Boris Christoff facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Boris Christoff
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| Борис Кирилов Христов | |
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| Born | 18 May 1914 Plovdiv, Kingdom of Bulgaria
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| Died | 28 June 1993 (aged 79) |
| Resting place | Central Sofia Cemetery |
| Citizenship | Bulgarian, Italian |
| Education | Sofia University, Kingdom of Bulgaria (D.JUR.) |
| Occupation | Opera singer (bass) |
| Spouse(s) | Franca de Rensis |
| Parents |
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| Relatives | Tito Gobi (brother-in-law) |
| Awards | Léonie Sonning Music Prize; Commendatore Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana |
Boris Christoff (Bulgarian: Борис Кирилов Христов, born May 18, 1914 – died June 28, 1993) was a famous Bulgarian opera singer. Many people think he was one of the best bass singers of the 20th century. A bass is the lowest male singing voice.
Contents
His Early Life and Talent
Boris Christoff was born in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, on May 18, 1914. His parents were Kyryl Christoff and Rayna Teodorova. From a young age, Boris showed a great talent for singing. As a boy, he sang in the choir of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Sofia. His father was also a popular church singer, called a cantor, in a town called Resen.
In the late 1930s, Boris Christoff studied law and became a lawyer. But he kept singing in his free time. He joined the Gusla Chorus in Sofia and became a very successful soloist in 1940. Because of his talent, he received money from the government to go to Italy in May 1942. There, he studied for two years with a famous baritone singer named Riccardo Stracciari. He learned many important Italian opera songs for bass voices.
Becoming an Opera Star
After singing in Austria in 1944 and 1945, Christoff went back to Italy in December 1945. He performed in an opera for the first time on March 12, 1946. He sang the role of Colline in an opera called La bohème in Reggio Calabria.
In the years that followed, Boris Christoff sang in many famous opera houses. These included Milan's La Scala, Venice's La Fenice, the Rome Opera, and Covent Garden in London. He also performed in Naples, Barcelona, Lisbon, and Rio de Janeiro.
Famous Performances and Challenges
In 1950, he was asked to sing at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, USA. However, he was not allowed to enter the USA at that time due to certain rules. Another young Italian bass singer, Cesare Siepi, took his place. Later, when the rules changed, Christoff did make his American opera debut in 1956 at the San Francisco Opera. But he never sang at the Metropolitan Opera.
In 1964, Boris Christoff had a health issue that caused him to take a short break from singing. He returned to his career in 1965, but he performed less often. In 1967, he was allowed to visit Bulgaria for the first time since 1945 to attend his mother's funeral.
In the 1970s, Christoff performed on stage less and less. He gave his last concert in Rome on June 22, 1986. He passed away in Rome in 1993. His body was brought back to Bulgaria and buried in the Sofia Central Cemetery.
His Amazing Voice and Roles
Boris Christoff had a wonderful voice with a special deep, dark sound. Even though his voice wasn't the biggest, he could still make a huge impact in large opera halls. He was known for his strong stage presence and dramatic acting. He followed in the footsteps of other great Slavic bass singers like Feodor Chaliapin.
What He Sang
He mostly sang in operas by Verdi and Russian composers. He was also very good at singing smaller, more personal songs. Some of his most famous roles included:
- Tsar Boris in Boris Godunov by Mussorgsky
- Philip II in Don Carlo by Verdi
- Mephistopheles in Faust by Gounod and Mefistofele by Boito
- Ivan Susanin in A Life for the Tsar by Glinka
- Zaccaria in Nabucco by Verdi
- Attila in Attila by Verdi
Christoff made many studio recordings of operas and live performances. He was also admired for his song recordings. He recorded over 200 Russian songs by composers like Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov. He was the first to record all 63 songs by Mussorgsky. He also started the tradition of one bass singer performing three different roles (Boris, Varlaam, and Pimen) in recordings of Boris Godunov.
Boris Christoff was a grand performer on stage. He was the brother-in-law of the Italian baritone singer Tito Gobbi.
Recordings You Can Hear
Many recordings of Boris Christoff are available. Here are a few examples:
- His complete songs by Mussorgsky were produced by EMI.
- He recorded the Verdi Requiem three times.
- Two recordings of Boris Godunov feature Christoff singing three roles: Boris, Pimen, and Father Varlaam.
- He also sang in two major Wagner operas, both in Italian: Gurnemanz in Parsifal and Pogner the goldsmith in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.
- A DVD of his Lugano Recital from 1976 is also available.
Awards and Recognition
- Sonning Award (1969) from Denmark
Special Honors
- A rocky cliff in Antarctica, called Aytos Point on eastern Livingston Island, is named after him.
See also
In Spanish: Boris Christoff para niños
