronazione di Poppea
L'incoronazione di Poppea
L'incoronazione di Poppea is an Italian baroque opera comprising a prologue and three acts, first performed in Venice during the 1642–43 carnival season. The music, attributed to Claudio Monteverdi, is a setting of a libretto by Giovanni Francesco Busenello...
at the Paris Opéra, plus Alvaro in La forza del destino at the Met (1975). His roles also included Don Carlo, Andrea Chenier and Samson. Many critics praised his interpretation of Verdi's Otello
Otello
Otello is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play Othello. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, and was first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on February 5, 1887....
, which he also recorded in 1960 (with Tullio Serafin
Tullio Serafin
-Biography:Tullio Serafin was a leading Italian opera conductor with a long career and a very broad repertoire who revived many 19th century bel canto operas by Bellini, Rossini and Donizetti to become staples of 20th century repertoire...
) and 1973 (with Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian orchestra and opera conductor. To the wider world he was perhaps most famously associated with the Berlin Philharmonic, of which he was principal conductor for 35 years...
). Vickers filmed Otello with Karajan and later sang the role in a "Live from the Met" telecast in 1978.
Vickers also sang at the 'home' of Italian opera, Milan's La Scala
La Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
, as well as in the major opera houses of Chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago is one of the leading opera companies in the United States. It was founded in Chicago in 1952, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox, Nicolà Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, with a season that included Maria Callas's American debut in Norma...
, San Francisco
San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera is an American opera company, based in San Francisco, California.It was founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola and is the second largest opera company in North America...
and Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
. He retired in 1988.
Vickers' reputation rests on his exceptional grasp of characters in the grip of conflicting emotions. He was known to sacrifice vocal beauty and a smooth singing line for the sake of dramatic effect; but his basic musicianship and scrupulous histrionic preparation were never in doubt. His deeply committed portrayals of such tormented figures as Peter Grimes, Canio, Otello, Siegmund, and Samson were the keystones of his artistic legacy. His recordings of these roles are justly prized, but can only hint at the impact of his highly-charged live performances. Videos, however, of certain staged and filmed Vickers performances are available, including his renditions of Otello, Peter Grimes, Canio, Samson, Tristan and Don Jose.
His recordings, accepting their inferiority to 'real life', nonetheless carry a peculiar intensity which is often lacking in the studio opera recordings of lesser actors. The dramatic intensity he was able to invest in his first recording of Otello conducted by Tullio Serafin
Tullio Serafin
-Biography:Tullio Serafin was a leading Italian opera conductor with a long career and a very broad repertoire who revived many 19th century bel canto operas by Bellini, Rossini and Donizetti to become staples of 20th century repertoire...
alongside baritone Tito Gobbi
Tito Gobbi
Tito Gobbi was an Italian operatic baritone with an international reputation.-Biography:Tito Gobbi was born in Bassano del Grappa and studied law at the University of Padua before he trained as a singer. Giulio Crimi, a well-known Italian tenor of a previous generation, was Gobbi's teacher in Rome...
and soprano Leonie Rysanek
Leonie Rysanek
Leopoldine "Leonie" Rysanek was an Austrian dramatic soprano.-Biography:Rysanek was born in Vienna and made her operatic debut in 1949 in Innsbruck. In 1951 the Bayreuth Festival reopened and the new leader Wieland Wagner asked her to sing Sieglinde...
is all the more striking considering he had not yet performed the role on stage. That Jon Vickers was able to create such an impression in the studio surely attests to an innate dramatic awareness which is all too rare in singers of his calibre.
Vickers also starred in made-for-television films of his Pagliacci and Otello, both conducted by Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian orchestra and opera conductor. To the wider world he was perhaps most famously associated with the Berlin Philharmonic, of which he was principal conductor for 35 years...
, and premiered the 1978 season of Live from the Met
Live from the Met
Live from the Metropolitan Opera is an American television program that presented performances of complete operas from the Metropolitan Opera, New York City, on the Public Broadcasting Service television network. The program began in 1977, and was telecast live for its first few seasons...
with Otello.
In 1998, following his retirement from singing, he made his first recording as a reciter, in Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
's melodrama Enoch Arden
Enoch Arden (Strauss)
Enoch Arden, Op. 38, TrV. 181, is a melodrama for narrator and piano, written in 1897 by Richard Strauss to the words of the 1864 poem of the same name by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.-History:...
, accompanied on piano by Marc-André Hamelin
Marc-André Hamelin
Marc-André Hamelin, OC, CQ, is a French Canadian virtuoso pianist and composer.Born in Montreal, Quebec, Marc-André Hamelin began his piano studies at the age of five. His father, a pharmacist by trade who was also a pianist, introduced him to the works of Alkan, Godowsky, and Sorabji when he was...
.
In 1953 he married Henrietta Outerbridge. They had five children.
Sources
- Kuhn, Laura (ed.). "Vickers, Jon(athan) Stewart" in Baker's Student Encyclopedia of Music: R-Z, p. 1952. Schirmer Books, 1999. ISBN 0028653157
- Macdonnell, W.M. and Norman, Barbara. "Vickers, Jonathan Stewart". The Canadian EncyclopediaThe Canadian EncyclopediaThe Canadian Encyclopedia is a source of information on Canada. It is available online, at no cost. The Canadian Encyclopedia is available in both English and French and includes some 14,000 articles in each language on a wide variety of subjects including history, popular culture, events, people,...
Further reading
- Jon Vickers: A Hero's Life by Jeannie Williams, Northeastern University Press, 1999. ISBN 1-55553-408-2
External links
- Interview with Jon Vickers by Bruce Duffie (originally published 1981 in Wagner News, the newsletter of the Wagner Society of America)