Jul 18, 2007 1:59 pm US/Eastern
Tenor Hadley Dies From Self-Inflicted Wound
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. (CBS/AP) ―
-
-
Noted tenor Jerry Hadley died Wednesday, eight days after shooting himself with an air rifle in an apparent suicide attempt, authorities said.
Jerry Hadley Publicity Photo
Noted tenor Jerry Hadley died Wednesday, a family spokeswoman said, a little more than a week after an apparent suicide attempt left him with a severe brain injury.
The singer, 55, died at 11:20 a.m., two days after doctors at St. Francis Hospital in Poughkeepsie took him off life support, said family friend and spokeswoman Celia Novo.
Hadley shot himself with an air rifle July 10 at his Clinton Corners home near Poughkeepsie, according to state police. Troopers found him unconscious on his bedroom floor.
Hadley last made news in February, when Manhattan prosecutors dropped DWI charges against him, nine months after he had been arrested while sitting in a parked car on the Upper West Side.
A woman had reported seeing him in a drunken state before getting into the car, and prosecutors said at the time that the "intent" to drive was enough to warrant a DWI charge. But Hadley argued he never intended to drive because he knew he was tipsy and he had returned to his car merely to retrieve some items.
The Illinois-born Hadley was regarded as "the leading American tenor of his generation," according to the Web site of the University of Illinois, where he received his masters degree in 1977.
He built his reputation tackling demanding work, including the title role in composer John Harbison's 1999 "The Great Gatsby" at the Metropolitan Opera. Leonard Bernstein chose Hadley to sing the title role in a 1989 production of his musical "Candide," and he sang the lead in Paul McCartney's "Liverpool Oratorio" in 1991.
Hadley was featured in the Leos Janacek's opera "Jenufa," which won a Grammy in 2004.
"I particularly admired the strength and sweetness of his voice in the lyric Mozart parts and the imagination and commitment he brought to contemporary works," James Levine, music director of the Metropolitan Opera, said in a statement.
"He was also a warm, generous colleague with a great sense of humor, who always gave his very best. ... We will miss him enormously."
Hadley started his career in regional companies. He was noticed in the late 1970s by Beverly Sills, then general director of the New York City Opera, which hired him. She died earlier this month.
Hadley also performed at Milan's La Scala, the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, the Deutsche Oper in Berlin, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the San Francisco Opera, the San Diego Opera and the festivals in Glyndebourne, England, Aix-en-Provence, France, and Salzburg, Austria.
Hadley in recent years had been dealing with financial problems and was being treated for depression, police said after the shooting.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
Click to enlarge
HealthWatch: Hormone Could Lead To Weight Loss 2 mins ago 
Newest Snow Could Make Record Books In Parts Of NJ 8 mins ago 
Stumble It!
Comments