A memorial plaque dedicated to the famous Bulgarian opera singer - mezzo-soprano Elena Nikolai has been unveiled in the Italian city of Genoa. The initiative belongs to the Consulate General in Milan. Elena Nikolai's plaque is situated in the park of the Nikolo Paganini Conservatory in Genoa, where she perfected her musical education.

For her debut in 1934, the singer, who was born Stoyanka Nikolava, adopted the pseudonym Elena Nikolai. For seventeen years she was the diva of La Scala in Milan. For 23 seasons she sang in the oldest theater in Italy and one of the oldest in Europe - "San Carlo" in Naples, as well as on the opera stage in Genoa and others. Elena Nikolai is said to be one of the best mezzo-soprano singers of the 20th century.

She passed away in 1993 in Milan in the Verdi Home, donated by the great composer for use as a home for elderly opera musicians, BNR correspondent in Italy Elena Shahanova reported. The memorial plaque of the singer is the work of sculptor Petko Yordanov.