Kelley was born and raised in
Eddington, Maine, the oldest child of John Kelley and Janet Kelley (née Shiels) Kelley. At the age of 16, he moved to
Boston with the intention of training to be a minister at
Gordon College. However, an advertisement for acting instruction at the Leland School caught his eye and, after auditioning, he won a scholarship to the school which enabled him to pursue studies in theatre and music. He entered the
New England Conservatory where he began studying singing seriously. He then attended
Pasadena College where he appeared in numerous student theatre productions. In the 1930s, he sang on the stage of the
Radio City Music Hall in New York City and appeared on the radio shows of
Voice of Firestone and
Major Bowes Amateur Hour, where he won second prize, an upright piano. He eventually won a scholarship to the
Eastman School of Music to pursue graduate studies. Kelley's operatic career was put on hold however with the outbreak of World War II. He served in the
United States Army from 1940 to 1945, performing on the radio show
Fort Bragg Salutes America. Kelley became a fixture at the New York City Opera during the 1950s and 1960s, including leading roles in four world premieres — the title role in
Robert Kurka’s
The Good Soldier Schweik (1958), Reverend Samuel Parris in
Robert Ward's
The Crucible (1961), Lord Mark in
Douglas Moore's
The Wings of the Dove (1961), and Ely Pratt in
Carlisle Floyd's
The Passion of Jonathan Wade (1962). Other notable NYCO roles for Kelley included Pandarus in
William Walton's
Troilus and Cressida (1956); the Narrator in the U.S. premiere of
Carl Orff's
Der Mond (1956); Count Mancini in Ward's
He Who Gets Slapped (1959); Mr. Scratch in Moore's
The Devil and Daniel Webster (1959) and Méphistophélès in the U.S. premiere of
Prokofiev's
The Fiery Angel (1965). In 1952 Kelley sang in the United States premiere of
Hugo Wolf's
Der Corregidor at
Carnegie Hall. In 1956 he portrayed the role of Belmonte in Mozart's
Die Entführung aus dem Serail in
Stratford, Connecticut in a production celebrating the bicentennial of Mozart's birth. The production was notably organized by
Lincoln Kirstein and
George Balanchine and led by music director
Erich Leinsdorf. In August 1958 he portrayed the role of Dr. Zuckertanz in the world premiere of Menotti's
Maria Golovin at the
Brussels World's Fair. He stayed with the production when it moved to the
Martin Beck Theatre on Broadway in November 1958. In 1957, Kelley joined the roster of principal tenors at the Metropolitan Opera where he sang frequently for the next four years. He made his debut with the company on January 18, 1957 portraying Mime in
Richard Wagner's
Das Rheingold. His other roles at the Met included Mime in Wagner's
Siegfried, Don Basilio in
Le Nozze di Figaro, Herod in
Richard Strauss's
Salome, Prince Shuisky in
Mussorgsky's
Boris Godunov, and Goro in
Madama Butterfly among others. His final performance at the Met was as Alcindoro in Puccini's
La Bohème on April 10, 1961. Kelley was also active on the international stage during the 1950s and 1960s, singing at such opera houses as the
Palacio de Bellas Artes,
La Monnaie, the
Palais Garnier, the
Opéra National de Lyon,
Toulon Opera,
Opéra national de Lorraine,
Théâtre du Capitole,
Opéra de Normandie,
Teatro Nacional de São Carlos,
Montreal Opera,
Canadian Opera Company, and
Vancouver Opera. In 1972 Kelley made his debut with the
San Francisco Opera as Butler in the United States premiere of
Gottfried von Einem's
Der Besuch der alten Dame. He also appeared in many productions with the
New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players during his career. Kelley died at the age of 95 of
Alzheimer's disease in
Rockland, Massachusetts. ==Recordings==