Pendatchanska was born in
Sofia, Bulgaria into a family of renowned Bulgarian musicians. Her grandfather Sasha Popov was a violinist and conductor and the founder of the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra. Her mother Valerie Popova was an internationally acclaimed soprano who sung regularly at
La Scala in Milan from 1983 to 1986. She studied piano from early childhood and graduated from Bulgaria's National School of Music, where her subjects were piano and singing. Her vocal teacher was her mother, Valerie Popova. Making her stage debut at age 17 in the role of Violetta in
La traviata, she soon won the
Antonín Dvořák Competition in
Karlovy Vary, was placed second in the International Vocal Competition in
Bilbao in 1988, and won UNISA singing competition in
Pretoria in 1989. The soprano's debut outside Bulgaria took place in Bilbao, where she sang the title role in
Lucia di Lammermoor. Since 1989 she has sung in many of the most prestigious opera houses around the world, including those in Vienna, Paris, Berlin, New York (at the
New York City Opera), Rome, Brussels, Washington, Hamburg, Moscow, Turin,
Naples,
Santa Fe,
Bregenz,
Monte Carlo, and
Tel Aviv. Pendatchanska performed the title role of
Esclarmonde at
Teatro Regio in
Turin in November 1992 at the age of 22, at which time she was even younger than that of
Sybil Sanderson, who created the infamously difficult role at age 24. During the 1997–2001 operatic seasons Pendatchanska sang the role of Elisabetta in
Roberto Devereux (Turin and Naples), Adina in
Adina (
Pesaro), Suor Angelica in
Suor Angelica (
Lucca), Luisa in
Luisa Miller (Naples and Berlin), and in
Ermione (Santa Fe and New York). Her other operatic roles include: • The Queen of the Night in
Die Zauberflöte by
Mozart, sung in Cape Town. • Ophelia in
Hamlet sung in Monte Carlo and Vienna. • Lucia in Turin and Trieste. • Gilda in
Rigoletto for the
Welsh National Opera and also for Monte Carlo. • Violetta in
La traviata in Trieste, Hamburg, and Frankfurt. • Adalgisa in
Norma at the
Teatro dell'Opera di Roma. • Parisina in
Parisina for the
Wexford Festival Opera and also for Lugano. • Elena in
La donna del lago for
New York City Opera Her current repertoire includes: • Donna Anna and Donna Elvira from
Don Giovanni, which she has sung in Paris, Lausanne, Houston, Lisbon, Prague, Baden-Baden, and Innsbruck. • Vitellia in
La Clemenza di Tito for Santa Fe, Lyon, and Madrid. • Elettra in
Idomeneo for Brussels. • Elisabetta in
Maria Stuarda •
Semiramide in Paris. • The title role in
Agrippina During the summer 2014 festival season, under the name of
Alex Penda, she appeared in
The Santa Fe Opera's new production of Beethoven's
Fidelio, singing the role of Leonore. She sang the title role in Nicola Berloffa's staging of
Carmen at the Theater St. Gallen in 2014 with Ladislav Elgr as Don José,
Cristina Pasaroiu as Micaëla, and
Aris Argiris as Escamillo. Footage from the rehearsals was used in the documentary
Loving Carmen. ==Critical reception==