Massenet, Werther, Acte 3: Werther! Qui m’aurait dit - Ces lettres!
Bulgarian mezzo soprano was born on 26 July 1935 in Cherven Briag. As a child she sang in the Children Chorus of the Sofia National Opera. After lessons in singing and choir direction, she received a diploma in 1953. Following studies at the Academy of Music with Maria Zibulka, Ljubomir Pipkov and Michail Jankov, her career began at the Varna Opera in 1959 where her debut was singing Maddalena in Rigoletto. Additional roles sung in Varna included Azucena, Amneris, and in Pique Dame as the Countess and Pauline.
Her international career began after winning the Boris Christoff Competition in 1961 (together with Peter Glossop) with performances with the Royal Opera, London in 1962 and the Vienna State opera in 1963. Then followed appearances in Paris, Berlin, Moscow, Montreal and Los Angeles. From 1966, Margarita Lilova was a member of the Vienna State Opera, the Berlin Komisches Opera and the Sofia National Opera. In 1965