Mezzo-soprano Irena Petkova was born in Bulgaria. Following her graduation in voice at the Conservatory in Sofia, she quickly became a soloist at the local State Opera. Her international career was launched after a European tour and especially after winning the special prize at the international “Boris Hristov” competition, after which she became a regular guest at numerous opera houses across Europe, especially in Germany. Her repertoire comprises mostly roles from Mozart operas, the Italian Bel canto (Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini), high and late romantic (Verdi, Puccini) and verismo (Leoncavallo, Mascagni, Puccini) traditions. Among her most acclaimed roles are as the title character in Bizet’s Carmen, Rosina (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Adalgisa (Norma), Fenena (Nabucco), Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro), Suzuki (Madama Butterfly) and The Old Lady (Candide).

She regularly appears as a concert singer, often in France and Spain, and has sung in the main hall of the Wiener Musikverein. Since 2006 Irena Petkova is a soloist of the  SNG Maribor Opera House, where she has performed in numerous operas including Falstaff, The Poet and the Rebel, Die Zauberflöte, Candide, Un ballo in maschera, Nabucco, Norma, The Tales of Hoffmann, Lakmé, The Barber of Seville, La forza del destino, Gounod’s Faust, Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades and Eugene Onegin, Strauss’s Die Fledermaus and Massenet’s Werther. Among her most recent stage creations include the roles of La frugola (Il tabarro), The Mistress of the novices (Suor Angelica) and La Ciesca (Gianni Schicchi) from Puccini’s Il trittico.