Boris Christoff

Boris Christoff (Bulgarian: Борис Христов) (May 18, 1914, Plovdiv, Bulgaria – June 28, 1993, Rome, Italy) was a Bulgarian opera singer, one of the greatest basses of the 20th century. Boris Christoff This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... May 18 is the 138th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (139th in leap years). ... 1914 (MCMXIV) is a common year starting on Thursday. ... Ancient Theater, Plovdiv International Fair, Plovdiv Ages of Plovdiv: View toward the Roman Amphitheatre, Medieval Wall, Bulgarian Renaissance Homes, and Socialist-style Apartment Buildings Plovdiv (Bulgarian: Пловдив) is the second-largest city in Bulgaria, with population of 345 000 citizens. ... (Some entries on this page have been duplicated on August 1. ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... City motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus – SPQR (The Senate and the People of Rome) Founded 21 April 753 BC mythical, 1st millennium BC Region Latium Mayor Walter Veltroni (Left-Wing Democrats) Area  - City Proper  1290 km² Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 2,546,807 almost 4,000,000 1... The foyer of Charles Garniers Opéra, Paris, opened 1875 Opera refers to a dramatic art form, originating in Europe, in which the emotional content is conveyed to the audience as much through music, both vocal and instrumental as it is through the lyrics. ... A basso (or bass) is a male singer who sings in the lowest vocal range of the human voice. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the...

Christoff demonstrated early his singing talent and sang as a boy at the chorus of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Sofia. In the late 1930s he graduated in law and started on a career as a magistrate. He, however, continued singing in his spare time in the Gusla Chorus in Sofia, achieving an enormous success as the chorus’ soloist in 1940. Due to a government grant Christoff left in May 1942 for Italy where he was tutored for two years in the core Italian bass repertoire by Riccardo Stracciari. The city of Sofia (Bulgarian: София), at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, has a population of 1,208,930 (2003), and is the biggest city and capital of the Republic of Bulgaria. ... // Events and trends The 1930s were described as an abrupt shift to more radical lifestyles, as countries were struggling to find a solution to the global depression. ... The city of Sofia (Bulgarian: София), at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, has a population of 1,208,930 (2003), and is the biggest city and capital of the Republic of Bulgaria. ... 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... This article is about the year. ...

After several guest appearances and recitals in Austria in 1944 and 1945, Christoff returned to Italy in December 1945. He made his operatic debut as Colline in “La Boheme” at Reggio Calabria on March 12th, 1946. The following years Christoff appeared in a number of roles at Milan’s La Scala, Venice’s La Fenice, the Rome Opera, Covent Garden in London, the opera theatres in Naples, Barcelona, Lisbon, Rio de Janeiro, etc. 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... Location within Italy Milan (Italian: Milano; Milanese dialect: Milán) is the main city in northern Italy, and is located in the plains of Lombardy, the most populated and developed region in Italy. ... La Scala The Teatro alla Scala (or La Scala for short), in Milan, Italy, is one of the worlds most famous opera houses. ... Location within Italy Venice (Italian: Venezia), the city of canals, is the capital of the region of Veneto and of the province of Venice, 45°26′ N 12°19′ E, population 271,663 (census estimate 2004-01-01). ... Teatro La Fenice (the phoenix) is an opera house in Venice, Italy. ... Covent Garden is a shopping and entertainment complex in central London. ... Part of the London skyline viewed from the South Bank London is the most populous city in the European Union, with an estimated population on 1 January 2005 of 7,500,000 and a metropolitan area population of between 12 and 14 million. ... Naples (Italian Napoli, Neapolitan Napule, from Greek Νέα Πόλις - Néa Pólis - meaning New City; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is the largest city in southern Italy and capital of Campania Region and the Province of Naples. ... Barcelona within Barcelonès Population (2003) 1,582,738 Area 100. ... District Lisbon Mayor   - Party Carmona Rodrigues PSD Area 84. ... Ipanema beach, in the South Zone, immortalised by Tom Jobim and Vinicius de Morais song The Girl from Ipanema Cristo Redentor, the famous Christ the Redeemer statue at the top of the Corcovado mountain A NASA satellite image of Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro (meaning River of January in...

