Who was that

Like a Melchior who really sounds like a tenor.

Qué bellas palabras! Un homenaje merecido a un gran tenor heróico que nos hizo soñar con su voz! / Such beautiful words! A deserved tribute to a great Heldentenor who made us dream with his voice!

Mentor? Did you know him personally?

A great, great singer. Possibly the best Florestan ever. I was fortunate enough to see him several times at Covent Garden. He had nobility.

I envy you this experience. Would you be willing to describe the effect his voice had in the room? Eg was it pointed or booming? Or did it soar and shake the room?

Richard Allen A lot of folks I know who were old enough to hear Vickers said that he had the biggest voice they had ever heard, and by a long shot. Was that the case? Or did Birgit match pipes with him?

Boris Van Druff . It was a remarkable evening as I had orchestra center seats. When Birgit sang you honestly felt at times an actual physical pressure on your chest from the force of sound. This was true of Vickers. His Act 3 was spellbinding. He had a large barrel chest and must have had enormous lungs as he was very loud also. I remember him tearing open his shirt in his delirium and writhing on the mossy rock. He too was a force of nature. His acting was superior to hers as he totally enveloped role. It was an incredible night i am so blessed to be part of.

Richard Allen How sad that we don’t have nights of opera like this anymore...

Boris Van Druff True, i will going to Bayreuth for my first time next month to hear Parsifal. Hopefully the singing will be very good as I expect it will be. Nothing will ever surpass the Tristan I saw though.

Richard Allen I saw Vickers in quite a few roles: Otello, Grimes, Canio, Samson (Handel and Saint Saens). I don’t recall being as struck by his voice, but rather by his intensity. He could be truly frightening. No sobs at the end of the Pagliacci aria, just murderous rage. People who never heard Nilsson don’t quite understand her voice. I saw both Nilsson and Marton on the same stage; Marton had an ocean of sound, much bigger than Nilsson. But Birgit’s sound was so focused, it was like a laser beam and could probably be heard in Central Park!

Glorious. Just listened to her Eva in the the 1956 Bayreuth Meistersinger -- poignant and deeply affecting! kzfaq.info/get/bejne/f7R6nLtq29OVpoE.html

Melchior is the greatest Wagnerian heldentenor of all time. Vickers is good, but not as good as Melchior.

@@SymphonyBrahms How on earth can you know this? Did you hear them both in the same role in the same theatre? Or do you just go by recordings which are often very misleading. My father's favourite tenor in the 1930s was, not surprisingly, the very great Lauritz Melchior, whom he heard numerous times from the gallery in Covent Garden. Having heard most of he greatest Wagnerians of that time he was always very critical of the newcomers. However, when he went again to the Ring in the early1960s, sitting on the same old gallery benches, I remember him coming home very excited after hearing Jon Vickers as Siegmund. All he could say was "Best tenor since Melchior". There was no nonsense about "X being better than Y" as he was simply thrilled with the glorious performance he had just heard which reminded him of past glories. Jon Vickers is magnificent, so enjoy him wholeheartedly for his own fabulous singing.

@@SymphonyBrahms I would say Vickers was a greater artist

Overall I have to admit I find Wagner somewhat boring but The Ring cycle shows his talent at it's height and IMO "Die Walkure" and "Gotterdammerung" his finest achievements, though I'm sure some Wagnerians wouldn't agree!

Likewise, but of course know the name. Voice is glorious. Will now be listening when the name pops is on KZfaq, which is why am listening now

This is probably the best rendition I've ever heard of this act.

I have heard a recording of that performance. Maazel conducted, I believe, with Justine Diaz as a VERY solid Jago. One of THE best Otello’s I have ever heard…and I have heard and seen dozens and dozens in a number of houses and recordings. Would love to see it posted on KZfaq.

Another outstanding artist who seems to have been forgotten because she rarely set foot in recording studios was the lovely and talented soprano Mary Costa.

Einfach: schön

Leinsdorf tend to let the music breath a bit more. A good medium between Solti and Knap

Most people would probably agree. The Bohm cycle is probably overall the finest on disc even if not as technically excellent as Solti's studio recordings.

@@karldelavigne8134 Solti is the greatest recorded Ring cycle. Bohm is excellent. Leinsdorf is not s great conductor. He should have never touched the music of Wagner.

@@SymphonyBrahms Not by a long way. The GREATEST recorded Ring cycles are Knappertstbusch's: Bayreuth 1956-1957-1958.

No one conducted the Ring better than Solti. On a scale of 1 to 5, Solti is a 5 and Leinsdorf is a 3.

Well, the beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I have the Solti Ring of course but never listen to it. It is unbearable with its crude tempi and harsness. No musicmanship. Were are talking about Rings on record of course, not live performances never recorded. Of the recorded ones I think Hans Knappertsbusch`s Bayreuth performances are the best of all. He sets a standard no one else was able to reach. The music lives by itself, it feels like there is no conductor at all.

Sten Jerdenius Wholeheartedly agree.

@@stenjerdenius1683 I'll stick with Solti. It does not have crude tempo and it is not harsh. And the musicianship is great. Down with Leinsdorf! He's third rate. Down with Knappertsbusch! His tempos are sloppy. I exalt Solti! And only Solti!

SymphonyBrahms: Well, don’t get too overwrought and sacrifice yourself on his behalf!

Yes, wonderful conducting but there is no real hero here, all are at the top of their profession.

Recorded in the RCA Echo Chamber.

***** I do not understand German... but what a glorious sound at 5:18

Victor: Keep your “orgasmo”s to yourself.

Wagner put orgasm to music. He learned it from Beethoven.

好多啦

只有耶稣能救我啦

SymBrahms: What about the Karajan recording where Vickers sings with Gundula Janowitz. I read that Solti and Vickers didn’t see eye to eye which is why Vickers never recorded the Wagner operas with him.

Knapperstbusch is the greatest.

@@johnpickford4222 The Karajan recording is good. Janowitz is miscast, but Vickers, as always, is magnificent. And Karajan is superb.

@@brunegilda2453 Kna is so.slow.....yet.so.intense.

I do like Die Walküre with Suthaus and Rysanek under The conduction of Furwängler