Eugene Conley

Eugene Conley (March 12, 1908 – December 18, 1981) was a celebrated American operatic tenor.

Born in Lynn, Massachusetts, Conley studied under Ettore Verna, and made his official debut as the Duke of Mantua in "Rigoletto", at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in 1940. In 1945, he first appeared with the New York City Opera, as Rodolfo in "La bohème", and went on to appear with that company until 1950. He also sang with the Opéra-Comique in Paris, the Teatro alla Scala in Milan ("I puritani", 1949; and "Les vêpres siciliennes" opposite Maria Callas, 1951), and Covent Garden in London.

The tenor made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1950, in the name part of "Faust", and appeared with the Met many times until 1956. In 1960, Conley joined the faculty of North Texas State University, where he was artist-in-residence until his retirement in 1978. That same year, he presented a solo recital at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center. Among his students was Henry Price (tenor). He died in Denton, Texas, at the age of seventy-three.

Conley's discography includes complete recordings of "Faust" (with Eleanor Steber and Cesare Siepi, for Columbia, 1951), the first recording of "The Rake's Progress" (conducted by the composer, Igor Stravinsky, for Columbia, 1953), and Beethoven's "Missa solemnis" (conducted by Arturo Toscanini, for RCA, 1953). In 1999, VAI published, on Compact Discs, a 1952 performance of "Rigoletto" from the New Orleans Opera Association, with Leonard Warren, Hilde Gueden, Conley, and the young Norman Treigle as Count Monterone, conducted by Walter Herbert. A "pirated" recording of the Verdi Requiem exists, with Herva Nelli and Conley, conducted by Guido Cantelli (1954).

Reference

* "The Metropolitan Opera Encyclopedia", edited by David Hamilton, Simon and Schuster, 1987. ISBN 0-671-61732-X