I saw him in only two roles at the Met, Otello and Don Jose. A great tenor. A great artist. May he rest in peace. James McCracken (December 16, 1926 - April 29, 1988).
A truly great artist with an extraordinary voice, he sang Florestan in a concert version of Fidelio at Avery Fisher Lincoln Center and he shook the ceiling with massive volume. And his recording of Irish & Scottish Songs is absolutely beautiful and full of nuance and intimacy.
My absolute favorite Otello, even moreso in ‘Live Perf’, as everything about his delivery is honest, truthful & intensely REAL 🙌 It was a phenomenal career/life, as is evidenced by over 560 perf’s 🌎-wide as the Moor + 59 @ the Met alone (both the All-Time Records) ⭐️ Always highly individual, & yes, controversial, but curiously even more remarkably special as a result! His tech command, strength, endurance & energy are unique in the annals of the Tenore di Forza/Schweren-HT categories - to say nothing of his ever-gallant Heart, unique SQ, sui-generis theatricality & courage of performing style 🍀 For those who really ‘got him’, just about no one else will really do in his roles (& yes, that does include Trovatore, Aida, S&D, Prophete, etc): God Bless JMcC
A singular voice not for all tastes perhaps but 3 years after this I sang with him in SAMSON ET DELILAH where he was in fine form plus the fact that he was a considerate & kind colleague.
Sebastian :: You are absolutely right ! You have to hear this man's great voice in the right role ( Otello / Jean ). I never really liked his voice until I heard him sing Jean ! His French was magnificent. Then I heard him sing this role ( Otello ). He is the best I've ever heard as that dangerous, powerful character.
James McCracken sang performances of "Fidelio" with the Indianapolis Symphony the years I was a sub in the orchestra. I really fell for him. He was a wonderful performer and colleague.
I actually remember watching this on television. It was a great night for Opera. I remember so many great performances from that night. Placido Domingo and Mirella Frenni, Alfredo Kraus and Catherine Malfitano, Frederica Von Stade and Judith Blegen and so many others. I hope the world will be blessed by such Galas in the future. Opera is a wonderful world.
@@DLJ2890 ...but was an American who was loved by New York audiences....therefore a good choice and in the twilight of his career. Nostalgic melancholy.
@Warpedsmac :: If this was the twilight of his career, his earlier years must have been spectacular ! The expressiveness of his voice makes McCracken the most sympathetic in this role. No other tenor makes you feel Otello's grief & heartbreak. I've never liked the opera or character, but James McCracken makes you weep !
Yes I remember watching this at the time too. McCracken was brilliant but my favourite moment at this Gala was the duet from the opera Andrea Chenier sung by Carreras and Cabballe. It was a wonderful concert. Goodness me what great singers we had then. Thanks for posting.
This is a common comment made about dramatic tenors. Often, they are mistaken for baritones early in their training due to the weight and power of the voice and sometimes the difficulty they have navigating the higher tenor tessitura. This is compounded as the tenor ages and the voice naturally darkens. One of the greatest heldentenors, Lauritz Melchoir, was first thought to be a baritone and even began his operatic career singing baritone roles.
I saw Jimmy many times at the MET when I was a secretary in NYC. I would get out of work and go get a standing room ticket. I think it cost 2.50 back in the 60s to stand at the back of the orchestra. At first I didn't like his voice. I remember writing a college paper about his Otello, and criticizing the voice. My teacher came down on me hard and told me to go back to the MET and hear him again. He said this is one of the great voices of the century!!
Much criticized at the time, even by me, but listening with the perspective of time, and more wisdom, I find that those dramatic accents, and that energetic performance, can only be dreamed in our days.
My mom went to grade school (Holy Angels) and high school (Horace Mann) in Gary, Indiana with James McCracken! They had a big celebration for him back here in the mid-70's!
Un video correcto para quien no conoce el mundo de la ópera y tenga una pequeña introducción como para ir poco a poco incursionando Dentro de este hermoso género como cantante lírico debo decir que hay muchas fallas en los videos hubiese estado muy lindo que se investigará más a fondo (está bien los que nombró que han cantado este ária) pero me gustaría que hubiese quedado todo dentro de la lírica, no fuera de ella! hubo intérpretes maravillosos incluso los mismos Plácido domingo José carreras giuseppe giacomini muchísimos, Franco corelli Mario del monaco giuseppe di Stéfano Nicola martinucci podría seguir Eternamente nombrando cantantes líricos que interpretaron este ária y es cierto lo que se dice que el gran Luciano Pavarotti no la cantó muchas veces en vivo, la opeta, puesto que su voz era lírica pura, para ese rol, ya que es para un tenor lirico spinto, pero sí hizo muy famosa este aria!!! Debo reconocer a mi gusto La mas hermosa Turandot que escuché haata el momento es la de Franco Corelli y Biegitt Nilsson y Ana Moffo.
Otello de Verdi es sólo para algunos. Ni siquiera Caruso llegó a cantarla (sólo algún recital). En esta aria debe reflejarse el tormento interior del personaje que terminará en una verdadera erupción volcánica. Son muy pocos los que llegan a cantarla con la expresividad que requiere.
Cierto. Incluso Pavarotti grabó un Otello para no quedarse con esa espinita en su carrera en el que salvó los muebles sufriendo, pero no alcanzó la esencia del personaje ni de lejos.
Lanza è grande, vero. Assolutamente. Ma dà McCracken un possibilità. McCracken cantava quella Di Quella Pira nella tonalità originale all'età di 60 anni! Lui aveva un Do di Petto incredibile.
I will be instantly leapt on as a heretic no doubt, but one of the best versions I have ever heard of this is in the Mario Lanza rehearsal scene from the film Serenade. Check it out.
@@tobiasandrews3778: He was an undisciplined performer and lazy. If he had actually wanted an operatic stage career he could have had one. He did not and chose to remain in films. Well, his did even when didn’t (THE STUDENT PRICE). But to compare his few filmed operatic excerpts with an artist like James McCracken indicates how little you know and an unrealistic reference comparison.
@@johnpickford4222 holy shit, dude. Calm tf down. Did I say anything disparaging about McCracken whatsoever, you arrogant shit!?!? I was commenting on something SOMEONE ELSE SAID!! Mind your own f$&&ing business. McCracken is also great, dickhead. Lots of great singers in the world. Enjoy it and stop being a stuck up know it all.
He had no business singing that role. period. you could, as levine, place a thousand lyric tenors in the same position, AND THEY WOULD FAIL THE SAME WAY HE DID TRYING. THIS OPERA WILL NEVER TAKE A LYRIC TENOR. WHY THE HELL do people keep misunderstanding opera and Fach?
@@Warpedsmac sorry, but it should never be that exhausting of work physically for a dramatic tenor. but I applaud him for his tremendous effort and it wasn't bad.
@@DLJ2890, have you considered that the aria is challenging, period? Or that McCracken wasn't exactly a spring rooster in 1983..... And I'm not sure how anyone could label him as a lyric tenor. His timbre is much too dark, and the size of his voice is much too big. If McCracken is a "barely full lyric tenor", I'd hate to think what you'd classify Juan Diego Florez as LoL
