Kiril Manolov ( Bulgarian: ) is a

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

n operatic

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

with an international career performing leading roles in the opera houses and opera festivals in Europe,US and Japan. He is particularly known for his portrayal of the title role in Verdi's ''

Falstaff Sir John Falstaff is a fictional character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare and is eulogised in a fourth. His significance as a fully developed character is primarily formed in the plays ''Henry IV, Part 1'' and '' Part 2'', w ...

'' but he also is great Nabucco-"Nabucco", Simon-"Simon Boccanegra", Amonasro-"Aida", Rigoletto-"Rigoletto", Don Carlos di Vargas-"La forza del destino".

Life and career

Born Kiril Manolov Todorov in Sofia, he was educated at the Bulgarian State Academy of Music and made his debut in 1998 as Don Giovanni in ''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; full title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanish legen ...

''. He did further vocal study in Milan and in Vienna ]. SimonBoccanegra Kiril Manolov 2

Manolov sang as a soloist for the National Opera and Ballet of Bulgaria for several years and went on to become a regular guest soloist at the Croatian National Theatres in

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

and

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enter ...

.''Vesti'' (26 April 2009)
"Кирил Манолов спечели конкурса "Борис Христов" На българския баритон бе присъдена Голямата награда на Международния конкурс за млади оперни певци, нещо, което не се беше случвало от 1992"
("Kiril Manolov won the "Boris Christoff"; the Bulgarian baritone was awarded the Grand Prix at the International Competition for young opera singers, something that had not happened since 1992"). Retrieved 15 October 2015 He has since returned several times to the National Opera in Sofia, including performances as Amonasro in ''

Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is a tragic opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 De ...

'' (2012) and the title role in ''

Nabucco ''Nabucco'' (; short for ''Nabucodonosor'' , i.e. "Nebuchadnezzar II, Nebuchadnezzar") is an Italian-language opera in four acts composed in 1841 by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera. The libretto is based on the biblic ...

'' (2011). Since 2010 he has been a regular soloist at the

Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden The Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden (Hessian State Theatre Wiesbaden), also known as the Staatstheater Wiesbaden or Theater Wiesbaden, is a German theatre located in Wiesbaden, in the German state of Hesse. The company produces operas, plays, b ...

, appearing as Miller in ''

Luisa Miller ''Luisa Miller'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play '' Kabale und Liebe'' (''Intrigue and Love'') by the German dramatist Friedrich von Schiller. Verdi's initial idea f ...

'' and in the title roles of ''

Il barbiere di Siviglia ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( ) is an ''opera buffa'' (comic opera) in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's French comedy '' ...

'', ''

Simon Boccanegra ''Simon Boccanegra'' () is an opera with a prologue and three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on the play ''Simón Bocanegra'' (1843) by Antonio García Gutiérrez, whose play ''El trovador'' had bee ...

'',"Falstaff" and ''

Don Pasquale ''Don Pasquale'' () is a Gaetano Donizetti opera buffa, or comic opera, in three acts, with an Italian libretto completed largely by Giovanni Ruffini as well as the composer. It was based on a libretto by Angelo Anelli for Stefano Pavesi's oper ...

'' amongst others. Sir John Falstaff in Verdi's ''

'' has been one of Manolov's signature roles. He sang the role for his house debuts at the Hamburg Staatsoper (2010), the Hungarian State Opera (2013), and the

Deutsche Oper Berlin The Deutsche Oper Berlin is a German opera company located in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin. The resident building is the country's second largest opera house (after Munich's) and also home to the Berlin State Ballet. Since 2004, the ...

(2014). It was also the role in which he made his Italian debut at the Ravenna Festival in 2013. The Ravenna production with Manolov as Falstaff, subsequently toured to Ferrara and other Italian cities and was revived at Ravenna in July 2015, conducted by

Riccardo Muti Riccardo Muti (; born 28 July 1941) is an Italian conductor. He is current music director of the Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini. Muti has previously held posts at the Maggio Musicale in Florence, the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, the ...

, who brought the production and singers to Spain for performances at

Oviedo Oviedo () or Uviéu (Asturian language, Asturian: ) is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain and the administrative and commercial centre of the region. It is also the name of the municipality that contains th ...

's Teatro Campoamor later that month.Avello, Ramón (1 August 2015)
"Ironía y magia en un 'Falstaff' vital"
'' El Comercio''. Retrieved 16 October 2015 .

Awards

Manolov's awards include: *2006 - First Prize, in the 1st Ghena Dimitrova National Competition for Young Singers. The competition was founded in Dimitrova's honour following her death in 2005.14th Boris Christoff International Competition For Young Opera Singers
Laureates 2009
*2009 - Gold Medal and "Gold Ring of Sofia" in the 14th Boris Christoff International Competition For Young Opera Singers. The "Gold Ring of Sofia" is the Grand Prix of the competition and is awarded to only a few singers. Manolov was the first singer to have received the award since 1992.

References

External links

Kiril Manolov

Operabase Operabase is an online global database for audiences and professionals. It lists details on opera performances, opera houses and companies, and performers as well as their agents. It was founded in 1996 by English software engineer and opera love ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manolov, Kiril 1976 births Living people Operatic baritones 21st-century Bulgarian male opera singers Musicians from Sofia