Anita Rachvelishvili in All Star Verdi Gala at Athens' Panathenaic Stadium
Rachvelishvili as Amneris in a performance of 'Aida' at Metropolitan Opera House in New York. The singers of the Athens show roster are known for their prolific appearances in Verdi productions. Photo via anitarachvelishvili.com.
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Georgian mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili is set to join fellow luminaries of the opera scene from around the world in All Star Verdi Gala, a show promoted as "the cultural event of the year" at Athens' Panathenaic Stadium this week.
Rachvelishvili will be part of a line-up also including soprano Anna Netrebko, tenor Yusif Eyvazov and baritone Dimitri Platanias, with the performance coincilded with the 150th anniversary of the world premiere of Giuseppe Verdi's classic Aida in Cairo in 1871.
The four performers - "who have excelled in the Verdian repertoire [and] will perform famous operas and duets [...]", the Greek Natioal Opera said - will be on stage with the Greek theatre's orchestra led by French conductor Philippe Auguin.
In the run-up to the Saturday gala the Greek National Opera released a recording of Rachvelishvili's performance in the Athens-based company's 2020 show at the Roman Agora in the city:
The performance will mark the first Greek show for Netrebko, while Rachvelishvili shared with her social media followers she was "[h]appy to be back to Athens". The Georgian performed in the 2020 summer-long festival of the Greek National Opera that hosted dozens of performances at archaeological sites across the country.
The Georgian singer said in a preview video for the event she considered the Greek National Opera to be "one of the best opera houses in the world", adding she recommended collaborations with the Athens company to her colleagues and musical artists.
Parts from Aida, Il trovatore, Macbeth, Otello, Rigoletto and other classics are in the repertory for the late evening show, set to start at 9:30pm local time and run for 95 minutes without intermission.
It will be hosted on July 10 at the Panathenaic Stadium, one of the historic sights of Athens and the only stadium in the world built entirely of marble.