News

Amonasro in "Aida" at the Metropolitan Opera

On December 2, 6 and 10, 2022, George Gagnidze returns to the Metropolitan Opera as Amonasro in Aida. The legendary Sonja Frisell staging saw George making his role debut as Amonasro in 2012 and is being performed for the last time this season at the MET. Paolo Carignani conducts a cast which also includes Latonia Moore in the title role, Olesya Petrova as Amneris, Brian Jagde as Radamès, Christian Van Horn as Ramfis and Alexandros Stavrakakis as Il Re.

[Photo: Ken Howard / MetOpera]

Scarpia in "Tosca" at the MET

George Gagnidze brings back his Scarpia in Tosca to the Metropolitan Opera. Following 11 performances as the villainous chief of police at the Met in the 2021/22 season, he stars in five shows of David McVicar's staging this season conducted by Carlo Rizzi, with Aleksandra Kurzak in the title role and Michael Fabiano / Roberto Alagna as Cavaradossi. The October 27 show will be the 1000th Met performance of Tosca and George will be on stage for the 40th time as Scarpia at this opera house alone on October 31.

"La traviata" at Teatro San Carlo

George Gagnidze returns to the Teatro San Carlo to replace a colleague as Germont in La traviata on July 22 and 24. The performances are lead by Francesco Ivan Ciampa. In Ferzan Özpetek's staging, Pretty Yende / Claudia Pavone appear in the title role and Francesco Demuro as Alfredo. George Gagnidze has sung Germont in Napoli only last year, in a semi-staging due to the pandemic. He has performed the role at such stages as the Teatro alla Scala, Paris Opera, Arena di Verona, Gran Teatre del Liceu and the Deutsche Oper Berlin. At the Teatro San Carlo, he has also sung Scarpia in Tosca this April and in 2020 as well as Alfio in Cavalleria rusticana in summer 2019.

George Gagnidze returns to Teatro Real Madrid as Nabucco

On July 6, 9, 12, 15 and 19, 2022, George Gagnidze will perform the title role of Nabucco at the Teatro Real of Madrid. The staging is by Andreas Homoki and Nicola Luisotti will conduct. The July 15 performance will be video streamed world wide. George Gagnidze has previously sung Nabucco at prestigious stages such as the Chorégies d'Orange, Arena di Verona, Wiener Staatsoper, Deutsche Oper Berlin and the Staatsoper Hamburg. He returns the Teatro Real following his 2010 house debut as Simon Boccanegra and subsequent appearances in Tosca and Aida.

Amonasro in "Aida" at LA Opera

On May 21 and 29, June 2, 4, 9 and 12, George Gagnidze will return to the Los Angeles Opera as Amonasro in Francesca Zambello's production of Aida which he premiered in 2016 in San Francisco. James Conlon will conduct, while the other roles will be sung by Latonia Moore, Melody Moore, Russell Thomas, Morris Robinson, Alaysha Fox, Peixin Chen and Anthony Ciaramitaro. George Gagnidze returns to Los Angeles after acclaimed performances in the title role of Rigoletto and as Tonio in Pagliacci. He is one of today's most requested Amonasros, having sung the role numerous times at the Metropolitan Opera, Paris Opera, Staatsoper Berlin, Teatro Real Madrid or the Teatro alla Scala, where he performed it in two different stagings.

"Tosca" at the Teatro San Carlo

George Gagnidze will take over the first two performances of "Tosca" at the Teatro San Carlo of Naples on April 20 and 23, replacing an ailing colleague. He will perform the role of Scarpia alongside Oksana Dyka in the title part and Jonas Kaufmann as Cavaradossi. Juraj Valčuha will conduct the production by Edoardo De Angelis which was first unveiled in Naples in 2020 with George Gagnidze as Scarpia. George Gagnidze sang a run of Tosca at the Metropolitan Opera earlier this season, where he has appeared in the role of Scarpia 36 times since 2009. He has also sung the role at Teatro alla Scala, Paris Opera, Berlin Staatsoper and Deutsche Oper, to only name a few. Photo by Luciano Romano 

"Macbeth" at the Palau de les Arts of Valencia

George Gagnidze returns to the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia of Valencia and to the title role of Verdi's Macbeth in April 2022. The performances are conducted by Michele Mariotti, while the staging is by Benedict Andrews. George Gagnidze has made his role debut as Macbeth in 2012 at the Metropolitan Opera. He made his house debut at the Palau de les Arts of Valencia in 2007 in a production of Simon Boccanegra singing Paolo and the title role and returned the following year as Miller in Luisa Miller. Both productions were conducted by Lorin Maazel.

