BORIS CHRISTOFF (Plovdív, Bulgaria, 18.5. 1918 – Roma, 28.6.1993). Bulgarian bass. After graduating in law, and while pursuing a career in the judiciary, he also devoted himself to the study of music and singing. He was spotted as a soloist in the ‘Gusla’ choir in Sofia and, thanks to King Boris, was awarded a scholarship to study with Riccardo Stracciari in Milan. In 1946 he married Franca, daughter of the musicologist Raffaello de Renzis, in Rome. In the post-war period he made his debut at the Accademia di S. Cecilia in Rome. In 1947 he sang at the Felice in Venice in Tristan. In 1948 he made his name in Kovàncina at La Scala. In 1950 he was invited to New York for the Metropolitan premiere, and thereafter performed in the world’s greatest opera houses: between 1957 and 1963 he appeared regularly in Chicago, but also sang in Salzburg, Verona, Paris, San Francisco, distinguishing himself from Boris Godunov (considered the greatest interpreter of the twentieth century) in Prince Igor, and more broadly with regard to the Russian repertoire, but also in Aida, Lohengrin, Tannhäuser, Fidelio, Norma, Ernani and Don Carlos. His recording output is impressive. He was released exclusively by the EMI/HMV label, with which he won numerous Grand Prix du Disque awards.