Stoyanka Savova Nikolova ( bg, Стоянка Савова Николова), best known by her

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

Elena Nicolai ( bg, Елена Николай) (24 January 1905 – 24 October 1993), was a

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

n operatic

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...

Early life and training

Nicolai was born in the village of Tzerovo, Pazardzhik, Bulgaria. She spent her childhood in another Bulgarian town, Panagurishte. At the age of 19, she moved to Milan to study opera, first with Vincenzo Pintorno and later with

Ettore Pozzoli Ettore Pozzoli (July 23, 1873 – November 9, 1957) was an Italian classical pianist and composer. Biography Born in the Italian city of Seregno, Ettore Pozzoli began his career soon after he received his music diploma from the Milan Conserva ...

Operatic career

She made her operatic debut as Maddalena in

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 ''

Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play ''Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had cont ...

'' in 1932. She spent 20 seasons as a leading mezzo-soprano at

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 ...

Teatro alla Scala La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...

. After her retirement from opera, she became an actress and had a short film career, starring in seven movies in the period between 1963-68. She recorded complete operas for RAI and EMI: Eboli in ''Don Carlos'' with Antonietta Stella,

Boris Christoff Boris Christoff ( bg, Борис Кирилов Христов, Boris Kirilov Hristov, ; 18 May 1914 – 28 June 1993) was a Bulgarian opera singer, widely considered one of the greatest basses of the 20th century. Early life He was born i ...

, and

Tito Gobbi Tito Gobbi (24 October 19135 March 1984) was an Italian operatic baritone with an international reputation. He made his operatic debut in Gubbio in 1935 as Count Rodolfo in Bellini's ''La sonnambula'' and quickly appeared in Italy's major opera ...

stands out among the others, which include the Grand Vestale in ''

La vestale ''La vestale'' (''The Vestal Virgin'') is an opera composed by Gaspare Spontini to a French libretto by Étienne de Jouy. It takes the form of a ''tragédie lyrique'' in three acts. It was first performed on 15 December 1807 by the Académie Impé ...

'' and Cuniza in '' Oberto'', both with Maria Vitale, Santuzza in ''Cavalleria rusticana'' with Mario del Monaco, the Principessa in ''Adriana Lecouvreur'' with Mafalda Favero, and Preziosilla in ''La forza del destino'' with Callas. She sang Wagnerian roles, including Brünnhilde in ''Die Walküre'' at the Verona Arena, according to her interview with Lanfranco Rasponi in his book, ''The Last Prima Donnas''.

Roles sung

* Annina,

Der Rosenkavalier (''The Knight of the Rose'' or ''The Rose-Bearer''), Op. 59, is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to an original German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It is loosely adapted from the novel ''Les amours du chevalier de Faublas'' ...

* Laura, La Gioconda (opera) * La Cieca, La Gioconda (opera) * Nefte, Il figliuol prodigo ( List of operas by Ponchielli) * Principessa di Bouillon, Adriana Lecouvreur (opera) * Rubria,

Nerone (Boito) ''Nerone'' (''Nero'') is an opera in four acts composed by Arrigo Boito, to a libretto in Italian written by the composer. The work is a series of scenes from Imperial Rome at the time of Emperor Nero depicting tensions between the Imperial religio ...

* Ortrud,

Lohengrin (opera) ''Lohengrin'', WWV 75, is a Romantic opera in three acts composed and written by Richard Wagner, first performed in 1850. The story of the eponymous character is taken from medieval German romance, notably the ''Parzival'' of Wolfram von Esch ...

* Dalila,

Samson and Delilah (opera) ''Samson and Delilah'' (french: Samson et Dalila, links=no), Op. 47, is a grand opera in three acts and four scenes by Camille Saint-Saëns to a French libretto by Ferdinand Lemaire. It was first performed in Weimar at the (Grand Ducal) Theater ( ...

* Brunnhilde, ''Die Walkure'' * Amneris, ''Aida'' * Eboli, ''Don Carlo'' * Azucena, ''Il Trovatore'' * Adalgisa, ''Norma'' * Leonora, ''La Favorita'' * Carmen, ''Carmen'' * Brangaene, ''Tristan und Isolde'' * Santuzza, ''Cavalleria Rusticana'' * Fedora, ''Fedora'' * Klytaemnestra, ''Elektra''

Recordings

Monteverdi Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi (baptized 15 May 1567 – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, choirmaster and string player. A composer of both secular and sacred music, and a pioneer in the development of opera, he is considered ...

