{"id":5282,"date":"2024-10-29T09:16:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-29T08:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/voicedetective.com\/?p=5282"},"modified":"2024-10-29T17:21:15","modified_gmt":"2024-10-29T16:21:15","slug":"lg-jon-vickers-tenor-october-29th-1926","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/voicedetective.com\/de\/2024\/10\/lg-jon-vickers-tenor-october-29th-1926\/","title":{"rendered":"JON VICKERS, TENOR, 29. OKTOBER 1926"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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JON VICKERS,
TENOR
OCTOBER 29TH, 1926<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Born in 1926 in rural Saskatchewan, Jon Vickers was a very private man. Indeed as one of the greatest tenors of the twentieth century, his reticence comes as a surprise until one recognises he harnessed his emotions, dynamism, and single-minded professionalism for his stage performances. No greater tribute can be given than that of his ideal partner in so many Wagnerian roles than that of Birgit Nilsson who wrote, \u2018..I have had many wonderful tenors on stage. \u2026 But Jon Vickers was different, very different, both as an artist and as a human being. He looked neither right nor left; his opinions were as strong as the rock of Die Walk\u00fcre<\/i>. He had to have it his way, no matter what.\u2019<\/span>[i]<\/span><\/sup><\/a> His amazing dedication to his art can be heard in his performances and his statement that, \u2018No matter what we did in this pursuit of excellence, we did it for the glory of God. I have never lost that.\u2019<\/span>[ii]<\/span><\/sup><\/a> His sense of religious purpose gave his performances an unforgettable and thrilling tension, that made him a superlative singer, without pretensions and total immersion in the character and drama.<\/span><\/p><\/div>

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His early upbringing was marked by the depression, labouring in the family fields, which sometimes is attributed to his strength and stamina. His family, who were all enamoured of music and singing, listened to the radio broadcasts from the Metropolitan Opera on Saturday afternoons and this meant young Jon heard the very best of the best. Young Jon was in great demand as a church singer, and he performed frequently, but he observed years later, \u2018To begin with, I sang because I had to sing. It was part of me \u2026 an absolute necessity, fulfilling some kind of emotional and even physical need in me.\u2019<\/span>[iii]<\/span><\/sup><\/a><\/p><\/div>

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His singing in churches eventually brought him to the notice of George Lambert who scouted Canada for fresh young talent, and although Jon was 25 at the time, Lambert offered him a scholarship to Toronto Conservatory. In later years, Vickers acknowledged Lambert as the sole teacher he had.<\/span><\/p><\/div>

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His first professional performance was a concert in Toronto on 17 April 1951. Throughout the years 1952 to 1956 he was performing in Canada. At this point, even though regularly performing, he was having doubts about a career as it was difficult for him to provide for his growing family and he had set a deadline to quit singing for June 1956. At this crucial point gate stepped in when Regina Resnik recommended Vickers to her agent. International attention meant that by 1957 he made numerous appearances in London singing Verdi and French repertoire. But it was in the performance of Wagner that he truly made his mark, and his legend. His first Bayreuth appearance was as Siegmund in Die Walk\u00fcre<\/i> on 28 July 1958. Thereafter Siegmund was his domain. He sang the heavy Verdi roles, and his Florestan in Beethoven\u2019s Fidelio<\/i> and Britten\u2019s Peter Grimes<\/i> of the eponymous opera are the standard by which all others are measured against. His final performance was typical of the great but publicity shy man, a concertina performance of Act 2 of Parsifal<\/i> in Kitchener, in rural Ontario.<\/span>[iv]<\/span><\/sup><\/a><\/p><\/div>

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His huge and powerful voice may be heard in the classic recording of Tristan und Isolde<\/i>, under the baton of Herbert von Karajan. Despite Vickers\u2019 reputation as a challenging colleague, he was one of Karajan\u2019s favourite singers. It is regrettable that we can no longer observe him live on stage. In the words of one critic, Vickers \u2018dominated the stage from first to last. In ringing voice, the tenor created a tragic figure of terrifying strength and heart-rending poignancy, shaped with the full range of hues, from the arrogant military man to the whimpering creature on the floor of his cell.\u2019<\/span>[v]<\/span><\/sup><\/a> It is interesting to note that such was the intensity and excitement of his stage persona, that other singers were allegedly fearful of him.<\/span>[vi]<\/span><\/sup><\/a><\/p><\/div>

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The most heroic of tenors, Jon Vickers passed away on 10 July 2015. His signature role, is arguably Peter Grimes.<\/span><\/p><\/div>

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ENDNOTES<\/b><\/p>

[i]<\/span><\/sup><\/a> NILSSON, BIRGIT. FORWARD TO JON VICKERS A HERO\u2019S LIFE, JEANNIE WILLIAMS, NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY PRESS, BOSTON1999, P.xi<\/span><\/p><\/div>

[ii]<\/span><\/sup><\/a> VICKERS, JON. JON VICKERS A HERO\u2019S LIFE, JEANNIE WILLIAMS, NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY PRESS, BOSTON, 1999. P.7<\/span><\/p><\/div>

[iii]<\/span><\/sup><\/a> IBID. P.13<\/span><\/p><\/div>

[iv]<\/span><\/sup><\/a> IBID. PP.312-340<\/span><\/p><\/div>

[v]<\/span><\/sup><\/a> IBID. P.207. ROBERT JACKSON WAS THE CRTIC.<\/span><\/p><\/div>

[vi]<\/span><\/sup><\/a> IBID. Pxiii. \u2018REGINA RESNIK PLAYED A KEY ROLE IN VICKERS\u2019S EARLY CAREER\u2026AND WAS LATER AMONG THOSE SINGERS WHO FEARED HIM ONSTAGE, PARTICULARLY IN CARMEN\u2019!<\/span><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jon Vickers wurde 1926 im l\u00e4ndlichen Saskatchewan geboren und war ein sehr zur\u00fcckhaltender Mann. Tats\u00e4chlich \u00fcberrascht seine Zur\u00fcckhaltung als einer der gr\u00f6\u00dften Ten\u00f6re des 20. Jahrhunderts, bis man erkennt, dass er seine Emotionen, seine Dynamik und seine zielstrebige Professionalit\u00e4t f\u00fcr seine B\u00fchnenauftritte nutzte. Es gibt keine gr\u00f6\u00dfere Anerkennung als die seiner idealen Partnerin in so vielen Wagner-Rollen als die von Birgit Nilsson, die schrieb: \u201e\u2026 Ich habe viele wunderbare Ten\u00f6re auf der B\u00fchne gehabt. \u2026 Aber Jon Vickers war anders, sehr anders, sowohl als K\u00fcnstler als auch als Mensch. Er schaute weder nach rechts noch nach links; seine Meinungen waren so stark wie der Fels der Walk\u00fcre. Er musste seinen Willen durchsetzen, egal was passierte.\u201c Seine erstaunliche Hingabe an seine Kunst ist in seinen Auftritten und seiner Aussage zu h\u00f6ren: \u201eEgal, was wir in diesem Streben nach Exzellenz taten, wir taten es zur Ehre Gottes. Das habe ich nie verloren.\u201c Sein religi\u00f6ser Sinn verlieh seinen Auftritten eine unvergessliche und mitrei\u00dfende Spannung, die ihn zu einem S\u00e4nger der Superlative machte, ohne Anma\u00dfung und mit v\u00f6lligem Eintauchen in die Rolle und das Drama.<\/p>\n

Seine fr\u00fche Kindheit war gepr\u00e4gt von Depressionen und der Arbeit auf dem Familienfeld, was manchmal seiner St\u00e4rke und Ausdauer zugeschrieben wird. Seine Familie, die alle Musik und Gesang liebte, h\u00f6rte Samstagnachmittags die Radio\u00fcbertragungen der Metropolitan Opera, und das bedeutete, dass der junge Jon die Allerbesten h\u00f6rte. Der junge Jon war als Kirchens\u00e4nger sehr gefragt und trat h\u00e4ufig auf, aber Jahre sp\u00e4ter bemerkte er: \u201eAnfangs sang ich, weil ich singen musste. Es war ein Teil von mir \u2026 eine absolute Notwendigkeit, die eine Art emotionales und sogar k\u00f6rperliches Bed\u00fcrfnis in mir befriedigte.\u201c <\/p>\n