In 1950 he was invited to sing at the Metropolitan Opera in New York but was refused entry into the USA as a result of the clauses of the McCarran Immigration act, which banned citizens of the Soviet block countries from entering the country. After the restrictions were loosened, Christoff made an operatic debut in the United States in 1956 at the San Francisco Opera. He, however, refused any further invitations to the Metropolitan and never appeared there. After a brief absence from the scene due to brain tumour surgery in 1964, Christoff resumed his career in 1965, though at a much slower pace. In 1967 he was allowed to return to Bulgaria for the first time since 1945 for the funeral of his mother. 1950 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... A full house at the old Metropolitan Opera House, seen from the rear of the stage, at the Metropolitan Opera House for a concert by pianist Josef Hofmann, November 28, 1937. ... State nickname: The Empire State Official languages None. ... Soviet redirects here. ... 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Nintendo 64 emulator, see 1964 (Emulator). ... 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link goes to calendar). ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ...

In the 1970s Christoff on-stage performances were all but frequent. He brought his career to an end with a final concert at the Accademia di Bulgaria in Rome on June 22nd, 1986. He died in Rome in 1993 but his body was returned to Sofia’s Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, where he was given a state funeral. The 1970s in its most obvious sense refers to the decade between 1970 and 1979. ... City motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus – SPQR (The Senate and the People of Rome) Founded 21 April 753 BC mythical, 1st millennium BC Region Latium Mayor Walter Veltroni (Left-Wing Democrats) Area  - City Proper  1290 km² Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 2,546,807 almost 4,000,000 1... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ...

With his matchless stage presence and strong dramatic temperament, Christoff emerged as a worthy heir to the grand tradition of Slavonic basses. He sang mostly in Verdi and the Russian repertoire, although he also proved to be a refined performer of vocal chamber music. Among his most famous roles were those of Tsar Boris (Mussorgsky - "Boris Godunov"), Philipp II (Verdi - "Don Carlo"), Mephistopheles (Gounod - "Faust" & Boito - "Mephistopheles"), Ivan Susanin (Glinka - "La vita per lo zar"), Zaccaria (Verdi - "Nabucco"), Tsar Ivan (Rimsky-Korsakov - "Ivan Le Teribile"), Dosifei (Mussorgsky - 'Khovanchina"), Gomez da Silva (Verdi - "Ernani"), Fiesco (Verdi - "Simon Boccanegra"), Attila (Verdi - "Attila") and others. Boris Christoff made standards in most roles that sang on stage. He also has an enormous discography - studio recordings of 8 operas ("Don Carlo" and "Boris Godunov" twice each) and numerous live recordings (radio or stage performances). He was much admired as song singer and he recorded more 200 russian songs by Mussorgsky (all his 63 songs - no one did this before), Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Glinka, Borodin, Cui, Balakirev as well as traditional songs. Most of these songs are with piano accompaniment and are among the best of all his recordings.

A grand performer on stage, Christoff had difficult off-stage relations with fellow singers and producers, which sometimes grew into public scandals. In 1955 he fell out with Maria Callas during the performances of Medea at the Rome Opera and in 1961 his contract with La Scala was terminated after an open conflict with fellow Bulgarian Nicolai Ghiaurov whom Christoff blamed for collaborating with the Bulgarian communist regime. 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Maria Callas on book cover Maria Callas (Greek name: Μαρία Καλογεροπούλου; December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano and perhaps the best-known opera singer of the post-World War II period. ... Sarah Bernhardt in Euripides Medea, poster by Alfons Mucha In Greek mythology Medea was the daughter of King Aeetes of Colchis (now a territory of modern Georgia) and niece of Circe, and later wife to Jason. ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... La Scala The Teatro alla Scala (or La Scala for short), in Milan, Italy, is one of the worlds most famous opera houses. ... Nicolai Ghiaurov (13 September 1929–2 June 2004) was a Bulgarian opera singer and probably the most famous bass of the postwar period. ...