Jerry Hadley
Jerry Hadley, 1952-2007
Regular people get a moment of silence. Do musicians get a moment of music? Glorious noise.
He may not have been extremely well-known, but he was one of my favorite singers. Because his acting was true, his characters compelling. His voice really did have a particularly American flavor to it that I think was wonderful for modern opera in the English language. His was the only Rake I ever heard who actually sounded terrified and desperate and brave in the Graveyard Scene, and I fell in love with him there. (I fangirled him. I dressed up as him--as Tom Rakewell--for Halloween. He was a role model to me.) Some of his best roles were the ones that could showcase his sense of wonder and his vivaciousness, as well as humor and instinct for story. I think that he had a great deal of commitment to his characters, and so no wonder he was interested in meaty roles like Werther. You inhabit these personas, but it doesn't free you from the limitations and the tyrannies of your own biology.
Tom Rakewell, Candide, Gatsby, Sam Polk...he brought them to life, and made them vivid and vibrant, and I, for one, will miss him. My regret is that I never tried to find a way to express my appreciation, thinking that one voice could not possibly be heard. But that's exactly the lesson I should have learned, to take that plunge, to communicate the things you believe and feel, and to do so with no reservations, trusting that it's worth it. And it is. Trusting that someone is listening. If I were still at school, my tribute would have been to throw a wake for him, to watch my DVD of The Rake's Progress and celebrate his work. As it is, this entry memorializes him.
The awareness of mortality is one of those things we learn to, no, instinctively, push to the backs of our minds until we experience it in a particularly personal way, and I even think that that's the way it should be. Sometimes, the universe conspires to remind us.
The wild boar is vanquished...every wearied body must/late or soon return to dust/set the frantic spirit free...mourn for Adonis.
Regular people get a moment of silence. Do musicians get a moment of music? Glorious noise.
He may not have been extremely well-known, but he was one of my favorite singers. Because his acting was true, his characters compelling. His voice really did have a particularly American flavor to it that I think was wonderful for modern opera in the English language. His was the only Rake I ever heard who actually sounded terrified and desperate and brave in the Graveyard Scene, and I fell in love with him there. (I fangirled him. I dressed up as him--as Tom Rakewell--for Halloween. He was a role model to me.) Some of his best roles were the ones that could showcase his sense of wonder and his vivaciousness, as well as humor and instinct for story. I think that he had a great deal of commitment to his characters, and so no wonder he was interested in meaty roles like Werther. You inhabit these personas, but it doesn't free you from the limitations and the tyrannies of your own biology.
Tom Rakewell, Candide, Gatsby, Sam Polk...he brought them to life, and made them vivid and vibrant, and I, for one, will miss him. My regret is that I never tried to find a way to express my appreciation, thinking that one voice could not possibly be heard. But that's exactly the lesson I should have learned, to take that plunge, to communicate the things you believe and feel, and to do so with no reservations, trusting that it's worth it. And it is. Trusting that someone is listening. If I were still at school, my tribute would have been to throw a wake for him, to watch my DVD of The Rake's Progress and celebrate his work. As it is, this entry memorializes him.
The awareness of mortality is one of those things we learn to, no, instinctively, push to the backs of our minds until we experience it in a particularly personal way, and I even think that that's the way it should be. Sometimes, the universe conspires to remind us.
The wild boar is vanquished...every wearied body must/late or soon return to dust/set the frantic spirit free...mourn for Adonis.