Boris Trajanov ( mk, Борис Трајанов, born in
Ljubljana
Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center.
During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...
, 1959) is
Macedonian operatic
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libret ...
baritone
A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...
.
At the beginning, he studied singing with his father
Goga Trajanov in
Skopje
Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre.
The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; r ...
. He continued his studies with
Biserka Cvejic in
Belgrade
Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
and
Pier Miranda Ferraro
Pier Miranda Ferraro (30 October 1924 – 18 January 2008) was an Italian operatic tenor who had an active international opera career from 1951 through 1981. He particularly excelled in the dramatic Italian repertoire with his signature role ...
in
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
. He made his stage debut in 1986 in the
operetta ''
The Gypsy Baron
''The Gypsy Baron'' () is an operetta in three acts by Johann Strauss II which premiered at the Theater an der Wien on 24 October 1885. Its German libretto by Ignaz Schnitzer is based on the unpublished 1883 story ''Saffi'' by Mór Jókai. Jokai ...
''. The same year followed his operatic debut as Enrico Ashton in Donizetti's ''
Lucia di Lammermoor
''Lucia di Lammermoor'' () is a (tragic opera) in three acts by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian-language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's 1819 historical novel ''The Bride of Lammermoor''.
...
''.
In his career of over 30 years, he sang in more than 700 Performances in around 100 opera stages around the world, appearing in 43 main baritone roles. His is widely regarded as one of the best interpreters of the role of Scarpia in
Puccini
Giacomo Puccini ( Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long ...
's ''
Tosca
''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1887 French-language drama ...
''. His wide repertoire contains the most important roles from
Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...
's operas, such as Nabucco, Conte di Luna, Rigoletto, Rodrigo Posa, Macbeth, Ezio, Renato, Iago, Don Carlo, Giorgio Germont. He appeared also as Don Pizarro in ''
Fidelio
''Fidelio'' (; ), originally titled ' (''Leonore, or The Triumph of Marital Love''), Op. 72, is Ludwig van Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto was originally prepared by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly, with ...
'', Guglielmo in ''
Maria Stuarda
''Maria Stuarda'' (Mary Stuart) is a tragic opera (''tragedia lirica''), in two acts, by Gaetano Donizetti, to a libretto by Giuseppe Bardari, based on Andrea Maffei's translation of Friedrich Schiller's 1800 play '' Maria Stuart''.
The opera i ...
'', Escamillo in ''
Carmen
''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...
'', Prince Yeletsky in ''
The Queen of Spades'', Sharpless in ''
Madama Butterfly
''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa.
It is based on the short story "Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Luther ...
'', Gerard in ''
Andrea Chénier'', Alfio in ''
Cavalleria Rusticana
''Cavalleria rusticana'' (; Italian for "rustic chivalry") is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from an 1880 short story of the same name and subsequent play b ...
''.
In 2005 Boris Trajanov became an
UNESCO Artist for Peace UNESCO Artists for Peace are international celebrity advocates for the United Nations agency UNESCO. This category of advocate is intended to heighten public awareness in addition to the categories UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador
UNESCO Goodwill Amba ...
.
In 2014 he became a National Artist of Republic of North Macedonia.
Treeday in the Republic of Macedonia
Boris Trajanov has launched an initiative to plant 2 million trees throughout the country's mountains, one for each citizen of Macedonia. The initiative got the name treeday (Ден на дрвото). About 200 seedlings were already planted earlier in the year at Breznica, near Skopje, an area ravaged by a large forest fire the previous summer. On 12 March 2008 more than 2 million seedlings were planted in many places around the country. About 200,000 people, or 10% of the total population, went out to help the initiative. Another more massive initiative has been planned for the autumn and six million seedlings are about to be planted on 19 November 2008. The plan is to make the initiative widely spread, starting with an idea to make a Balkan treeday. Later maybe European or global...
External links
Nomination of Boris Trajanov as UNESCO Artist for PeaceThe official treeday in the Republic of Macedonia website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trajanov, Boris
1959 births
Living people
Musicians from Skopje
Operatic baritones
20th-century Macedonian male singers
21st-century Macedonian male singers
Yugoslav male singers