James McCracken (December 16, 1926 – April 29, 1988) was an American operatic tenor. At the time of his death '' The New York Times'' stated that McCracken was "the most successful dramatic tenor yet produced by the United States and a pillar of the Metropolitan Opera during the 1960s and 1970s."

Biography

Born in Gary, Indiana, McCracken's earliest musical experiences were singing in his church choir in childhood. In the US Navy during World War II, he sang in the Blue Jacket Choir. He studied music at Columbia University, with Elsa Seyfert in Konstanz, Germany, and then with Joyce McLean in New York City until his death. McCracken made his professional opera debut in 1952 with the Central City Opera in Colorado as Rodolfo in Puccini's ''La bohème''. He sang minor roles at the Metropolitan Opera from 1953 to 1957, while still a student. In 1957, he moved to Europe and made his debut at the Vienna State Opera. He had great success with the Zürich Opera. The role of Otello in Verdi's opera, ''

Otello ''Otello'' () is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play ''Othello''. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on 5 February 1887. Th ...

'', was one of his signature roles. Starting in 1963, he became one of the Met's principal dramatic tenors. He replaced an injured Mario del Monaco at

The Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Ope ...

in London on very short notice on 11 April 1964, which won critical acclaim, including by

Philip Hope-Wallace Philip Adrian Hope-Wallace CBE (6 November 1911 – 3 September 1979) was an English music and theatre critic, whose career was mostly with ''The Manchester Guardian'' (later known as ''The Guardian''). From university he went into journalism afte ...

of '' The Guardian'' who described it as: " e audience know at once that this was the voice for the part: large, inclined to perhaps splay a little, but sonorous, the emanation of the true Otello..."Hope-Wallace 1981, p. 67 James McCracken also starred in ''Otello'' and ''Carmen'' in 1972; in ''Aida'' directed by John Dexter in 1976; in ''Le prophete'' in 1977; and in ''Tannhaeuser'' in 1978, his only leading Wagnerian role. Feeling slighted about being passed over for the September 1978 telecast of ''Otello'' which starred Jon Vickers, McCracken resigned from the Metropolitan Opera, only to return to a rousing ovation in October 1983 for the Centennial Gala, during which he performed Otello's Act 3 soliloquy, "Dio! mi potevi scagliar". The following season, he took part in a live telecast of Verdi's ''Aida'' on January 5, 1985, which was historic in that it was Leontyne Price's farewell to the operatic stage. McCracken's voice was huge, with a distinctive and somewhat thick texture. Occasionally he was criticized for his less-than-effortless singing technique. But virtually all critics acknowledged his acting skill, as well as the overwhelming power of his sound and his clarion high notes. He was married to mezzo-soprano Sandra Warfield, with whom he performed Saint-Saëns' '' Samson and Delilah'' at the Met. He was a member of the Metropolitan Opera's final U.S. tour, where he sang the role of Canio in ''

Pagliacci ''Pagliacci'' (; literal translation, "Clowns") is an Italian opera in a prologue and two acts, with music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo. The opera tells the tale of Canio, actor and leader of a commedia dell'arte theatrical company, who m ...

''.

Recordings

McCracken made a number of complete opera recordings, including " Le prophète" (with Marilyn Horne and Renata Scotto, (Col/CBS), 1976), "

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...

" (conducted by

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...

, (DG), 1972), " Fidelio" (with

Birgit Nilsson Märta Birgit Nilsson (17 May 1918 – 25 December 2005) was a celebrated Swedish dramatic soprano. Although she sang a wide répertoire of operatic and vocal works, Nilsson was best known for her performances in the operas of Richard Wagner a ...

, (Decca/London), 1964), "

" (with Dame Gwyneth Jones, (EMI/Angel), 1968) and "

", on which side 4 of the original LP version was a recital of opera arias, (Decca/London), (1967), as well as

Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...

's Gurre-Lieder (with Jessye Norman, Tatiana Troyanos and David Arnold, (Phi), 1979), and a program of Irish and Scottish songs with piano (EMI/Angel), 1977. Additionally, he sang the part of Waldemaar in Gurre-Lieder when it opened the Edinburgh International Festival in 1961. The broadcast of this concert, under the direction of Leopold Stokowski, has now been issued on CD (Guild Historical).

Videography

* ''

The Metropolitan Opera Centennial Gala ''The Metropolitan Opera Centennial Gala'' was a televised concert, lasting more than eight hours, that New York City's Metropolitan Opera staged on 22 October 1983 to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of its first performance. A 230-minute s ...

'', Deutsche Grammophon DVD, 00440-073-4538, 2009

Publications

*McCracken, James; Sandra Warfield; Robert Daley (ed.) (1970), ''A Star in the Family: the Warm and Vibrant Romance of the Internationally Celebrated Singing Couple'', New York: Coward, McCann & Geoghegan.

References

Notes Sources *Hope Wallace, Philip (1981), ''Words and Music''. William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd.

External links

Interview with James McCracken
by Bruce Duffie, March 23, 1988. {{DEFAULTSORT:McCracken, James American operatic tenors Musicians from Gary, Indiana 1926 births 1988 deaths 20th-century American male opera singers United States Navy personnel of World War II Singers from Indiana Classical musicians from Indiana