Charles Hackett

For the Australian politician, see Charles Hackett (politician).

Charles Hackett c. 1918

Charles Hackett (November 4, 1889 – January 1, 1942) sometimes referred to as Carlo Hackett, was an American lyric tenor.

Biography

He was born on November 4, 1889, in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Hackett studied first at the New England Conservatory in Boston with Arthur J. Hubbard, and later with Vincenzo Lombardi in Florence. He made his stage debut in Genoa, as Wilhelm Meister in Mignon, in 1914.

He sang in Italy and South America, before making his debut at the Metropolitan Opera on January 31, 1919, as Almaviva. He appeared there for three seasons, also as Lindoro, Roméo, Il duca di Mantova, Alfredo, Rodolfo, Pinkerton, Wilhelm Meister, Cavaradossi, Don Ottavio, Vincent and Des Grieux. He also sang at the Lyric Opera of Chicago from 1923 until 1934. He returned to the Metropolitan on February 3, 1934, as Roméo, and performed there for another five years. Hackett made a number of recordings for Edison and Columbia, notably duets with Maria Barrientos and Rosa Ponselle, in which one can appreciate a singer with a fine technique and a certain elegance.

He died on New Year's Day, January 1, 1942, in Manhattan, New York City

Sources

• The Metropolitan Opera Encyclopedia, edited by David Hamilton, (Simon & Schuster, New York, 1987)
• Metropolitan Opera Database Archived 2018-08-12 at the Wayback Machine

External links

• Charles Hackett recordings at the Discography of American Historical Recordings.
• History of the Tenor – Sound Clips and Narration