Tenor John McCormack performs in Dublin fundraiser
Dublin, 17 Jan 1923 - The famous Irish tenor, Count John McCormack, performed yesterday before a packed Theatre Royal in a fundraiser for one of Dublin’s largest hospitals.
While Mr. McCormack, who has been staying at the Shelbourne Hotel, did not pander to audience members who came wishing to hear all his most popular songs, he nevertheless delivered a stunning performance.
The critic for the Irish Independent wrote in their review of the concert, that the John McCormack who sang yesterday was not the same as the one Irish audiences heard before he left for America many years ago. While always a terrific singer with a pure voice, he is now even better and more accomplished.
‘While in former years he produced more from “I hear you calling me” and “Macushla” than ever the composer of those ballads thought were in them, he can now interpret old and new classical songs and folk melodies with understanding, intellect, and individual charm.’
The critic continued: ‘While we used to regard him as belonging essentially to the platform, we can now recognise him as a great oratorio singer, and an operatic tenor of the highest order. This was abundantly evident from the purity of style in Handel’s air from Semele, and clarity of the florid passages, and the general culture and broad phrasing in “Enjoy the Sweet Elysian Groves”.’
[Editor's note: This is an article from Century Ireland, a fortnightly online newspaper, written from the perspective of a journalist 100 years ago, based on news reports of the time.]
