Neil Shicoff
was born in Brooklyn in 1949, the son of
New York cantor Sidney Shicoff. He was
precocious, and took advantage, from a young age, of the opportunity to take
lessons from his father, and was also both willing and (certainly) able to
take advantage of such opportunities as
presented themselves around New York and elsewhere to sing small parts, even
prior to acquiring conservatory training .
He sang, for example, with Tony Amato’s opera company in New York, and
also in the Santa Fe Opera. Later, he
formalized his training at the Juilliard School. His first opportunity to sing in a major
opera venue came in 1975, when he appeared at the Cincinnati Summer Opera,
singing the title role in Verdi’s Ernani under James Levine. It was clear from this point on that this was
a major talent; an extraordinary, Italianate tenor voice, uncommonly possessed
of an intense squillo and passionate Mediterranean inflexion that was perfectly
suited to the French/Italian repertoire.
The following
year, in 1976, Shicoff made his debut at the Met as Rinuccio in Gianni Schicci, also conducted by
Maestro Levine. The success was
considerable, and this debut performance was followed in rapid succession by Werther, Rosenkavalier, Boheme and Rigoletto. His singing was praised for its stylistic
authenticity and his musicianship for its precision and careful
preparation. The progress of the career
was steady until a tricky period in the 1980’s, when problems not uncommon to
even the most greatly talented of artists caused a detour for several
years. Shicoff decided to leave America
for a while and work abroad, where he sang in all the great opera houses of
Europe and built for himself a significant European reputation, which endures
to this day. He returned to the US in
1997, with a return engagement at the Met of Eugene Onegin, which was very successful.
It is from that
year, 1997, that our first recording comes, one I just recently posted on
Youtube. Here is Neil Shicoff, with
soprano Galina Gorchakova, in “O Dolci Mani,” from Tosca. I believe you will
immediately hear the squillo and Italianate inflexion of which I have
spoken. It is quite rare for an American
tenor:
That certainly
speaks tomes about the extraordinary voice and singing of Neil Schicoff! To say that this is an Italianate voice is
gross understatement! This is a great
opera voice, without doubt. It is of
course not the case that he only sings in Italian. Shicoff’s singing of the French repertoire is
every bit as spectacular, and in fact some roles, such as Werther, are among
his most famous. Here is “Pourquoi Me
Reveiller”: (You might need to overlook
the plastic fish-tackle box on stage, and the questionable acting of the
soprano, who seems from time to time to be slipping into ecstasies of romantic
passion while he reads what is in fact a declaration of suicidal despair.)
I honestly
believe that it is simply impossible to fault this in any way: the voice, the style, the passion, the
inflexions…..simply stunning! This is
great singing!
Finally, one of
the most heart-breakingly authentic, well-acted and well-sung renditions
of Eleazar’s great aria, “Rachel, quand du seigneur,” that you are likely ever
to hear:
What can I
possbly add? This is a great American
tenor, in whom all opera-loving Americans can take pride!
