Iliya Yossifov (1912-1993) was a great voice of Bulgaria and a beloved artist. He was praised for his voice – soft, velvety, supple, with a beautiful timbre, his musicality and mastery in phrasing and his ability to bring out the emotions of a role. He could master his voice in its entire scale, but also had the talent to comprehend and recreate the form, to reveal the emotional content of the work through nuances in dynamics, tempo, accentuation and articulation. We can also hear this in his recordings, which have retained their freshness, artistic value and appeal to this day. His repertoire included a variety of operas from the great works of Verdi, Tchaikovsky , Puccini and Mozart. He is remembered for his magnificent performances in Mozart’s operas as Tamino in Die Zauberflöte and Belmonte in The Abduction from the Seraglio, Alfred in La Traviata and the Duke in Verdi’s Rigoletto, Doctor Faustus in Gounod’s opera of the same name, Rodolfo in La Bohème and Pinkerton in Puccini’s Madame Butterfly, Werther in Massenet’s opera, Lenski in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, Count Almaviva in Rossini’s The Barber of Seville.
Iliya Yossifov's career spanned over four decades and his performances were acclaimed by audiences and critics alike. He left a lasting legacy in the world of opera, and his voice will be remembered for many years to come.
Iliya Yossifov was awarded with orders for outstanding services to Bulgarian culture and the title "People’s Artist".
FAMOUS OPERA VOICES OF BULGARIA · Iliya Yossifov, tenor
Track Listing
GIACOMO PUCCINI - La Bohème
[1] Aria of Rodolfo from Act 1 4:37
W. A. MOZART - Die Zauberflöte
[2] Aria of Tamino from Act 1 3:42
P. I. TCHAIKOVSKY - Eugene Onegin
[3] Arioso of Lenski from Act 1 2:32
[4] Arioso of Lenski from Act 2 6:21
BEDŘICH SMETANA - The Bartered Bride
[5] Aria of Jenik from Act 2 3:11
FRANZ SCHUBERT/ HEINRICH BERTE - Das Dreimäderlhaus
[6] Duet of Hannerl and Schubert from Act 1 4:18
GUISEPPE VERDI - La Traviata
[7] Libiamo from Act 1 3:21
FRANZ SCHUBERT - From the cycle Winter Journey
Lyrics by Wilhelm Müller
[8] Frühlingstraum 4:37
[9] Der Lindenbaum 5:10
Lyrics by Christian Schubart
[10] Die Forelle 1:47
ROBERT SCHUMANN - From the cycle A Poet’s Love
Lyrics by Heinrich Heine
[11] Im wünderschönen Monat Mai 1:23
[12] Ein Jüngling liebt ein Mädchen 1:18
JOHANNES BRAHMS
[13] Lullaby 2:44
P. I. TCHAIKOVSKY
Lyrics by Leo Tolstoy
[14] Amid the din of the ball 2:20
LYUBOMIR PIPKOV
Lyrics by Mladen Isaev
[15] The Beloved Girl 3:30
DOBRI HRISTOV
Folk text
[16] Ya razturiay Tsveto Mome (Undo What You Have Done, Tsveta) 3:31
ANDREI STOYANOV
Lyrics by Nikola Vaptsarov
[17] Farewell 2:06Total 56:22
Participating
Lilyana Bareva (soprano), Lyuben Kondov and Andrei Stoyanov (piano) , Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Sofia Opera Orchestra, Simfonietta Orchestra of the Bulgarian National Radio
Conductors: Vasil Stefanov, Asen Naydenov, Boris Leviev
Companion Titles
Famous Opera Voices of Bulgaria · Dimitar Uzunov, tenot
Famous Opera Voices of Bulgria · Yulia Wiener-Chenisheva, soprano
Famous Opera Voices of Bulgria · Lyubomir Bodurov, tenor
Famous Opera Voices of Bulgria · Asen Silimski, baritonFamous Opera Voices of Bulgаria · Lyliana Bareva, soprano
Famous Opera Voices of Bulgаria · Nikola Nikolov, tenor
Famous Opera Voices of Bulgаria · Nadya Afeyan, mezzo-soprano