16 Facts About Jon Vickers

In 1957 Vickers joined London's Royal Opera House, Covent Garden company.

Jon Vickers became world-famous for a wide range of German, French, and Italian roles.

Jon Vickers was highly regarded for his powerful stage presence and thoughtful characterizations.

Jon Vickers received the Governor General's Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement, Canada's highest honour in the performing arts, in 1998.

Jon Vickers studied with George Lambert at The Royal Conservatory of Music and sang professionally in Canada from the early- to mid-1950s.

Jon Vickers has appeared there into the 1980s, putting his personal stamp on the roles of Enee in Berlioz's Les Troyens, Radames in Verdi's Aida and the title role in his Don Carlos, Handel's Samson, Florestan in Beethoven's Fidelio, Tristan in Wagner's Tristan und Isolde, Canio in Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, and the title role in Britten's Peter Grimes.

Jon Vickers debuted at the Bayreuth Festival in 1958 as Siegmund in Die Walkure and sang Parsifal there in 1964.

Jon Vickers sang Nerone in Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea at the Paris Opera, and Alvaro in La forza del destino at the Met.

Jon Vickers's roles included Don Carlos, Andrea Chenier, Herod in Salome, Giasone in Medea, Pollione in Norma and rarely heard parts such as Cellini in Berlioz's Benvenuto Cellini, Ratan-Sen in Roussel's Padmavati and Sergei in Shostakovitch's Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District.

Jon Vickers was a long time collaborator with American pianist Richard Woitach.

Jon Vickers further sang at the 'home' of Italian opera, Milan's La Scala, as well as in the major opera houses of Chicago, San Francisco, Vienna, and at the Salzburg Festival.

Jon Vickers was born into the musical family of William, a teacher and school principal, and Myrle.

Jon Vickers worked on a neighbour's farm and acquired the muscular stature that characterized him.

Jon Vickers auditioned there with Every Valley Shall be Exalted and was offered a scholarship.

Jon Vickers died of Alzheimer's disease on July 10,2015, in Ontario.

Jon Vickers was a dedicated, outspoken Protestant; one writer referred to him as "God's tenor" for this reason.