Baritone Gustavo Castillo, who comes from Barquisimeto (Venezuela), owes the beginning of his musical education to El Sistema, a renowned music project in his home country. From 2016 to 2018 Castillo was a member of the Accademia del Teatro alla Scala in Milan, where he started his stage career singing Peter in Humperdinck's HANSEL UND GRETEL and Figaro in IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA for children.

His projects for the 2024/25 season include a concert tour with the LA Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel with concerts of Ginastera’s Estancia at the Walt Disney Concert Hall LA, Carnegie Hall New York and Teatro Mayor in Bogota. He will sing concerts with the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal as well as with the Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra. Besides that, Gustavo will debut as Scarpia in TOSCA at Hannover State Opera.

Recent projects include his debut as Giorgio Germont in LA TRAVIATA at the New National Theater in Tokyo and as Amonasro in AIDA at Teatro Coccia in Novara. He also debuted Jake Wallace in LA FIANCULLA DEL WEST at the Teatro Regio di Torino as well as Mercutio/ROMEO ET JULIETTE at the Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari, as Lescaut/MANON LESCAUT and Renato/UN BALLO IN MASCHERA at the Theater Klagenfurt, and as Guido di Monforte/I VESPRI SICILIANI at Teatro Comunale di Bologna. He also sang concerts in Montreal, San Diego and Los Angeles and made his debut with the MDR Symphony Orchestra under Dennis Russel Davis as the baritone soloist in Estevez's CANTATA CRIOLLA.

Furthermore, he debuted Marcello/LA BOHEME in Japan as well as Posa/DONCARLOS at Theater Bern. He sang Sharpless/MADAMA BUTTERFLY at Teatro Comunale in Bologna, Peter/HANSEL UND GRETEL, Mirko Zeta/DIE MERLIGE WIDOW at Teatro Lirico in Cagliari and Enrico/LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR at Oviedo Opera. He has appeared as Figaro/IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA at La Scala in Milan and as Foscari/IL BRAVO by Mercadanti at Wexford Festival Opera.

In concert he sang Estevez CANTATA CRIOLLA with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra at the May Festival. Furthermore, he sang Ginastera's ESTANCIA with the Los Angeles Phil under Gustavo Dudamel and CARMINA BURANA at the Teatro Verdi in Salerno.

After his debut as Shaunard in LA BOHEME at the age of 25, performances as Sharpless in MADAMA BUTTERFLY, Sagrestano in TOSCA and Belcore in L'ELISIRD'AMORE followed. He also sang Valentin in Diana Daniele's FAUST, Dandini in LA CENERENTOLA for children, an adaptation of Rossini's work by Alexander Krampe.

His extensive concert repertoire includes works by A. Faist, M. Duruflé and G. Fauré's REQUIEM, Mozart's KRÖNUNGSMESSE, Bach's MAGNIFICAT, Beethoven's 9th Symphony in D minor, Orff's CARMINA BURANA and Antonio Estévez' CANTATA CRIOLLA and many more.

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