EPISODE 14 MEETING NIKO: MUSICIAN, ACTOR, FILM DIRECTOR AND ARTIST

Niko aka Nikolai Selikovsky is a multi-talented performing artist born in Vienna, Austria, and currently living and working in Rome.

He is the frontman of the Hip-hop Soul Band N.I.K.O., who are releasing their new LP ‘Hello & Ciao’ at their upcoming album release concert this Friday 26th September at the B72 in Vienna, Austria.

Since the age of 19, he has been professionally active in both drama and music productions. His two streams of career encompass not only acting, but also film directing; and as a musician, he has worked with a variety of styles as a frontman on the one hand, and as a producer on the other.

His first major film, where he was producer, writer and leading actor was in the Austrian film Sturmfrei (Storm Free) in 2009. Although he has appeared in over 15 films since 1997, he achieved national recognition in his native Austria with the role of Thomas in Die Migrantigen (The Migrants) in 2017. He has honed his acting skills with the New York based acting coach Susan Batson. In 2020, he was nominated for best actor in the short film Anna at the Pigneto Film Festival and most recently in 2024, he has appeared in the Netflix hit of The Decameron.

His musical career has been marked by a willingness to find the most fitting expression of musical and poetic ideas through the most suitable genre. This eclectic approach has meant he has been at times a solo rap artist from 2007 and from 2014 working with an ensemble; the hip-hop and soul band N.I.K.O.

It is no coincidence that the 2009 film Sturmfrei included music composed by Selikovsky demonstrating the versatility and synergy of his artistic passions. His first solo album in 2010 was ‘Dichter der Großstadt’ (‘Poet of the Big City’). This was followed by ‘Zwischen Asphalt und Milchstraße’ (‘Between Asphalt and Milky Way’) which introduced the band N.I.K.O to a wider audience. In 2018, the band N.I.K.O released the album ‘Unter Strom’ (‘Under Power’). And their latest release fourth studio album ‘Hallo & Ciao’ includes the singles ‘Ballaci Su’ and ‘Lady Godard’.

The current band members are:

Nikolai Selikovsky – Vocals, electric guitar, keyboard
Leslie April – Vocals, Keyboard
Lukas Fellner – Drums
Eva Brandner – Keyboard
Sara Hoffer – Saxophone
Bernhard Fellner – Trumpet
Federico Torri – Bass
Markus Pagitsch – Saxophone

N.I.K.O. has the distinction of being the first band from Austria in 2015 to finance a tour through crowdfunding playing in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. This was followed by articles in ZIB, News, Salzburg24 up to Germany in Die Zeit, and many other media. In the same year the band performed in various locations such as the Mole West in Burgenland, Haus des Meeres in Vienna and in the Gschupften Ferdl.

In line with the stated eclecticism, N.I.K.O. is a collective of musicians from different musical genres, which varies in number during their performances. Sometimes four and sometimes up to eight musicians perform live.

For more information about the band, visit:
ww.niko-official.com

EPISODE 14 MEETING NIKO: MUSICIAN, ACTOR, FILM DIRECTOR AND ARTIST

Niko aka Nikolai Selikovsky is a multi-talented performing artist born in Vienna, Austria, and currently living and working in Rome.

He is the frontman of the Hip-hop Soul Band N.I.K.O., who are releasing their new LP ‘Hello & Ciao’ at their upcoming album release concert this Friday 26th September at the B72 in Vienna, Austria.

Since the age of 19, he has been professionally active in both drama and music productions. His two streams of career encompass not only acting, but also film directing; and as a musician, he has worked with a variety of styles as a frontman on the one hand, and as a producer on the other.

His first major film, where he was producer, writer and leading actor was in the Austrian film Sturmfrei (Storm Free) in 2009. Although he has appeared in over 15 films since 1997, he achieved national recognition in his native Austria with the role of Thomas in Die Migrantigen (The Migrants) in 2017. He has honed his acting skills with the New York based acting coach Susan Batson. In 2020, he was nominated for best actor in the short film Anna at the Pigneto Film Festival and most recently in 2024, he has appeared in the Netflix hit of The Decameron.

His musical career has been marked by a willingness to find the most fitting expression of musical and poetic ideas through the most suitable genre. This eclectic approach has meant he has been at times a solo rap artist from 2007 and from 2014 working with an ensemble; the hip-hop and soul band N.I.K.O.

