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Ghiaurov's career spanned both the great Russian roles--Boris Gudonov, Khan Konchak, Prince Gremin, Ivan Susanin, Kovanschy, and the great Italian and French roles--King Philip, the Devil in both Mefistofele and Faust, the Padre Guardiano in Forza, Attila , Fiesco, Silva, and Don Quichotte. While a genuine bass, he had a strong enough upper range that he was also a fine Don Giovanni, and could even manage the Toreador Song from Carmen with panache. Though most of the roles he sang were serious ones, he is also a noted performer of Don Basilio in Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Colline in La Boheme, which has the one solemn aria in the last scene, and considerable clowning in the preceeding ones. He brought to these roles a rich and powerful voice, considerable acting ability, and a striking physique. His voice was at its prime during the late 1950s, '60s, and '70s, becoming rather dry by the 1980s, but he was still able to perform some of his roles very ably through the 1990s, leaving the ...