Jon Vickers, the legendary Canadian heldentenor, has passed away at the age of 88.  His family announced that he had been suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease for a number of years.

Mr. Vickers was born October 29th, 1926 in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.  He was the sixth of eight children.

Mr. Vickers sang in a number of leading opera houses, including the Royal Opera, The Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and La Scala.  He also sang with at the Salzburg and Bayreuth Festivals.

Mr. Vickers sang some of the most demanding tenor roles in opera: Tristan, Parsifal, Siegmund, Otello, Radames, Énée, Peter Grimes, and Canio.

He was known for his extremely moving portrayals.  He was a consistent professional.

Mr. Vickers was married twice, and leaves behind five children, 11 grandchildren, and two great grandchildren.

Here are a couple video clips:

1)  Winterstürme from Die Walküre:

2)  La fleur que tu m’avais jetée from Carmen:

3) ‘Vesti la giubba‘ from Pagliacci:

Mr. Vickers may be gone, but he will never be forgotten.

Related articles

• Canadian tenor Jon Vickers dies at 88
• Canadian-born opera singer Jon Vickers dies at 88
• Tenor Jon Vickers dies aged 88
• Canada-born dramatic tenor Jon Vickers dies at 88