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"Vickers was by common consent an unforgetable . . . It is an achievement of this book, that while giving so clear a picture of the man, great but fallible, it also enables us to review the art, fallible also but still more surely great."—Opera Now
The first biography of a legendary tenor.
During his extraordinary career, the now-legendary Canadian tenor Jon Vickers sang the most demanding of operatic roles -- Tristan, Peter Grimes, Otello, Aeneas, Parsifal -- with searing emotional intensity and dramatic interpretation. In this first biography of Vickers, Jeannie Williams provides a captivating and revealing portrait of a very private, deeply religious man and complex artist who baffled and often enraged his friends and colleagues.
Drawing on scores of interviews with those who knew and worked with Vickers, Williams traces his life from boyhood in western Canada, to schooling in Toronto, to his debut at Covent Garden, to his tenure at the Royal Opera House, to his celebrated appearances on the world's major opera stages. She discusses his signature roles, including details of a little-known Otello in South Africa, over-the-edge performances, and stormy battles with conductors and directors. In addition, she details Vickers' controversial withdrawal from the Tannhuser opera, his on-going friction with BBC-TV, his conflicted relationship with his native Canada, and his choices in repertory. Williams also illuminates the paradoxes in the world view of a man who might have been a preacher or a prime minister if he had not been blessed with such a remarkable musical talent.
This in-depth, well-balanced, and objective biography will stand as the definitive work on one of the world's greatest heroic tenors.
"He is a man of strong character and convictions -- the kind of person I respect, even when I don't agree with the particular convictions. I believe anyone who reads this book will also respect him greatly."
—American Record Guide
"Jeannie Williams has an impressive track record as a writer on things operatic, and there is no absence of detailed research."—Opera-Opera
"Jon Vickers was a singing actor of overwhelming impact, his performances driven by a unique fusion of sensitivity, intelligence, brute force, and stubborn individuality. He also was a rather enigmatic figure who avoided conventional paths to operatic glory. Jeannie Williams' probing biography explores Vickers' triumphs, his contradictions, his frailties, his eloquence, and his egocentricity with equal parts objectivity and sympathy." —Martin Bernheimer, Pulitzer Prize-winning critic
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