He speaks fluent Portuguese, German, French, Spanish, Italian and English.

[on why he became an opera singer] One of my fellow workers said I could not work for the company and not try some whiskey. So he gave me a glass of Johnnie Walker Red. I downed it in one draught and became very drunk, and I began to sing. One fellow said, "Nico, you have a good voice, you ought to have it trained."