“Bulgarian mezzo Nadia Krasteva’s fiery performance as the temptress fully aware of her powers displayed an entire constellation of vocal beauty, sensuality, and acting prowess. Integrating Krasteva’s astonishingly flexible body movements into the mix added a whole new dimension to this character, with nuances of grace and subtlety that have rarely emerged in traditional portrayals of Delilah as a merciless, conniving woman bent on revenge. Most impressive of all, Krasteva’s voice, a perfect mélange of expansive range, lush tones and agility, made hers a stunning San Diego Opera debut.” Erica Miner in “Operapulse” about the debut of Nadia Krasteva in the role of Dalila in San Diego (USA).
“The mezzo-soprano Nadia Krasteva has a developed international career, with polished voice, beautiful colouring and confidence all over the range. She is endowed also with exceptional actor’s qualities. Supported by Leda Lojodice for the dances, she revealed an unexpected talent of a ballerina. She developed a unique and fascinating character of the inconstant, seductive and lustful Dalila.
Merit of the mastery of the director Hugo de Ana is also one final touch of a nearly "Christian" charity towards the wretched and ridiculed character, for his betrayal, led to blindness and infirmity.” Quotation from the review by Andrea Merli, L’opera magazine:
Nadia Krasteva was born in Sofia. She graduated from the Pancho Vladigerov National Academy of Music, major “Opera singing“, in the class of Prof. Zhasmina Kostova, and then she specialized at the Boris Christoff Academy in Rome with Anita Cerquetti. Nadia Krasteva is mezzo-soprano.
She has worked at the Stara Zagora State Opera. In 2002, she received an invitation from the Vienna State Opera and Nadia Krasteva fast turned into a leading figure and favourite of the audience in Vienna, where she made her debut as Fenena in “Nabucco” and performs with great success almost all big mezzo-soprano parts like Carmen (“Carmen”), Leonora (“La Favorita”), Adalgisa (“Norma”), Sara (“Roberto Devereux”), Eboli (in the French and in the Italian version of “Don Carlo”), Maria Gesualdo (“Gesualdo”), Ulrica (“Un Ballo in Maschera”), Giulietta (“Les contes d’Hoffmann”), Marina (“Boris Godunov”), Preziosilla (“La Forza del Destino”), Maddalena (“Rigoletto”), Olga (“Eugene Onegin”), Suzuki (“Madama Butterfly”) and others.
The well-known Bulgarian singer conquered also the stage of the Lyric Opera of Chicago, where she sang in the opera “Carmen” by G. Bizet, and her partners were the Americans Brandon Jovanovich, Kyle Ketelsen and others. The theatre’s management considered that the “sensational mezzo-soprano Nadia Krasteva dances and sings in the role of the gipsy seducer as no one else today!”
Nadia Krasteva is a permanent guest-performer on the most prestigious opera stages and musical festivals in Europe, the USA and Japan – with all of the listed roles, as well as with parts like Dalila, Amneris, The Princess (“Rusalka”), Venus (“Tannhäuser”), Verdi’s and Mozart’s “Requiem”, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, at opera gala concerts and solo recitals.
Nadia Krasteva has sung together with names like Edita Gruberova, Placido Domingo, Agnes Baltsa, Anna Netrebko, Marcelo Alvarez, Neil Shicoff under the baton of celebrated conductors like Zubin Mehta, Seiji Ozawa, Fabio Luisi, Riccardo Muti, Adam Fischer, Julian Kovatchev, Daniele Gatti. She has taken part in productions of directors like Franco Zeffirelli, Hugo de Ana, Peter Konwitschny, Vera Nemirova, Marco Arturo Marelli. The audience has applauded her not only in Vienna, but also in Paris, Berlin, Moscow, Tokyo, Milan, Zurich, Amsterdam, Munich, Chicago, Dallas, San Diego, Santander, Valencia, Hamburg, Beijing, on Arena di Verona, in Sankt Margarethen.
In October 2013, Nadia Krasteva made her debut at La Scala di Milano as Amneris in “Aida”, and in her schedule later on followed guest-performances in Berlin with the same role, as well as with Preziosilla in Munich, Adalgisa and Giulietta in Vienna, premiere of “Carmen” and others.
On 11 December 2014, Nadia Krasteva participated in the premiere of the opera “Samson et Dalila” at the Sofia Opera and Ballet. She will perform Dalila again on 27 January, 19:00 and 29 January, 16:00.