Reader Submission: Italian barihunk Giulio Alvise Caselli

Giulio Alvise Caselli (Photos: Theater Augsburg)

A reader in Germany contacted us about Giulio Alvise Caselli, who will be appearing in a revival of Othmar Schoeck's rarely performed Das Schloß Dürande from March 8-July 6 at the Staatstheater Meiningen. Written in a late-tonal Modernist style reminiscent of operas by Zemlinksy and Schreker, the opera is based on a novella by Joseph von Eichendorff.

The opera premiered at the Berlin State Opera on April 1, 1943 and outraged the Nazis. Military leader Hermann Goering declared it to be “Scheiß!” and ordered it to disappear from the repertory after four performances. Goering believed that the opera's ending portended a bad ending for the Nazi regime.

Video highlights of Giulio Alvise Caselli:

Italian-born Giulio Alvise Caselli studied violin , literature and linguistics in Ferrara and Regensburg, before studying voice with his mother, the soprano and singing professor Maria Gabriella Munari.

He is currently a member of the ensemble at the Staatstheater Meiningen, where he performed  Guglielmo in Mozart's Così fan tutte, Biterolf in Wagner's Tannhäuser and Moralès in Bizet's Carmen. He also appeared in the title role of Don Giovanni in the Italian Television RAI 3 broadcast from the Biennale Musica 2010 in Venice.

From 2011-2017, he was a member of the ensemble at the Theater Augsburg, where he made his role debut as Count Almaviva in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro. He also sang Dr. Falke in Johann Strauss' Die Fledermaus, Pelléas in Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande, Nardo in Mozart's La finta giardiniera, Belcore in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore, Algerier in Luigi Nono's “Intolleranza 1960” and Hans Scholl in Zimmermann's Weiße Rose.

Giulio Alvise Caselli (Photos: Theater Augsburg)

He has appeared in various states of undress in a number of productions, including changing into his briefs in Mozart's Don Giovanni, shirtless in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas and stripped down as Nardo in the composer's La Finta Giardiniera and most famously lying naked on the stage as Pelleas in Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande for an entire act.

From May 23 to June 14, he'll appear in the baritone part of a theatrical representation of Brahm's Liebeslieder. Tickets for Liebeslieder and Das Schloß Dürande are available online.