Too Late In Reporting A Tragedy

Your July 19 obituary of prominent American tenor Jerry Hadley ["Leading Tenor in N.Y., D.C."] highlighted The Post's lack of coverage of musical news. Hadley died eight days after shooting himself, yet there was no item on the shooting itself soon afterward.

I first became aware of the story when I heard it on the radio July 11. When I looked for something in The Post the next few days, there was nothing. It was only by going to the New York Times Web site that I verified that Hadley had shot himself.

Your excellent music critic, Tim Page, reported in the obituary that Hadley was a "special favorite in the Washington area" and that an appearance here "led directly to international attention" and a performance at the inaugural gala for President Ronald Reagan.

The Post never fails to report much of the latest "news" on the stars of the pop culture world. Why cannot the same attention be given to artists of undeniably greater achievement in the more serious arts?

-- Robin Berrington

Washington