The tragic story of tenor
Jerry Hadley.
Celebrated tenor Jerry Hadley was taken off life support Monday, nearly a week after an apparent suicide attempt left him with a severe brain injury.
Folks mention the joy and vitality that Hadley brought to his roles. They mention his accomplishments and discography; they list the highlights of his résumé while asking how- with all that success- he could have done such a thing. Music schools and practice rooms across the world are filled with musicians fighting to get to a point in their professional life similar to the one Mr. Hadley had gotten to. Often their little journeys are so incredibly focused and single minded that other parts of their life are tossed aside along the way. "Why would he do such a thing?" People who ask such things want to believe that that kind of success is enough. But if we look at our own lives and priorities most of us can come up with an answer. For some it's on the surface, others will have to do some soul searching. Talent is not enough. A calling is not enough. There has to be something else there to give that talent meaning, to make it worthwhile. Some of us, no matter how small our worlds are, just want someone to play for. I don't know what that something was for Mr. Hadley. That is as it should be. It's not for us to know.
To me, Mr. Hadley
was Candide. His performance on the Bernstein-conducted recording is wonderful. Returning to Voltaire's novella after listening to Bernstein's operetta, I couldn't help but impose Hadley into my own vision of the text. The world weary naif, the traveler, the fool in love, the gardener. For me, whatever it is I am and will turn out to be, I wanted to believe that a person like that could exist. I imposed this fictional creation on a real person, a person I never met or knew the slightest thing about. Why would he do such a thing? I like to think that when I ask the question I am being less superficial and maybe a bit more enlightened than those I mentioned above. This is not so. My question is not based on reality, but rather on a blend of art, fiction, and dreaming that says more about my own experiences and desires than I would ever admit outright.
