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Boris Christoff

Singer details:

Voice: Bass
Nationality: Bulgarian
Year of Birth: 1914
Year of Death: 1993

About Boris Christoff:

Boris Christoff (Bulgarian: Борис Кирилов Христов, translit. Boris Kirilov Hristov, IPA: ; 18 May 1914 – 28 June 1993) was a Bulgarian opera singer, widely considered one of the greatest basses of the 20th century.

Born in Plovdiv, Christoff demonstrated early his singing talent and sang as a boy at the choir of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Sofia. His father had been a very popular cantor at Resen, attracting the faithful to the Exarchist church where he was chanting. In the late 1930s he graduated in law and started a career as a magistrate. He continued singing in his spare time in the Gusla Chorus in Sofia, achieving an enormous success as the chorus soloist in 1940. Thanks to a government grant, Christoff left in May 1942 for Italy where he was tutored for two years in the core Italian bass repertoire by the great baritone of an earlier generation, Riccardo Stracciari.

After several guest appearances and recitals in Austria in 1944 and 1945, Christoff returned to Italy in December 1945. He made his operatic debut as Colline in La bohème at Reggio Calabria on 12 March 1946. In following years Christoff appeared in a number of roles at Milan's La Scala, Venice's La Fenice, the Rome Opera, Covent Garden in London, the opera theatres in Naples, Barcelona, Lisbon, Rio de Janeiro, etc.

In 1950 he was invited to sing at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City but was refused entry into the USA as a result of the McCarran Immigration Act, which banned citizens of Eastern bloc countries from entering the country. The role was instead filled by the young Italian basso, Cesare Siepi. After the restrictions were loosened, Christoff made an operatic debut in the United States in 1956 at the San Francisco Opera. He refused any further invitations to the Metropolitan and never appeared there. After a brief absence from the scene due to brain tumour surgery in 1964, Christoff resumed his career in 1965, though at a much slower pace. In 1967 he was allowed to return to Bulgaria for the first time since 1945, for the funeral of his mother.

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Popular videos featuring Boris Christoff:

More Arias, Duets and Ensembles performed by Boris Christoff

218 Results
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Nr.Title scenePopularityOperaComposerActTypeVoicesLang.Roles
1Madamina il catalogo e questo Popularity:

Opera: Don GiovanniComposer: MozartAct: 1.07

Type: ariaVoice: bassLanguage: Italian

Roles: Leporello
2Te deum Popularity:

Opera: ToscaComposer: PucciniAct: 1.20

Type: ariaVoice: baritoneLanguage: Italian

Roles: Scarpia
3La vergine degli angeli Popularity:

Opera: Forza del destino, LaComposer: VerdiAct: 2.17

Type: aria,choirVoice: sopranoLanguage: Italian

Roles: Leonora
4Ella giammai m'amò Popularity:

Opera: Don CarloComposer: VerdiAct: 4.01-1

Type: ariaVoice: bassLanguage: Italian

Roles:
5Merce dilette amiche Popularity:

Opera: Vespri Siciliani, IComposer: VerdiAct: 5.02

Type: aria,choirVoice: sopranoLanguage: Italian

Roles: Elena
6O Carlo ascolta Popularity:

Opera: Don CarloComposer: VerdiAct: 3.09-1

Type: ariaVoice: baritoneLanguage: Italian

Roles: Rodrigue
7Dio che nell'alma infondere Popularity:

Opera: Don CarloComposer: VerdiAct: 1.04-2

Type: duetVoice: Br TLanguage: Italian

Roles: Rodrigue/Carlo
8Son lo spirito Popularity:

Opera: MefistofeleComposer: BoitoAct: 1

Type: ariaVoice: bassLanguage: Italian

Roles: Mefistofele
9Il lacerato spirito Popularity:

Opera: Simon BoccanegraComposer: VerdiAct: 0.04

Type: ariaVoice: bassLanguage: Italian

Roles: Fiesco
10Mir ist so wunderbar Popularity:

Opera: FidelioComposer: BeethovenAct: 1.06

Type: quartetVoice: S S B TLanguage: German

Roles: Marzelline/Leonore/Rocco/Jaquino
11O tu Palermo Popularity:

