Nicolai Ghiaurov

Bass

Nicolai Ghiaurov has been a leading bass in the great opera houses of Europe and North America for more than thirty years. Born in Bulgaria and trained at the Sofia Conservatory, he won a scholarship to the Moscow Conservatory. He made his professional debut in Sofia as Don Basilio in The Barber of Seville in 1955, and his Bolshoi Opera debut as Pimen in Boris Godunov in 1958. His rich, dark timbre and majestic stage presence have made his portrayals of leading roles unforgettable. Mr. Ghiaurov has recorded with many of the world's greatest conductors, including Karajan, Solti, Abbado and Giulini. In celebration of his 35th anniversary with the Vienna Staatsoper, a performance of Macbeth was dedicated to the singer; in 1991, he received the French Legion of Honor of Arts and Music.

Raina Kabaivanska

Soprano

Raina Kabaivanska was born in Burgas, Bulgaria and completed her vocal and piano studies at the the Conservatory in Sofia. In 1958 she moved to Italy and developed further her tecnique with Zita Fumagalli.

She started her brilliant career with her debut at La Scala in 1961 and since then has sung in famous theatres worldwide: Paris, Venice, Naples, Moscow, San Francisco, Philadelphia, New York Salzburg (with Herbert Von Karajan), Munich, Hamburg, Budapest.

Her extensive repertoire includes works ranging by Giuseppe Verdi (Don Carlo, Otello, La traviata, Il trovatore, La forza del destino, I Vespri Siciliani, Ernani, Messa da Requiem); Giacomo Puccini (her interpretations of Madama Butterfly, Manon Lescaut and Tosca are incomparable); Richard Wagner (Rienzi), Francesco Cilea (Adriana Lecouvreur), Gaetano Donizetti (Roberto Devereux, Fausta), Jules Massenet (Manon), Ruggero Leoncavallo (I pagliacci), Charles Gounod (Faust), Alfredo Catalani (La Wally), Pëtr Cajkovskij (Pique Dame, Eugenio Onegin in original language), Richard Strauss (Capriccio) as well as works by Vincenzo Bellini, Riccardo Zandonai and Francesco Tosti.

Recently she has added to her repertoire opera's such as La vestale by Spontini and Armide by Gluck and is always dedicated to study and research.

Her long career has brought her many awards: the ŤPremio Belliniť (1965) for her interpretation of Beatrice di Tenda; the ŤViotti d'oroť (1970); the ŤPremio Pucciniť (1978); the ŤPremio Illicať (1979); ŤPremio Monteverdiť (1980) and the ŤPremio Lorenzo il Magnificoť from the Medici Accademy for the Arts in Florence (1990).

She is renowned for her interpretations of Tosca, Manon, Francesca da Rimini and Madama Butterfly which has led her to be named 'The heroine of Melodramma'.