Nedda Casei
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Nedda Casei (September 9, 1932 – January 20, 2020) was an American operatic
mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...
.


Career

Early in her career, Casei was selected by Leopold Stokowski to sing the role of Jocasta, in Igor Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex. She made her operatic debut at the Theatre Royal de la Monnaie, Brussels in 1960 and also debuted at La Scala, Milan in the same year. During her career she appeared at the Teatro San Carlo, Prague Opera,
Los Angeles Opera The Los Angeles Opera, originally called the Los Angeles Music Center Opera, is an American opera company in Los Angeles, California. It is the fourth-largest opera company in the United States. The company's home base is the Dorothy Chandler P ...
, Chicago Lyric Opera and other major opera houses and concert halls. She starred at the Vancouver Festival as Hansel in Hansel and Gretel, and received ovations for her interpretation of Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro and Musetta in Leoncavallo's La Bohème at San Remo and Barcelona's Teatro Gran Liceo, as well as Carmen at the Salzburg Festspeilhaus. She was a leading mezzo-soprano with New York's
Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...
for 21 years, her roles including Carmen, Rosina, Suzuki, Marina, Adalgisa and Cherubino. She also sang in concert and on TV throughout Europe, South Africa, Central and South America, Canada, the USA, the Far East, Middle East, Australia and Japan. Casei opened the new concert hall in Taiwan with Mahler's Das Lied Von Der Erde and also appeared as Amneris in Aida for the official inauguration of the new State Opera House in
Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...
. She was invited to sing as guest artist for President Lyndon Johnson on the State visit of Emperor
Haile Selassie Haile Selassie I (born Tafari Makonnen or ''Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles#Lij, Lij'' Tafari; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as the Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles, Rege ...
to the White House. Casei's performances have been captured on record with conductors such as
Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; born Louis Bernstein; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was th ...
, Martin Turnovský,
Heinz Wallberg Heinz Wallberg (16 March 192329 September 2004) was a German conductor. Wallberg was born in Herringen, Westphalia. He studied trumpet, violin and piano. He helped to support his family with his musical training after his father became unabl ...
, Nello Santi,
Hans Swarowsky Hans Swarowsky (September 16, 1899September 10, 1975) was an Austrian conductor of Hungarian birth. Swarowsky was born in Budapest, Hungary. He studied the art of conducting under Felix Weingartner and Richard Strauss. Jiří Vysloužil ...
,
Milan Munclinger Milan Munclinger (3 July 1923, in Košice, Czechoslovakia – 30 March 1986, in Prague, Czechoslovakia) was a Czechoslovak flautist, conductor, composer and musical scientist. Biography Munclinger was the son of Josef Munclinger, an operatic bas ...
and Gianfranco Rivoli. Her opera recordings include
Cavalleria Rusticana ''Cavalleria rusticana'' (; ) is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from an 1880 Cavalleria rusticana (short story), short story of the same name and subsequent ...
, Leoncavallo's
La Bohème ''La bohème'' ( , ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions '':wikt:quadro, quadri'', ''wikt:tableau, tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto b ...
,
Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play '' Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had c ...
, Il Trovatore and
Madame Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story " Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Lut ...
. Her other recordings include Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, Mozart's Great Mass in C Minor, J.S. Bach's Magnificat in D Major (BWV 243), Haydn's Nelson Mass and Zelenka's Lamentationes Jeremiae Prophetae. Casei was an advocate of
legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolling, enacting, or promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, and may be broadly referred ...
supporting the performing arts and classical artists including work on tax reform, health insurance and copyright laws for performing artists. She was the first woman president of The American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA), a post she held for 10 years. Casei was an active teacher of voice, having been Visiting Professor of Voice and Opera Staging at the Aichi Prefectural University of Fine Arts and Music,
Nagoya, Japan is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...
. She gave master-classes at numerous universities, music schools and festivals as well as being a judge for many vocal contests worldwide, such as The Metropolitan Opera Regional Auditions, Fulbright Scholarships and the Rosa Ponselle International Competition for the Vocal Arts. She was also a member of the Honorary Board of the George London Foundation for Singers, the Fordham University at Lincoln Center Advisory Board, the National Association of Teachers of Singing Board (NATS) and the Songs of Love - Board Foundation. Casei was a Guest Editor of ''The Opera Quarterly'' and has contributed articles and reviews to ''Aria, Opera Magazine'' and ''The Fordham Review''. She was the recipient of many awards, such as the New York State Study Grant (1979, 1980, 1981), Outstanding Young Singers Award, (1959), Martha Baird Rockefeller Foundation Award (1962–64), Community Leaders and Noteworthy Americans (1975–1976) and the Woman of Achievement Award (1969).


Death

Casei died on January 20, 2020, surrounded by her family and friends at the age of 87 in New York City.Obituary: Mezzo-soprano Nedda Casei Passes Away At 87
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Casei, Nedda 1935 births 2020 deaths American operatic mezzo-sopranos Singers from Baltimore Classical musicians from Maryland 20th-century American women opera singers 21st-century American women