Opera singer Badri Maisuradze wins vote for Tbilisi Opera director

Tbilisi's iconic state opera venue could soon have a new artistic director after a specially convened council elected Georgian opera tenor Badri Maisuradze from a list of candidates on Thursday.

The Tbilisi Opera and Ballet State Theatre was led by interim director Zurab Lomidze over the past three months after former artistic director Davit Kintsurashvili was relieved of the position in July.

A special Interim Recommendation Council was called at the theatre to vote for a new director of the historical venue on October 27, with nine candidates in running for the hot seat.

Seven out of 10 members of the council voted in favour of Maisuradze – a soloist of Russia's Bolshoi Theatre – while two votes went to former Deputy Minister of Culture and Monument Protection of Georgia Badri Bagration-Gruzinsky. 

One council member abstained from voting for any candidate.

The result of the voting meant Maisuradze was selected for the final step of the process for becoming a new artistic director of the venue.

His candidacy will be presented for approval to the Minister of Culture and Monument Protection of Georgia Mikheil Giorgadze in the near future.

Thursday's voting featured Maisuradze and Bagration-Gruzinsky along seven other candidates running for the position including former director David Kintsurashvili.

Born in Tbilisi, Maisuradze graduated from the Shota Rustaveli Theatre and Film Georgia State University with a degree in acting before joining the State Opera House of Georgia company as soloist in 1989.

Aged 49, Maisuradze joined the Bolshoi Theatre of Moscow in 1995 and performed leading roles in famous classical productions including La Traviata, Aida and Tosca.

The Georgian tenor also taught at the Galina Vishnevskaya Centre for Opera Singing in the Russian capital.

Maisuradze is recipient of international awards including the First Prize at the 1994 Francisco Vinas Competition for Vocalists in Barcelona, Spain and the International Jussi Bjorling Competition for Tenors in Sweden.