Bulgarian operatic great passes at 77.

Operatic bass Nicola Ghiuselev who performed in most of the major European theatres has died, aged 77. Born in Pavlikeni in 1936 in Northern Bulgaria, Ghiuselev first studied painting at Bulgaria’s National Academy of Arts before deciding to embark on a singing career. He went on to study voice at the Academy of the National Opera of Sofia in 1954 under Christo Brambarov.

Ghiuselev made his stage debut in 1960, singing the role of Timur in Turandot with the Sofia Opera. The following year, he sang the role of Tobias Mikha in Smetana’s The Bartered Bride and the Viking in Sadko by Rimsky-Korsakov.

Ghiuselev established an international reputation after he performed the role of Pimen in Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov in Barcelona in 1963. The same year he held a successful concert broadcast on Radio Paris. He returned to France with the Sofia Opera in 1965 on their tour of Turandot across Western Europe, earning rave reviews.

In 1966, he made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, as Ramfis in Aida, quickly followed by King Philip II in Don Carlo and the title role in Boris Godunov. In two seasons with the Met, he...