Young Georgian opera artists join Staatsoper Berlin studio

Two young members of the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet State Theatre will work at one of the prominent international venues after joining the international studio of Berlin's Staatsoper Unter den Linden.

Giorgi Mtchedlishvili has been given a two-year contract and Giorgi Tchelidze has been taken on as a guest soloist by the International Opera Studio of the German company.

Their selection comes following their performance during the Young Artists Program, an initiative by Badri Maisuradze, artistic director of the Tbilisi Theatre, which facilitates exchange with some of the leading troupes around the world.

Mtchedlishvili, a baritone and Tchelidze, a bass, were noticed by Boris Anifantakis, director of the Staatsoper studio, at the program’s maiden show last year. The two singers went on stage to perform fragments from opera productions along with their fellow artists invited from Germany.

Their performance was followed by an invitation to audition in Berlin, resulting in the collaboration between the Staatsoper and the young artists.

Organisers of the Young Artists Program also plan to collaborate with other acclaimed opera troupes and institutions, including the New York Metropolitan Opera, the Bayerische Staatsoper and the Accademia Teatro alla Scala.