Georgian opera star shines at Metropolitan Opera in contemporary staging of Italian classic

A Georgian baritone has performed the lead role in the first of a series of performances of the classic opera Rigoletto at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

Opera singer George Gagnidze was cast in the title role in Michael Mayer’s three-hour version of Rigolettoby famous 19^th Century Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi, with fellow stars Olga Peretyatko and Željko Lučić performing other main roles.

Last night’s performance marked the opening of the Metropolitan Opera’s three month season. During this time a dozen international opera singers will be cast in lead and secondary roles in further performances of Rigoletto, including six more title performances for Gagnidze.

The opera’s audio version was broadcast live to almost 30 million radio subscribers in the United States, with the video version streamed online by the Metropolitan Opera to subscribers.

Mayer’s contemporary staging was set in a 1960s Las Vegas casino, with the singers wearing attire of that era. The set design contributed immensely to the theme of the performance, dubbed "electrifying” in a Metropolitan Opera preview.

George Gagnidze (L) as Rigoletto. Photo by Richard Termine.

The original play was set in the court of King François I of France, with the plot controversial enough to force Verdi to adapt his creation to reach a compromise with censors’ demands.

The opera followed a dramatic story of mischief, rivalry and social privilege and was based on a play by French novelist Victor Hugo. The opera’s world premiere was held in Venice, Italy in 1851 while the Metropolitan Opera first hosted its performance in 1883.

Gagnidze’s name is widely recognised at the famous New York opera theatre, having debuted at the opera house in the role of Rigoletto in 2009 while also being cast in the theatre’s shows of Italian opera classics Tosca and Pagliacci throughout this season.

Born in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi, he graduated from the city’s State Conservatory before being cast in classical opera productions at the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet State Theatre in the 1990s.

Gagnidze launched his international career in Germany before he was invited as a guest performer at top international opera stages including the La Scala in Milan, Italy, the Vienna State Opera in Austria and the Paris Opéra Bastille in France.

The Georgian singer was the winner of the 2005 Concorso Voci Verdiane contest of vocalists in Italy.

See a fragment of the Metropolitan Opera final dress rehearsal of Rigoletto featuring George Gagnize and Olga Peretyatko below: