Following six years of study at the Academy of Fine Arts in Sofia, the bass Nicola Ghiuselev, born on 17 August 1936 in Pavlikeni, began vocal studies with Christo Brambarov. While winning vocal competitions in Sofia in 1959, Prague in 1960 and Helsinki in 1962, he made his 1961 debut with the Sofia National Opera singing Timur in a production of Turandot.
An international career developed with appearances at the Salzburg Festival in 1965, the Arena di Verona in 1976 through 1981, Paris, Moscow, Rome, London, Tokyo and at the Vienna State Opera were he sang the title role in Attila.After his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 1965 as Ramfis in Aida, he continued singing there in La Boheme, Don Giovanni and Lucia di Lammermoor. Additional appearances in the United States included Chicago, San Francisco, Philadelphia and Houston.
While his repertoire consisted of over seventy roles, his major roles included: Philip II, Boris Godounov, Don Giovanni, Attila and the Mefistofele roles of Gounod, Berlioz and Boito. His rich, dark toned voice is most effective in the bass roles of Verdi and also as Wotan in the Niebelungen Ring of Wagner. He recorded Wotan's farewell from Die Walküre but never performed the role on stage.
We are pleased to present him here in Mefistofele and Turandot