Vickers gave a memorable recital at Stratford in the early 70's. After his first selection, he looked around and asked if the people in the back of the theatre could hear all right. I was tempted to reply "They can hear you in Toronto!"
I always appreciated the naturalness of his sound. His voice did not have that somewhat artificial sound of many classical tenors. The warm vocal overtones sounded much more natural than the intense brightness of many tenors. There is nothing wrong with metallic brightness, but, His sound just seems less " manufactured".
I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Vickers in the early 1970s when he was performing in Chicago in "Peter Grimes". My mother and my brother had met him in the late 1960s in New York when he was performing in "Othello", and they had become friends. He was a fantastic singer, and a very nice gentleman.
To my mind, no tenor has matched his Peter Grimes, for its heart-rending pathos, depth of emotional intelligence, and superb interpretation of the character. At his best, Vickers was one of those few tenors with an extraordinary voice -- authentic rather than 'manufactured' -- and a wonderful stage actor in opera. Some say his acting was the same all the time. Not for me; watch any of his performances, and you see how he changes in each one. Yes, he rarely performed 'happy' characters, but he did have a wry humor and delighted audiences when he showed that side of himself. And his fellow singers fully respected what he gave to them, and took back from them -- for performances that we can now at least gladly listen to, or watch, and understand why he will remain one of opera's legendary singers of his time.
Clearly a very great acting singer: it would be stupid in the extreme to claim otherwise. He was also a delightful and warm-hearted man, as my parents - friends of his - attested. He may have had some outmoded ideas and prejudices, but you cannot argue with his spiritual commitment to his roles, nor his vocal splendour and generosity.
Interesting, honest and always riveting in his operatic performances . Captured here at the heights of his considerable powers. One addendum: Before Caruso there was Jean de Reszke ( who , like Vickers, sang a wide variety of roles) and it took some time before the public would accept the new Neopolitan tenor. However, he did eventually go on to great successes both artistic and financially bolstered the old Mets coffers, giving the house a clout and popularity exceeding de Reszke’s , which is what I believe Vickers is attesting to here, but to say that it was “ founded on the voice of Caruso” would be an exaggeration.
I have no interest in most men. I'm not impressed with looks but when I saw Jon as Sampson I was so enamoured, so smitten. I've not seen a tenor so handsome as Jon was in that moment.
Vickers was a great tenor in many ways but despite what people say,his acting was not that good. One famous baritone called him the weather man,all his actions were North,South,East and West.
There is a beautiful video of Vickers as Samson with Shirley Verett singing Delilah’s great aria. He does not sing, he simply reacts to her seduction, with the gentlest, most sensual movements. I think it may be the most brilliant piece of re-acting I’ve ever seen.
@@liedersanger1 You’ve resurrected a long-buried memory: What a great performance! Verett’s entrance was an enchantment, the whole production magic. Thank you!