Iconic Georgian opera 'Daisi' marks 100th anniversary in first Italian staging at Teatro Massimo Bellini
The premiere in Catania marked the 100th anniversary of the first staging of 'Daisi', and a twinning between the Italian and Tbilisi theatre venues. Photo via Italian Embassy in Tbilisi
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Daisi, one of the most popular productions of the professional Georgian opera scene and a major piece by the country's celebrated 20th century composer Zakaria Paliashvili, on Wednesday celebrated its first performance in Italy, when the show was staged at Catania's Teatro Massimo Bellini to mark the international Music Festival.
Staged on the 100th anniversary of its first premiere, and in a collaboration between the venue and the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet State Theatre, the production was brought to the event marking the "universal language" of music for enabling "different cultural identities meet and [have] dialogue", the Catania-based theatre said.
In his preview of the collaboration, superintendent Giovanni Cultrera said the Etna stage of the venue would become "one of the most important" of this year's edition of the Festival by hosting the latest international performance of the classic widely recognised in Georgia since its original staging in 1923.
Based on playwright Valerian Gunia's work, the three-act drama bought to the Catania venue its plot of a love triangle on the backdrop of a foreign invasion, as staged by director Gocha Kapanadze and with stage and costume design by Giorgi Aleksi-Meskhishvili, who also worked on the lighting.
History being made in Catania, with Teatro Bellini hosting on #MusicDay the first ever staging in ???????? of “Daisi”, masterpiece of Zakaria Paliashvili, father of the National #Opera of #Georgia. Majestic performance by Maestro Azmaiparashvili and all those involved. Bravissimi ???? pic.twitter.com/riKxhzalDY
— Italy in Georgia (@ItalyinGeorgia) June 22, 2023
The show involved the Teatro Massimo Bellini chorus and orchestra under the baton of conductor Zaza Azmaiparashvili, along with a cast of Italian opera names joined by the Georgian bass George Andguladze.
Along with the Georgian names in the staging team, the work for bringing the production to the stage of the venue - initiated by Badri Maisuradze, the General Director of the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet State Theatre - involved Sirio Scacchetti, who adapted Gunia's libretto, with Luigi Petrozziello directing the chorus and orchestra of the theatre.
Paliashvili's original opera - directed by Kote Marjanishvili, another great of the Georgian opera scene - bore a symbolic importance in the aftermath of Georgia's 1921 invasion and occupation by the Red Army, with the name for Maro, one of the three protagonists, chosen in its original staging in homage to Maro Makashvili, a young nurse who died while helping the armed forces of the young First Democratic Republic defend the country from the invasion.
The Daisi show in Catania was staged as part of the Music Festival that is hosted in over 100 countries annually on June 21, with the premiere hosted at the 1890-launched venue that has hosted international opera classics and stars in its 1,200-capacity hall and is named after the celebrated Italian composer.
Georgia's Culture Ministry revealed the Artistic Council and Directorate of the Italian theatre had decided to keep Daisi in its repertory following the premiere, with the move also marking a twinning of the Catania and Tbilisi performance venues.