McChesney began his career as a teenager appearing in the ensembles of the original
Broadway productions of
My Maryland (1927) and
The New Moon (1928). This was followed by a small supporting role in
Princess Charming in 1930. His first major break came the following year when he became one of the featured performers in the
Ziegfeld Follies. McChesney made his professional opera debut in July 1933 with the
Central City Opera as Danillo in
Franz Lehár's
The Merry Widow He performed periodically in concerts, operas, and operettas throughout the United States during the 1930s while receiving more formal training at
Syracuse University. In 1934 and 1935 he sang roles with the
Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera. He also sang on the radio many times in the 1930s. On October 17, 1937 he sang the role of Abel in the world premiere of
Louis Gruenberg's
Green Mansions with
CBS radio. In 1938 he graduated from Syracuse with a Bachelor of Music degree. In 1940 McChesney was the tenor soloist in
Beethoven's
Symphony No. 9 with the
Minneapolis Symphony and conductor
Dimitri Mitropoulos. In 1941 he made his New York City recital debut at
Town Hall. In 1942 McChesney graduated from the
University of Michigan with a master's degree in vocal performance. Shortly thereafter he returned to Broadway to portray Eisenstein in
Rosalinda, an adaptation of
Die Fledermaus. In 1943 he was the tenor soloist in
Bach's
Mass in B Minor with the
Bach Choir of Bethlehem and the
Philadelphia Orchestra at the
Bethlehem Bach Festival. McChesney was also a repeat performer with NYC's
New Opera Company during the early 1940s. In 1946 McChesney sang for the first time with the
Boston Symphony Orchestra as the tenor soloist in Beethoven's
Ninth Symphony. The following year he returned to Broadway for the last time to portray Major Alexius Apieidoff in the acclaimed revival of
The Chocolate Soldier. In 1949–1950 he toured the United States with the
Charles L. Wagner Opera Company singing Canio in
Pagliacci, and appeared with Lyric Theatre in Houston in "The New Moon," subsequently touring in "The Chocolate Soldier" with Ann Ayers. In 1951 he sang the B minor Mass with the
Oratorio Society of New York. In 1956 he portrayed Pandarus in the United States premiere of
William Walton's
Troilus and Cressida at the
San Francisco Opera. On March 25, 1954 McChesney made his debut with the New York City Opera as Herod in
Richard Strauss's
Salome with
Phyllis Curtin in the title role. He sang with the company for the next six years in a variety of roles, including Eisenstein, Malcolm in
Macbeth, and William Marshall in
Marc Blitzstein's
Regina. In 1959 he portrayed "the Director" in the world premiere of
Hugo Weisgall's
Six Characters in Search of an Author. His last role with the NYCO was the title role in
Stravinsky's
Oedipus rex in 1960. McChesney retired from the stage in the early 1960s, after which he taught for many years on the voice faculty of the
Manhattan School of Music. "Mac" spent 1966–1967 teaching voice at
Yale University, substituting for
Jack Litten who was on sabbatical in Germany. In 1974 his wife of many years, Jean McChesney (née Everly) died. Ernest died seventeen years later in
Ocean City, New Jersey. ==References==