Richard Cassilly

Richard Cassilly (December 14, 1927 – January 30, 1998) was an American operatic tenor born in Washington, D.C., who built one of the most prominent international opera careers of his era, performing leading roles across major houses in North America and Europe from 1954 to 1990. Raised on a farm near Aberdeen, Maryland, he attended Bel Air High School, where his vocal potential was first identified through participation in the school's glee club. In 1946 he enrolled at the Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins University, studying singing with Hans Heinz. While a student he performed in conservatory productions of The Flying Dutchman, in which he sang the Steersman, and Madama Butterfly, in which he portrayed Pinkerton. He also studied under Rosa Ponselle, who had retired from her performing career and was living in Baltimore at the time. Cassilly graduated with a degree in vocal performance in 1952.

Following his graduation, Cassilly relocated to New York City with his first wife and their first child. Between 1952 and 1954 he sang with the John Harms Chorus at venues including Town Hall and worked as a paid singer for several churches. His professional breakthrough came in 1954 when conductor William Steinberg engaged him as tenor soloist in Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the Pittsburgh Symphony. Later that year he made his Broadway debut in Gian Carlo Menotti's The Saint of Bleecker Street, performing the role of A Young Man and serving as understudy for the role of Michele. The production opened in December 1954, ran through April 1955, and was subsequently adapted for a televised broadcast by the NBC Opera Theatre using the original cast.

Cassilly's work in The Saint of Bleecker Street attracted the attention of Joseph Rosenstock, director of the New York City Opera, who invited him to audition in the spring of 1955. Rosenstock offered him a contract, and Cassilly made his company debut on October 13, 1955, in the title role of Tchaikovsky's Cherevichki, performed under the title The Golden Slipper, opposite Beverly Sills as Oxana. He remained a regular member of the New York City Opera through 1966, frequently appearing in contemporary and rarely performed works. His credits with the company included American premieres of Frank Martin's The Tempest, in which he sang Ferdinand in 1957, and Luigi Dallapiccola's Il prigioniero, in which he portrayed the Jailer in 1960 alongside Norman Treigle and under the baton of Leopold Stokowski. Among his other roles at the company were Don José in Carmen, Peter Quint in The Turn of the Screw, Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, Sam Polk in Susannah, Edgar Linton in Carlisle Floyd's Wuthering Heights, Paco in La vida breve, and the title role in Stravinsky's Oedipus rex. His final performance as a regular company member came in March 1966 as Sergei in Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District, presented under the title Katerina Ismailova.

During the same period Cassilly was active with the American Opera Society, performing in concert productions at Carnegie Hall and Town Hall alongside singers including Marilyn Horne, Christa Ludwig, Joan Sutherland, Eleanor Steber, and Regina Resnik. His roles with the American Opera Society included Percy in Anna Bolena in 1957, Tebaldo in I Capuleti e i Montecchi in 1958, Énée in Les Troyens in 1960, Orombello in Beatrice di Tenda in 1961, and Pylade in Iphigénie en Tauride in 1965. In 1965 he also sang Hermann in a concert performance of The Queen of Spades opposite Phyllis Curtin with the New York Philharmonic, and performed the role of Martin in Aaron Copland's The Tender Land with the same orchestra.

Throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s Cassilly extended his work beyond New York, appearing with opera companies across the United States and Canada. In 1955 he sang Don José in a concert performance of Carmen with the Robin Hood Dell Orchestra at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia, and made his debut with the Philadelphia Grand Opera Company as Mario Cavaradossi in Tosca opposite Licia Albanese. He returned to that company in subsequent seasons in the roles of Don José and Pinkerton. He also appeared with the Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company in productions of Oedipus rex, Susannah, and Wagner's Lohengrin. In 1957 he made his first appearance outside the United States with the Canadian Opera Company, again as Cavaradossi in Tosca, and later that year reprised the role at Fort Worth Opera with Phyllis Curtin and Walter Cassel. In February 1958 he sang Pollione in Bellini's Norma with New Orleans Opera. His European debut followed in July 1958 when he portrayed Sam Polk in a New York City Opera production of Carlisle Floyd's Susannah presented at the Brussels World's Fair. In 1959 he sang the title role in Peter Grimes and Don José with Cincinnati Opera, and made his debut with the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Laca Klemeň in Janáček's Jenůfa opposite Sylvia Fisher. In 1960 he made house debuts at the Houston Grand Opera, the Vancouver Opera, and the Opera Company of Boston, performing Don José at each engagement.

The pivotal moment in Cassilly's international career came in 1965 when he portrayed the title role in a critically acclaimed production of Heinrich Sutermeister's Raskolnikoff at the Grand Théâtre de Genève. That performance led directly to a contract with the Hamburg State Opera as their principal dramatic tenor in residence, a position he held from 1965 to 1978. Engagements with other major European houses followed rapidly, and by 1973 he had sung leading roles at La Scala, the Opéra National de Paris, the Vienna State Opera, and the Bavarian State Opera. He also established a sustained relationship with the Royal Opera in London, appearing there nearly 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 concentrated much of his activity until his retirement in 1990.

Standing six feet three inches tall and weighing approximately 250 pounds, Cassilly was a physically imposing stage presence. The New York Times described him as a burly tenor whose voice combined a bright ping on the top notes with a supple lyric quality, and noted his musical intelligence and uncommonly clear diction. He was particularly associated with the heldentenor repertory, excelling in Wagnerian roles including Tristan, Siegmund, and Tannhäuser, as well as dramatically demanding parts such as Verdi's Otello and the title role in Saint-Saëns's Samson. He was also recognized for his portrayal of Don José in Carmen and performed nearly all of the principal Puccini tenor roles during the course of his career.