THE Bulgarian soprano Ghena Dimitrova had a voice of imposing power and fearless attack. She specialised in the heavyweight Italian dramatic soprano repertory, from Abigaille in Nabucco by Verdid, to Turandot by Puccini, and was one of the few sopranos able to sustain such parts through the 1980s and 1990s with consistent success.

Dimitrova was born in Beglej, a village near Pleven, and in later years used to say that the only thing that distinguished her from other youngsters was her inordinately loud voice. She entered the State Conservatory in Sofia as a pupil of Christo Brambarov and made her debut in 1966 as Abigaille. In 1970 she won an important singing competition which led to engagements at opera houses in Italy, Germany and France. In Buenos Aires, the Argentinian love of big voices caused her to become a regular at the Teatro Colón from 1975.

Dimitrova’s debut at the Vienna State Opera came in 1978 and her US debut in Dallas in 1981 as Elvira in Ernani. At La Scala in Milan she was heard only in concert until 1983, when she was chosen to sing Turandot in the opening performance of the season. The same year she had made a sensational debut in London in a concert performance of La Gioconda, which caused one critic to state that she was: “The real thing, a powerful tone poured out unflinchingly and with a histrionic bite that brought Milanov to mind”.

In 1984 Dimitrova made her first appearance at the Paris Opéra, this time as Verdi’s Lady Macbeth, and sang the same role at the Salzburg Festival. The Royal Opera had been quick to engage her after her success as Gioconda, and she made her Covent Garden debut under the baton of Sir Colin Davis in September 1984 when she took over the part of Turandot from Gwyneth Jones.

Since 1980 she had also become a great favourite at the annual spectaculars mounted at the Arena in Verona, especially as Aïda and Turandot, where her grand manner and splendid voice commended her to the huge audiences. Later in the decade her debut as Turandot at the Metropolitan Opera, New York, was equally successful.

Dimitrova’s career exemplified Rossini’s celebrated desideratum: “Voce, voce e più voce” — “voice, voice and yet more voice”. If her stage persona was politely described as “statuesque”, she relied for her effects on a voice which, often described as a lirico spinto, had by 1980 become a full-scale dramatic soprano.

Even so, her singing was more varied, more musical and more carefully considered than she is often given credit. Among her best roles, her Abigaille in Nabucco and her Leonora in Oberto are preserved in good commercial recordings.

Ghena Dimitrova, operatic soprano, was born on May 6, 1941. She died on June 11, 2005, aged 64.