Ivan Angelov is a guest-conductor at the most prestigious European and world opera theatres and concert halls. He is highly estimated as one of the best experts and interpreters of Italian opera.

Ivan Angelov was born in Kavala, Greece. The conductor started his professional development by Dobrin Petkov, and at the Music Academy in Sofia by prof. Vladi Simeonov. He specialized with Igor Markevitch, Wolfgang Sawallish, Carlos Kleiber and Kirill Kondrashin. During this period he won different awards – national, as well as from international competitions in Copenhagen – “N. Malko”, the special award “Prince Rainier III” in Monte Carlo and at the Festival in Weimar.

At the beginning of his professional career, Ivan Angelov worked as assistant conductor of Plovdiv Symphony Orchestra, and after that for a short period he was conductor of Pleven Symphony Orchestra and founder and conductor of Chamber Orchestra “Bulgarian Music Youth” in Sofia. Later he was conductor at Plovdiv Opera, and since 1978 he has been its Chief conductor. Since 1980, he has been Chief conductor in Biel/Bienne and Lausanne – Switzerland, of Ballet of Monte Carlo, Opera Bonn and National Opera – Bratislava, where in 1995, together with the whole team he was awarded the prize “Furtwängler” for exceptional artistic achievements.

Since 1998, he has worked also with the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra as first guest-conductor, and since 2002 – as permanent guest of Leipzig Opera with Gewandhaus Orchestra.

In the last years, the conductor has shown himself as authority and interpreter also of Wagner’s music. In 2002, together with the tenor Robert Dean Smith, he received the great Wagner award “Orphée d’Or” in Paris for best CD-recording with music by Wagner for the year.
He has conducted Tokyo City Philharmonic, Moscow Philharmonic and the philharmonics in Stockholm, Stuttgart, Verona, Geneva, Bern, Nice, Marseille, Brabant, Budapest, Istanbul.

Ivan Angelov has worked and made concerts with world opera names as Grace Bumbry, Edita Gruberova, Margaret Price, Anna Tomowa-Sintow, Eva Marton, Denyce Graves, Piero Cappucilli, Neil Shicoff, Paata Burchuladze, Nicola Ghiuzelev, Juan Pons, Roberto Alagna and many others.
Angelov conducted at Deutsche Oper Berlin “Nabucco” and “Andrea Chénier”, “Turandot” at Komische Oper and at the festival super production of “Aida” with Michèle Crider. At the state operas in Munich and Hamburg – “La Traviata”, and on the stage of Leipzig Opera under his direction have sounded: “Falstaff”, “Rigoletto”, “Aida”, “La Traviata”, “La damnation de Faust” and others.

Among his more important guest-performances are: at the state operas – Stuttgart – “Cavalleria rusticana”, “Pagliacci”, “Rigoletto”, in Köln – “Tosca” ; “La Bohème” in Bonn, Marseille, Tokyo and so on. He conducted “Carmen” in Paris and Monte Carlo, “L’elisir d’amore” in Toulouse, “Manon Lescaut” in Toulon, “Tosca” in Marseille, “Donna abandonnata” in Nancy, “Don Pasquale” in Barcelona, “Spanish hour” in Catania, “Samson et Dalila” in Istanbul and still many others. He has been guest also at festivals, as Aspendos Arena, Verdi Festival in Prague, Sabadell Festival in Barcelona, as well as of different super productions on the biggest stages of Europe.