The new series released by Gega New, FAMOUS OPERA VOICES OF BULGARIA, presents some of the most renowned Bulgarian opera singers of the second half of the 20th century. They are soloists of leading European theatres and they perform at the Metropolitan Opera – New York, Covent Garden – London, the Vienna Staatsoper, Colon Theatre – Buenos Aires, etc. Their art was admired by music connoisseurs, directors, conductors and colleagues.
The series starts with Dimitar Uzunov (1922 - 1985), who belongs to that “golden” generation with his remarkable career both as a singer and as a director. He began his creative career at the Sofia Opera with his memorable roles there. He also sang with great success at the La Scala in Milan (with two other great Bulgarian basses – Boris Hristov and Nicolai Ghiaurov), at the Bolshoi Theatre, Metropolitan Opera, Paris Opera, Covent Garden, Théâtre de la Monnaie – Brussels and most of all at the Vienna Staatsoper. His partners on stage were the great stars of that time: Renata Tebaldi, Tito Gobbi, Tancredi Pasero, Fedora Barberi ... His repertoire included all significant tenor roles of the opera classics; besides in his native language, Dimitar Uzunov also sang with ease in German, French, Italian and Russian.
After 1968 he directed some opera performances at the theatres in Rousse, Sofia, Varna and Stara Zagora.
The recordings in this release (studio and documentary) were made in the 1950s and 1960s – a time when Dimitar Uzunov’s singing career was at its height.