# My Renewed Appreciation for Jerry Hadley



## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

Yesterday in the car I was listening to a CD from the early 1990's called "Hadley and Hampson: Famous Opera Duets," featuring baritone Thomas Hampson and tenor Jerry Hadley in their primes. It made me realize again what a talented tenor Hadley was. His brightly focused yet sweet voice was capable of great nuance; with him there was always the sense of a musician and a _singing actor _ rather than just a singer. There weren't many musical styles he failed to master, it seemed; surely he was one of the few opera singers who sang songs from Broadway musicals idiomatically. I think he did get into trouble in the later 1990's when he began "overinflating" his voice in an attempt to sound "dramatic," but during his prime (his career began in the 1970's) he was, in my opinion, one of the finest of all active tenors. His death by suicide in July 2007 was a shock and a horrible shame.

Here he is in Handel:


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

It's good to remember what a fine singer and artist Hadley was. A you point out, he was versatile: he did many things well and nothing poorly. Does he get overlooked in conversations about singers because he wasn't the "best" at anything in particular, or because his sound is rather generic and lacks "glamor"? I've enjoyed him whenever I've heard him, but can't think of any music in which he's my first choice.


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

Woodduck said:


> It's good to remember what a fine singer and artist Hadley was. A you point out, he was versatile: he did many things well and nothing poorly. Does he get overlooked in conversations about singers because he wasn't the "best" at anything in particular, or because his sound is rather generic and lacks "glamor"? I've enjoyed him whenever I've heard him, but can't think of any music in which he's my first choice.


I think it's more because he wasn't necessarily "the best" tenor of his time in any one category, except maybe Broadway or operetta. I've never thought of his voice as generic; it has struck me, though, that the sound of his voice is sort of like Nicolai Gedda's, while his Italian pronunciation sounds a bit like Carlo Bergonzi's. If this was conscious on Hadley's part, then at least he picked great tenors on which to model himself. Even if his sound could be called generic, for me his musicality and intelligence more than made up for it.


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## Roland (Mar 13, 2013)

Thank you, Bellinilover, for writing your appreciation of Jerry Hadley. I, too, enjoy listening to his recordings. I agree with you that "there was always the sense of a musician and a singing actor." My favorite CD set with him in the cast is Show Boat. Perhaps Woodduck is right in saying that Jerry Hadley might get overlooked because his sound lacks "glamor." Yet, to my ears, he does such a great job in this musical. His singing ability perhaps exceeds the demands of his role, but he really pulls it off with panache. Even the spoken dialogue is entertaining. Jerry Hadley delivers his lines with feeling and authenticity while sounding completely natural at the same time. I really wish he could have been Tony in Bernstein's recording of West Side Story.


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

Roland said:


> Thank you, Bellinilover, for writing your appreciation of Jerry Hadley. I, too, enjoy listening to his recordings. I agree with you that "there was always the sense of a musician and a singing actor." My favorite CD set with him in the cast is Show Boat. Perhaps Woodduck is right in saying that Jerry Hadley might get overlooked because his sound lacks "glamor." Yet, to my ears, he does such a great job in this musical. His singing ability perhaps exceeds the demands of his role, but he really pulls it off with panache. Even the spoken dialogue is entertaining. Jerry Hadley delivers his lines with feeling and authenticity while sounding completely natural at the same time. I really wish he could have been Tony in Bernstein's recording of West Side Story.


Yes, Hadley would have been the perfect Tony! Infinitely more suitable for the role than you-know-who.


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

Okay, I got the CD (titled _Standing Room Only_) with the following recording on it and listened to it for the first time the other day. Whether this song is to your taste or not (personally, I love it), I think you'll have to admit that it's hard to imagine a better-sung or even a more touching rendition than Mr. Hadley gives here:


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## Hadleyfan (5 mo ago)

I have just come across this site and have joined. I am 80 years of age, and don't quite know how to go about communicating with those who adore this gorgeous man with a fantastic tenor voice (albeit he is deceased by his own hand, allegedly). It is regrettable, really, that music channels in the UK (especially Classic FM and Radio 3) do not appear to either know of Jerry Hadley or, indeed, if they do, have consigned him to the 'has been' selection. My favourite tenor for a long long time, perhaps 50 years, was Pavarotti. I also liked others, Bjorling, Domingo and, when he was at his best, Jose Carreras but he made a good recovery and it was a sadness to me that he endured that debilitating illness. 

Jerry Hadley is/was, in my humble opinion, a most versatile artist. His diction, especially in English, was exemplary. His rendition of the arias from Messiah and Elijah are fabulous, and don't get me started on the Verdi Requiem 'Ingemisco' because his is, for me, the absolute best rendition. His foray into Broadway music and the newer works, e.g. Bernstein's Candide, Stravinsky's The Rakes Progress and others surely shows what a consummate artist Jerry was. I am incredibly moved to tears when I listen to him singing, even down to songs written by the Beatles.

I read that he was a lovely person; helpful to those trying to carve out their careers in an increasingly busy musical world of all genres. One has to factor in that being married, having issue of two sons, and then due to commitments in various countries around the world, Jerry would not have been able to be at home on a regular basis. That happens even in the lives of us who do not spend our working hours entertaining the general public. 

I would love to communicate with someone with more experience and, perhaps, an insight into Jerry Hadley, the man, his God-given gift of a fabulous voice, the music he appreciated and to whom throughout many performances on many different stages, he gave such great pleasure. I am besotted by him; he was good looking, could act, change his voice to suit the role he was playing, and he was seen on the stages of many opera houses and theatres with others of notable fame.

I live in West Yorkshire with my husband.

I would love to communicate with someone who feels about Jerry Hadley the way I do.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Strong, solid reliable singers are the bedrock of a healthy opera scene and he was always delightful. I wonder if he had been lucky like Sutherland or the Alagna's to have a travelling companion if his spiral down at the end could have been thwarted. Even Nilsson's wealthy husband could fly to spend time with her because he ran his own company. Nowadays you rarely even get a long run in any city other than perhaps the Met so you don't get time to create cronies to go out to drink in each town to ease the isolation.


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## ALT (Mar 1, 2021)

From an interpretive point of view, as good as his voice was, ultimately Hadley was a modern American tenor, schooled as such and one of many. What this means is that he was musically scrupulous, a good thing, but lacking in interpretive and maybe tonal individuality, a not so good thing in my opinion.

That said, I should add that it was most unfortunate and tragic that Hadley could not cope, apparently, with the inevitable downs that come along with the ups in a performing career.


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