At the turn of last century, one man left Bulgaria to blaze a trail and conquer the world’s most elite opera stages. Petar Raychev, a striking bel canto tenor, is the first Bulgarian to have made a career internationally, performing at La Scala, Covent Garden, the Metropolitan, Bolshoi Theatre, the Grand Opera of Paris. The presentation of his autobiography called Life and song takes us back to times and events long gone by.

His grandson, also called Petar Raychev took up the mission to supplement and re-release the book:

“His career took off to a flying start in 1912 on the stage of the Covent Garden and until about 1944 he constantly guest performed at the world’s most prestigious opera theatres. He has performed over 80 roles and one hundreds songs. That was a time long ago, a time when being an opera singer was like being a rock star. That is why Petar Raychev has performed side by side with names like Chaliapin, Caruso, dal Monte.”

Petar Raychev was born in Vienna in 1887. His talent was revealed during his school years when he started singing in the church choir of renowned Bulgarian composer and pedagogue Prof. Dobri Hristov.

“Petar Raychev was more than an opera singer. He studied literature at Sofia University and graduated the school of painting. So it is no coincidence that his self portrait painted during his student years is on the cover of the book. At the time he wanted to become a writer, then an artist. Ultimately, as there was no music academy in Bulgaria he went to Moscow to study with the help of his sister. There, he declined an invitation to the Bolshoi theatre, because he thought he wasn’t ready. So, he left for Italy on a Bolshoi theatre scholarship.”

In Naples, Petar Raychev studied with renowned pedagogue Fernando de Lucia and all of a sudden, the doors of the opera theatres were thrown wide open to him. He started performing with the foremost names of opera of the age but also kept company with the European elite - Stefan Zweig for example. Writers Ivan Vazov, Dimcho Debelyanov, Elin Pelin and many more were part of his cultural circle in his own country.

“They were all people of one mind, they shared the same systems of values regarding harmony, art – each in his own field. Petar Raychev was close friends with actors Konstantin Kisimov and Krastyo Sarafov, with one whole generation of dramatic actors and singers who have left their mark on the country’s cultural and musical life. And he always took pride in his Bulgarian roots – once in London he saw a poster on which he was presented as Italian. He called up the theatre at once and stated that if the error was not corrected immediately, he would not sing. It was.”

In 1936, at the apex of his career, Petar Raychev returned home to assert opera singing in Bulgaria. On the one hand he did so for the sake of his country, but on the other – to him this was an honour and a privilege. He founded theatres, staged opera productions, lectured. His efforts would frequently “fall on deaf ears” but he never gave up to his very last breath.

The audio file contains the following works:

-  Aria of Rodolfo from Luisa Miller by Verdi;

-  Rebel song by Dobri Hristov;

-  Aria of Rodolfo from La bohème.

English version: Milena Daynova