Tosko Iliev

Tosko Iliev was born on September 1st, 1895 in Parvomaj (Bulgaria). After finishing his law studies in Sofia, he went to Vienna in order to study voice now (1923–26). Back home, he gave the occasional concert.

In 1933, he got employed as a librarian at the municipal library in Stara Zagora. In that town, there was an amateur opera troupe – which Iliev joined. Bulgaria had only one professional opera house at that time, in Sofia of course; now, Iliev and a few others founded, in Stara Zagora, the country's second opera theater. Iliev made his debut there in 1934 (in "Gergana" by Atanasov), and was to remain at "his" Stara Zagora opera for good – as a singer until 1943, at the same time and beyond as a member of the administration, and as the theatre's manager from 1946 to 1954. And he also returned to the stage after the official end of his singing career; in 1951, in a national event where all Bulgarian opera theaters staged one of their productions in Sofia, Stara Zagora contributed Pagliacci with Iliev as Canio, and he won a personal triumph. On the radio, he sang as late as 1959.

Tosko Iliev died on April 20th, 1971.

Pinkerton

Prince in Rusalka

Alfredo

Duca

Turiddu

Canio

Don José

Picture source (with hat): University of Pittsburgh
I wish to thank Tosko Iliev's grandson Mike Mihaylov for all other pictures, and for an update to the biography.

I wish to thank Vladimir Efimenko for the recording.