Vickers, Jon

Bellini - Norma / Patane, Caballe, Vickers, Veasey, Theatre Antique d'Orange

The Art of Singing: Golden Voices of the Century

Britten - Peter Grimes / Davis, Vickers, Harper, Bailey, Royal Opera Covent Garden

More than half a century after stunning the music world at its 1945 premiere (just a month after the war had ended in Europe), Peter Grimes still overwhelms. It's anchored itself as arguably one of the top 10 works of music theater from postwar Europe. And you can easily experience why in a performance as focused, thrilling, and emotionally compelling as the present one (from the second Covent Garden production, mounted in 1975), with a cast of world-class Britten interpreters. A measure of the opera's artistic depth is the simple fact of how compendious it is, convincing in fundamentally divergent accounts, such as the original canonical Britten-Pears interpretation.

At a far remove here is the equally legendary Peter Grimes of Canadian tenor Jon Vickers. Even distilled via a home theater system, you get a good sense of why so many longtime opera-goers still recall his live performances of the role as a touchstone of operatic power. Vickers brings his huge frame and voice to bear on all the contradictions that make this outcast so strangely repulsive and moving at the same time. His Grimes isn't merely a victim. This fisherman is implacably misunderstood, feverishly ambitious, gruff, gifted with a touch of the poet yet unable to connect, and ultimately--in a tour de force of vocal acting--hounded to madness by the centrifugal energy of his complex personality.

Heather Harper exudes convincing compassion as Ellen Orford, the woman who hopes to save Grimes through her love, but she also voices a clear brand of fatalism that intriguingly links her to the townsfolk of the Borough, failing to see a way to break free from the pattern. Norman Bailey's Capt. Balstrode is a realist who tries his hardest to understand Grimes. The role of the Royal Opera Chorus in venting the village collective is crucial and effective--whether in innocent merrymaking, as a kind of Greek chorus, or as a malevolent moral majority in need of its scapegoat. A younger Colin Davis proves why he became known as a Britten specialist, leading a forceful, dynamic performance that explodes with violence and is keenly sympathetic to the score's symphonic web of texture. Elisha Moshinksy (who made his Covent Garden debut with this production) directs with grim and powerful delineation against a pared-down stage-set of boardwalk that becomes alternatively claustrophobic and barren, while Britten's brilliant music keeps the seascape ever present in the mind's ear and eye. --Thomas May

Royal Opera Chorus. Peter Grimes was the work that established Benjamin Britten as a major musical force when it was first performed in 1945. It is now universally acknowledged as one of the twentieth century's finest operas. In this performance Canadian tenor Jon Vickers - internationally acclaimed for his portrayal of Grimes - heads a cast that gives vivid life to this masterpiece.

Verdi - Otello / Vickers, Freni, Glossop, van Dam, Senechal, Bottion, Malagu, Macchi, von Karajan

Verdi's Otello is a larger-than-life role, calling for a tenor of Wagnerian vocal power and stage presence. In the late 20th century, two singers fully met its specifications--Jon Vickers and Placido Domingo. Both were filmed in video productions of unusual quality, and a choice between them boils down, ultimately, to a question of personal taste. In this 1973 production, Vickers is given an effective context to set off his powerful, carefully considered characterization. Mirella Freni is an appealing Desdemona, Peter Glossop is a credibly vicious Iago, and the cast is solid right down to the very young future star Jose van Dam in a small supporting role. The chorus and orchestra rank with the world's best.

Herbert von Karajan's direction, musical and theatrical, is a source of both strength and shortcomings. His power and prestige allowed him to assemble stellar casts and to scoff at budget limitations. He was also able to take the production beyond the opera house's visual limitations with on-location filming, an opportunity that is exploited with powerful impact in the storm-at-sea scene that opens this Otello. His personal musical taste sometimes tended to favor polish at the expense of expressive intensity. But he does present Verdi's score intact, without the cuts made in the 1986 cinematic production directed by Franco Zeffirelli and starring Domingo. Personally, I find the Zeffirelli Otello dramatically compelling, but Von Karajan's--or Georg Solti's 1992 version with Domingo and Kiri Te Kanawa--is closer to what Verdi had in mind. --Joe McLellan

Bizet - Carmen

Bizet's tale of the fiery gypsy and her naive, ultimately murderous lover, is an operatic staple but few versions boast such well-acted, brilliantly sung leading roles. Grace Bumbry's Carmen is a beautiful, witty temptress, amused at the deliriums she induces. Bumbry's facial expressions and body movements help create a nuanced character, and her singing is compelling, especially effective in the big moments; the Habanera done with languorous flirtatiousness, the Seguedilla entrancing.

One of opera's greatest singing actors, Vickers portrays the unworldly soldier of Act One before morphing into the tortured hero torn between love and duty of Act Two and finally, the insane outlaw of the finale. He and Bumbry strike sparks in the tavern scene and his "Flower" aria is the vocal and emotional highlight, begun in a throaty half-voice and building into an overwhelmingly intense cri de coeur. Mirelli Freni's Micaela, the village girl Don Jose abandons for Carmen, acts and sings her arias with vocal beauty and charm to burn. Justino Diaz is a straightforward Escamillo in a part that wants more flair and self-centered smugness. Smaller roles are adequately done.

