Richard Cassilly (December 14, 1927 – January 30, 1998) was an American operatictenor 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.[1]
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."[1]
Cassilly spent the early years of his opera career singing primarily with the New York City Opera between 1955–1966, often portraying roles in obscure and contemporary operas. During these years he also traveled frequently throughout North America, appearing with most of the major opera companies in the United States and Canada. In 1965 he launched a major international opera career when he portrayed the title role in a critically acclaimed production of Heinrich Sutermeister's Raskolnikoff at the Grand Théâtre de Genève.[2] 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.[3]
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.[1]
After graduating with a degree in vocal performance in 1952, Cassilly moved to New York City with his first wife and their first child to pursue a performance career. Shortly thereafter he became a member of the John Harms Chorus singing with them at such venues as Town Hall between 1952–1954. He also worked as a paid singer for a couple of different churches during this time. Eventually his break came in 1954 when he was hired by William Steinberg as the tenor soloist in Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the Pittsburgh Symphony. This was followed by his operatic debut on Broadway as A Young Man and understudy for Michele in Gian Carlo Menotti's The Saint of Bleecker Street in December 1954. The production was a particular hit with the New York public and ran through April 1955. After it closed, the NBC Opera Theatre decided to use the cast for a televised version of the show.
American fame and the New York City Opera years:1955–1966
Cassilly's performance in The Saint of Bleecker Street drew the attention of Joseph Rosenstock, director of the New York City Opera (NYCO), who invited him to audition for the company in the Spring of 1955. Impressed with the audition, Rosenstock offered him a contract with the company and Cassilly made his NYCO debut in the title role of Tchaikovsky's Cherevichki (performed under the title The Golden Slipper) opposite Beverly Sills as Oxana on October 13, 1955. In 1959 he is Énée in Les Troyens conducted by Robert Lawrence.
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 to that company several more times 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).
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".[1] During his time there he also would travel periodically to sing with the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe and the Nationaltheater Mannheim.
The year 1965 not only marked Cassily's first major European appearance, but also brought a personal triumph for Cassilly in February of that year: singing the title role in Charles Gounod's Faust for his first professional opera performance in his home city at the Baltimore Civic Opera. The following October he made his debut with Montreal Opera singing Radames with conductor Zubin Mehta, Virginia Zeani is Aida and Lili Chookasian as Amneris. This was followed by a performance of Britten's War Requiem with the San Antonio Symphony. In 1966 Cassily returned to the San Francisco Opera to sing Grigoriy in Boris Godunov and Aegisth in Elektra.
In April 1967 he made his Seattle Opera debut singing Manrico to Eileen Farrell's Leonora and Sherrill Milnes's Count DiLuna in Verdi's Il Trovatore. That summer he performed at Lincoln Center in Washinginton D.C. with the Hamburg State Opera's transport productions of Mathis der Maler (as the Archbishop) and Jenůfa. This was followed by his first performance of the title role in Verdi's Otello with HSO the following September. In October 1967 he returned to Vancouver Opera to sing the role of Dick Johnson for the first time in Puccini's La fanciulla del West with Dorothy Kirsten as Minnie, Chester Ludgin as Jack Rance, and Fausto Cleva conducting. The following December he sang Erik to Ingrid Bjoner's Senta in The Flying Dutchman at the New Orleans Opera.
On February 16, 1968, Cassilly made his debut at the Royal Opera, Covent Garden as Laca Klemeň to Marie Collier's Jenůfa with Astrid Varnay as the Kostelnicka. He returned there almost every year through 1982, portraying the roles of Aeneas in Les Troyens (1977), the Drum Major in Wozzeck (1974), Florestan (1969), Herod in Salome (1979), Laca Klemeň (1968–1972), the title role in Peter Grimes (1976), Otello (1968), Siegmund in Wagner's Die Walküre (1971–1982), the title role in Tannhäuser (1972–1974), and Troilus in Troilus and Cressida (1975). Cassilly notably recorded several of these roles with the Royal Opera, including Siegmund and Troilus.
In 1978 Cassilly joined the roster of the Metropolitan Opera after having not appeared there since his debut at the house in 1973. His returned with a critically acclaimed performance of the title role in Wagner's Tannhäuser on January 26, 1978, with Teresa Kubiak as Elisabeth, Bernd Weikl as Wolfram, and Grace Bumbry as Venus. With the exception of the year 1988, he appeared at the Met every year through 1990. Among the many roles he portrayed at the house during this time are 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).
Both his performances of Tannhäuser and Jimmy Mahoney were recorded for broadcast on PBS's Great Performances, both of which were subsequently released for sale on DVD.[1] He performed the role of Jimmy Mahoney (The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny) for the Metropolitan Opera Centennial Gala in 1983. His last performance at the Met was on November 23, 1990, as Herod with Hildegard Behrens in the title role. His 157th performance at that house, it was also his final appearance on the opera stage.
During his years as a mainstay at the Met, Cassilly continued to appear in operas and concerts throughout the world. In 1978 he sang Siegmund at the Palais Garnier and he returned to the Houston Grand Opera in November of that year to sing Laca Klemeň. In 1979 he returned to the Grand Théâtre de Genève to sing Tannhäuser to Éva Marton's Elisabeth. In 1980 he sang Otello with the Frankfurt Opera, the Nationaltheater Mannheim, the Edmonton Opera Association, and the Canadian Opera Company. He also sang Tannhäuser in Genoa and Geneva. In 1981 he sang Otello in Toronto again and repeated the role with Pittsburgh Opera in 1982. He returned to the Palais Garnier in July 1982 to sing Cannio followed by a portrayal of the mystical shepherd in Karol Szymanowski's King Roger with Wolf Trap Opera in August. In October 1982 he portrayed Samson opposite Fiorenza Cossotto's Dalila for the 40th Anniversary of New Orleans Opera.
In March 1983 Cassilly sang the role of Luka Kuzmič for the American premiere of Leoš Janáček's From the House of the Dead in a concert with the New York Philharmonic. The following June he sang Tannhäuser for his first appearance at the Liceu and in July repeated that role for his South American debut at the Teatro Municipal in Santiago, Chile. In September 1983 he returned to San Diego Opera to sing Peter Grimes with Patricia Craig and in October returned to the San Francisco Opera to sing Otello. In March 1986 he sang Jimmy Mahoney for his only appearance with Scottish Opera and in 1988 he returned to the Lyric Opera of Chicago to sing Tannhäuser.
Cassilly lived in the Boston suburb of Brookline and was a professor of voice at Boston University, where he had taught from 1986 until his death.[4]
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.[1]
