Anita Rachvelishvili in OperaWire top 10 for Metropolitan Opera performances

Georgian opera star Anita Rachvelishvili’s Metropolitan Opera appearances during the ongoing season have been named in a top 10 of roles performed at the famed venue by OperaWire website.

The authoritative review platform released its selection of stage artists, in lead and support cast, who sparked on New York’s storied opera house, with the mezzo-soprano distinguished for not one but three roles she portrayed during the 2018-2019 season.

Rachvelishvili’s interpretation of characters in Adriana Lecouvreur, Aida and Samson et Dalila drew praise from reviewers David & Francisco Salazar, who picked the singer honoured with various prizes not only for stage appearances but also recordings.

She took on three important roles throughout the season, each getting better and showcasing a different facet [...] Rachvelishvili used her entire arsenal to give a fully fleshed characterisation,” their selection of the Georgian reads.

The honour follows praise for the mezzo’s vocal quality in the former show, from both OperaWire and other critics.

An OperaWire review for Adriana Lecouvreur lauded her for “power and despair for the tortured Princess” in her performance, noting “Rachvelishvili explored a more intimate realm of the character”.

The singer was also picked out for acknowledgement for the role by The Washington Post and The New York Times, with the former calling Rachvelishvili “the real show-stopper” and the latter pointing out how her “tone stayed round, warm and not all that loud, an iron fist in a cashmere glove”.

With Samson et Dalila, the Georgian singer was cast in the first new Metropolitan Opera production of the production in two decades in March.

The OperaWire top 10 list placed Rachvelishvili alongside stage names such as Joyce DiDonato, Piotr Beczala and Matthew Polenzani.