Thank you for this posting. I am sad that he has died...a FABULOUS HELDEN TENOR !!! It is too bad that more singers don't speak out about the abuse of power in the opera world....(as in nearly ALL businesses). He was TRULY a GREAT ARTIST...and a great human being.
I adored Jon. My husband, Ron Freeman was the wig and makeup master at the ROH and when Jon came to sing in London, he would come to our house for a homecooked meal. he was so down to earth but passionately believed in his art. He was marmite but I LOVED him, his conviction, his immersion into every role he tackled. A true artist.
My family was great friends with the Vickers from the 1950s until the 1970s when Jon relocated his family to Bermuda. My mother and the future Mrs. Vickers were both gals in the typing pool. That's how my dad and Jon became friends. He was a great kidder who tickled me unmercifully on the living room floor. I got back at him by walking into living room with his album of Arias wondering aloud why my parents would have this in their record collection and could I listen to Peter Paul and Mary instead? As a kid I never did understand exactly what Jon did for a living, although I remember him talking to my dad about being in rehearsals for Tristan in the very early 70s. To me, he was just a barrel-chested jovial imp of a fellow who blew the roof off the Anglican Church from the pews in Alton, Ontario, on Sundays and performed every year at the Guelph Music Festival. All wonderful memories of times our families spent together.
Remember seeing him sing Handel's Samson at the ROH alongside many of the finest English basses of the day. His tenor voice had more depth than all of them.
Merci, je ne connaissais pas ce chanteur, viens juste de l'entendre. Quelle voix superbe. Et il chantait Wagner, et avec brio en ce qui me concerne , mon compositeur préféré. Je regrette de l'avoir connu si tard, mais mieux vaut tard que jamais. Qu'il reste en paix.
Really excellent and precious interview. I'm sure Jeannie Williams would have referred to it in her great book on Vickers had she had access to it; particularly the reference to singing in Italy.
Jon’s speaking voice reminds me a lot of Gene Wilder’s. It’s quite soothing to listen to. But his speaking voice definitely has that Nova Scotia lilt to it at times. This dude was a fascinating man of multiple contradictions. It’s amazing how this very soft spoken, gentle man had a singing voice that could burst through ear drums, and was very deep and powerful. Then again, looking at him appearance, one wouldn’t expect a deep booming voice to come out of him when he sang. Mario Del Monaco and Franco Corelli are also very similar in that they had lighter softer & higher pitched speaking voices that sounded completely different to their singing voices (though given that their native language was Italian, it makes sense).
He accent is different then it was a few years later. I think it MUCH like his singing voice. Listen to the laugh! Search for him in the Studs Terkel Archives for an in depth interview
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Thank you for this posting. I am sad that he has died...a FABULOUS HELDEN TENOR !!! It is too bad that more singers don't speak out about the abuse of power in the opera world....(as in nearly ALL businesses). He was TRULY a GREAT ARTIST...and a great human being.
I adored Jon. My husband, Ron Freeman was the wig and makeup master at the ROH and when Jon came to sing in London, he would come to our house for a homecooked meal. he was so down to earth but passionately believed in his art. He was marmite but I LOVED him, his conviction, his immersion into every role he tackled. A true artist.
I adored Ron! A great artist with faces and hair and a great calmer of nervous singers!
STRAORDINARIO!!!FANTASTICO!!!
Grazie di ❤👍per il filmato
A life to be greatly respected.
My family was great friends with the Vickers from the 1950s until the 1970s when Jon relocated his family to Bermuda. My mother and the future Mrs. Vickers were both gals in the typing pool. That's how my dad and Jon became friends. He was a great kidder who tickled me unmercifully on the living room floor. I got back at him by walking into living room with his album of Arias wondering aloud why my parents would have this in their record collection and could I listen to Peter Paul and Mary instead? As a kid I never did understand exactly what Jon did for a living, although I remember him talking to my dad about being in rehearsals for Tristan in the very early 70s. To me, he was just a barrel-chested jovial imp of a fellow who blew the roof off the Anglican Church from the pews in Alton, Ontario, on Sundays and performed every year at the Guelph Music Festival. All wonderful memories of times our families spent together.
Remember seeing him sing Handel's Samson at the ROH alongside many of the finest English basses of the day. His tenor voice had more depth than all of them.
Merci, je ne connaissais pas ce chanteur, viens juste de l'entendre. Quelle voix superbe. Et il chantait Wagner, et avec brio en ce qui me concerne , mon compositeur préféré.
Je regrette de l'avoir connu si tard, mais mieux vaut tard que jamais.
Qu'il reste en paix.
How is his speaking voice so gentle?? How is this the same voice that could basically burst ear drums??? I’m shook
yes -its quite a mystery
Really excellent and precious interview. I'm sure Jeannie Williams would have referred to it in her great book on Vickers had she had access to it; particularly the reference to singing in Italy.
Jon’s speaking voice reminds me a lot of Gene Wilder’s. It’s quite soothing to listen to.
But his speaking voice definitely has that Nova Scotia lilt to it at times.
This dude was a fascinating man of multiple contradictions. It’s amazing how this very soft spoken, gentle man had a singing voice that could burst through ear drums, and was very deep and powerful. Then again, looking at him appearance, one wouldn’t expect a deep booming voice to come out of him when he sang.
Mario Del Monaco and Franco Corelli are also very similar in that they had lighter softer & higher pitched speaking voices that sounded completely different to their singing voices (though given that their native language was Italian, it makes sense).
First opera recording I ever bought and never bettered.
He accent is different then it was a few years later. I think it MUCH like his singing voice. Listen to the laugh! Search for him in the Studs Terkel Archives for an in depth interview
My favourite Parsifal :)
_His speaking voice doesn't give any relationship to his singing voice !_
But what did Serafin say next???
Is the second part of the interview available?
Vickers, here, taking himself not too seriously.
Andrea Chenier is a very great opera---just as there are great snobs in opera.
Diese Lache... unnachahmlich