William Castle (22 December 1836 — 31 March 1909) was an English tenor who was active mainly in the United States during the mid to late 19th century. He appeared in several English language operettas and operas on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

during the 1860s, and later returned to Broadway in 1886 to star as Sándor Barinkay in the United States premiere of Johann Strauss II's ''

The Gypsy Baron ''The Gypsy Baron'' () is an operetta in three acts by Johann Strauss II which premiered at the Theater an der Wien on 24 October 1885. Its German libretto by Ignaz Schnitzer is based on the unpublished 1883 story ''Saffi'' by Mór Jókai. Jokai ...

''. Historian

Kurt Gänzl Kurt-Friedrich Gänzl (born 15 February 1946) is a New Zealand writer, historian and former casting director and singer best known for his books about musical theatre. After a decade-long playwriting, acting and singing career, and a second ca ...

described Castle as the "most popular operatic tenor of the Victorian era on the English-language stages of America".

Life and career

William James Castle was born in St Mary-le-More, Wallingford, Oxfordshire. He studied singing with Pedro Abella who was married to contralto Elena D'Angri, and began his performance career in 1859. He performed in

Christy's Minstrels Christy's Minstrels, sometimes referred to as the Christy Minstrels, were a blackface group formed by Edwin Pearce Christy, a well-known ballad singer, in 1843, in Buffalo, New York. They were instrumental in the solidification of the minstrel s ...

in England before becoming a leading tenor on American stages in New York, Boston, and Washington D.C. He made his

debut as Don Cæsar de Bazan in

William Vincent Wallace William Vincent Wallace (11 March 1812 – 12 October 1865) was an Irish composer and pianist. In his day, he was famous on three continents as a double virtuoso on violin and piano. Nowadays, he is mainly remembered as an opera composer of n ...

's ''

Maritana ''Maritana'' is a three-act opera including both spoken dialogue and some recitatives, composed by William Vincent Wallace, with a libretto by Edward Fitzball (1792–1873). The opera is based on the 1844 French play ''Don César de Bazan'' by ...

'' at the

Olympic Theatre, New York Olympic Theatre was the name of five former 19th and early 20th-century theatres on Broadway in Manhattan and in Brooklyn, New York. First Olympic Theatre (1800–1821) Although perhaps best known as the Anthony Street Theatre, the first theatr ...

in 1864. Also at that theater in 1864, he portrayed Manuel in the United States premiere of

Michael William Balfe Michael William Balfe (15 May 1808 – 20 October 1870) was an Irish composer, best remembered for his operas, especially ''The Bohemian Girl''. After a short career as a violinist, Balfe pursued an operatic singing career, while he began to co ...

's ''

The Rose of Castille ''The Rose of Castille'' (or ''Castile'') is an opera in three acts, with music by Michael William Balfe to an English-language libretto by Augustus Glossop Harris and Edmund Falconer, after the libretto by Adolphe d'Ennery and Clairville (alias ...

''. He appeared in several more Broadway productions during his career, including portrayals of the Lorenzo in ''

Fra Diavolo Fra Diavolo (lit. Brother Devil; 7 April 1771–11 November 1806), is the popular name given to Michele Pezza, a famous guerrilla leader who resisted the French occupation of Naples, proving an "inspirational practitioner of popular insurrect ...

'' (1864 and 1867), Thaddeus in ''

The Bohemian Girl ''The Bohemian Girl'' is an Irish Romantic opera composed by Michael William Balfe with a libretto by Alfred Bunn. The plot is loosely based on a Miguel de Cervantes' tale, ''La Gitanilla''. The best-known aria from the piece is " I Dreamt I Dwe ...

'' (1864 and 1867), and Captain Maurice in '' The Desert Flower'' (1868). After a long absence, he returned to Broadway in 1886 to star as Sándor Barinkay in the United States premiere of Johann Strauss II's ''

'' at the Casino Theatre. While he primarily achieved acclaim in his performances in English, Castle also performed in Italian language operas at the

Academy of Music (New York City) The Academy of Music was a New York City opera house, located on the northeast corner of East 14th Street and Irving Place in Manhattan. The 4,000-seat hall opened on October 2, 1854. The review in ''The New York Times'' declared it to be ...

and on tour in the United States with Jacob Grau's opera company in the 1860s. He toured the United States performing in English with numerous opera companies in 1860s through the 1880s, including Euphrosyne Parepa-Rosa's

Carl Rosa Opera Company The Carl Rosa Opera Company was founded in 1873 by Carl Rosa, a German-born musical impresario, and his wife, British operatic soprano Euphrosyne Parepa-Rosa to present opera in English in London and the British provinces. The company premiered ...

and companies operated by

Emma Abbott Emma Abbott (December 9, 1850 – January 5, 1891) was an American operatic soprano and impresario known for her pure, clear voice of great flexibility and volume. Early life Emma Abbott was born in 1850 in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of t ...

, C. D. Hess, Gustav Hinrichs, Clara Louise Kellogg, and Caroline Richings. After retiring from opera, Castle continued to perform on the stage as an actor in plays by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

into his later years; often portraying characters requiring musical performance. He achieved. particular success as Amiens in '' As You Like It''. Castle died in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

at 442 West Adams on 31 March 1909.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Castle, William 1836 births 1909 deaths English operatic tenors People from Wallingford, Oxfordshire