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Carol Castel
Ms. Castel coaches privately in New York, teaches classes at various locations in the U.S. and abroad, and is available for freelance stage directing engagements.
[List of companies where Ms. Castel has directed]
[List of productions Ms. Castel has directed]
[Class and workshop opportunities]
Carol Castel has traveled through the theater world from American musical comedy to opera; from actress and singer to singing actress; from arts administrator to opera stage director. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in vocal music performance and a Master of Music degree in opera. Organizational and administrative skills brought her into the employ of E. Randolph Mickelson's production assistant for
Carnegie Hall concerts, Renata Scotto as personal secretary and assistant and Joan Dornemann as program coordinator for the International Vocal Arts Institute. For nine years she held the position of Artistic Director for the Delaware Valley Opera Co. in Narrowsburg, New York where she supervised season planning, casting, lighting and costume design, fund raising, and budget administration in addition to stage direction. Currently she is general manager of the newly established "New York Opera Studio" an "open conservatory" dedicated to helping artists move from conventional voice education to the professional operatic stage.

Her directing career has included over 50 productions with such companies as the Finnish National Opera; Aspen Opera Theater; Opera Saskatchewan; National Opera Company in Raleigh, North Carolina; International Vocal Arts Institute in Tel Aviv, Israel; Pocket Opera in Bayreuth, Germany; Opera NUOVA in Edmonton, Canada; Opera Southwest in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Mannes College of Music in New York, Operafest in New Hampshire and Waco Lyric Opera in Waco, Texas. The summers of 2000 and 2001 she directed the "Opera Aegean" tour and summer program for young singers, and in 2002 and 2003 went to China with IVAI and Joan Dornemann to teach at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music.

In addition to a small studio of private voice students, Ms. Castel coaches and teaches classes in acting and performance practices. She has authored several opera education programs for young children including a "Meet the Artist" program for Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. In New York and San Francisco, she co-teaches a series of master classes called "Making It Professional" with her husband, Nico Castel. She is currently working on her first book, "Acting, Artistry and the Creative Process for Singers" to be published by Leyerle Publications.

Carol as Stage Director

  • Musician with formal and practical experience as singer and performer
  • Extensive background and practical experience in technical workings of the theater including set design and construction, lighting, costuming, stage managing, etc.
  • Extensive administrative experience
  • Exceptional communicative and teaching skills
  • 10 years of professional experience in mid-sized regional and professional companies
  • Professional experience directing operas in French, German, Italian and English and in styles from Baroque through contemporary.

Professional Directing Engagements Include The Following Companies

  • Lyric Opera of Waco, Waco, Texas
  • Opera Saskatechewa, Regina, Canada.
  • Opera Aegean - Athens, Greece
  • Opera Southwest - Albuquerque, New Mexico
  • NUOVA - Edmonton, Canada
  • Israel Vocal Arts Institute - Tel Aviv, Israel
  • Operafest New Hampshire - Concord, New Hampshire
  • Finnish National Opera - Helskinki, Finland
  • Aspen Opera Theater - Aspen, Colorado
  • National Opera Company - Raleigh, North Carolina
  • Jefferson Performing Arts Society - New Orleans, Louisianna
  • Brooklyn Conservatory of Music - Brooklyn, New York
  • Delaware Valley Opera Company - Narrowsburg, New York
  • Mannes College of Music - New York, New York

Professional Directing Engagements Include the Following Productions

  • " "La Traviata" (Verdi)
  • " "La Nozze di Figaro" (Mozart)
  • "Orfee aux Enfers" (Offenbach)
  • "Die Lustigen Weiber von Windsor" (Nicolai)
  • "La Bohemč" (Puccini)
  • "Mikado" (Gilbert & Sullivan)
  • "Cosě fan Tutte" (Mozart)
  • "L'Enfant e les Sortilčges" (Ravel)
  • "The Impresario" (Mozart)
  • "Gianni Schicchi" (Puccini)
  • "Faith" - World Premier (Michael Ching)
  • "Le Nozze di Figaro" (Mozart)
  • "Amahl and the Night Visitors" (Menotti)
  • "Street Scene" (Weill)
  • "La Serva Padrona" (Pergolesi)
  • "Orfeo" (Gluck)
  • "Student Prince" (Romberg)
  • "The Medium " (Menotti)
  • "L'Elisir d'Amore" (Donizetti)
  • "Merry Widow" (Lehar)
  • "Noye's Fludde" (Britten
  • "Don Pasquale " (Donizetti)
  • "Suor Angelica" (Puccini)
  • "Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda" (Monteverdi)
  • "Brundibár" (Krása)
  • "Don Giovanni" (Mozart)
  • "Die Zauberflöte" (Mozart)
  • "La Traviata" (Verdi)
  • "Trouble in Tahiti" (Bernstein)
  • "Cenerentola" (Rossini)
  • "Carmen" (Bizet)
  • "Cavalleria Rusticana" (Mascagni)
  • "Hänsel und Gretel" (Humperdinck)
  • "Die Fledermaus" (J. Strauss)