Stefka Evstatieva | |
|---|---|
| Стефка Евстатиева | |
.jpg) Evstatieva, c. 1984 | |
| Born | (1947-05-07)7 May 1947 |
| Died | 9 November 2025(2025-11-09) (aged 78) Sofia, Bulgaria |
| Education | National Academy of Music |
| Occupation | Operaticsoprano |
| Organizations | Sofia National Opera |
Stefka Evstatieva (Bulgarian:Стефка Евстатиева,IPA:[ˈstɛfkɐɛfstɐtiˈɛvɐ]; 7 May 1947 – 9 November 2025) was a Bulgarian operaticsoprano. She performed with theSofia National Opera from 1979 and soon made an international career at the major opera houses of Europe and the United States. She portrayed Desdemona in Verdi'sOtello at theRoyal Opera House in London, Maddalena in Giordano'sAndrea Chénier atLa Scala in Milan, Lisa in Tchaikovsky'sThe Queen of Spades at thePhiladelphia Opera, and Elisabetta in Verdi'sDon Carlos at theMetropolitan Opera, among many others.
Born inRuse on 7 May 1947,[1][2] Evstatieva studied voice at theNational Academy of Music in Sofia withElena Kiselova [ru].[1][3][4] She began her career with theRuse Opera in 1971[3][2] where she performed as the first leading role Amelia in Verdi'sUn ballo in maschera in 1972 and remained until 1979.[1] In 1974 Evstatieva won the second prize at theInternational Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow.[1][3][2] In 1978 she won the Grand Prize of Belgian Radio & TV Belcanto Competition; in 1979 Grand Prize and Golden Ring in the Young Singers Competition in Sofia; and in 1982 the Best Performance Award at theArena di Verona.[2]
Evstatieva joined theSofia National Opera in 1979; the company toured in West Europe the same year, leading to international engagements.[1] She appeared that year at theOper Frankfurt, in 1980 at theVienna State Opera as Leonore in Beethoven'sFidelio, at theTeatro Regio in Turin and in Amsterdam. In 1981 she was successful at theRoyal Opera House in London as Desdemona in Verdi'sOtello; she also performed at theMunich State Opera. In 1983 she returned to London as Elisabetta in Verdi'sDon Carlos and Donna Elvira in Mozart'sDon Giovanni; she portrayed Desdemona at theArena di Verona and Maddalena in Giordano'sAndrea Chénier atLa Scala in Milan,[1] alongsideJosé Carreras and conducted byRiccardo Chailly.[5]
Evstatieva's first performance in the United States was as Lisa in Tchaikovsky'sThe Queen of Spades with thePhiladelphia Opera,[1] sung in Russian in a performance filmed for television in a project conceived byGian Carlo Menotti.[6] She appeared alongsideVladimir Popov as Hermann, conducted byWoldemar Nelsson. John O'Connor from theNew York Times wrote that while she was not used to the camera, her "lovely voice becomes increasingly impressive as the opera unfolds".[6] HerMetropolitan Opera debut was on 9 April 1984, as Elisabetta alongsideGiuliano Ciannella as Don Carlo, conducted byJames Levine.[7] She portrayed Verdi'sAida at theSan Francisco Opera in 1984, Amelia in Verdi'sUn ballo in maschera at theCologne Opera in 1986, Puccini'sTosca at theToronto Opera and Leonora in Verdi'sLa forza del destino at theMiami Opera in 1989. She appeared as Yaroslavna in Borodin'sPrince Igor at theDallas Opera in 1990, as Santuzza in Mascagni'sCavalleria rusticana in 1991, and as Tosca at theTeatro Colón in Buenos Aires.[1]
Evstatieva was married; the couple had a daughter. They settled in the United States, first in Dallas,[3] then from the early 1990s inNew Rochelle, New York.[2] There, she helped establish theBulgarian Children's Chorus and School Gergana, New York, in 2004, and was its advisor from 2009.[3][2]
Evstatieva died in Sofia after a short illness on 9 November 2025, at the age of 78.[2] On 12 November 2025, Burgas State Opera dedicated its performance of Bellini'sNorma (with Marena Balinova in the title role) to her memory.[8]
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