Michail Svetlev (tenor)

Michail Svetlev

Michail Svetlev (Bulgarian: Михаил Светлев ) is an internationally acclaimed opera tenor born 6 March 1943 in Sofia, Bulgaria. He is known for his interpretations of leading tenor roles in French, Italian, German and Russian operas, and an extensive repertoire of Neapolitan and Italian songs.

Life and career

Michail Svetlev
Also known as spelled Mikhail, Michael, or Mihayl Svetlev in some countries
Born (1943-03-06) March 6, 1943
Sofia, Bulgaria
Genres Opera
Instruments Tenor Vocal
Labels Sony

1960s

Upon completion of theology schooling at the Holy Seminary in Sofia, Bulgaria, he went on to study opera singing with noted Bulgarian and European pedagogues, including Stojan Kissjov and Anita Salta. He received the Silver Medal in Italy's International Vercelli Opera Competition in 1968 and became a member of the National Operetta Sofia the same year.

1970s

During the 1970 student music festival in Bayreuth conducted by Pierre Boulez, Svetlev was discovered by Boulez's assistant, Bernhard Lang, General Music Director in Passau, Germany. This led to Svetlev's engagement there, where in 1971 he began his operatic career singing the leading tenor role of Manrico in Verdi's "Il Trovatore." A few months later, Svetlev began a 3-year contract with the Gärtnerplatztheater in Munich, where he sang the leading opera tenor roles and operettas.

In the next few years, he expanded his repertoire as an Italian tenor and performed in many German opera houses, including Augsburg, Bremen, Stuttgart, Mannheim, and Düsseldorf. He worked intensively with Italian conductor Alberto Erede and baritone Tito Gobbi.
Michail Svetlev singing "Di Quella Pira" in opera "Trovatore"
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Svetlev's appearance in a German TV Show[1] with Anneliese Rothenberger in 1977 had great impact on the beginning of his international career. This was followed by engagements in Amsterdam,[2] Sofia, Strasbourg, Paris, and other European cities. His first appearance at the Vienna State Opera was in 1979 in the leading tenor role of Herman in Tschaikowsky's "Pique Dame."

Michail Svetlev made his debut in La Scala in Milan on December 7, 1979, with the tenor role of Dimitrii in Mussorgsky's "Boris Godunov." After that, he appeared repeatedly in La Scala and at the leading opera houses including Covent Garden in London, the Vienna State Opera, Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires,[3] Berlin, Munich,[4] Hamburg, Bonn, New York, Rome, Paris, Zurich, Lausanne, Toronto, Pretoria, Tel Aviv, Monte Carlo, Nice, Marseille, Mexico City, Las Vegas, Kopenhagen, Salzburg, Athens, and many others.

Michail Svetlev as Duke of Mantova in "Rigoletto"

1980s to Today

Michail Svetlev debuted in the United States in 1980 as Ricardo in Verdi's "Un Ballo in Maschera" in Washington, D.C.[5] Further appearances included opera companies in San Francisco,[6][7][8] Houston,[9] Miami,[10] Philadelphia,[11] and Palm Beach.

Throughout his career he was recognized not just for his talent as a singer, but also for his talent as an actor, with more than 40 major tenor roles ranging from the lyric to the dramatic operatic repertoire. Mr. Svetlev participated in the tours of The Metropolitan Opera Guild. He also sang classical programs worldwide, accompanied by his wife, pianist Zornitza Svetlev.

Michail Svetlev is also a vocal adviser to many singers and gives master classes on occasion.[12] He has three children - Alexander, Katarina, and Michail Jr. and lives most of the year in Germany.

Colleagues

Co-Stars

Michail Svetlev co-starred with numerous leading singers including Montserrat Caballé, Mirella Freni, Renata Scotto, Leontyne Price, Margaret Price, Martina Arroyo, Raina Kabaivanska, Leonie Rysanek, Edita Gruberova, Fiorenza Cossotto, Hildegard Behrens, Tito Gobbi, Sherill Milnes, Piero Cappuccilli, Leo Nucci, Ruggero Raimondi, Robert Lloyd, and Paul Plischka.

