Tenor Jerry Hadley, 55, suicide
Posted: Wednesday, July 18th, 2007 4:27 pmJerry Hadley’s attractive lyric tenor voice, all-American good looks and exceptional acting ability carried him from a humble farm upbringing in northern Illinois to the world’s major opera houses, including a distinguished career with Lyric Opera of Chicago for nearly two decades.
Mr. Hadley died Wednesday at St. Francis Hospital in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., two days after he was taken off life support. He was left with severe brain damage after attempting suicide with an air rifle at his home in Clinton Corners, N.Y., on July 10, police said. He was 55.
During the late 1980s and 1990s he was riding high in the opera world, delighting audiences in Mozart, French lyric and Italian roles and modern parts such as Tom Rakewell in Stravinsky’s “The Rake’s Progress.”
But opera and concert bookings fell off in his later years. Although Mr. Hadley recently had discussed reviving his career by moving into character roles, his personal life was complicated by bouts of depression and financial worries, according to friends. … Read full obituary
