R E S O L U T I O N
1-1 WHEREAS, The Lone Star State lost one of its cultural
1-2 treasures when internationally renowned operatic tenor Neil Wilson
1-3 Nease of Abilene passed away on August 21, 2000, at the age of 44;
1-4 and
1-5 WHEREAS, Mr. Nease, who adopted the stage name Neil Wilson,
1-6 sang in his hometown church and school choirs as a boy growing up
1-7 in Abilene; he graduated from Southwestern University and Oklahoma
1-8 City University before embarking on his operatic career in 1980 in
1-9 a performance of Verdi's Falstaff at Wolf Trap; and
1-10 WHEREAS, In 1984, this esteemed Texan first sang in Carnegie
1-11 Hall in Dom Sebastian with Opera Orchestra of New York; a year
1-12 later he received international acclaim performing in Werther at
1-13 the Wurttembergische Staatsoper in Stuttgart, which became his
1-14 signature role as he was heard throughout the world in such cities
1-15 as Hamburg, Bologna, Buenos Aires, and Toronto, among others; and
1-16 WHEREAS, Highlights of his brilliant career include five
1-17 seasons with The Metropolitan Opera, work with The Met in the
1-18 Parks, and appearances with the Glyndebourne Festival Opera and the
1-19 Salzburg Festival; a member of many famous opera companies
1-20 performing in cities worldwide, Mr. Nease was chosen in 1990 to be
1-21 leading tenor at the Komische Oper in Berlin, where he sang more
1-22 than 150 performances and toured internationally as Hoffmann and
1-23 Don Jose; and
1-24 WHEREAS, In February 2000, Mr. Nease reached a long-desired
2-1 milestone when he expanded his repertoire to include the Wagnerian
2-2 Heldentenor roles, beginning with his first, Siegmund in Die
2-3 Walkure in Budapest; at the time of his death, he had contracts
2-4 through the 2003 season for complete Ring Cycles in Meinigen and
2-5 Budapest, as well as Florestan in Lucerne and Saarbrucken, Dimitri
2-6 in Boris Godunov in Kassel, and Edmund in Lear in Innsbruck; and
2-7 WHEREAS, During his distinguished operatic career, Mr. Nease
2-8 won the prestigious Wagner Prize from the Liederkranz Foundation,
2-9 the Baltimore International Operatic Competition, and the Rosa
2-10 Ponselle International Competition; he received grants from the
2-11 Sullivan Foundation and the Gerda Lissner Foundation, and
2-12 productions of Werther and Carmen, in which he sang tenor leads,
2-13 won Opera Welt's Production of The Season Prize; and
2-14 WHEREAS, In addition to garnering honors throughout the
2-15 world, he also had many colleagues and friends who respected and
2-16 admired him for his enormous talent and sense of values; his
2-17 lasting legacy will be greatly treasured by many as his spirit
2-18 undoubtedly will live on in the hearts of the countless people
2-19 whose lives he so deeply touched; now, therefore, be it
2-20 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 77th Texas
2-21 Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of Neil Wilson Nease and
2-22 extend sincere sympathy to the members of his family: to his wife,
2-23 Linda Mungia-Wilson; to his mother, Shirley Nease; to his brother
2-24 Nathan Nease and his wife, Belinda; to his sister Nancy Fisher and
2-25 her husband, Bruce Weir; to his sister Nora Del Bosque and her
2-26 husband, Eloy; to his brother Nelson Nease; to his brother Noel
2-27 Nease and his wife, Melissa; and to his five nephews, one niece,
3-1 other relatives, many friends, and myriad admirers; and, be it
3-2 further
3-3 RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
3-4 prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of
3-5 Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Neil
3-6 Wilson Nease.
Hunter
Counts
Turner of Coleman
Junell
Goolsby
Laney Goodman Merritt
Alexander Goolsby Miller
Allen Gray Moreno of Harris
Averitt Green Moreno of El Paso
Bailey Grusendorf Morrison
Berman Gutierrez Mowery
Bonnen Haggerty Naishtat
Bosse Hamric Najera
Brimer Hardcastle Nixon
Brown of Kaufman Hartnett Noriega
Brown of Brazos Hawley Oliveira
Burnam Heflin Olivo
Callegari Hilbert Pickett
Capelo Hilderbran Pitts
Carter Hill Puente
Chavez Hinojosa Ramsay
Chisum Hochberg Rangel
Christian Hodge Raymond
Clark Homer Reyna of Bexar
Coleman Hope Reyna of Dallas
Cook Hopson Ritter
Corte Howard Sadler
Counts Hunter Salinas
Crabb Hupp Seaman
Craddick Isett Shields
Crownover Janek Smith
Danburg Jones of Lubbock Smithee
Davis of Harris Jones of Bexar Solis
Davis of Dallas Jones of Dallas Solomons
Delisi Junell Swinford
Denny Keel Talton
Deshotel Keffer Telford
Driver King of Parker Thompson
Dukes King of Uvalde Tillery
Dunnam Kitchen Truitt
Dutton Kolkhorst Turner of Coleman
Edwards Krusee Turner of Harris
Ehrhardt Kuempel Uher
Eiland Lewis of Tarrant Uresti
Elkins Lewis of Orange Villarreal
Ellis Longoria Walker
Farabee Luna West
Farrar McCall Williams
Flores McClendon Wilson
Gallego McReynolds Wise
Garcia Madden Wohlgemuth
George Marchant Wolens
Geren Martinez Fischer Woolley
Giddings Maxey Yarbrough
Glaze Menendez Zbranek
_______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 780 was unanimously adopted by a
rising vote of the House on April 19, 2001.
_______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House