Gala performance "Nabucco" and inauguration of star

On February 11, 2022, George Gagnidze will star in the title role of Nabucco at the Tbilisi State Opera. The one-off gala performance will be conducted by Mārtiņš Ozoliņš and will also feature Anastasia Boldyreva (Abigaille), Legi Imedashvili (Zaccaria), Irina Sherazadishvili (Fenena) and Otar Jorjikia (Ismaele), among others. The production is by Enrico Stinchelli. Following the show, a star in front of the opera house with George Gagnidze's name engraved in stone will be inaugurated.

"Tosca" at the Metropolitan Opera

In December 2021 and January 2022, George Gagnidze returns to the Metropolitan Opera as Scarpia in "Tosca". The role of the sadistic Roman chief of police is one of the baritone's most performed MET parts, having sung it on this stage 25 times. George Gagnidze appeared in the opening night and many revival performances of Luc Bondy's 2009/10 season "Tosca" staging and is now performing for the first time in the Met's 2017/18 production by David McVicar. The December run is conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, while the shows in January are led by Carlo Rizzi. George Gagnidze shares the stage with Sondra Radvanovsky/Elena Stikhina and Brian Jagde/Joseph Calleja in the other principal roles. 

Nabucco at Staatsoper Hamburg

On November 21, 2021, George Gagnidze will sing the title role in a one-off concert performance of Nabucco at the Staatsoper Hamburg conducted by Paolo Arrivabeni. The Georgian baritone, who has previously appeared at the Hamburg State Opera in such diverse roles as Iago in Otello, Alfio in Cavalleria rusticana, Tonio in Pagliacci and the title role in Simon Boccanegra, has already sung Nabucco in several international opera houses and festivals, including the Vienna State Opera, the Deutsche Oper Berlin and the Arena of Verona. 

George Gagnidze presents debut solo album

George Gagnidze presents his debut solo album on the Orfeo label on September 3. The recording includes arias from Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, Giordano's Andrea Chénier, Verdi's La traviata, Macbeth, Nabucco, Il trovatore, Un ballo in maschera, and Don Carlo, Wagner's Tannhäuser and Mozart's Don Giovanni and was recorded with the Staatskapelle Weimar led by Stefan Solyom.

The recording is available digitally or as CD on many online platforms and in international music stores.

Verdi's Macbeth in Las Palmas

On June 15, 2021, George Gagnidze makes his house debut at the Ópera de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in the title role of Verdi's Macbeth. George returns to the bloodthirsty character after having sung the part at the Metropolitan Opera and the Teatro Carlo Felice of Genoa. In Las Palmas, he will share the stage with Anna Pirozzi as his Lady Macbeth, Marko Mimica as Banco and Fabián Lara as Macduff. Francesco Ivan Ciampa will lead the production by Alfonso Romero which will be shown at the Auditorio Alfredo Kraus on June 15, 17 and 19. 

Germont in "La traviata" at the Teatro San Carlo

George Gagnidze will appear as Giorgio Germont in La traviata at the Teatro San Carlo of Naples. Having recently earned accolades for his "Germont père of great vocal authority and perfect accent" (Opera Áctual) at the Gran Teatre del Liceu, the baritone will return to the role in Naples in a semi staged version conducted by Karel Mark Chichon. The other leading roles will be sung by Ailyn Pérez / Aleksandra Kurzak (Violetta) and Leonardo Caimi / Ivan Magrì (Alfredo). George Gagnidze will sing the whole run, with shows taking place on May 14, 15, 16, 18, 20, 22 & 23.

George Gagnidze to return to Barcelona in "La traviata"

Reprising one of his signature roles, George Gagnidze will return to the Gran Teatre del Liceu in December singing Giorgio Germont in La traviata. The Georgian German naturalized baritone is set to sing seven performances, with the premiere taking place on December 4. He will be sharing the stage with two wonderful Violettas, Kristina Mkhitaryan and Lisette Oropesa and Pavol Breslik as Alfredo. Speranza Scappucci and Daniel Montané will conduct, the staging is by David McVicar. 

Barnaba in "La Gioconda" at Deutsche Oper Berlin

George Gagnidze is back on stage! His first performances following the global lockdown due to the Covid19 pandemic will take place on September 25 & 26 at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, were he will be singing Barnaba in concert performances of La Gioconda. Due to the current circumstances, only excerpts from the opera will be executed. George will be singing under the direction of Ivan Repusic and with Iréne Theorin, Joseph Calleja, Judit Kutasi, Beth Taylor, and Marko Mimica in the other roles.

