Anita Rachvelishvili to open Greek National Opera's summer-long festival
Mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili will lead the opening performance for the summer-long programme of performances at archaeological sites across Greece. Photo: Dario Acosta.
Tweet 
Share
Georgia's international opera star Anita Rachvelishvili will lead the launch of the Greek National Opera's three-month-long festival this month, with the event set to bring dozens of performances to archaeological sites across the country.
The mezzo-soprano will step onto a stage at Athens' Roman Agora site on July 18 to bring her vocal talent to bear in renditions of arias from operas by composers including Camille Saint-Saëns, Giuseppe Verdi and Giacomo Meyerbeer.
With the show, Rachvelishvili will return to the capital two years following her appearance in the Greek company's production of Carmen, an iconic role for the singer who "has been carving out a hugely successful trajectory at the world’s leading opera houses" (festival organisers).
[T]he much sought-after Rachvelishvili – whom Riccardo Mutti described as 'the best mezzo-soprano today on the planet'[...] returns to Greece for her first solo recital," a preview from organisers said.
The event, promised by organisers to be a "unique operatic experience" and led by conductor Lukas Karytinos, will open the Athens company's series of over 100 events held at 70 archaeological sites across three months. Performers will feature in selections involving arias, classical music and dance productions presented by the GNO Ballet troupe.
The move takes the opportunity offered by the Ministry of Culture and Sports of Greece through its initiative to use archaeological sites as open-air performance venues, in the realm of COVID-19 complications for theatres and troupes in closed spaces.
Between July 18-September 15, it will comprise 20 different programmes in music, opera, operetta and dance for 111 performances, to mark a "return to the relationship between the artists and the audience" in the post-lockdown reality.
The full programme of the festival can be viewed on the official GNO website.
Georgian opera star Anita Rachvelishvili will be a principal performer in the first new production of Samson et Dalila at New York’s famed Metropolitan Opera in two decades, when she steps on the stage this week.
Georgia’s internationally recognised mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili has drawn praise from classical music critics for her “show-stopping” debut in Adriana Lecouvreur at New York’s Metropolitan Opera House.
Georgian mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili will be cast in a month-long bill of the classic Prince Igor at Opera Bastille in Paris starting next week, starring as Kontchakovna in the show.
Opera-goers can find in-demand star Anita Rachvelishvili on the stage of the Dutch National Opera for an ongoing double bill of Cavalleria rusticana/Pagliacci, which opened with an “unforgettable opening night” on Thursday.
Baritone Misha Kiria will be back on stage following the lockdown that paralysed opera seasons worldwide with four shows of Falstaff at the Deutsche Oper Berlin this fall.
Mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili will be on stage in the north of Spain on Saturday to join pianist Vincenzo Scalera in a recital hosted by the Bilbao Association of Friends of the Opera.
Historical ties between Georgian and Greek communities and relations between the two countries are the central subject of a National Archives of Georgia exhibition that opened its doors in Tbilisi on Wednesday.
Georgian mezzo-soprano Natalia Kutateladze is one of 16 finalists of the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition, a contest marking its 20th edition and broadcast on TV and online through June 19.
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.