Photo: Unknown Unknown · Public domain · credits
Timeline
2 events◦ Birth 1† Death 1
1900s
1990s
Biography
English biography274 words · 6 sectionssource: wikipedia-en · licence CC BY-SA 4.0 · revision 1367716437
Biography
Stoyanka Savova Nikolova (Bulgarian: Стоянка Савова Николова), best known by her stage name Elena Nicolai (Bulgarian: Елена Николай) (24 January 1905 – 24 October 1993), was a Bulgarian operatic mezzo-soprano.
Early life and training
Nicolai was born in the village of Tzerovo, Pazardzhik, Bulgaria. She spent her childhood in another Bulgarian town, Panagurishte. At the age of 19, she moved to Milan to study opera, first with Vincenzo Pintorno and later with Ettore Pozzoli.
Roles sung
Annina, Der Rosenkavalier
Laura, La Gioconda (opera)
La Cieca, La Gioconda (opera)
Nefte, Il figliuol prodigo (List of operas by Ponchielli)
Principessa di Bouillon, Adriana Lecouvreur
Rubria, Nerone (Boito)
Ortrud, Lohengrin (opera)
Dalila, Samson and Delilah (opera)
Brunnhilde, Die Walkure
Amneris, Aida
Eboli, Don Carlo
Azucena, Il Trovatore
Adalgisa, Norma
Leonora, La Favorita
Carmen, Carmen
Brangaene, Tristan und Isolde
Santuzza, Cavalleria Rusticana
Fedora, Fedora
Klytaemnestra, Elektra
Recordings
Monteverdi - L'Orfeo (Silvia, 1939) conducted by Ferrucio Calusio, Italian HMV
Cilea - Adriana Lecouvreur (Principessa di Bouillon, 1949) conducted by Federico Del Cupolo, Colosseum
Mascagni - Cavalleria rusticana (Santuzza, 1953) conducted by Franco Ghione, Decca
Verdi - Don Carlo (Principessa d'Eboli, 1954) conducted by Gabriele Santini, HMV/EMI
Verdi - La forza del destino (Preziosilla, 1954) conducted by Tullio Serafin, Columbia/EMI
Films
Il Boom, directed by Vittorio De Sica (1963)
My Wife (episode "I miei cari," directed by Mauro Bolognini) (1964)
Sedotti e bidonati, directed by Giorgio Bianchi (1964)
Latin Lovers (episode "L'irreparabile," directed by Mario Costa) (1965)
Our Husbands (episode "Il marito di Roberta," directed by Luigi Filippo D'Amico) (1966)
Quando dico che ti amo, directed by Giorgio Bianchi (1967)
Be Sick... It's Free, directed by Luigi Zampa (1968)
Honours
Nicolai Peak in Antarctica is named after Elena Nicolai.
Discography & profile
Normalised profile
Percentiles are computed over every artist in the database, so a tier-3 artist can still sit in the 95th percentile on a single axis.
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 12 | 64.8th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 0 | 0th |
| Studio albums | 0 | 0th |
| Awards recorded | 0 | 0th |
| Timeline events | 2 | 62.1th |
| Recording span (years) | — | no data |
| Genres | 1 | 56th |
Percentiles are computed at render time; missing values mean the artist has no data on that axis.
Discography (0 release groups)
No discography rows stored yet
MusicBrainz enrichment for this artist is still pending. Release groups appear here once it runs.
Stats & PK
Percentile within all 23,672 published artists.Put Elena Nicolai head-to-head →
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 12 | 64.8th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 0 | 0th |
| Studio albums | 0 | 0th |
| Awards recorded | 0 | 0th |
| Timeline events | 2 | 62.1th |
| Recording span (years) | — | no data |
| Genres | 1 | 56th |
Awards & honours
Where this record comes from
portrait—Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Elena_Nicolai_come_Ortruda_in_Lohengrin%2C_teatro_alla_Scala%2C_1939_-_collezione_Tino_Barindelli.tifaliases/urls—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/04f57cc1-4502-4ac1-8377-c8ad38660fd3discography—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/04f57cc1-4502-4ac1-8377-c8ad38660fd3core—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3721467genre—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3721467seed-list—wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elena_Nicolaibiography—wikipedia-en · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elena_Nicolai
Why this artist is in the database
- List of Bulgarian musicians and singers
Tier rule: curated genre/region list
Image: Unknown Unknown · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Wikidata: Q3721467 · MusicBrainz: 04f57cc1-4502-4ac1-8377-c8ad38660fd3
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