Petar Raichev - Je suis seul!... Ah! fuyez, douce image

Bulgarian tenor was born on 9 March 1887 in Varna. He studied with Umberto Mazetti and in Naples with Fernando de Luca and made his debut in 1913 in St. Petersburg. He left Russia in 1920 after singing the roles of Lensky, Herman, Canio and Rodolfo and during the next 15 years he performed in Italy, Vienna, Berlin, Leipzig, Dresden and Paris. In 1930 Petar Raichev joined the Opera Russe in Paris. With this opera house he toured throughout Europe and South America. Following an engagement with the National Opera of Zagreb between 1934 and 1935 he returned to Bulgaria to sing with the Sofia National Opera. To to his Russian roles he added those of Count Almaviva, Alfredo and the Duke (Rigoletto). Petar Raichev was one of the founders of the opera company in his native town Varna in 1947 and was its artistic director for several years. Upon retiring from singing in 1950 he taught vocal studies at the State Academy of Music until his death on 31 August 1960 in Sofia.