James McCracken (December 16, 1926 – April 29, 1988) was an American

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

tic

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...

. At the time of his death ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' stated that McCracken was "the most successful dramatic tenor yet produced by the United States and a pillar of the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is oper ...

during the 1960s and 1970s."

Biography

Born in

Gary, Indiana Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to U.S. Steel's Gary Works, the largest steel mill complex in North America. Gary is located along the sou ...

, McCracken's earliest musical experiences were singing in his church choir in childhood. In the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, he sang in the Blue Jacket Choir. He studied music at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, with Elsa Seyfert in

Konstanz Konstanz (, , locally: ; also written as Constance in English) is a university city with approximately 83,000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the south of Germany. The city houses the University of Konstanz and was th ...

, 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 Central City Opera is the fifth-oldest opera company in the United States, founded in 1932 by Julie Penrose and Anne Evans. Each festival is presented in the 550-seat historic Central City Opera House built in 1878 in the gold mining era town of Ce ...

in Colorado as Rodolfo in

Puccini Giacomo Puccini ( Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long ...

's ''La bohème''. He sang minor roles at the

from 1953 to 1957, while still a student. In 1957, he moved to Europe and made his debut at the

Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is an opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by August ...

. He had great success with the

Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Zürich ...

Opera. The role of Otello in Verdi's opera, '' Otello'', 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 in London on very short notice on 11 April 1964, which won critical acclaim, including by Philip Hope-Wallace of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' 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 John Dexter (2 August 1925 – 23 March 1990) was an English theatre, opera and film director. Theatre Born in Derby, Derbyshire, England, Dexter left school at the age of fourteen to serve in the British Army during the Second World War. F ...

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 Jonathan Stewart Vickers, (October 29, 1926 – July 10, 2015), known professionally as Jon Vickers, was a Canadian heldentenor. Born in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, he was the sixth in a family of eight children. In 1950, he was awarded a ...

, 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 Mary Violet Leontyne Price (born February 10, 1927) is an American soprano who was the first African American soprano to receive international acclaim. From 1961 she began a long association with the Metropolitan Opera, where she was the first Af ...

'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 Sandra Warfield (June 8, 1921 – June 29, 2009) was an American operatic mezzo-soprano who performed with New York City's Metropolitan Opera from the 1950s through the 1970s. She was born in Kansas City, Missouri on June 8, 1921, as Flora J ...

, with whom he performed Saint-Saëns' ''

Samson and Delilah Samson and Delilah are Biblical figures. Samson and Delilah may also refer to: In music * ''Samson and Delilah'' (opera), an opera by Camille Saint-Saëns * ''Samson & Delilah'' (album), released in 2013 by V V Brown * "Samson and Delilah" (t ...

'' 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''.

Recordings

McCracken made a number of complete opera recordings, including "

Le prophète ''Le prophète'' (''The Prophet'') is a grand opera in five acts by Giacomo Meyerbeer, which was premiered in Paris on 16 April 1849. The French-language libretto was by Eugène Scribe and Émile Deschamps, after passages from the ''Essay on the ...

" (with

Marilyn Horne Marilyn Horne (born January 16, 1934) is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer. She specialized in roles requiring beauty of tone, excellent breath support, and the ability to execute difficult coloratura passages. She is a recipient of the Natio ...

and

Renata Scotto Renata Scotto (born 24 February 1934) is an Italian soprano and opera director. Recognized for her sense of style, her musicality, and as a remarkable singer-actress, Scotto is considered one of the preeminent singers of her generation. Since ...

, (Col/CBS), 1976), " Carmen" (conducted by Leonard Bernstein, (DG), 1972), "

Fidelio ''Fidelio'' (; ), originally titled ' (''Leonore, or The Triumph of Marital Love''), Op. 72, is Ludwig van Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto was originally prepared by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly, wi ...

" (with Birgit Nilsson, (Decca/London), 1964), " Otello" (with Dame Gwyneth Jones, (EMI/Angel), 1968) and " Pagliacci", on which side 4 of the original LP version was a recital of opera arias, (Decca/London), (1967), as well as Schoenberg's

Gurre-Lieder ' is a large cantata for five vocal soloists, narrator, chorus and large orchestra, composed by Arnold Schoenberg, on poems by the Danish novelist Jens Peter Jacobsen (translated from Danish to German by ). The title means "songs of Gurre", ref ...

(with

Jessye Norman Jessye Mae Norman (September 15, 1945 – September 30, 2019) was an American opera singer and recitalist. She was able to perform dramatic soprano roles, but refused to be limited to that voice type. A commanding presence on operatic, concert ...

Tatiana Troyanos Tatiana Troyanos (September 12, 1938 – August 21, 1993) was an American mezzo-soprano of Greek and German descent, remembered as "one of the defining singers of her generation" (''Boston Globe''). Her voice, "a paradoxical voice — larger ...

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

when it opened the Edinburgh International Festival in 1961. The broadcast of this concert, under the direction of

Leopold Stokowski Leopold Anthony Stokowski (18 April 1882 – 13 September 1977) was a British conductor. One of the leading conductors of the early and mid-20th century, he is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra and his appear ...

, has now been issued on CD (Guild Historical).

Videography

* '' The Metropolitan Opera Centennial Gala'', 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