Paskalis, Kostas
Paskalis, Kostas
Paskalis, Kostas, Greek baritone; b. Levadia, Sept. 1, 1929. He received training in voice in Athens, where he concurrently took courses in piano and composition at the Cons. In 1951 he made his operatic debut as Rigoletto at the National Opera in Athens, where he sang until 1958. In 1958 he made his debut at the Vienna State Opera as Renato, and continued to appear there regularly until 1979. He made his British debut as Macbeth at the Glyndebourne Festival in 1964. On Feb. 17,1965, he made his Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. as Carlo in La forza del destino. He made occasional appearances there until 1975. In 1965–66 he sang in Rome. In 1966 he appeared as Pentheus in the premiere of The Bassarids at the Salzburg Festival. In 1967 he made his first appearance at Milan’s La Scala as Valentin. He first sang at London’s Covent Garden in 1969 as Macbeth, returning there in 1971–72. From 1988 he was director of the National Opera in Athens. Among his other roles were Don Giovanni, Donizetti’s Alfonso, Posa, Nabucco, lago, and Escamillo.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire