Richard Cassilly

Richard Cassilly (December 14, 1927 – January 30, 1998) was an American operatic tenor who had a major international opera career between 1954–90. Cassilly "was a mainstay in the heldentenor repertory in opera houses around the world for 30 years", and particularly excelled in Wagnerian roles like Tristan, Siegmund and Tannhäuser, and in dramatic parts that required both stamina and vocal weight, such as Giuseppe Verdi's Otello and Camille Saint-Saëns's Samson.

He was an admired Don José in Carmen and sang almost all of the leading Puccini tenor roles. Standing at 6'3" and possessing a 250-pound frame The New York Times described him as "a burly tenor with a bright ping on the top notes who had a supple lyric quality [to his voice]", and "was known to bring a musical intelligence and uncommonly clear diction to his work." This performance earned him a contract with the Hamburg State Opera as their leading in-house dramatic tenor, a position he held from 1965 to 1978. Engagements with other major companies soon followed, and by 1973 Cassilly had sung leading roles with almost every major opera house in Europe, including La Scala, the Opéra National de Paris, the Vienna State Opera, and the Bavarian State Opera.

Cassilly also forged a strong collaborative partnership with the Royal Opera in London, appearing in that house almost every year from 1968 to 1982. In 1978 he joined the roster of principal tenors at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, where he spent the majority of his time until his retirement in 1990.

Education and early career Born in Washington, D.C., Cassilly spent his childhood on a farm near Aberdeen, Maryland where he attended Bel Air High School where his voice potential was first recognized. He became involved in music through singing in his high school's glee club. In 1946, at the age of eighteen, he entered the Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins University where he studied singing with Hans Heinz. As a student he sang in college productions of The Flying Dutchman (as the Steersman) and Madama Butterfly (as Pinkerton). During this time he also had the opportunity to study under Rosa Ponselle who had retired from her career and was residing in Baltimore.

During his time with NYCO Cassilly was also busy with many other musical ensembles and organizations in New York City. He sang often with the American Opera Society (AOS) in concert performances of operas at Carnegie Hall and Town Hall, sharing the stage with such opera greats as Walter Berry, Marilyn Horne, Christa Ludwig, Regina Resnik, Giulietta Simionato, Eleanor Steber, and Dame Joan Sutherland among others. His roles with the AOS included Percy in Anna Bolena (1957), Tebaldo in I Capuleti e i Montecchi (1958), Énée in Les Troyens (1960), Orombello in Beatrice di Tenda (1961), and Pylade in Iphigénie en Tauride (1965). He also sang the role of Hermann in a concert performance of The Queen of Spades opposite Phyllis Curtin in the title role and sang the role of Martin in Aaron Copland's The Tender Land, both with the New York Philharmonic in 1965.

Although Cassilly was primarily working in New York during these years, he did travel frequently for performances with other companies and musical ensembles both in United States and internationally. In 1955 he made his first appearance in Philadelphia at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts with the Robin Hood Dell Orchestra as Don José in a concert performance Carmen. That same year he sang his first Mario Cavaradossi in Tosca opposite Licia Albanese in the title role in his debut with the Philadelphia Grand Opera Company. He returned with a critically acclaimed performance singing the roles of Don José (1958) and Pinkerton (1958, 1960, 1961). He also sang a few times with the Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company during these years in the roles of Oedipus rex (1959), Sam Polk (1960), and the title role in Wagner's Lohengrin (1961).

Cassilly made his first appearance outside of the United States in 1957 with the Canadian Opera Company as Cavaradossi in Tosca. He reprised the role later that year at Fort Worth Opera with Phyllis Curtin in the title role and Walter Cassel as Scarpia. In February 1958 he sang Pollione in Bellini's Norma with New Orleans Opera. This was followed by his European debut in July 1958 portraying the role of Sam Polk in Carlisle Floyd's Susannah at the Brussels World's Fair in a production transported from the NYCO. In the summer of 1959 he sang the title role in Peter Grimes and portrayed the role of Don José opposite Nell Rankin's Carmen with Cincinnati Opera. The following November he made his first appearance with the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Laca Klemeň in Leoš Janáček's Jenůfa opposite Sylvia Fisher.