It is no coincidence that the 2009 film Sturmfrei included music composed by Selikovsky demonstrating the versatility and synergy of his artistic passions. His first solo album in 2010 was ‘Dichter der Großstadt’ (‘Poet of the Big City’). This was followed by ‘Zwischen Asphalt und Milchstraße’ (‘Between Asphalt and Milky Way’) which introduced the band N.I.K.O to a wider audience. In 2018, the band N.I.K.O released the album ‘Unter Strom’ (‘Under Power’). And their latest release fourth studio album ‘Hallo & Ciao’ includes the singles ‘Ballaci Su’ and ‘Lady Godard’.

The current band members are:

Nikolai Selikovsky – Vocals, electric guitar, keyboard
Leslie April – Vocals, Keyboard
Lukas Fellner – Drums
Eva Brandner – Keyboard
Sara Hoffer – Saxophone
Bernhard Fellner – Trumpet
Federico Torri – Bass
Markus Pagitsch – Saxophone

N.I.K.O. has the distinction of being the first band from Austria in 2015 to finance a tour through crowdfunding playing in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. This was followed by articles in ZIB, News, Salzburg24 up to Germany in Die Zeit, and many other media. In the same year the band performed in various locations such as the Mole West in Burgenland, Haus des Meeres in Vienna and in the Gschupften Ferdl.

In line with the stated eclecticism, N.I.K.O. is a collective of musicians from different musical genres, which varies in number during their performances. Sometimes four and sometimes up to eight musicians perform live.

For more information about the band, visit:
ww.niko-official.com

GYAAN LYON CONCERT IN SORRENTO AT VILLA CRAWFORD

For one night only, Gyaan Lyon will be performing in Sorrento on the Bay of Naples at the stunning Villa Crawford.
Performance on Wednesday 17th September 2025 at 5:30PM
See you there, Ciao For Now!

GYAAN LYON CONCERT IN SORRENTO AT VILLA CRAWFORD

For one night only, Gyaan Lyon will be performing in Sorrento on the Bay of Naples at the stunning Villa Crawford.
Performance on Wednesday 17th September 2025 at 5:30PM
See you there, Ciao For Now!

NICOLAI GHIAUROV, BASS, SEPTEMBER 13, 1929

‘He possessed a voice of unusually rich and varied colour allied to an excellent vocal technique and remarkable musicality. A vigorous and painstaking actor, as an interpreter he tended to express the strong and violent emotions rather than the finer and more intimate shades of meaning.’

The great bass-baritone Nicolai Ghiaurov was born this day in 1929 in Velingrad. He followed in a long and illustrious line of bass-baritones from his native Bulgaria. Indeed, Bulgaria seems to possess some quality that produces great bass voices! And one of the very greatest was Ghiaurov.

As a child he sang frequently at family gatherings and initially learned piano, violin and clarinet. He had thought to become an actor but while undertaking his military service, in what almost seems to be a time-honoured tradition, an officer heard him sing in the choir and recommended him for a singing career! Initially studying with Christo Brambarov at Bulgarian State Conservatory he then moved on to a Leningrad and Moscow. This period of study from 1950 to 1955 was with the assistance of a state scholarship . His career was launched with first place at the Concours International de Chant de Paris in 1955. His professional debut also came in 1955 in Sofia in the role of Don Basilio in Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia.

His Italian debut came in 1958 in the Teatro Communale in Bologna in Faust. By the next year he was at La scala in the roles of Boris Godunov and Phillip II – perhaps the two defining roles of his career. From the 1960s onwards he appeared in the major houses, including Covent Garden, Vienna Staatsoper, New York’s Metropolitan Opera, where he was established as a favourite with audiences in these roles. He continued to add to his repertoire of Russian and Verdi roles throughout his career. His most notable recording are Philip II under Solti; Boris and again under Karajan, and as the “sonorous bass soloist in Carlo Maria Giuliani’s recording of the Verdi Requiem”.

He died in Modena on the 2 June 2004 and is interred in the columbarium of the San Cataldo Cemetery next to his spouse and great colleague Mirella Freni.

NICOLAI GHIAUROV, BASS, SEPTEMBER 13, 1929

‘He possessed a voice of unusually rich and varied colour allied to an excellent vocal technique and remarkable musicality. A vigorous and painstaking actor, as an interpreter he tended to express the strong and violent emotions rather than the finer and more intimate shades of meaning.’

