Editing James McCracken

{{Short description|American dramatic tenor}}
{{About||the Massachusetts politician|James M. McCracken|the American politician and attorney from Georgia|James Roy McCracken}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2019}}
{{infobox person
|name=James McCracken
|image=USIS - James McCracken crop 2.jpg
|caption=James McCracken as Cavaradossi in ''[[Tosca]]'' at the [[Vienna State Opera]] in the 1960s
|birth_date=December 16, 1926
|birth_place=[[Gary, Indiana]]
|death_date=April 29, 1988 (aged 61)
|death_place=
|occupation=Opera singer
|alma mater=[[Columbia University]]
|spouse=[[Sandra Warfield]]
|children=
}}
'''James McCracken''' (December 16, 1926 &ndash; April 29, 1988) was an American [[opera]]tic [[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."<ref name="NYT">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/05/01/obituaries/james-mccracken-lauded-tenor-and-pillar-of-the-met-dies-at-61.html?scp=1&sq=James%20McCracken&st=cse|title=James McCracken: Lauded tenor and pillar at the Met dies at 61|work=[[The New York Times]]|author=Will Crutchfield|author-link=Will Crutchfield|date=May 1, 1988}}</ref>

==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 [[Giacomo Puccini|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]]'', 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]]'' who described it as: "[T]he 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..."<ref>Hope-Wallace 1981, p. 67</ref>
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 ''Tannhauser'' 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 [[Camille Saint-Saëns|Saint-Saëns]]' ''[[Samson and Delilah (opera)|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]]''.

==Recordings==
McCracken made a number of complete opera recordings, including "[[Le prophète (opera)|Le prophète]]" (with [[Marilyn Horne]] and [[Renata Scotto]], (Col/CBS), 1976), "[[Carmen]]" (conducted by [[Leonard Bernstein]], (DG), 1972), "[[Fidelio]]" (with [[Birgit Nilsson]], (Decca/London), 1964), "[[Otello]]" (with Dame [[Gwyneth Jones (soprano)|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 [[Arnold Schoenberg|Schoenberg]]'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 Waldemar 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]]'', 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. {{ISBN|1-199-45280-7}}

==References==
'''Notes'''
{{Reflist}}

'''Sources'''
*Hope Wallace, Philip (1981), ''Words and Music''. William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. {{ISBN|0-00-216309-8}}

==External links==
*[http://www.bruceduffie.com/mccracken.html Interview with James McCracken] by Bruce Duffie, March 23, 1988.

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCracken, James}}
[[Category:American operatic tenors]]
[[Category:Musicians from Gary, Indiana]]
[[Category:1926 births]]
[[Category:1988 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American male opera singers]]
[[Category:United States Navy personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Singers from Indiana]]
[[Category:Grammy Award winners]]
[[Category:Classical musicians from Indiana]]