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He recently fulfilled a long-time dream by
moving his office to Costa Rica, where he was retiring. A
close friend, Myron Gamboa, said Sunday that Mr. Ardoin's
body would be cremated and his ashes scattered in Costa Rica.
Mr. Ardoin did not want a funeral service to be held, Mr.
Gamboa said.
Mr. Gamboa said that Mr. Ardoin was diagnosed
with lymphoma in December and had received three chemotherapy
treatments. He tolerated the first two well but was weakened
by the third and had been hospitalized in San José, the capital
of Costa Rica, for 12 days before his death. Dallas and national
musical leaders and associates of Mr. Ardoin reacted with
shock to the news of his death.
A Big Presence
"I'm just heartsick," said soprano Beverly Sills in New York.
"He was such a good friend to me. He always seemed to know
the right moment to call when we needed to do a little laughing.
He was such a big presence in my life and my family's as well.
"I just loved him and will miss him terribly."
Squired Callas
In June 1966 he became only the second music critic ever
at The Dallas Morning News. His predecessor, John Rosenfield,
was critic from 1925 to 1966.
Mr. Ardoin's most famous writing was about soprano
Maria Callas, who was considered the godmother of the Dallas
Opera. He once squired her around North Park Center when she
was distraught over her breakup with Greek tycoon Aristotle
Onassis. He wrote four books about Callas and was considered
the foremost expert on her life and career. His book Callas
at Julliard inspired playwright Terrence McNally to write
the Tony Award-winning play Master Class. His long friendship
with the diva ended, however, when Mr. Ardoin wrote a negative
review about a Dallas performance in 1974.
He also wrote a book about Furtwängler and another
about the Kirov Theater in St. Petersburg, Russia. The Kirov
book is scheduled to be published later this year. Mr. Ardoin
is survived by five cousins, including Kenneth Ardoin of Flower
Mound.
He participated as a lecturer in the Miami International
Piano Festival of Discovery on February 9, 2001 in what it
turned to be his last public appearance. His love and passion
for music and words of encouragement will be forever missed
by all of us.
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