Above: Rosalind Plowright
An audio-only performance of Verdi’s DON CARLO given at Geneva in 1988.
Listen here.
CAST:
King Philip II – Samuel Ramey; Elisabeth – Rosalind Plowright; Don Carlos – Neil Shicoff; Marquis of Posa – Håkan Hagegård; Princess Eboli – Eva Randova; Grand Inquisitor – Kevin Langan; Tebaldo/Voice from Above – Barbara Bonney; Monk – Constantin Sfriris; Royal Herald – Valentin Jar; Count of Lerma – Constantin Zaharia.
Conductor: Richard Armstrong
Above, an all-star quartet: Thomas Hampson, James Morris, Samuel Ramey, and Jerry Hadley
Back in 1980, at the New York City Opera, a young tenor singing the role of Gastone in TRAVIATA made me prick up my ears with his brief lines. It was Jerry Hadley. He is one of a four singers who captivated me initially in a small role and went on to a major career; the others were Samuel Ramey (1st Nazarene in SALOME), Kathleen Battle (Shepherd in TANNHAUSER), and Lisette Oropesa (Cretan Woman in IDOMENEO). They all became great favorites of mine.
Hadley had a generous lyric tenor with an Italianate sense of warmth and passion. The voice was clear and ardent, and he looked good onstage. He sang quite a lot at New York City Opera – where I saw him as Alfred in FLEDERMAUS, as Faust, and Nadir in PECHEURS DES PERLES. I also was present when he sang the title-role in Mozart’s IDOMENEO (Strauss version) at the Mostly Mozart Festival.
In 1987, Hadley made his Met debut as des Grieux in MANON and sang 125 performances there – in roles as diverse as Donizetti’s Edgardo, Mozart’s Ferrando and Don Ottavio, and Stravinsky’s Tom Rakewell. I saw him at The Met as Alfredo in TRAVIATA, Tamino in ZAUBERFLOETE, and Lensky in EUGENE ONEGIN. His final Met performances were in the title-role of Harbison’s THE GREAT GATSBY in 2002. He committed suicide in 2007, at the age of 55.
Oberon's Glade 