Tbilisi gala to celebrate international anniversary for baritone Lado Ataneli

Georgia's internationally renowned baritone Lado Ataneli will be celebrated in a Tbilisi gala concert featuring his fellow opera stars next week.

Marking Ataneli's three decades on prestigious international stages, the concert at the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet State Theatre will bring together six singers along with the venue's chorus and orchestra for the occasion.

Led by conductor Zaza Azmaiparashvili, the orchestra and chorus will be joined by mezzo soprano Nino Surguladze, sopranos Khatuna Chokhonelidze and Marika Machitidze, tenors Shalva Mukeria and Armaz Darashvili and bass Gocha Datusani.

They will be involved in renditions of the fourth act from Rigoletto and the first act from Macbeth, delivering performances from the Verdi classics to celebrate the anniversary.

See a fragment from Lado Ataneli's performance in 'Tosca', his 100th appearance in the role of Scarpia, at the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet State Theatre earlier this year:

Debuting in the Tbilisi venue's bill of Un ballo in maschera in 1989, Ataneli went on launch his international career in 1996, performing on stages of Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, New York’s Metropolitan Opera, Vienna State Opera and other high-profile venues.

The baritone is the winner of the First Prize and the Grand Prix at the International Francisco-Vinas Competition in Barcelona and the first place at the Belvedere Competition in Vienna, while he was praised as "one of the healthiest, roundest, most mellifluous voices on the planet" in an LA Times review.

Ataneli's first solo recording, Opera Arias, was released in 2005 and was followed by a second album in 2009. The Georgian opera star also recorded the opera La Gioconda for EMI Classics with the famed tenor Placido Domingo in 2003.

His significance for the Georgian opera scene has also been recognised with the Shota Rustaveli State Prize and the Order of Brilliance bestowed on the singer in 2011 and 2012 respectively. Ataneli was also distinguished with the title of the Honourary Citizen of Tbilisi in 2017, with a star in his name unveiled outside the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet State Theatre.

The Tbilisi gala for the anniversary will be held on October 30.