Vickers, Jon(athan Stewart)

Vickers, Jon(athan Stewart), renowned Canadian tenor; b. Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Oct. 29, 1926. He began singing as a child. After his voice developed into the tenor range, he acquired experience singing in Baptist church choirs in Prince Albert and Flin Flon. While accepting various singing engagements, he worked in chain stores to make ends meet. After singing major roles in Gilbert and Sullivan and Victor Herbert operettas, he won a scholarship to the Royal Cons, of Music of Toronto in 1950 to study with George Lambert. During this time, he continued to sing in concerts. In 1954 he sang the Duke of Mantua with the Canadian Opera Co. in Toronto, and returned there in such roles as Alfredo in La Traviata (1955) and Don José (1956); in the latter year, he appeared in a concert performance of Medeain N.Y. In Jan. 1957 he made his first appearance with the Royal Opera of Covent Garden, London, on tour. It was as Siegmund in Die Walküreat the Bayreuth Festival in 1958 that Vickers first won notable acclaim. In 1959 he sang Jason in Medeain Dallas and Radamès in San Francisco. On Jan. 17, 1960, he made his Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. as Canio, where he continued to sing with success in subsequent years. He sang Florestan at Milan’s La Scala and Siegmund at the Chicago Lyric Opera in 1961. In 1966,1967, and 1968 he appeared at Karajan’s Easter Festivals. He sang Otello at Expo 67 in Montreal in 1967. In 1975 he appeared as Tristan with the Opéra du Québec. In 1985 Vickers sang Handel’s Samson at Covent Garden in a production marking the 300^thanniversary of the composer’s birth. Throughout the years, he continued to make occasional appearances as a soloist with orchs. and as a recitalist. His remarkable career came to a close with his retirement in 1988. In 1968 he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada. Vickers was acknowledged as one of the principal dramatic and Hel-dentenors of his era. In addition to roles already noted, he also excelled as Berlioz’s Aneas, Don Alvaro, Don Carlos, Parsifal, and Peter Grimes.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire