“I cannot spare my efforts, and every time I sing it is as though it is the last time”, says the heroine of actress Tatiana Lolova in Duende, a play based on texts by Federico Garcia Lorka and Rumyana Apostolova. For more than a decade, the one-actress show has been on the playbill of 199 Theater in Sofia and the popular comedian has recited these words hundreds of times.
Widely known and loved for a range of comic parts, Lolova is a brilliant singer. Coming up next, we bring you an interview with her and you will also listen to her singing.

Tatyana Lolova has graduated the National Theater and Film Academy in Sofia in the class of Prof. Stefan Surtchadjiev. She started her career in the theater house of the Danube City of Rousse. At the end of 1956, she was the first actress hired by the newly founded Theater of Satire in Sofia. Tatyana Lolova was on its payroll until 1978 when she moved to the Sofia Theater. 

Lolova's popularity grew as she appeared in movies, on television and on shows produced by the Bulgarian National Radio. As a singer, she has taken part in the festival of the humorous song The Golden Blackbird organized annually by the Bulgarian National Radio.

"A few years ago, when the head of the Humor, Satire & Entertainment section of the Bulgarian National Radio was Katya Vodenicharova, the writers of the brilliant comic shows decided they will make actors sing, or at least some of them", she recalls. "I for one, started to believe in myself as singer thanks to maestro Dimitar Vultchev. A freelance stringer for the National Radio he was permanently employed by the operetta theater and wrote a few very good operetta works, as well as many pop songs. In the meantime, he has greatly helped a few actors in revealing their talent in music. Back at that time, the theaters in Sofia maintained orchestras. This was a great opportunity for both actors and audiences. We were lucky that at a certain point Dimitar Vultchev was the conductor of the orchestra at the Theatre of Satire. I remember that the first song I sang written by him was Streetcar Driver in Love and was easy to sing. We, actors, faced the audience to sing with a singing heart. The Golden Blackbird for example, was a song contest aired live by the National Radio. And it was a challenge, no less, for us to sing there".

The legendary comedian is still active though she is nearing 80.

“I am a very optimistic person. And as actress I stick to a hygiene of the voice, the body and the mind. I gain inspiration from the people that surround me. I often joke that the secret behind my energy is that I communicate with people born after me. Younger people are charged with a lot of energy and high spirit. In turn, I try to give them all that my life and work have taught me. It is sometimes necessary to place some limitations on wishes, for the sake of one’s profession. Some time ago I quit smoking because of my voice. When I act I never spare myself, just as the heroine in Duende claims.”

Tatyana Lolova goes back to her relationship with the Bulgarian National Radio:

“I have worked for the Humor, Satire & Entertainment section and have recited poems on the air. For years I hosted a show about Bulgarian folk music. I admire Bulgarian folklore but I cannot sing folk songs. While I was a radio hostess I received a lot of listener’s mail. I have also appeared on the broadcasts of the French Language Service of Radio Bulgaria. To recap: the Bulgarian National Radio means so much to me that words fail me”, concludes leading Bulgarian actress Tatyana Lolova.

Translated by Daniela Konstantinova