Hadley married pianist Cheryll Drake and moved to Connecticut, where he took a job teaching music. In 1978 he began studying voice with Thomas LoMonaco, who would remain his teacher for the next 12 years.
Hadley's early years as a professional singer were spent in regional opera houses in the U.S. He impressed Beverly Sills, who had heard him in the National Opera Institute auditions in 1978 and offered him a New York City Opera contract.[4] Hadley became a regular member of the roster of the New York City Opera after his debut there as Arturo in Lucia di Lammermoor in 1979.
Hadley was known for his interpretations of lyric tenor opera roles as well as his performances of Broadway musicals, operetta, and popular music. One of his best-selling recordings was the EMI three-CD recording of the complete score of Show Boat, conducted by John McGlinn. Hadley sang the role of Gaylord Ravenal.
In the early 1990s, Hadley appeared on The Long Goodbye, an album of reinterpretations of the music of Procol Harum featuring past and present members of the band, augmented by orchestra and guest vocalists; Hadley's contributed with an interpretation of "Grand Hotel".
In 1996, Hadley commissioned the composer Daniel Steven Crafts to set selected poems by Carl Sandburg to music.[5] The work, The Song and The Slogan, premiered in 2000 at the University of Illinois, and was made into a PBS video, which won an Emmy Award for Best Musical Performance by the Mid-America Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Among the performers in the premiere were university professors and musicians with whom he had worked while a student, including pianist Eric Dalheim, conductor Paul Vermel,[6] and cellist Barbara Hedlund.[7]
Hadley created the role of Don Luis de Carvajal y de la Cueva, in Myron Fink's 1997 opera, The Conquistador,[8][9] and the title role in John Harbison's 1999 The Great Gatsby, based on the novel of the same name. Outside opera, he created in 1991 the tenor part in Paul McCartney's Liverpool Oratorio.
Hadley made many recordings, including bel canto roles conducted by Richard Bonynge, and was selected by Leonard Bernstein to sing the title role of his Candide for his 1989 recording for Deutsche Grammophon. The London performance of the operetta from that year with the same principal singers, including Hadley, were televised separately and commercially released.[citation needed]
In addition to operatic performances, Hadley also gave recitals in Europe and the United States, which regularly included American music. He performed frequently with the American conductor-pianist Alexander Frey, and at the time of Hadley's death they were planning to record two new solo compact discs of song repertoire of Austria and Hollywood. Hadley also performed frequently with pianist Eric Dalheim.[citation needed]
Divorce and later career
Following his divorce from Cheryll Drake in 2002, Hadley stopped performing until 2004.
Hadley's last operatic performances were in May 2007 in Brisbane, Australia, as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly with Opera Queensland.
In a 2007 interview with The Courier-Mail, Hadley commented on his return to the stage after his long absence since his divorce: "A wounded bird cannot sing. It was tough. It was emotionally distressing and it goes straight to the throat. So I took some time off and sat in the quiet for a while. I never really understood how inseparable was the journey of the spirit and the journey of singing and making music. For the first time in my life I couldn't see a way forward. But I came out on the other side of it with a deeper appreciation of what a great gift and great opportunities God has given me."[15]
Death
On July 10, 2007, Hadley sustained a catastrophic brain injury after apparently shooting himself in the head with an air rifle at his home in Clinton Corners, New York.[16] Hearing the shot, his fiancée called 911.[17] Hadley was taken to St. Francis Hospital in Poughkeepsie, New York where CAT scans and X-rays showed severe brain injury; he was put on life support.[18] On July 16, he was taken off life support.[19] Hadley died two days later.[20]
^In the months prior to his death Hadley had been suffering from vocal and financial problems and was under treatment for depression. In May 2006, he was arrested in Manhattan for intent to drive while intoxicated, but the charges were eventually dropped (Los Angeles Times, July 19, 2007; Peoria Star-Journal, July 16, 2007; The New York Times, 23 February 2007).[full citation needed]