"Tosca" at the MET cancelled due to coronavirus crisis

Unfortunately the Metropolitan Opera had to cancel the remainder of its 2019/20 season due to the coronavirus crisis. This also affects the David McVicar production of Tosca that was supposed to take place from March 26 to April 18 with George Gagnidze as Scarpia, Anna Netrebko / Jennifer Rowley in the title role and Najmiddin Mavlyanov / Brian Jagde in that of Cavaradossi conducted by Bertrand de Billy.

Scarpia in "Tosca" at the Teatro San Carlo

On January 23, 2020, George Gagnidze will return to the Teatro San Carlo in Naples after his acclaimed house debut there earlier in July. In Edoardo De Angelis's new production of Tosca, he will perform his signature role Scarpia under the baton of Donato Renzetti and alongside Monica Zanettin and Arsen Soghomonyan. There will be two more shows on January 25 and 29, 2020.

[Ph. D. Acosta]

Debut at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden

On January 6, George Gagnidze makes his debut at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in one of his most acclaimed roles, as Giorgio Germont in La traviata. Last season, the Georgian star baritone appeared in the part in much lauded performances at the Opéra Bastille of Paris. He has also sung it at the Teatro alla Scala and the Arena di Verona. In London, George Gagnidze appears under the baton of Daniel Oren and in the 1994 Richard Eyre staging. Dinara Alieva sings Violetta, Liparit Avetisyan Alfredo.

Debut at Washington National Opera

On October 26, 2019, George Gagnidze will make his debut at the Washington National Opera as Iago in Otello, in a David Alden production under the music direction of Maestro Daniele Callegari. The cast will also include Russell Thomas in the title role and Leah Crocetto as Desdemona. Earlier this year, George Gagnidze has performed Iago at the Opéra de Paris and the Deutsche Oper Berlin. There will be additional performances in Washington on October 30 and November 3, 8, 11, 16, 2019.

Nabucco at Deutsche Oper Berlin

On September 29 and October 2, 2019, George Gagnidze will return to the Deutsche Oper Berlin to star in the title role of Nabucco in a Keith Warner staging alongside Maria Guleghina as Abigaille, John Relyea as Zaccaria, Annika Schlicht as Fenena and Robert Watson as Ismaele. Carlo Montanaro will conduct. George Gagnidze has sung the role of Nabucco on prestigious stages including the Arena di Verona, where he performed it in a new production two years ago (available on DVD/Blu-Ray). 

"Cavalleria rusticana" in Matera

On August 2 and 3, 2019, George Gagnidze will sing Alfio in a special open-air production of Cavalleria rusticana at the Sassi di Matera. The performances will be part of Matera's European Capital of Culture festivities and live telecast by ARD, ARTE, RAI and SRI on August 3 at 9pm Central European Time. The staging will be by Giorgio Barberio Corsetti, Juraj Valčuha will conduct the Choir and Orchestra of the Teatro San Carlo. [Ph. L.Romano]

Debut at the Teatro San Carlo of Naples

On July 6, 2019 George Gagnidze will make his house debut at the prestigious Teatro San Carlo in Naples, singing Alfio in  Pippo Delbono's staging of Cavalleria rusticana conducted by Juraj Valčuha. Violeta Urmana / Veronica Simeoni will sing Santuzza, Marcelo Álvarez  / Roberto Aronica Turiddu, Elena Zilio Mamma Lucia and Leyla Martinucci Lola. There will be five performances on July 6, 9, 11, 13 and 14.

Iago at the Deutsche Oper Berlin

On June 8, 2019 George Gagnidze will return to the Deutsche Oper Berlin as Iago in Otello, in a production directed by Andreas Kriegenburg with Paolo Arrivabeni conducting. There will be two further performances, on June 14 and June 20. The cast will also include Russell Thomas in the title role, Guanqun Yu as Desdemona, and Attilio Glaser as Cassio, among others. George Gagnidze just performed Iago at the Opéra de Paris and will sing it later this year for his house debut at the Washington National Opera.

100th Performance as Rigoletto on May 4th at the Met

On April 26, 2019 George Gagnidze will return to the Metropolitan Opera as Rigoletto in Michael Mayer's production. Nicola Luisotti will conduct. There will be four additional performances, running through May 10. The third of these, on May 4, 2019, will mark Gagnidze's 100th performance of the role. The cast for this Rigoletto will also feature Matthew Polenzani/Stephen Costello, Rosa Feola, Ramona Zaharia, and Dimitry Ivashchenko. 

