Nathan Hull

Died August 9, 2020

I heard of Nathan Hull, long before I finally met him. Nathan Lee Hull was a larger-than-life personality whose commitment to the local community opera and operetta scene was staggering. He worked with many wonderful companies and, while his time with Blue Hill was fairly short, he remained a steadfast supporter (you always knew when Nathan was in the house—his booming laughter gave him away!). When Amato Opera closed in 2009, Nathan was determined that something arise from its ashes and founded Amore Opera, which he ran tirelessly for 10 packed and adventurous seasons.

Nathan was a life-long lover of the Gilbert & Sullivan canon and one day noted that, while there were many versions of A Christmas Carol, there were none that featured music from the same era. And so Scrooge and Gilbert and Sullivan was born. I had the joy of performing Scrooge, in his version, in front of him, in 2011. He loved it. It was a true honor when he asked me to revisit the role with Amore some seven years later, and I finally had a chance to work with him and get to know him better. I can think of few people whose pure love of live performance was so infectious. The production was a great success and we were both certain we would do it again. Sadly, it was not to be.

Nathan believed in cultivating young and emerging artists, including children. One of his absolute favorite traditions with Amore was producing a fully mounted children’s Gilbert & Sullivan production, helping ensure that these enduring works are introduced to the next generation.

Outside the opera world, Nathan taught in New York University’s Computer Science Department for 40 years. His teaching was recognized with his receiving the NYU CAS Outstanding Teaching Award in 1994 and again in 1999.

Our thoughts are with Nathan’s life partner, Connie Yi, and his surviving family. He is remembered dearly by the countless friends and opera lovers whose lives he touched.

— Martin Everall