Elena Nicolai
Stoyanka Savova Nikolova, best known by her stage name Elena Nicolai, 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
- La Cieca, La Gioconda
- Nefte, Il figliuol prodigo
- 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 conducted by Ferrucio Calusio, Italian HMV
- Cilea - Adriana Lecouvreur conducted by Federico Del Cupolo, Colosseum
- Mascagni - Cavalleria rusticana conducted by Franco Ghione, Decca
- Verdi - Don Carlo conducted by Gabriele Santini, HMV/EMI
- Verdi - La forza del destino conducted by Tullio Serafin, Columbia/EMI
Films
- Il Boom, directed by Vittorio De Sica
- My Wife
- Sedotti e bidonati, directed by Giorgio Bianchi
- Latin Lovers
- Our Husbands
- Quando dico che ti amo, directed by Giorgio Bianchi
- Be Sick... It's Free, directed by Luigi Zampa