Thomas Hayward (tenor)

Thomas T. Hayward (born Thomas Albert Tibbett; December 1, 1917, Kansas City, Missouri – died February 2, 1995, Las Vegas, Nevada[1]) was an American operatic tenor. He was a cousin of opera singer Lawrence Tibbett.

Thomas T. Hayward
Thomas T. Hayward
Thomas T. Hayward
Background information
Birth nameThomas Albert Tibbett
Born(1917-12-01)December 1, 1917
Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
DiedAugust 8, 1995(1995-08-08) (aged 77)
Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
GenresOpera
Occupation(s)Tenor
Years active1944–1963
LabelsRCA

Career
Hayward, second from left, pictured with his Metropolitan Opera colleagues, Licia Albanese, Frank Guarrera (far right) and Jerome Hines.

The lyric tenor made his debut with the New York City Opera in November 1944, as Edmondo in Giacomo Puccini's Manon Lescaut, opposite Dorothy Kirsten in the title role.[2][3]

In 1945 and 1946, he was seen there as Turiddu in Cavalleria rusticana and in The Gypsy Baron.[4] Soon after his City Opera debut, he won the Metropolitan Opera Auditions of the Air along with baritone Robert Merrill. Immediately following, Hayward was first seen in his many appearances at the Metropolitan Opera, his debut being the part of Tybalt in Roméo et Juliette.[5][6]

More notable roles at the Met included the Italian Singer in Der Rosenkavalier, Alfred in Die Fledermaus (with Hilde Gueden and Virginia MacWatters),[7] the name part in Faust, "B.F. Pinkerton" in Madama Butterfly, opposite the "Cio Cio San" of Victoria de los Angeles and the Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto. His additional duties at the Met included being the principal cover for Jussi Bjoerling. His final opera at that theatre was Mario Cavaradossi in Tosca, in 1957. In 1959, he returned to the City Opera, for Die Fledermaus, conducted by Julius Rudel.[8] In 1963, Hayward appeared in a production by Sarah Caldwell for the Boston Opera Group of Faust, with Beverly Sills and Norman Treigle,[9]

Concert stage
First act finale from A Night in Venice The production was replete with a cast of 500 and fireworks.

He performed to highest critical acclaim in over 400 civic concerts and appeared with every major symphony orchestra in the United States and Canada. His performances on open-air stages included the Hollywood Bowl, Chicago's Grant Park, Denver's Red Rocks, New York's Lewisohn Stadium, Jones Beach Marine Theater starring Hayward in the opening cast as "Mario" in the show that was the operetta A Night in Venice by Johann Strauss II (produced by film producer Mike Todd, complete with floating gondolas and starring Enzo Stuarti and Nola Fairbanks at the newly constructed Jones Beach Theater/[10]), the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera and the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera[11]

Radio and television

For many years he was the star of his own radio show Serenade to America broadcast from New York City on the NBC network.[12] He was in demand as a guest star on The Voice of Firestone, The Bell Telephone Hour, The Ford Sunday Evening Hour, Producers' Showcase, NBC Symphony, Omnibus, and The Milton Berle Show. His debut abroad was at the Palladium in London where he was a featured guest artist at the gala and was invited to perform on Val Parnell's programme, Sunday Night at the London Palladium [13]

Recordings

Hayward's studio discography includes RCA, Victor, Cambridge, Everest and Decca in addition to two recordings for CBS: Pagliacci (as Beppe, opposite Lucine Amara, Richard Tucker and Giuseppe Valdengo (1951), and Lucia di Lammermoor (as Lord Arturo Bucklaw, with Lily Pons and Richard Tucker, 1954). Both albums were conducted by Fausto Cleva. In 1998, Video Artists International published a compact disc of excerpts from a 1958 performance of La traviata, from New Orleans, Louisiana, with Kirsten and Cornell MacNeil, which displays the voice in his prime.[14]

Teaching career and legacy

In 1964, Hayward left New York for Dallas, Texas, where he became Artist-in-Residence and Chairman of the Voice and Opera Departments of the Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University. He was further honored by being named the Meadows Distinguished Professor of Voice in 1990, and soon after his death in 1995 the establishment of the Thomas Hayward Memorial Award.[15]

Notable protégés

Death

Hayward continued teaching in Dallas until 1994. He died on February 2, 1995, from kidney and heart failure,[18] when he and his wife moved to Nevada.