The great bass-baritone Nicolai Ghiaurov was born this day in 1929 in Velingrad. He followed in a long and illustrious line of bass-baritones from his native Bulgaria. Indeed, Bulgaria seems to possess some quality that produces great bass voices! And one of the very greatest was Ghiaurov.

As a child he sang frequently at family gatherings and initially learned piano, violin and clarinet. He had thought to become an actor but while undertaking his military service, in what almost seems to be a time-honoured tradition, an officer heard him sing in the choir and recommended him for a singing career! Initially studying with Christo Brambarov at Bulgarian State Conservatory he then moved on to a Leningrad and Moscow. This period of study from 1950 to 1955 was with the assistance of a state scholarship . His career was launched with first place at the Concours International de Chant de Paris in 1955. His professional debut also came in 1955 in Sofia in the role of Don Basilio in Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia.

His Italian debut came in 1958 in the Teatro Communale in Bologna in Faust. By the next year he was at La scala in the roles of Boris Godunov and Phillip II – perhaps the two defining roles of his career. From the 1960s onwards he appeared in the major houses, including Covent Garden, Vienna Staatsoper, New York’s Metropolitan Opera, where he was established as a favourite with audiences in these roles. He continued to add to his repertoire of Russian and Verdi roles throughout his career. His most notable recording are Philip II under Solti; Boris and again under Karajan, and as the “sonorous bass soloist in Carlo Maria Giuliani’s recording of the Verdi Requiem”.

He died in Modena on the 2 June 2004 and is interred in the columbarium of the San Cataldo Cemetery next to his spouse and great colleague Mirella Freni.

RAMON VINAY, TENOR, AUGUST 31, 1912

“The individual performance I remember best was that of Ramón Vinay as Otello; it was the two hundredth time he had sung the role, and never in my life have I heard it sung and acted so perfectly”. Rudolf Bing

So spoke Rudolf Bing, certainly a man who knew his singers and performers like no other in his decades as General Manager of New York’s Metropolitan Opera. The season was that of 1951-52. By all accounts Vinay was one of the most outstanding Otellos, not just of his own era, but of all time.

Otello is a dramatic tenor role, but Vinay was not always a tenor. In fact he started as a baritone singing in Mexico City where he studied singing and debuted in 1931 as Alphonse in La favorita. He sang the major Verdi baritone roles of Rigoletto, Count di Luna and Baron Scarpia until in 1943 when studying with René Maison he was re-invented as a tenor in the role of Don José, still in Mexico. It was the switch in voice though, that launched his international career and the recognition his greatness deserved. He debuted in New York City Opera in 1945 as Otello, and just one year later in 1946 he was engaged at the Metropolitan in the same role. He was to perform Otello hundreds of times and each time his interpretation was new, exciting and dictated not by routine, but a full and conscious identification with the role. A great leading lady with a huge voice too, Astrid Varnay, recalled, ’every time he sang it [Otello], he was constantly adding, subtracting, refining, and responding in character to whatever stage situations might arise. This explained what many people would go back to hear him sing the role over and over, because there would always be added some profundity to his characterization. In the final act, after I had been well and truly suffocated by the hero, I happened to land in death heavily on one arm. As I had already shuffled off this mortal coil, to quote another Shakespearean source, I was in no position to retain my moribund verisimilitude and get comfortable at the same time. Somehow i managed to whisper to Vinay, “Ramón, my arm.” His response was pure genius. Ever so gently, he drew my arm away from the edge of the bed and made it part of his acting, clutching it to his own grieving breast, studying it in motionless recumbency, and using it, so to speak, as a surrogate for the rest of me. It was an incredibly touching moment, even for me.’

Vinay was not a one-role singer. As well as Don José and Rodolfo, he sang the great Verdi and Wagner heroes; Manrico, Tristan, Siegfried, Tannhäuser and Parsifal.

In 1962, Vinay returned to baritone roles. From 1969 to 1971 he was artistic director of the Santiago Opera in his native Chile. In all he sang baritone roles for 17 years and tenor ones 19 years. We know that he was a thoughtful singer, both in regards to interpretation, and as selfless colleague who would support other singers. His colleagues marvelled at his intensity when bringing roles to life. Pederzini said, ‘his intensity was galvanizing, and I enjoyed very much appearing with him as Dalila too.’

