Kamen Tchanev

Tchanev built his career outward from Sofia, where he graduated from the Pancho Vladigerov State Academy of Music in 1991 and made his debut at the National Opera as the Duke of Mantua. Further study at the Boris Christoff academy in Rome was followed by work with Alexandrina Milcheva, Ghena Dimitrova and the pianist Leone Magiera; he was a laureate of the Jussi Björling competition for tenors. Two seasons at the Prague State Opera were followed by a freelance career, taking in the Vienna State Opera, the Arena di Verona and houses across Europe, North America and Asia, with Riccardo Muti and Lorin Maazel among the conductors. His repertoire developed from Alfredo, Lensky, Edgardo and Werther to Radamès, Calaf, Cavaradossi and Don José, and at the last to Otello. He was born in Sliven and died in 2020. In 2001 the Bulgarian Ministry of Culture awarded him its Golden Feather prize for his contribution to Bulgarian culture. In the earlier part of his career the lyric parts predominated: the title roles in Candide and Faust, Nadir, Tonio in La fille du regiment, Don Ottavio, Tamino, Pinkerton, Rodolfo and Almaviva stood beside the Verdi and Tchaikovsky roles. Among the houses that took him were the Teatro La Fenice, the Deutsche Oper in Berlin, the Liceu in Barcelona and, further afield, the Royal Opera in Muscat.