Klaus Nomi
Klaus Nomi was a German countertenor who was born in Bavaria in 1944. He was born into an ordinary family of modest means. At an early age, he showed a keen interest in opera, but was never able to enter a conservatory and study professionally. He was died of AIDS in 1983 when he was only 39 years old.
Klaus Nomi’s earliest interest was in opera, but he soon turned his attention to rock and experimental music, influenced by the pioneering experiments of the 1970s in New York, and in 1979 he met another major influence in his life, David Bowie, who had just emerged from his visual rock phase and made a major genre change in Berlin with In 1979, he met David Bowie, another major influence on his life.
He was known for his wide range and unusual stage presence and his music combines opera, infectious melodies, disco beats, German-accented tenor, and undeniable grandeur. His sound and look influenced everyone from Anohni to Lady Gaga.
In the 1970s Nomi immersed himself in the East Village art scene. By that Nomi’s look was indisputably nonbinary, and a bit otherworldly. His stage look is very eclectic and therefore often reminiscent of science fiction, his bizarre and visionary live theatrical performances, heavy makeup, unusual costumes, usually a very structured giant tuxedo top, but occasionally wearing women’s clothing, and a highly programmed signature hairstyle that flaunts a receding hairline.