One final story brings us closer to the character of the man and performer. Rudolf Bing related the story of the three Tristans. Vinay had been the original casting and was sick, the second casting tenor too was sick and the third casting also was sick. A nervous Bing faced the auditorium and after reassuring the audience that Nilsson would be singing Isolde, spoke, ‘However we are less fortunate with our Tristan. The Metropolitan has three distinguished Tristans available, but all are sick. In order not to disappoint you, these gallant gentlemen, against their doctors’ orders, have agreed to do one act each.’ This was above and beyond the call of duty.

Ramon Vinay, great dramatic tenor, born on this day in 1912 in Chillán, Chile, died in Mexico City on 4 January1996.

RAMON VINAY, TENOR, AUGUST 31, 1912

“The individual performance I remember best was that of Ramón Vinay as Otello; it was the two hundredth time he had sung the role, and never in my life have I heard it sung and acted so perfectly”. Rudolf Bing

So spoke Rudolf Bing, certainly a man who knew his singers and performers like no other in his decades as General Manager of New York’s Metropolitan Opera. The season was that of 1951-52. By all accounts Vinay was one of the most outstanding Otellos, not just of his own era, but of all time.

Otello is a dramatic tenor role, but Vinay was not always a tenor. In fact he started as a baritone singing in Mexico City where he studied singing and debuted in 1931 as Alphonse in La favorita. He sang the major Verdi baritone roles of Rigoletto, Count di Luna and Baron Scarpia until in 1943 when studying with René Maison he was re-invented as a tenor in the role of Don José, still in Mexico. It was the switch in voice though, that launched his international career and the recognition his greatness deserved. He debuted in New York City Opera in 1945 as Otello, and just one year later in 1946 he was engaged at the Metropolitan in the same role. He was to perform Otello hundreds of times and each time his interpretation was new, exciting and dictated not by routine, but a full and conscious identification with the role. A great leading lady with a huge voice too, Astrid Varnay, recalled, ’every time he sang it [Otello], he was constantly adding, subtracting, refining, and responding in character to whatever stage situations might arise. This explained what many people would go back to hear him sing the role over and over, because there would always be added some profundity to his characterization. In the final act, after I had been well and truly suffocated by the hero, I happened to land in death heavily on one arm. As I had already shuffled off this mortal coil, to quote another Shakespearean source, I was in no position to retain my moribund verisimilitude and get comfortable at the same time. Somehow i managed to whisper to Vinay, “Ramón, my arm.” His response was pure genius. Ever so gently, he drew my arm away from the edge of the bed and made it part of his acting, clutching it to his own grieving breast, studying it in motionless recumbency, and using it, so to speak, as a surrogate for the rest of me. It was an incredibly touching moment, even for me.’

Vinay was not a one-role singer. As well as Don José and Rodolfo, he sang the great Verdi and Wagner heroes; Manrico, Tristan, Siegfried, Tannhäuser and Parsifal.

In 1962, Vinay returned to baritone roles. From 1969 to 1971 he was artistic director of the Santiago Opera in his native Chile. In all he sang baritone roles for 17 years and tenor ones 19 years. We know that he was a thoughtful singer, both in regards to interpretation, and as selfless colleague who would support other singers. His colleagues marvelled at his intensity when bringing roles to life. Pederzini said, ‘his intensity was galvanizing, and I enjoyed very much appearing with him as Dalila too.’

One final story brings us closer to the character of the man and performer. Rudolf Bing related the story of the three Tristans. Vinay had been the original casting and was sick, the second casting tenor too was sick and the third casting also was sick. A nervous Bing faced the auditorium and after reassuring the audience that Nilsson would be singing Isolde, spoke, ‘However we are less fortunate with our Tristan. The Metropolitan has three distinguished Tristans available, but all are sick. In order not to disappoint you, these gallant gentlemen, against their doctors’ orders, have agreed to do one act each.’ This was above and beyond the call of duty.

Ramon Vinay, great dramatic tenor, born on this day in 1912 in Chillán, Chile, died in Mexico City on 4 January1996.

SHORT010 HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEO SLEZAK!

Check out Gyaan Lyon aka The Voice Detective’s special tribute to this great legendary dramatic tenor! 

And also read the BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE ARTICLE in the LEGENDARY SINGERS ANTHOLOGY section of the website.

SHORT010 HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEO SLEZAK!

Check out Gyaan Lyon aka The Voice Detective’s special tribute to this great legendary dramatic tenor! 

And also read the BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE ARTICLE in the LEGENDARY SINGERS ANTHOLOGY section of the website.