95 years since the birth of Nikolay Gyaurov

Nikolay Gyaurov was born in Velingrad on September 18, 1929. He graduated opera singing in Moscow and Leningrad. In Bulgaria, he was taught by Hristo Brambarov. In 1956, he became a solo artist in Bulgaria's National opera. A year later, he started working in Bolshoy theater, and in 1958 – in the Vienna and Paris national operas. In 1956, he made his debute on the stage of the Milano scala and was immediately accepted as its regular member. He was only 26 when he won the big award of the International Singer Competition in Paris and the World Youth Festival in Warsaw. He has won the Orpheus prize of the French academy a number of times, as well as medals Mascani and Luigi Ilicca. Almost simultaneously, he was awarded the big prize of the French academy and the prize of the Italian Association of Art, Culture, and Science. The great Bulgarian basso’s career lasted almost half a century. He sang on some of the world’s most famous stages such as La Scala, the Vienna opera, Bolshoi theater, and Covent Garden. When USA celebrated their 200th anniversary, Nikolay Gyaurov was awarded the title Senior Washington, as well as the UN silver medal of peace. He died on June 2, 2004 in Modena, Italy, at the age of 75.