Irena Petkova ( Bulgarian: Ирена Петкова) is a Bulgarian opera singer. The mezzo-soprano Irena Petkova was born in

Bourgas Burgas ( bg, Бургас, ), sometimes transliterated as ''Bourgas'', is List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, the second largest city on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast in the region of Northern Thrace and the fourth-largest in Bulgaria after So ...

, Bulgaria. She graduated from the Pancho Vladigerov State Music Academy,Pancho Vladigerov State Music Academy
История (History)
(in Bulgarian)

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...

under professor Lilly Stefanova. Since 1990 she has solo performed for the Bourgas Opera, where she made her stage debut in the title role of

Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, '' Carmen'', which has become o ...

's '' Carmen''. In 1992 she was awarded the Margarita Mihova scholarship for best mezzo-soprano vocal performance as Rosina in ''

Il Barbiere di Siviglia ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an ''opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based ...

''. Since 1993 she has been soloist for the Sofia National Opera.'' Klassa''
Лакме роди оперния туризъм в България (''Lakme'' brings opera tourism to Bulgaria)
15 May 2008 (in Bulgarian) Irena Petkova's repertoire includes

aria In music, an aria ( Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompa ...

s, songs and other vocal pieces belonging to different periods and styles - among them works by Mozart,

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 ...

Gluck Christoph Willibald (Ritter von) Gluck (; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the Holy Roman Empire, he g ...

, Rossini and Bellini. Irena Petkova has been on concert tours with the Bourgas Opera and the Sofia National Opera to

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, Switzerland and

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Recordings

*''Mozart Opera Arias for Mezzo-Soprano and Orchestra'' – Irena Petkova (mezzo-soprano),

Plovdiv Philharmonic Orchestra The Plovdiv Philharmonic Orchestra was a Bulgarian orchestra whose origins date back to 1945. It is rooted in the hundred-year-old orchestral traditions of the largest cultural center of Thrace. The German neo-classical band Haggard performed with t ...

Nayden Todorov Nayden Todorov ( Bulgarian: Найден Тодоров; born Plovdiv 1974) is a Bulgarian conductor. Biography Todorov was born on 8 April 1974 in Plovdiv. In 1993 he graduated from the Dobrin Petkov National School of Music in Plovdiv i ...

(conductor), 1999. Label:

Music Minus One Music Minus One (MMO) is a music production and recording company in Westchester, New York. Their recordings are meant to be accompanied by the listener on whichever instrument (or voice type) is excluded from the recording, as an aid to practice, ...

References

21st-century Bulgarian women opera singers 20th-century Bulgarian women opera singers Operatic mezzo-sopranos Living people Musicians from Burgas Year of birth missing (living people) {{Bulgaria-opera-singer-stub