John McCormack (1884-1945)
Che gelida manina
La Bohème
by Giacomo Puccini
The famous Irish tenor began his studies in Dublin and in 1905 went to Milan to
take further lessons with Vincenzo Sabatini. He made his stage début
under the assumed name of Giovannin Foli in 1906 in Mascagni’s
L’amico Fritz
at the Teatro Chiabrera in Savona, near Genoa. He returned to England and
appeared at Covent Garden, at first as Turiddu in the autumn season of 1907,
also in
Rigoletto
and as Don Ottavio. In the following year he appeared in the international
summer season, returning every year until World War I. He made both his New
York début (at the Manhattan Opera, 1909) and his Metropolitan
début (1910) as Alfredo in
La traviata.
Between 1910 and 1918 he appeared six times with the Metropolitan during five
seasons, and more often with the Boston and Chicago companies. By his own
admission a poor actor, he soon abandoned the stage and devoted himself to
hugely successful recitals. He made numerous recordings, mostly during his
brief operatic career, which show the sweetness of his tone and the perfection
of his style and technique in his prime.
Here is a contemporary take on McCormack from the 1925 Victor catalog:
It is chiefly as a concert artist that [McCormack] is best known to American
audiences. He has traveled the length and breadth of the land, and is
everywhere received with tumultuous enthusiasm. Shortly after the American
entry into the war, he became an American citizen, and devoted himself to
aiding war work. John McCormack has come to be something of an
“institution” in America, and he undoubtedly interprets in song the
heart of the American people in a way peculiarly his own. Gifted with a voice
of superb beauty, he can turn lightly from the most exacting of operatic airs
to simple, haunting melodies that linger in the memory with the most treasured
experiences of a lifetime.
