Sitting in a bare dressing room, Jerry Hadley, world-famous tenor and University alumnus, leaned forward in his chair, pointed his finger straight at an imaginary person and described how he often catches the expressions on people’s faces when he performs. He talked about the “unique energy” a live audience provides.

“It’s amazing,” Hadley said. “I wish I could quantify it, but I can’t. It’s a qualitative thing.”

Hadley will soon be able to feel that special energy once more, as he is set to perform alongside University opera and orchestra students in the Krannert Center for Performing Arts’ upcoming presentation of Candide. The comedic operetta by world-famous composer Leonard Bernstein is based on the novella by Voltaire.

Performances will run Thursday through Friday, Feb. 24-26 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 27 at 3 p.m. in the Tryon Festival Theatre. Tickets are $8 for University students, regularly $20, and $18 for senior citizens. Ticket information can be found at Krannert’s Web site at http://kcpa.uiuc.edu/.

Hadley, who grew up in Manlius, Ill., near Peoria, graduated from the University in 1977 with a master’s degree in music. He received his undergraduate degree in musical education at Bradley University in Peoria.

Since his international debut in 1982, Hadley has performed in countless operas and shows around the world, recorded dozens of songs, won four Grammys and an Emmy and has become a recognized and respected member of the opera world, according to the Krannert program of Candide. He also received the University of Illinois’ Distinguished Alumnus Award.

Yet, when his fame was mentioned, Hadley brushed the comment off and said, “That’s all just crap.”

The topic of how Candide rehearsals have been going, however, brought out a much different response.

“One of the barometers of how well something is going to manifest itself on stage is the amount of smiling and laughing that goes on in rehearsals,” Hadley said. “And we’ve had an abundance of smiling and laughter. It’s just been great.”

Hadley said he was impressed by the talent of his fellow student performers and how their drive to succeed reminded him of when he was a student.

“I see in the faces of the students that I’m working with myself 30 years ago,” Hadley said. “I see the same desires, the same dreams, same passion for what they’re doing.”

Hadley fondly recalled the three years he spent at the University, calling them “invaluable.” He remembered Treno’s, a bar and grill close to Krannert with free popcorn and a Treno burger. Now the site of an Espresso Royale, Treno’s was a favorite hangout of Hadley and his friends.

“That was the place,” Hadley said. “We were convinced that when U of I music alum died, their soul must go there.”

When not at Treno’s, Hadley said he was performing at Krannert and Smith Hall, the places he first “got (his) feet wet on stage.”

Hadley said he didn’t come to the University with a specific agenda, but when his first audition landed him the lead role in Mozart’s opera, The Magic Flute, he was afforded one opportunity after the other.

“The opportunities I was presented with very early on, right after I got out of school, were opportunities I was prepared to take advantage of,” Hadley said. “And here I am.”

Thomas H. Schleis, an opera coach at Krannert, has known Hadley since they worked together as graduate students.

“I always felt that he would in some way succeed,” Schleis said. “Even as a student I recognized the talent.”

Schleis and Hadley are now working together again on Candide, an operetta Schleis said is “a satire and a popular parody of optimism.”

The story revolves around Candide, a young man who remains an eternal optimist in the face of corruption and misfortune, never giving up his search for life’s meaning, according to a Krannert press release. The moral of the story is that it’s the simple things that matter.

Schleis said he believes Candide has something for everyone and called it “pastiche,” explaining that it had a mix of musical styles.

He described Krannert’s production as “stunning” and “theater at its very best,” with a spectacular set and lavish costumes. Schleis also said that the opera is in English and that anyone who enjoys West Side Story, which Bernstein also composed the music for, will like Candide.

Allison Campbell, sophomore in LAS, took an opera and literature class last semester and studied Candide.

“I remember our professor telling us that Jerry Hadley was going to be a guest artist for this performance,” Campbell said. “I’m sure it’s going to be a great show.”