Holley studied voice in DeLand (he had intended to major in physical education and become a sports coach, but switched to music
when his voice was discovered), at Indiana University and in Vienna. He started his career in 1956 at the small permanent
theater in Salzburg (debut role: Gounod's Faust). 1958/59 in Flensburg, 1959–67 in Gelsenkirchen (and 1965–67
also in Essen), he found his artistic home at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf and Duisburg, where he stayed
until his retirement in 1984.
Guest appearances at the Salzburg Festival, the Vienna Staatsoper, in San Francisco, Houston, Copenhagen, Nice, Hamburg,
Naples, Barcelona, Athens, Tehran, Amsterdam, and above all at the Deutsche Oper Berlin (1971–79), the Bayerische
Staatsoper Munich (1971–76) and in Stuttgart (1973–82). He sang everything from baroque opera to
Janáček, from Don Ottavio to German, including many Italian roles. He retired to Florida.
Reference 1: Tampa Bay Times, 10 January 2020; reference 2: Kutsch & Riemens
