Tears of a clown

Robert Sabin in Musical America:

At this performance (a benefit for the West Side Institutional Synagogue), the Canadian tenor Jon Vickers made his debut at the Metropolitan, in the role of Canio. Mr. Vickers had made an excellent impression at his New York debut, on Nov. 20, 1956, when he sang the role Florestan in the American Opera Society’s concert performance of “Fidelio.” He is an intelligent and sensitive artist, which (believe it not) is a great help in giving a good performance as Canio. We were spared excessive sobbings and rantings, and shown genuine heartbreak, instead. Vocally, Mr. Vickers strained a bit on top tones, but this may well have been debut nerves. At all times, his singing was well phrased and dramatically alive. One looks forward to hearing him in artistically more rewarding roles.

Birthday anniversaries of composer Wilhelm Kienzl (1857), dramatist and writer Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860) and actress Betty White (1922).