About Jon Vickers
Jonathan Stewart Vickers (October 29, 1926 – July 10, 2015), known professionally as Jon Vickers, was a world renowned Canadian heldentenor. In 1957 Vickers joined London’s Royal Opera House, Covent Garden company. In 1960 he joined the Metropolitan Opera. Vickers became world-famous for a wide range of German, French, and Italian roles, but especially in the Wagner tenor roles in Die Walkure, Tristan und Isolde, Parsifal and in Beethoven's Fidelio. He was the foremost Wagner tenor of his era. Vickers performed operas with prominent conductors such as Otto Klemperer, Herbert von Karajan, Sir Colin Davis, Hans Knappertsbusch, and Sir Thomas Beecham. With Karajan he recorded several operas accompanied by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1950, he was awarded a scholarship to study opera at The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. In 1952 he won the Nos futures étoiles competition on CBC Radio.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.