Ghena Dimitrova was born in the Bulgarian village of Beglej in 1941. She starting singing in the school choir and her powerful voice led to her being offered a place at the Sofia Conservatory studying under Cristo Brambarov between 1959 and 1964. While she was initially classified as a mezzo-soprano, she was recognised as a soprano in her second year. After finishing her studies at the Sofia Conservatory, she started teaching singing. Her debut came in the mid-1960's as Abigaille in a Bulgarian National Opera production of Verdi's Nabucco after a couple of other sopranos had to drop out. Dimitrova learned the demanding role in a week to be ready for her debut. It is important to note that in these early recordings Dimitrova's voice had not yet reached its signature enormity and in many of these early Nabucco productions, the written, final High C is omitted in the cabaletta, Salgo già. Later in her career, not only did she include these top notes, but she would become the template to whom all other Abigailes would inevitably and unfortunately be compared. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.