He was born in Sofia, Bulgaria in 1966. Between 1987 and 1993, he studied at the National Academy of Music in Bulgaria under Assen Selimski. As a student, he first appeared in the Sofia Opera in Il barbiere di Siviglia and The Rake's Progress. His career took off in 1992 when he won the competition Cardiff Singer of the World. In 1995, he debuted in the Wexford Opera Festival, Ireland and at the Teatro Colón, Buenos Aires. He then appeared at La Scala Milan, as well as in major theaters in Europe, Brazil and the USA. He sang Verdi's Requiem with the Berliner Philharmoniker conducted by Claudio Abbado (2001), as well as the roles of Moser [I masnadieri] (1999); Boris Godunov [Boris Godunov] at the Opéra Bastille; Jacopo Fiesco [Simon Boccanegra] at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (2002); and, Padre Guardiano [La forza del destino] at Carnegie Hall (2003). He made his Metropolitan Opera New York debut in 2004, as Sparafucile [Rigoletto]. His appearances in the Sofia National Opera and Ballet include roles such as Raimondo [Lucia di Lammermoor], Timur [Tourandot], Count Walter [Luisa Miller]. He has recorded the role of Oroe [Semiramide] opposite Edita Gruberová in the title role (1998), as well as Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra and Requiem (2002), and Rigoletto (2004). In addition, his recording of Ralph Vaughan Williams’ A Sea Symphony (2003) with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra earned him a Grammy Award. He worked with the GNO in the production of Turandot (Odeon Herod Atticus, 1995-96).