Opera: Vespri Siciliani, IComposer: VerdiAct: 2.01-2

Type: ariaVoice: bassLanguage: Italian

Roles: Procida
12Leb wohl du kühnes herrliches Kind Popularity:

Opera: Walküre, DieComposer: WagnerAct: 3.06

Type: ariaVoice: bass-baritoneLanguage: German

Roles: Wotan
13Vi ravviso o luoghi ameni Popularity:

Opera: Sonnambula, LaComposer: BelliniAct: 1.11-3

Type: aria,choirVoice: bassLanguage: Italian

Roles: Rodolfo
14Eri tu che macchiavi quell'anima Popularity:

Opera: Ballo in maschera, UnComposer: VerdiAct: 3.04

Type: ariaVoice: baritoneLanguage: Italian

Roles: Renato
15Avant de quitter ces lieux Popularity:

Opera: FaustComposer: GounodAct: 2.03

Type: ariaVoice: baritoneLanguage: French

Roles: Valentin
16Scintille diamant Popularity:

Opera: Contes d'Hoffmann, LesComposer: OffenbachAct: 2

Type: ariaVoice: bass-baritoneLanguage: French

Roles: Dapertutto
17Mentre gonfiarsi l'anima Popularity:

Opera: AttilaComposer: VerdiAct: 1.04

Type: ariaVoice: bassLanguage: Italian

Roles: Attila
18La calunnia e un venticello Popularity:

Opera: Barbiere di Siviglia, IlComposer: RossiniAct: 1.16

Type: ariaVoice: bassLanguage: Italian

Roles: Basilio
19Ecco il mondo Popularity:

Opera: MefistofeleComposer: BoitoAct: 2

Type: ariaVoice: bassLanguage: Italian

Roles: Mefistofele
20Infelice e tuo credevi Popularity:

Opera: ErnaniComposer: VerdiAct: 1.12

Type: ariaVoice: bassLanguage: Italian

Roles: Silva
21Urna fatale del mio destino Popularity:

Opera: Forza del destino, LaComposer: VerdiAct: 3.09

Type: recitativeVoice: baritoneLanguage: Italian

Roles: Carlo
22Le veau d'or est toujours debout Popularity:

Opera: FaustComposer: GounodAct: 2.05

Type: ariaVoice: bass-baritoneLanguage: French

Roles: Méphistophélès
23Contessa perdono Popularity:

Opera: Nozze di Figaro, LeComposer: MozartAct: 4.15-3

Type: ensemble,septet,finaleVoice: Br S S B-Br Mz S BLanguage: Italian

Roles: Count/Rosina/Susanna/Figaro/Cherubino/Marcellina/Bartolo/Basilio
24Alla vita che t'arride Popularity:

Opera: Ballo in maschera, UnComposer: VerdiAct: 1.06

Type: ariaVoice: baritoneLanguage: Italian

Roles: Renato
25Infin che un brando vindice Popularity:

Opera: ErnaniComposer: VerdiAct:

Type: ariaVoice: bassLanguage: Italian

Roles:
26Dal tuo stellato soglio Popularity:

Opera: Mose in EgittoComposer: RossiniAct: 4

Type: ariaVoice: bassLanguage: Italian

Roles: Mosè
27E gettata la mia sorte Popularity:

Opera: AttilaComposer: VerdiAct: 2.04

Type: ariaVoice: baritoneLanguage: Italian

Roles: Ezio
28Come dal ciel precipita Popularity:

Opera: MacbethComposer: VerdiAct: 2.04-2

Type: ariaVoice: bassLanguage: Italian

Roles: Banco
29A te l'estremo addio Popularity:

Opera: Simon BoccanegraComposer: VerdiAct: 0.03

Type: recitativeVoice: bassLanguage: Italian

Roles:
30Ha! welch ein Augenblick Popularity:

Opera: FidelioComposer: BeethovenAct: 1.11

Type: aria,choirVoice: bass-baritoneLanguage: German

Roles: Pizarro
218 Results
Page 1 of 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Next