Search - Amilcare Ponchielli, Friedrich von Flotow, Giuseppe Verdi :: Italian Opera Arias

One of the greatest tenors of the century

ecampana@sinfo.net | Panama | 01/22/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Jon Vickers retired some years ago, but the legacy of the recorded voice has gave us an example of great singing, and Vickers proves to be one of the greatest singing actors that the century has produced; possesor of a big, plangent voice, ringing top notes and smooth phrasing, and the fact that he sang many heroic tenor roles (Radames, Siegmund among others) does not mean he cannot fine down his sound for a gentle "Recondita armonia". I reccomend this CD to all opera fans who really want to listen great tenor singing of high quality. I wish that this release would have included "Celeste Aída" from the 1960 recording with L. Price. A word of praise also for the excellent playing of the Rome Opera House Orchestra under the great Tullio Serafin."

One of the Most Important Singers in the History of Music!

J. Janacek | Waco, Texas United States | 07/01/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Dear Amazon,I just got my combination order of Vickers Italian Arias and his 75th Birthday Tribute. If you ever feel generous and want to send people stuff for free, just send me everything you have of Jon Vickers.Maybe I love him and the choral music of Robert Shaw too much but they were both just too magnificant at their art.Now for review number five. For all who wounder what the big historicl hype is on Vickers, get this CD and anything from his recording of Messiah with Sir Thomas Beecham in 1959 through the 60s and up to 1978. Don't get me wrong! The man is my hero as a singer. I think everything he did throughout his career was marvelous up and on through his graceful retirement in 84, but it is this period in which you will get the best idea of this legendary voice from an artist who came from humble and unlikely beginings.Listen to his extraordinary interpretations! Theres an incredable depth and forward inner probing into the heros he brought to life. Here, he is given stirling support from one of the masters, Tullio Serafin, conducting the Rome Opera House Orchestra.Oh Boy!!!Get this recording of one of the most exciting singers of this or any age."

No one like him today

J. Martin | Pensacola, FL | 03/11/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Jon Vickers is an amazing singer. Here is a man who had a relatively short voice and one that was very inflexible by nature. Yet in spite of these shortcomings he stands as one of the greatest artists of his era. Those who think of him as a Wagnerian tenor should sample this recording and hear his masterful way of spinning a line in the Italian repertoire. His Otello was spectacular, his Canio a psycholigical thriller. His Chenier an elegant and tortured soul, his Rhadames heroic in the true sense of the word. This recording is a gem!"