Innsbruck State Theater embraces two Georgian opera singers

Two Georgian opera singers will perform leading roles at the premier performance of the State Theatre of Innsbruck in Austria.

On June 6 Georgian tenor Zurab Zurabishvili and baritone Michael Bachtadze will sing at the first performance of Pique Dame (The Queen of Spades); a well-known opera by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

Zurabishvili will play the part of Hermann while Bachtadze will play Count Tomsky/Plutus.

Zurabishvili was born in Tbilisi. After graduating from the Tbilisi State Conservatoire in 1994 he continued to learn at Mozarteum in Salzburg. In 2003 he won the Austrian Prize Honour. Two years later he became a two-time winner of the International Voice Competition Ferruccio Tagliavini.

Meanwhile Bachtadze also received his musical education at the Tbilisi State Conservatoire before he continued his career in Germany.

After making his Italian debut as Mercutio in Charles Gounod’s Romeo and Juliet in 2013 at the prestigious Arena di Verona festival, Bachtadze was re-invited to sing the same role alongside Italian operatic tenor Vittorio Grigolo one year later.

During his career he has performed major roles in many opera houses in Europe. In recent season he gave three noteworthy house debuts, including one of his much acclaimed roles as Escamillo in Bizet’s Carmen at Deutsche Opera in Berlin, Marcello in Puccini’s Boheme at Opera Leipzig and Creon in Cherubini’s Medea in Innsbruck, Austria.

The Pique Dame will be presented on stage at the State Theatre of Innsbruck from June 6 to July 7.