Conductors and Directors

Mr. Svetlev has worked with numerous conductors and directors including Herbert von Karajan, Zubin Mehta, Claudio Abbado, Anton Guadagno, Nello Santi, Seiji Ozawa, Miguel Gomez-Martinez, Mstislav Rostropovich, Marc Soustrot, Alain Lombard, Edo de Waart, Emerson Buckley, Charles Mackerras, Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, Roman Polanski, Tito Capobianco, Lotvi Mantsuri, Otto Schenk, and Giancarlo Del Monaco.

Orchestras

Michail Svetlev has sung with symphony orchestras around the world, including the New York Philharmonic,[13] Tel Aviv, Vienna, Berlin, Munich, Paris, Mexico City. He has recorded for radio and television in Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, France and the United States.

Michail Svetlev as Cavaradossi in "Tosca"

Albums and Recordings

Michail Svetlev has recorded several albums and live performances of arias and Italian songs[14][15][16] including the following:

Reviews

References

  1. ↑ Historical TV Listings, German Station ZDF
  2. ↑ Operadis Opera Discographies - Tosca by Giacomo Puccini performed in Italian
  3. ↑ Operadis Opera Discographies - The Queen of Spades by Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky performed in Russian
  4. ↑ Operadis Opera Discographies - Aida by Giuseppe Verdi performed in Italian
  5. ↑ Central Opera Service Bulletin Fall 1980 Vol. 22 No. 3 Page 46
  6. ↑ San Francisco Opera Performance Archive
  7. ↑ Getty Images - Mikhail Svetlev and Regina Resnik in "Pique Dame" at San Francisco Opera House 1982
  8. ↑ TopFoto - Mikhail Svetlev in "Cavalleria Rusticana" 1980
  9. ↑ Operadis Opera Discographies - Il trovatore by Giuseppe Verdi performed in Italian
  10. ↑ Central Opera Service Bulletin Summer 1981 Vol. 23 No. 1 Page 56
  11. ↑ Central Opera Service Bulletin Summer 1981 Vol. 23 No. 1 Page 62
  12. ↑ https://openlibrary.org/books/OL11517134M/Who's_Who_in_the_World_1984-1985 Who's Who in the world ", 7th edition, 1984/1985, Published by Marquis
  13. ↑ Central Opera Service Bulletin Fall 1980 Vol. 22 No. 3 Page 57
  14. ↑ OperaClass Catalog
  15. ↑ ArkivMusic Performers
  16. ↑ http://mobius.missouri.edu:2082/search~S0/a?Svetlev%2C+Mikhail Missouri Library Catalog
  17. 1 2 http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no98007648.html U.S. Library of Congress Source Listing
  18. ↑ Amazon.com Music
  19. ↑ AllMusic Credits for Michail Svetlev
  20. ↑ Washington Post, Sept. 22nd, 1980
  21. ↑ The Jewish Week, Washington D.C., Sept., 1980
  22. ↑ San Francisco Chronicle, Nov. 16, 1980 "'Siciliano', a Bulgarian Tenor Michail Svetlev as Turiddu"
  23. ↑ The Wall Street Journal, Sept. 26, 1980 "Washington Opera Shines... 'Un Ballo in Maschera'"
  24. ↑ Kronen Zeitung (Austria's Largest Newspaper), Vienna, Nov. 8, 1979 "'Pique Dame', Jubelstürme um einen Tenor" (German)
  25. ↑ Corriere D‘informatione, Milano, Dec. 7th, 1979 (Italian)
  26. ↑ Wiener Abend Kurier, Vienna, Nov. 8th, 1979 (German)
  27. ↑ Das Opernglas, March, 1981 (German)
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