Nicolai Ghiaurov was one of the greatest operatic basses of the twentieth century. Ghiaurov made his operatic debut in 1955 in Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia and soon began singing in many of the greatest opera houses of the world. The Bulgarian basso excelled in a great variety of roles, including Italian and French roles, such as Philip II in Verdi's Don Carlo and Mephistopheles in Gounod’s Faust. Ghiaurov, who studied at the Moscow Conservatory for five years, was also well-known for his Russian roles, especially the title role in Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov. He lent his large bass voice to numerous acclaimed recordings. Nicolai Ghiaurov continued singing until the last year of his life. He passed away in June of 2004.

Follow the links below to find out more about bass Nicolai Ghiaurov. Classical People also contains a site on Ghiaurov’s wife Mirella Freni. (Use the above links to navigate through the larger Classical People site.)