Nico Castel was born on August 1, 1931 in Lisbon, Portugal as Naftali Chaim Castel Kalinhoff. He is known for his work on Amahl and the Night Visitors (1978), Carmen (1987) and The Metropolitan Opera Presents (1977). He was married to Carol Cates, Nancy Benfield and Carol Bayard. He died on May 31, 2015 in New York City, New York, USA.
May 31, 2015, New York City, New York, United States
Place Of Birth
Lisbon, Portugal
Profession
Actor, Miscellaneous Crew, Soundtrack
Star Sign
Leo
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Quote
1
[on why he became an opera singer] One of my fellow workers said I could not work for the company and not try some whiskey. So he gave me a glass of Johnnie Walker Red. I downed it in one draught and became very drunk, and I began to sing. One fellow said, "Nico, you have a good voice, you ought to have it trained."
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Fact
1
He made his Met debut in 1970, as Don Basilio in Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro".
2
He was the scion of a multigenerational dynasty of Sephardic rabbis. He was a cantor in the Scarsdale Synagogue in Westchester County, N.Y., and the Progressive Synagogue in Brooklyn.
3
He was an operatic tenor who appeared in nearly 800 performances with the Metropolitan Opera (NY). He had a parallel career as the company's diction coach. He also performed with the New York City Opera, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and the Santa Fe, San Francisco, and Seattle Operas.
4
He studied voice in Caracas and at the University of Mainz in Germany. After moving to the US in 1948, he studied Romance languages at Temple University in Philadelphia. In the early 1950s, while serving in the US Army, he was a translator in Germany. In 1958, he won a singing contest; the prize was a recital at Town Hall in New York.
5
As a young man in Venezuela, he worked for a whiskey importer.
6
American opera singer, born in Portugal and raised in Venezuela.
7
He speaks fluent Portuguese, German, French, Spanish, Italian and English.
Actor
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Metropolitan Opera Presents
1979-1988
TV Series
Der Haushofmaiester / The Marschallin's Major-Domo / Prince / ...
Carmen
1987
TV Movie
Lillas Pastia
Amahl and the Night Visitors
1978
TV Movie
King Kaspar
Live from Lincoln Center
1977
TV Series
De Morfontaine
NBC Television Opera Theatre
1964
TV Series
Miscellaneous
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Metropolitan Opera HD Live
TV Series diction coach - 2 episodes, 2007 italian diction coach - 1 episode, 2007
Soundtrack
Title
Year
Status
Character
Amahl and the Night Visitors
1978
TV Movie performer: "Amahl and the Night Visitors" complete opera
Known for movies
Amahl and the Night Visitors (1978) as King Kaspar
Carmen (1987) as Lillas Pastia
The Metropolitan Opera Presents (1979-1988) as Announcer / Der Haushofmaiester / Manservant / Marquis / Notary / Prince / The Marschallin's Major-Domo
The Metropolitan Opera HD Live (2007) as Miscellaneous Crew
$1.2 Million
