Praised by the Washington Post as "the richest and most expressive voice... Castrello has enough wattage to light a small town," mezzo-soprano Anamer Castrello, a native of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, stands out as one of the most impressive and versatile artists and singers in the Washington, DC, area.

Ms. Castrello was an award-winner at the Gulf Coast Regional Auditions for the Metropolitan Opera. Other awards include The Washington Area Music Awards (WAMA) – Latino Best Female Vocalist – and the 1997 Operatic Singing Artist of the Year Award from the Institute of Puerto Rico in New York. She has sung numerous opera and zarzuela roles as well as cabaret and popular shows abroad and in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area. Of her portrayal of Estrelda in Sousa's El Capitán, Sorab Modi of Opera News wrote: "Ana Castrello was pert and vivacious… her singing always refined, her phrasing accomplished with finesse." Anamer participated in the International Opera Festival in Rome, Italy on 1998 playing Marcellina in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro. She has appeared with several opera companies and theaters including the Baltimore Opera, Opera Camerata of Washington, Shakespeare Theatre, Opera Americana, Maryland Opera Studio, Crittenden Opera Workshop, The Other Opera Company, GALA Hispanic Theater, Zarzuela Di Si, and the Singers Opera. She is one of the artists/singers of the IN Series, an innovative company that has been in Washington DC for twenty years offering high-quality, affordable productions of opera, cabaret and zarzuela, under the artistic and executive direction of Carla Hubner.

Ms. Castrello holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Humanities with a concentration in Piano from the University of Puerto Rico, a Master of Arts degree in Music Education for Colleges and Universities from New York University and a Master of Music degree in Opera Performance from the University of Maryland at College Park.

As an artist with extremely versatile talents Anamer started as a vocalist in the pop world having collaborated with such artists as Lucía Mendez, Lucesita Benítez, Chucho Avellanet, Sophy, and Danny Rivera among others and recorded duets with Cheo Feliciano and Marco Antonio Muñiz.

In 1997 she had her debut in Washington, DC, as an actress, playing Regina Morti in GALA Hispanic Theatre's production of An Inopportune Visit by Copi, and won great critical and popular acclaim.

In addition to her opera appearances, Ms. Castrello has presented her shows Soul of Latin America, Latin American Essence and Sabor y vida/Essence and Life directed by Abel Lopez, locally at the Smithsonian Museums, The Mexican Cultural Institute, the Millennium Stage of the Kennedy Center and throughout the United States. That program, devoted to song classics from south of the border, is the inspiration of her first solo CD titled Anamer Castrello, Latin American Mezzo: Latin American Hits, featuring a mixture of many Latin American music styles. Also touring from 2000-2003 with the Washington Ballet, Anamer was the vocal soloist for the piece Juanita and Alicia, choreographed by the artistic director, Septime Webre, with the Latin Jazz ensemble Sin Miedo conducted by Didier Prossaird.

Ms. Castrello teaches voice at Northwestern High School and Suitland High School in the Prince Georges County, MD, public school system. She is a choir director and voice instructor for the Levine School of Music at THEARC in Washington, DC. She also teaches voice privately in Riverdale, MD. She is often asked to perform as soloist at weddings and private parties and to sing the National Anthem to open official events.

Reflecting her interest in furthering music as part of education she is also a founding member of Duet Cantaré, a musically interactive performing group dedicated to fostering knowledge of Latin America and Caribbean music in the public schools of the United States. Anamer is part of a choral sextet of diverse women called VENUS. And most recently she is a Teaching Artist with the Washington National Opera under the direction of Plácido Domingo in their Education and Community Programs. With the Washington Opera she works directly with the programs: Creating Original Opera by helping grade school students write and produce their own operas and the Libraries Program by offering opera workshops for children and their families. Anamer Castrello is a proud member of the American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA) and Actors' Equity Association.

|  Home  |   Season  |  CD  |  Biography  |  Résumé  |  Reviews  |  Custom Performances  |  Photo Album  |  Publicity photo  |  E-mail  |