Durch sein Singen in Kirchen wurde George Lambert auf ihn aufmerksam, der in Kanada nach jungen Talenten Ausschau hielt. Obwohl Jon damals 25 Jahre alt war, bot Lambert ihm ein Stipendium f\u00fcr das Toronto Conservatory an. In sp\u00e4teren Jahren betrachtete Vickers Lambert als seinen einzigen Lehrer.<\/p>\n

Sein erster professioneller Auftritt war ein Konzert in Toronto am 17. April 1951. Von 1952 bis 1956 trat er in Kanada auf. Obwohl er zu diesem Zeitpunkt regelm\u00e4\u00dfig auftrat, kamen ihm Zweifel an seiner Karriere, da er seine wachsende Familie kaum ern\u00e4hren konnte und er sich bis Juni 1956 das Singen abgew\u00f6hnen wollte. An diesem entscheidenden Punkt kam ihm ein Schlaglicht, als Regina Resnik Vickers ihrem Agenten empfahl. Internationale Aufmerksamkeit bedeutete, dass er bis 1957 zahlreiche Auftritte in London hatte und Verdi und franz\u00f6sisches Repertoire sang. Aber wirkliche Spuren und eine Legende wurde er mit Wagner-Auff\u00fchrungen. Seinen ersten Auftritt in Bayreuth hatte er am 28. Juli 1958 als Siegmund in der Walk\u00fcre. Danach war der Siegmund seine Dom\u00e4ne. Er sang die schweren Verdi-Rollen, und sein Florestan in Beethovens Fidelio und Brittens Peter Grimes in der gleichnamigen Oper setzen Ma\u00dfst\u00e4be f\u00fcr alle anderen. Sein letzter Auftritt war typisch f\u00fcr den gro\u00dfen, aber \u00f6ffentlichkeitsscheuen Mann: eine Konzertina-Auff\u00fchrung des zweiten Akts von Parsifal in Kitchener im l\u00e4ndlichen Ontario. <\/p>\n

Seine gewaltige und kraftvolle Stimme ist in der klassischen Aufnahme von Tristan und Isolde unter der Leitung von Herbert von Karajan zu h\u00f6ren. Trotz Vickers' Ruf als anspruchsvoller Kollege war er einer von Karajans Lieblingss\u00e4ngern. Es ist bedauerlich, dass wir ihn nicht mehr live auf der B\u00fchne erleben k\u00f6nnen. In den Worten eines Kritikers beherrschte Vickers \u201edie B\u00fchne von Anfang bis Ende. Mit seiner schallenden Stimme schuf der Tenor eine tragische Figur von furchteinfl\u00f6\u00dfender St\u00e4rke und herzzerrei\u00dfender Sch\u00e4rfe, die mit der gesamten Bandbreite an Farbt\u00f6nen gestaltet wurde, vom arroganten Milit\u00e4rmann bis zum wimmernden Wesen auf dem Boden seiner Zelle.\u201c Es ist interessant festzustellen, dass die Intensit\u00e4t und Aufregung seiner B\u00fchnenpers\u00f6nlichkeit so gro\u00df war, dass andere S\u00e4nger angeblich Angst vor ihm hatten. <\/p>\n

Der heldenhafteste aller Ten\u00f6re, Jon Vickers, ist am 10. Juli 2015 verstorben. Seine Paraderolle war wohl die des Peter Grimes.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5284,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[74],"class_list":["post-5282","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-legendary-singers","tag-legendary-singers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/voicedetective.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5282","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/voicedetective.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/voicedetective.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/voicedetective.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/voicedetective.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5282"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/voicedetective.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5282\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/voicedetective.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5284"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/voicedetective.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5282"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/voicedetective.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5282"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/voicedetective.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5282"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}