References
  1. "Thomas Hayward, Leading Met Tenor In 40's, Dies at 77". The New York Times. February 6, 1995. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  2. "Manon Lescaut on Broadway - Information, Cast, Crew, Synopsis and Photos". Playbill Vault. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  3. 1949 recording
    Giuseppe Antonicelli; Chor & Orchester der Metropolitan Opera
    Commandante: Osie Hawkins
    Des Grieux: Jussi Björling
    Edmondo: Thomas Hayward
    Geronte: Salvatore Baccaloni
    Lampionario: Paul Franke
    Lescaut: Giuseppe Valdengo
    Maestro del ballo: Alessio de Paolis
    Manon Lescaut: Dorothy Kirsten
    Musico: Jean Madeira
    Oste: George Cehanovsky
    Sergente: Clifford Harvout
    Myto 931.73 (2 CD); Naxos historical 8.1110123-24 (2 CD); Cantus Classics 500320 (2 CD) live 103'38
  4. "Thomas Hayward - Broadway Theatre Credits, Photos, Who's Who". PlaybillVault.com. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  5. critical review in The New York Times: "the part of Tybalt was so well sung and acted by Mr. Hayward that it assumed the stature of the leading role.
  6. Virgil Thomson of the New York Herald Tribune described his singing as "exquisite".
  7. "Opera annals Homepage". Operaannals.blogspot.de. Retrieved 2016-10-30.
  8. Singer, Samuel L. "Rousing 'Fledermaus' by Strauss." Philadelphia Inquirer, 14 October 1959.
  9. "Beverly Sills - Performance Annals Database". Beverlysillsonline.com. Retrieved 2016-10-30.
  10. "A Night in Venice: An Original Cast Recording: Music". Amazon. February 17, 1998. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  11. The Rouban Mamouian Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress Washington, D.C. 2010 Contact information: https://www.loc.gov/rr/rarebook/contact.html Catalog Record: http://lccn.loc.gov/2010515535
  13. CTVA UK 4.13 [--] Val Parnell's Sunday Night at the London Palladium (missing) 07-Dec-1958 ATV ITV Sun 8:00-9:00pm presenter: Bruce Forsyth starring (all-American guest line-up): Sallie Blair (vocalist) Harrison and Fisher (comic ballroom dancers) Thomas Hayward (tenor) Georgie Kaye Ann Marston (champion archer) Highlights: Sallie Blair sings "Ev'rything I Have Is Yours," "How Long Has This Been Going On?" and "Witchcraft." Thomas Hayward sings "Your Tiny Hand Is Frozen" ("Che Gelida Manina") and "If I Loved You."
  14. Dorothy Kirsten in New Orleans VAI Audio, 1 CD: cat# 1154, $16.99 Dorothy Kirsten stars in extended scenes from La Traviata and Louise. Traviata also features Cornell MacNiel and Thomas Hayward; Renato Celini, conductor (1958). Louise excerpts also feature Norman Treigle; Franco Patane, conductor (1965). Both with the New Orleans Opera Orchestra and Chorus. Never before available! La Traviata (Verdi) (1) - (8) Act II, Scene I Madamigella Valery through Amami, Alfredo (21:48) (9) - (12) Act III, Scene II Invitato a qui seguirmi through end of act (9:38) (13) - (20) Act III Teneste la promessa through end of act (19:56) with Thomas Hayward and Cornell Macneil New Orleans Opera Orchestra and Chorus Renato Cellini, conductor Live performance, November 15, 1958
  15. "Contact SMU". Smu.edu. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  16. Orpheus Oper International, Rittersstrasse 11, D-10969 Berlin, Heft 5, Juni 2001: Thema: "Tenoere!" A 4848 E
  17. "Biography". Donnierayalbert.com. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  18. "Thomas Hayward, 77, a leading tenor at the Metropolitan..." Articles.baltimoresun.com. February 6, 1995. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
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