Hackett, Charles

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Hackett, Charles

Hackett, Charles, American tenor; b. Worcester, Mass., Nov. 4, 1889; d. N.Y., Jan. 1, 1942. He was a student of Arthur J. Hubbard at the New England Cons, of Music in Boston and of Vincenzo Lombardi in Florence. After making his operatic debut in Genoa as Thomas’s Wilhelm Meister in 1914, he sang throughout Italy, including Milan (La Scala, 1916); he also sang at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. On Jan. 31, 1919, he made his Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. as Count Almaviva, remaining on the roster until 1921; after singing with the Chicago Civic Opera (1923–32), he was again on the roster of the Metropolitan Opera (1933–39). His other roles included the Duke of Mantua, Alfredo, Roméo, Rodolfo, Lindoro, and Pinkerton.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire