US opera star Jerry Hadley has died, just over a week after shooting himself with an air rifle as previously reported, in an apparent suicide bid. The singer's family have confirmed that the tenor, who had reportedly been recently troubled by financial and career worries, was taken off life support earlier this week, dying at the St Francis hospital in Poughkeepsie, New York, on Wednesday.
Hadley was born and studied his craft in Illinois, and began his career in regional opera houses in the US, before being installed at the New York Opera in the late 1970s. He went on to perform in such locations as London's Royal Opera House, Milan's La Scala and at the Glyndebourne and Salzburg festivals. In 1991 he sang the lead in Paul McCartney's 'Liverpool Oratorio', and made a number of significant recordings during the course of his career, including a 1998 version of 'Show Boat' and Leonard Bernstein's 1989 'Candide' revival.