Naples' Teatro San Carlo reopening with George Gagnidze in 'La Traviata'
Gagnidze (second from right) is cast in the seven-show bill as Giorgio Germont. Photo via Teatro San Carlo.
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Baritone George Gagnidze will be on stage at Teatro San Carlo in Naples this month, featuring in the cast for the theatre's La Traviata as part of the reopening of venues in Italy following the most recent lockdown.
In the theatre's production of the Verdi classic, Gagnidze will be cast as Giorgio Germont, with the staging conducted by Karel Mark Chichon. The seven-show bill will also involve sopranos Ailyn Pèrez and Aleksandra Kurzak alternating in the role of Violetta Valery and tenors Leonardo Caimi and Ivan Magrì selected to portray Alfredo Germont.
To be performed under stage director Marina Bianchi, the La Traviata version from Teatro San Carlo also involves work from José Luis Basso as chorus master. The two-hour, 40-minute production bill will run between May 14-23.
#OperaisBack | Stiamo tornando...finalmente dal vivo!
— Teatro San Carlo (@teatrosancarlo) April 30, 2021
Dal #14maggio su il sipario @teatrosancarlo per #LaTraviata ????...noi non vediamo l'ora! ????E voi?
Dal 1.5.21????https://t.co/Cm3QeOSSoy
????C. Pisaroni (Ailyn Pèrez)/M. Reishaus (George Gagnidze)/J. Deinats (Karel Mark Chichon) pic.twitter.com/U1LXrVlcUd
The Georgian singer told his social media followers he would be "so happy to return to Naples for these concert performances with a fantastic cast!" with the announcement. The La Traviata shows for the Italian theatre have been recently brought forward from their initial dates in June.
For the baritone, the Germont role is one of his trademark parts, with his debut at Teatro alla Scala in Milan coming in a 2007 production of La Traviata, before performances at the Opéra Bastille in 2018 and the Royal Opera House in 2019.
Gagnidze was also cast in the role for another recent staging of the Verdi opera, held at Barcelona's Gran Teatre del Liceu in a limited form in November while public shows in Spain were still under suspension due to Covid-19.
The Georgian singer graduated from Tbilisi State Conservatoire before debuting at the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet State Theatre. His performances over the recent years have included selections for casts at San Francisco Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin and Metropolitan Opera.