In 1960 Cassilly sang Don José for three house debut performances: the Houston Grand Opera (in January opposite Claramae Turner as Carmen), the Vancouver Opera (in April with Nan Merriman as Carmen), and the Opera Company of Boston (in May with Gloria Lane as Carmen). In the summer of that year he returned to Cincinnati Opera to sing his first Radames in Aida, and in the Fall he went back to the Lyric Opera of Chicago to sing both Don José (opposite Jean Madeira) and Pinkerton (opposite Leontyne Price). He performed the role of Roméo opposite Pierrette Alarie's Juliette in Gounod's Roméo et Juliette in Montreal in January 1961. In 1962 he returned to the Houston Grand Opera to sing two new roles, Canio in I Pagliacci and Walther in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. In the Summer of 1963 he sang his first Manrico in Verdi's Il trovatore with Lucine Amara as Leonora for his debut with Central City Opera. This was followed by his first Don Alvaro in Verdi's La forza del destino in November with New Orleans Opera. In 1964 he debuted with the San Francisco Opera as Max in Der Freischütz and returned to Cincinnati Opera to sing his first Baron von Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus.

International fame and the Hamburg State Opera years: 1965–1978

In 1965, Cassilly returned to Europe having not performed there since his 1958 debut, singing the title role in Heinrich Sutermeister's Raskolnikoff at the Grand Théâtre de Genève. Earning rave reviews, Cassilly was soon approached with offers to join the Hamburg State Opera (HSO) and the Deutsche Oper Berlin. He decided to accept a single engagement in Berlin but signed a longterm contract with the HSO, ultimately moving his family to that city.

He was the HSO's leading dramatic tenor between 1966–78 where he sang a total of 55 roles, often singing as many as three or four different roles per week. He was a particular house favorite in the Wagner roles of Siegmund, Walther, Tristan, and Tannhäuser. He made his debut with the company singing Cavaradossi opposite the Tosca by Suzanne Sarroca in October 1966. He notably appeared as Florestan in the company's 1968 film of Beethoven's Fidelio, opposite Anja Silja. He portrayed Aron in a critically acclaimed 1974 production of Schoenberg's Moses und Aron with the company which was later recorded under conductor Pierre Boulez. The city of Hamburg honored him by bestowing on him the title of "Kammersänger". after not appearing there since his debut at the house in 1973. He returned with a critically acclaimed performance of the title role in Wagner's Tannhäuser on January 26, 1978, alongside Teresa Kubiak as Elisabeth, Bernd Weikl as Wolfram, and Grace Bumbry as Venus. Except for 1988, he appeared at the Met every year With the exception of the year 1988, he appeared at the Met every year through 1990. Among the roles he performed at the Met during this period were Aegisth (1980–1984), Canio (1980–1981), Captain Vere in Billy Budd (1980–1989), Don José (1980), Drum Major (1980–1989), Herod (1981–1990), Jimmy Mahoney in Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny (1979–1984), the title role in Œdipus rex (in John Dexter's production, 1981), Otello (1978–1980), Peter Grimes (1983), Samson (1981, opposite Viorica Cortez), Tannhäuser (1978–1987), and Tristan in Tristan und Isolde (1981).

His performances of Tannhäuser and Jimmy Mahoney were recorded for broadcast on PBS's Great Performances both of which were later released on DVD.

Legacy

His recordings include The Tenor (with Chester Ludgin, 1958), Les troyens (with Eleanor Steber and Regina Resnik, 1960), Il prigioniero (with Treigle, Anne McKnight, and Stokowski, 1960), Susannah (with Phyllis Curtin and Treigle, 1962), La forza del destino (excerpts, with Eileen Farrell, 1963), The Tender Land (with Joy Clements, abridged, conducted by the composer, Aaron Copland, 1965), Salome (with Dame Gwyneth Jones, conducted by Karl Böhm, 1970), Moses und Aron (conducted by Pierre Boulez, 1974), Leonore (with Edda Moser, 1976) and Troilus and Cressida (with Dame Janet Baker, 1976).

In 2010, his performance of Wozzeck from the Met, with José van Dam and Silja, was published on compact discs. Perhaps more important, his 1979 Mahagonny and 1982 Tannhäuser from the Met, as well as the Fidelio film from Hamburg, have been issued on DVD.

In 1986, Cassilly joined the voice faculty at Boston University where he taught until his death twelve years later in Boston on January 30, 1998. Just a few days prior to his death he had fallen on the ice and hit his head. The doctors at the time thought it was a mild concussion but the fall in reality caused a cerebral hemorrhage which was fatal. At the time of his death he was married to Metropolitan Opera soprano Patricia Craig.