Barcelona's Gran Teatre del Liceu to cast George Gagnidze in 'La Traviata' bill

Georgian opera baritone George Gagnidze is in cast for a La Traviata bill of Barcelona's Gran Teatre del Liceu, with the programme opening next month.

Set to sing in the role of Giorgio Germont in production by famed director David McVicar, Gagnidze will have six appearances in the bill, joining the likes of Kristina Mkhitaryan (as Violetta Valéry) and Pavol Breslik (Alfredo Germont).

While public performances in Spain have been suspended due to the pandemic situation, the Barcelona venue started rehearsals for the production behind closed doors last week, and the Georgian singer shared his hopes of performing in the work to his social media followers on Thursday.

The Catalan opera venue has also previewed the show by calling it a "skilled production enables us to make a contemporary re-reading of the plot and explore the characters' innermost feelings."

The McVicar staging of the Verdi classic involves set and costume design by Tanya McCallin, lighting by Jennifer Tipton and work on reviving the opera by Marie Lambert.

This grandiose melodrama in a period setting tells how a noble love is sacrificed to the cult of material wealth" - Gran Teatre del Liceu

For the joint production involving the Barcelona theatre along with Glasgow's Scottish Opera, Welsh National Opera and Madrid's Teatro Real, the orchestra will be led by conductor Speranza Scappucci, to be assisted by Daniel Montané.

In alternating dates, sopranos Lisette Oropesa and Pretty Yende will perform as the protagonist Violetta Valéry in the staging, with Dmitry Korchak cast in the Alfredo Germont role and Gemma Coma-Alabert to be seen as Aninna, among other performers.

The full details of the La Traviata bill at Gran Teatre del Liceu - set to run between December 5-30 - can be found on the official website of the theatre.