James McCracken

James McCracken (December 16, 1926 – April 29, 1988) was an American operatic tenor and Broadway performer born in Gary, Indiana. Widely regarded as the foremost dramatic tenor produced by the United States, he became a central figure at the Metropolitan Opera during the 1960s and 1970s, a distinction noted by The New York Times at the time of his death.

McCracken's earliest musical experiences came through singing in his church choir as a child. During World War II he served in the U.S. Navy, where he sang in the Blue Jacket Choir. He later pursued formal musical training at Columbia University, with Elsa Seyfert in Konstanz, Germany, and with Joyce McLean in New York City, a relationship that continued until his death.

Before establishing himself in opera, McCracken performed on Broadway between 1951 and 1953, appearing in Maggie, the musical Of Thee I Sing, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, and Two on the Aisle. His professional opera debut followed in 1952 with the Central City Opera in Colorado, where he sang the role of Rodolfo in Puccini's La bohème. From 1953 to 1957, while still a student, he sang minor roles at the Metropolitan Opera. He then relocated to Europe in 1957, making his debut at the Vienna State Opera and achieving considerable success with the Zürich Opera.

The role of Otello in Verdi's opera became one of McCracken's signature parts. On April 11, 1964, he stepped in on short notice to replace an injured Mario del Monaco at the Royal Opera House in London, earning critical acclaim. Philip Hope-Wallace of The Guardian wrote that the audience recognized immediately that McCracken possessed the voice for the role, describing it as large, sonorous, and the emanation of a true Otello. Beginning in 1963, he had taken on the position of one of the Met's principal dramatic tenors, and his career there included starring roles in Otello and Carmen in 1972, Aida directed by John Dexter in 1976, Le prophète in 1977, and Tannhäuser in 1978, his sole leading Wagnerian role.

McCracken resigned from the Metropolitan Opera after being passed over for the September 1978 televised broadcast of Otello, which starred Jon Vickers. He returned in October 1983 to a rousing ovation at the Centennial Gala, performing Otello's Act 3 soliloquy, "Dio! mi potevi scagliar." The following season he participated in a live telecast of Verdi's Aida on January 5, 1985, which marked soprano Leontyne Price's farewell to the operatic stage. He was also a member of the Metropolitan Opera's final U.S. tour, singing the role of Canio in Pagliacci.

McCracken was married to mezzo-soprano Sandra Warfield, with whom he performed Saint-Saëns' Samson and Delilah at the Met. Together they co-authored A Star in the Family: the Warm and Vibrant Romance of the Internationally Celebrated Singing Couple, edited by Robert Daley and published in 1970 by Coward, McCann and Geoghegan.

His recorded legacy includes a number of complete opera recordings: Le prophète with Marilyn Horne and Renata Scotto (Columbia/CBS, 1976), Carmen conducted by Leonard Bernstein (Deutsche Grammophon, 1972), Fidelio with Birgit Nilsson (Decca/London, 1964), Otello with Gwyneth Jones (EMI/Angel, 1968), Pagliacci (Decca/London, 1967), and Schoenberg's Gurre-Lieder with Jessye Norman, Tatiana Troyanos, and David Arnold (Philips, 1979). He also recorded a program of Irish and Scottish songs with piano (EMI/Angel, 1977). Earlier, he had sung the role of Waldemar in Gurre-Lieder when the work opened the Edinburgh International Festival in 1961, a concert conducted by Leopold Stokowski that was later issued on CD by Guild Historical.

Following a series of strokes, McCracken died on April 29, 1988, at Roosevelt Hospital in New York City at the age of 61.