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

lyric tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is widel ...

Biography

He was born on November 4, 1889 in

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...

. Hackett studied first at the New England Conservatory in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

with Arthur J. Hubbard, and later with Vincenzo Lombardi in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

. He made his stage debut in

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

, as Wilhelm Meister in ''

Mignon ''Mignon'' is an 1866 ''opéra comique'' (or opera in its second version) in three acts by Ambroise Thomas. The original French libretto was by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré, based on Goethe's 1795-96 novel '' Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre''. ...

'', in 1914. He sang in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and South America, before making his debut at the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is oper ...

on January 31, 1919, as Almaviva. He appeared there for three seasons, also as Lindoro, Roméo, Il duca di Mantova,

Alfredo Alfredo (, ) is a cognate of the Anglo-Saxon name Alfred and a common Italian, Galician, Portuguese and Spanish language personal name. People with the given name include: * Alfredo (born 1946), Brazilian footballer born as Alfredo Mostarda F ...

, Rodolfo, Pinkerton,

Wilhelm Meister ''Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship'' ( ger, Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre) is the second novel by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, published in 1795–96. Plot The eponymous hero undergoes a journey of self-realization. The story centers upon Wilhelm' ...

, Cavaradossi, Don Ottavio,

Vincent Vincent ( la, Vincentius) is a male given name derived from the Roman name Vincentius, which is derived from the Latin word (''to conquer''). People with the given name Artists *Vincent Apap (1909–2003), Maltese sculptor *Vincent van Gogh ...

and Des Grieux. He also sang at the

Lyric Opera of Chicago Lyric Opera of Chicago is one of the leading opera companies in the United States. It was founded in Chicago in 1954, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox, Nicola Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, with a season that included Maria ...

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 María Alejandra Barrientos Llopis (4 March 1884 - 8 August 1946) was a Spanish opera singer, a light coloratura soprano. Biography Barrientos was born in Barcelona on 4 March 1884. She received a thorough musical education (piano and violin ...

and

Rosa Ponselle Rosa Melba Ponzillo, known as Rosa Ponselle (January 22, 1897 – May 25, 1981) was an American operatic soprano. She sang mainly at the New York Metropolitan Opera and is generally considered to have been one of the greatest sopranos of the 20t ...

, 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

External links

Charles Hackett recordings
at the Discography of American Historical Recordings.
History of the Tenor – Sound Clips and Narration
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hackett, Charles 1889 births 1942 deaths American operatic tenors Singers from Massachusetts Musicians from Worcester, Massachusetts 20th-century American male opera singers