Faculty

At Mannes, Professor Castaldi has taught Major Lessons, Italian, French, German and English Diction, Acting for Singers, as well as directing Opera and Musical Theater workshops.

In his career, Castaldi has sung the leading baritone roles in Verdi’s Falstaff, Rigoletto, Macbeth, Il Trovatore, Ernani, Don Carlo and La Traviata, as well as Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, Donizetti’s Don Pasquale, Puccini’s La boheme, Zandonai’s La farsa amorosa, Respighi’s, La cena delle beffe, Riccitelli’s I compagnacci, Weisgall’s Esther, Montsalvatge’s El Gato con Botas, Dvorak’s Rusalka, Taneyev’s Agamemnon, Gilbert & Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance and Princess Ida, and Strauss’s Salome for such companies as New York City Opera, Florentine Opera, Teatro Grattacielo, Roanoke Opera, Opera Idaho, American Opera Theater, Lyric Opera of Waco, New Jersey Opera Theater and Palacio de Bellas Arte.

In New York, Professor Castaldi has sung oratorios and recitals in Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, Carnegie Recital Hall, and Town Hall. 

In Carnegie Hall, he premiered the works of John Rutter, sang the title role of Mendelsohn’s Elijah, as well as the baritone solos of Mozart’s Mass in C Minor, Beethoven’s 9th Symhpony, Brahm’s Requiem, Vaughan Williams Dona Nobis Pacem, Handel’s Messiah, Haydn’s Theresien and Lord Nelson Mass, and Faure’s Requiem.

In Europe, Professor Castaldi has sung numerous recitals accompanied by Aldo Ceccato, Massimiliano Bullo, Roberto Rizzi Brignoli, Ulrich Eisenlohr and Grainne Dunne.

Castaldi’s discography includes over 15 recordings of Handel, Rorem, Foss, Gilbert & Sullivan, Grana, Bretón with such labels as Koch, Vox, Albany and Newport Classics.

Professor Castaldi continues to sing recitals in the New York area with pianists Michael Recchiuti, Willam Hobbs and Craig Ketter. He wishes to thank his voice teachers, Ray Evans Harrell and Daniel Ferro, for their excellent ears and worldly wisdom.