© Lisa Kohler
Paris-born baritone Peter Castaldi was raised in Milan and finished his education in New York, where he earned a B.A. in Liberal Arts from Sarah Lawrence College, majoring in composition.
Mr. Castaldi’s upcoming operatic engagements include New York City Opera’s tour of Tosca and L’elisir d’amore; and a return with American Opera Theater to sing Renato in Un Ballo in Maschera.
In 2008, Castaldi was principal cover for the title role in Verdi’s Falstaff; sang the title role of Falstaff for Opera Roanoke; sang the baritone solos for Britten’s War Requiem with Princeton Pro Musica and the Westfield Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of David Wroe; and appeared as featured baritone with the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra in an ‘Evening of Opera in Palm Springs,’ under the direction of Michael Recchiuti. He also sang recitals in Aachen and Hamburg with Ulrich Eisenlohr at the piano, featuring Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen.
In 2007, Castaldi was a featured soloist with the NYCO Orchestra in an Opera Gala at Symphony Space; appeared in the title role of Verdi’s Macbeth with Opera Roanoke, under the baton of Steven White; and sang Don Carlo in Verdi’s Ernani with American Opera Theater, under the guidance of Michael Recchiuti. In 2006, Castaldi performed the American premiere of Zandonai’s La farsa amorosa (fall 2006) with Teatro Grattacielo; he sang the title role in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro (spring 2006) and Germont from Verdi’s La Traviata (fall 2005), both with Roanoke Opera; and Posa from Verdi’s Don Carlo for the New York Repertory Opera Company. In the spring of 2005, Castaldi debuted as Conte di Luna in Il Trovatore with the New Jersey Opera Theater under the baton of Michael Recchiuti, singing along side Alan Glassman, Eugenie Grunewald and Elizabeth Blanke-Biggs. In September of 2004, he sang the title role in Verdi’s Rigoletto with Opera Roanoke. That year, in March and June, he appeared as Aegisthus in Taneyev’s Agamemnon, touring Poland and finishing the tour with an American premiere performance at Carnegie Hall with Peter Tiboris and the Silesian Philharmonic. In November of 2003, Castaldi appeared at Alice Tully Hall with Teatro Grattacielo in Giordano’s La cena delle beffe.
Other operatic engagements have included Germont from Verdi’s La Traviata and Marcello in Puccini’s La bohème for Opera Waco and Opera Northeast; Malatesta in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale; and Dr. Falke in Strauss’s Die Fledermaus with Concert Opera Philadelphia; Mercutio in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette; as well as the title role in Verdi’s Rigoletto with Opera Brooklyn.
Castaldi began his operatic career singing over 20 roles for operetta and contemporary opera with such organizations as Magic Circle Opera Repertory Ensemble and Ohio Light Opera from 1989 to 1998. Composers whose work he has performed have included Barber, Holst, Offenbach, Weill, Gilbert and Sullivan, Giannini, Wallach and Rorem.
Castaldi’s concert appearances have included baritone soloist in Britten’s War Requiem and Mandelbaum’s Sea Surface Full of Clouds at Queens College with Jim John conducting, as well as over a dozen appearances at Carnegie Hall as baritone soloist in Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Fauré’s Requiem, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Brahms’ Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, the world premiere of John Rutter’s Mass for the Children, Haydn’s Theresien Mass, Haydn’s Nelson Mass, Mozart’s C Minor Mass, and Vaughan Williams Dona Nobis Pacem. Castaldi made his concert debut in Europe in 1997 as baritone soloist in the Brahms’ Requiem with Aldo Ceccato at the baton. In 2005 and 2006, Ceccato invited him back with the Orquesta de Malaga to sing Brahms’ Requiem and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Castaldi has also appeared with such orchestras as the Opéra Français of New York, Bergen Philharmonic, I Verdiani di Milano, I Pomeriggi Musicali, Manhattan Chamber Orchestra, Brewer Chamber Orchestra, AmorArtis, New England Chamber Ensemble and St. Luke’s Chamber Orchestra. Castaldi also tours regularly as baritone soloist for American Bolero Dance Company performing Zarzuela and Spanish song literature with his wife, the Spanish dancer, Gabriela Granados.
Castaldi’s discography includes leading roles for such labels as Newport Classic, Albany, Vox and Koch for which he has garnered outstanding reviews from Opera News, Opera Digest and Fanfare. His recorded repertoire includes Lukas Foss’ The Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, Ned Rorem’s A Childhood Miracle, the Kurt Vonnegut/Edgar Grana Requiem as well as a number of Handel operas and oratorios — among them Tolomeo, Faramondo, Alexander Balus, and Deidamia, Rudolph Palmer conducting. Mr. Castaldi is also featured on a compilation titled The American Singer with such illustrious colleagues as John Aler, Brenda Harris, John Cheek, Julianne Baird.
