- Christoff, Boris
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▪ 1994Bulgarian-born opera singer (b. May 18, 1914, Plovdiv, Bulg.—d. June 28, 1993, Rome, Italy), brought a commanding stage presence and a smooth, perfectly controlled bass voice to many of the great acting-singing roles in opera, notably Philip II in Don Carlos and the title character in Boris Godunov, which became his signature role. Christoff studied law in Sofia, but he was induced to pursue a singing career by King Boris, who heard him perform with the renowned Gusla Choir and arranged for him to study with the baritone Riccardo Stracciari in Rome. Christoff went to Austria during World War II, then resumed his studies in Italy, where he later became a citizen. He appeared in concert in 1946 and made a spectacular opera debut the same year as Colline in La Bohème. He first sang Boris Godunov in his 1949 debut at London's Covent Garden, and over the next 30 years he perfected his interpretation of the mad czar, recording it twice. After a delay of six years because of visa problems, he made his U.S. debut in San Francisco in 1956. Christoff's other roles included Mephistopheles (Faust), Prince Galitsky and Khan Konchak (Prince Igor), King Mark (Tristan und Isolde), and Henry VIII (Anna Bolena). As a champion of Russian vocal music, he recorded a complete set of Mussorgsky's songs, as well as songs by Borodin, Glinka, and others.
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Universalium. 2010.