- ''

L'Orfeo ''L'Orfeo'' ( SV 318) (), sometimes called ''La favola d'Orfeo'' , is a late Renaissance/early Baroque ''favola in musica'', or opera, by Claudio Monteverdi, with a libretto by Alessandro Striggio. It is based on the Greek legend of Orpheus, and ...

'' (Silvia, 1939) conducted by

Ferrucio Calusio Ferrucio Calusio (1889 or 1890 – 3 June 1983) was an Argentine conductor. He began his career in the 1920s at La Scala in Milan, Italy as an assistant conductor to Arturo Toscanini. In 1927 he returned to his native country to join the conducting ...

, Italian HMV * Cilea - ''

Adriana Lecouvreur ''Adriana Lecouvreur'' () is an opera in four acts by Francesco Cilea to an Italian libretto by Arturo Colautti, based on the 1849 play ''Adrienne Lecouvreur'' by Eugène Scribe and Ernest Legouvé. It was first performed on 6 November 1902 at t ...

'' (Principessa di Bouillon, 1949) conducted by Federico Del Cupolo, Colosseum * Mascagni - ''

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 ...

'' (Santuzza, 1953) conducted by

Franco Ghione Franco Ghione (1886–1964) was an Italian conductor and violinist. He graduated from the Parma Conservatory and became a violinist for the Parma Theatre and the Augusteo in Rome. He began a conducting career in 1913 and conducted in many o ...

, Decca *

- ''

Don Carlo ''Don Carlos'' is a five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French-language libretto by Joseph Méry and Camille du Locle, based on the dramatic play '' Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien'' (''Don Carlos, Infante of Spain'') by Friedri ...

'' (Principessa d'Eboli, 1954) conducted by Gabriele Santini, HMV/EMI * Verdi - ''

La forza del destino ' (; ''The Power of Fate'', often translated ''The Force of Destiny'') is an Italian opera by Giuseppe Verdi. The libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on a Spanish drama, ' (1835), by Ángel de Saavedra, 3rd Duke of Rivas, wi ...

'' (Preziosilla, 1954) conducted by

Tullio Serafin Tullio Serafin (1 September 18782 February 1968) was an Italian conductor and former Musical Director at La Scala. Biography Tullio Serafin was a leading Italian opera conductor with a long career and a very broad repertoire who revived many 19t ...

, Columbia/EMI

Films

Il boom ''Il Boom'' is a 1963 in film, 1963 commedia all'italiana film by Italian people, Italian director Vittorio De Sica. The "boom" in the title was the Italian economic miracle which transformed the country in the span of a decade, from the late 19 ...

, directed by

Vittorio De Sica Vittorio De Sica ( , ; 7 July 1901 – 13 November 1974) was an Italian film director and actor, a leading figure in the neorealist movement. Four of the films he directed won Academy Awards: ''Sciuscià'' and ''Bicycle Thieves'' (honorary) ...

(1963) * La mia signora (episode "I miei cari," directed by

Mauro Bolognini Mauro Bolognini (28 June 1922 – 14 May 2001) was an Italian film and stage director of literate sensibility, known for his masterly handling of period subject matter. Early years Bolognini was born in Pistoia, in the Tuscany region of Italy. ...

) (1964) * Sedotti e bidonati, directed by Giorgio Bianchi (1964) * Gli amanti latini (episode "L'irreparabile," directed by Mario Costa) (1965) * I nostri mariti (episode "Il marito di Roberta," directed by

Luigi Filippo D'Amico Luigi Filippo D'Amico (9 October 1924 – 28 April 2007) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. His 1974 film ''Il domestico'' was shown as part of a retrospective on Italian comedy at the 67th Venice International Film Festival. Sele ...

) (1966) * Quando dico che ti amo, directed by Giorgio Bianchi (1967) * Il medico della mutua, directed by

Luigi Zampa Luigi Zampa (2 January 1905 – 16 August 1991) was an Italian film director. Biography Son of a worker, Zampa studied filmmaking from 1932 to 1937 at the Italian film school Centro sperimentale di cinematografia in Rome. He directed several ...

(1968)

Honours

Nicolai Peak in

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

is named after Elena Nicolai.

Bibliography

References

External links

Her page on the Stars of Bulgarian Opera site with mp3 audio clips of selected arias
* * 1905 births 1993 deaths Bulgarian emigrants to Italy 20th-century Bulgarian women opera singers Operatic mezzo-sopranos People from Panagyurishte Place of death missing Bulgarian mezzo-sopranos {{Bulgaria-opera-singer-stub