Elena Nicolai

Stoyanka Savova Nikolova , best known by her stage name Elena Nicolai (24 January 1905 – 24 October 1993), was a Bulgarian operatic mezzo-soprano.

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.

Roles sung Annina, Der Rosenkavalier Laura, La Gioconda (opera) La Cieca, La Gioconda (opera) Nefte, Il figliuol prodigo (List of operas by Ponchielli) Principessa di Bouillon, Adriana Lecouvreur Rubria, Nerone (Boito) Ortrud, Lohengrin (opera) Dalila, Samson and Delilah (opera) 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 - L'Orfeo (Silvia, 1939) conducted by Ferrucio Calusio, Italian HMV Cilea - Adriana Lecouvreur (Principessa di Bouillon, 1949) conducted by Federico Del Cupolo, Colosseum Mascagni - Cavalleria rusticana (Santuzza, 1953) conducted by Franco Ghione, Decca Verdi - Don Carlo (Principessa d'Eboli, 1954) conducted by Gabriele Santini, HMV/EMI Verdi - La forza del destino (Preziosilla, 1954) conducted by Tullio Serafin, Columbia/EMI

Films Il Boom, directed by Vittorio De Sica (1963) My Wife (episode "I miei cari," directed by Mauro Bolognini) (1964) Sedotti e bidonati, directed by Giorgio Bianchi (1964) Latin Lovers (episode "L'irreparabile," directed by Mario Costa) (1965) Our Husbands (episode "Il marito di Roberta," directed by Luigi Filippo D'Amico) (1966) Quando dico che ti amo, directed by Giorgio Bianchi (1967) Be Sick... It's Free, directed by Luigi Zampa (1968)

Honours Nicolai Peak in Antarctica is named after Elena Nicolai.