Nico Castel [SEP] voice type
Nico Castel
Nico Castel (August 1, 1931 – May 31, 2015), born Naftali Chaim Castel Kalinhoff, was a comprimario tenor and well-known language and diction coach, as well as a prolific translator of libretti and writer of books on singing diction. Although Castel performed throughout Europe, North America and South America, he was best known for his nearly 800 performances at The Metropolitan Opera, where he also served as staff diction coach for three decades.
Biography.
Castel was born in Lisbon,
voice teacher and stage director, taught on the faculty of the Spoleto Vocal Arts Symposium in Spoleto, Italy. They also founded and operated the New York Opera Studio, which trained young singers. Castel annually presented the Nico Castel International Master Singer Competition, which accepted competitors up to age 40.
Among Castel's recordings are "Manon" (with Beverly Sills, 1970) and "The Tales of Hoffman" (with Sills and Norman Treigle, 1972), both conducted by Julius Rudel, and a live performance from