Elena Nicolai

Who was Elena Nicolai?

Stoyanka Savova Nikolova, more famous by her stage name Elena Nicolai, was a Bulgarian mezzo-soprano and opera singer.

Nicolai was born in the village of Tzerovo, Pazardzhik region, in Bulgaria. She spent her childhood in another Bulgarian town, Panagurishte. She made her operatic debut as Maddalena in Verdi's Rigoletto in 1932. She spent 20 seasons as a leading mezzo-soprano at Milan's Teatro alla Scala. After her retirement from opera, she became an actress and had a short film career, starring in seven movies in the period between 1963 and 1968.

Elena Nicolai possessed one of the most secure and powerful voices of the 20th century. Unlike many voices of great size, it was not placement and projection alone, but an unusual depth and muscular strength which seemed to "shake the ground beneath the feet." Count Rasponi's interview of her in The Last Prima Donnas revealed admirable intelligence, lucid thinking, concise expression, and her objective appraisals of Maria Callas, Antonietta Stella, and lesser known artists did much to clarify beliefs, especially surrounding Callas.

Nicolai recorded complete operas for RAI and EMI: Eboli in Don Carlos with Stella, Boris Christoff, and Tito Gobbi stands out among the others, which include the Grand Vestale in La vestale and Cuniza in Oberto, both with Maria Vitale, Santuzza in Cavalleria rusticana with Mario del Monaco, the Principessa in Adriana Lecouvreur with Mafalda Favero, and Preziosilla in La forza del destino with Callas.