Herbert Von Karajan directed and conducts. He's seen during the Prelude and the entr'actes in his closed-eyes mode of conducting. This Munich-made film is based on 1967 Salzburg Festival performances. It's without obvious lip-synch problems, but busy camera work indulges in many meaningless close-ups, including a shoe-top view of von Karajan's hands. Not as cohesive as Kleiber's DVD or Levine's MET production, but a must-have for Bumbry and Vickers. --Dan Davis

Saint-Saens - Samson et Dalila / Jon Vickers, Shirley Verrett, John Tomlinson, Maldwyn Davies, Matthew Best, Colin Davis, Covent Garden Opera

Opera in three acts at The Royal Opera Covent Garden. Music by Camille Saint-Saëns, Libretto by Ferdinand Lemaire. Producer: Elijah Moshinsky, Designer: Sidney Nolan, Directed For Video By John Vernon. Samson: Jon Vickers, Abimelech: John Tomlinson, First Philistine: Maldwyn Davies, Second Philistine: Matthew Best, High Priest Of Dagon: Jonathan Summers, Messenger: John Dobson, Ancient Hebrew: Gwynne Howell, Dalila: Shirley Verrett. With The Royal Opera Chorus and The Orchestra Of The Royal Opera House; Conductor Colin Davis. Saint-Saëns' Samson et Dalila has all the ingredients for popular success. The subject, based on Chapter 16 of the Book of Judges, is well known and lends itself to spectacular presentation, not least in the final scene as the blinded Samson summons his strength to bring down the pillars of the temple The title roles are equally rewarding, matching the voluptuous lines of Dalila's music with an essentially heroic tenor part for Samson. At the Royal Opera House, the roles have outstanding interpreters in Shirley Verrett and Jon Vickers. The designs are by the distinguished Australian artist, Sidney Nolan. Program language: French with Subtitles in English / French / German / Italian / Portuguese / Spanish / Japanese. Sound: Dolby 2.0 Color, Running Time 134 minutes.

Wagner - Tristan und Isolde / Bohm, Nilsson, Vickers

For its 1973 production of Wagner's intense romantic tragedy Tristan und Isolde, the Theatre Antique d'Orange assembled the best cast and conductor then available, but left the engineering in less gifted hands. Despite abstract staging that Wagner would have hated and serious technical shortcomings, many Wagnerians will find the result indispensable. This is the only video Tristan we have in which Birgit Nilsson and Jon Vickers--both near-legendary figures and ideally suited to their roles--can be seen together. For many, that will be enough said, and they can expect many hours of enjoyment. Added attractions are the fine performance of Walter Berry and Karl Bohm's excellent conducting. But the sound is poor even by the standards of 1973, and the cameras are sometimes misdirected, the images blurred. Whether you choose it or not depends on whether you value performance over technical quality. The performance is excellent, particularly in the Liebestod and Tristan's mad scene. --Joe McLellan

The great soprano Birgit Nilsson stars in her signature role of Isolde in this historic performance filmed live at the Theatre Antique d'Orange in France in 1973. Jon Vickers co-stars as Tristan in this famed production, which is performed under the musical direction of the legendary conductor Karl Böhm. This historic film of Wagner's monumental opera, performed by this incomparable cast, has been restored and digitally re-mastered.

Birgit Nilsson - Isolde
Jon Vickers - Tristan
Ruth Hesse - Brangaene
Walter Berry - Kurwenal
Bengt Rundgren - King Mark
Horst Laurenthal - Shepherd and Sailor
Stan Unruh - Melot
Conducted by Karl Böhm
Orchestre National de RTF
Choeurs New Philharmonia de Londres

Wagner - Tristan und Isolde (Extended Scenes) / Vickers, Knie, Forrester, Braun, Wilderman, Decker, Montreal Symphony Orchestra

Jon Vickers: Four Operatic Portraits (Samson, Otello, Fidelio, Peter Grimes)

The many talents of the world-renowned Canadian tenor Jon Vickers are showcased in this powerhouse solo performance from a 1984 concert filmed for the Canadian Broadcasting Company. In four fully staged scenes, Vickers portrays the central characters from Handel's Samson,Verdi's Otello, Beethoven's Fidelio, and Britten's Peter Grimes. In spite of some questionable costume choices, liberal application of stage makeup, and Otello's '70s-styled 'fro, Vickers manages to captivate the viewer with not only his impressive range as a versatile tenor, but also his skillful dramatic portrayals of the characters in the scenes of their respective climactic crises. In fact Vickers is so convincing in each scene it is a wonder that he can inhabit the role so completely without the context of the entire opera. The concert is interspersed with somewhat awkward introductions that, while informative, disrupt the mood of the performance as a whole. As an added feature, there is a concert performance of a scene from Wagner's Die Walkure filmed in 1969 with Irene Lensky. Again the singing here triumphs over cheesy video effects superimposing giant images of Vickers and Lansky over the orchestra. --Karl Wachter

Jon Vickers - Early Telecasts, Radio-Canada 1954-1956