Scarpia in "Tosca" in Tbilisi

On April 14, 2019 George Gagnidze will sing Scarpia in a one-off performance of Tosca at the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet State Theatre. Nana Kavtarashvili will sing the title role and Valeriano Gamghebeli that of Cavaradossi. Gianluca Martinenghi will conduct, the staging is by Giancarlo del Monaco. George Gagnidze has sung Scarpia to great acclaim in a new production at the Metropolitan Opera; at the Paris Opera, the Teatro alla Scala, the Vienna State Opera, the Berlin State Opera and the Deutsche Oper Berlin. In 2020 he will reprise it at the Met.

Iago in "Otello" at Opéra National de Paris

On March 7, 2019 George Gagnidze will return to the Opéra National de Paris as Iago in Verdi's "Otello," joined by Roberto Alagna in the title role, and Aleksandra Kurzak as Desdemona. Bertrand de Billy will conduct, and the staging will be by Andre Șerban. Further performances will be on 10, 13, 16, 20, 23, 26 and 29 March 2019, and 01, 04, 07 and April 2019.

Double debut at the Royal Opera House of Muscat

On January 17 and 19, 2019 George Gagnidze will sing his first Sharpless in Madama Butterfly, making his debut at the Royal Opera House of Muscat in Oman. This will be George's second new Puccini role following his acclaimed Michele in Il tabarro at the Metropolitan Opera in November and December. In Oman George will share the stage with Maria José Siri as Cio-Cio-San, Roberto Aronica as Pinkerton and Veronica Simeoni as Suzuki. Marco Armiliato will conduct the Orquesta Sinfónica de Bilbao and the Coro Intermezzo, the staging will be by Joan Antón Rechi.

Debut as Michele in "Il tabarro"

On November 23 George Gagnidze will make his role debut as Michele in Il tabarro in the season premiere of the centennial production of Puccini's Il trittico at the Metropolitan Opera New York. Amber Wagner will sing Giorgetta and Marcelo Álvarez Luigi in Jack O’Brien’s staging conducted by Bertrand de Billy. The performance on December 8 will mark George's 100th MET performance since his 2009 house debut in the title role of Rigoletto.

Germont in "La traviata" at the Opéra de Paris

George Gagnidze will return to the Opéra national de Paris in an iconic Verdi baritone role, as Giorgio Germont in La traviata. The Georgian star baritone will appear in seven performances at Opéra Bastille from September 29 to October 17 and will sing with a cast which will also feature Aleksandra Kurzak in the title role and Jean‑François Borras as Alfredo Germont. Giacomo Sagripanti will conduct, the staging is by Benoît Jacquot. 

Debut with the LA Philharmonic as Iago in "Otello"

On July 15, 2018 George Gagnidze will make his debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, singing Iago in a one-off concert performance of Verdi's Otello at the Hollywood Bowl. George Gagnidze returns to Los Angeles after his past triumphs in the title role of Rigoletto and as Tonio in Pagliacci at the Los Angeles Opera. He made his role debut as Iago in Otello at the Staatsoper Hamburg in 2013, reprising the part at the Greek National Opera of Athens. In the 2018/19 season he is scheduled to perform it in Paris and Berlin.

Role debut as Barnaba in "La Gioconda" in Berlin

On June 28, 2018 George Gagnidze will make his role debut as Barnaba in Amilcare Ponchielli's La Gioconda in a historical Filippo Sanjust staging conducted by Pinchas Steinberg. The other roles will be sung by Hui He (La Gioconda), Daniela Barcellona (Laura), Alfred Kim (Enzo Grimaldo), Nicolas Testé / Ievgen Orlov (Alvise Badoero) and Judit Kutasi (La Cieca). There will be four performances with the last one taking place on July 7, closing the Deutsche Oper Berlin's 2017/18 season.

Simon Boccanegra in Tbilisi

George Gagnidze will reprise his acclaimed portrayal of Simon Boccanegra for a one-off gala performance of Verdi's masterpiece at the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet State Thatre on June 10, 2018. The cast includes Ramaz Chikviladze, Tamar Iveri, Otar Jorjikia, Giorgi Mchedlishvili, Giorgi Chelidze, Philipe Ghatchava and Manana Iordanishvili in the other roles. Avtandil Chkhenkeli will conduct, the staging is by Alfonso Signorini.

Amonasro in "Aida" at La Scala

George Gagnidze will return to the Teatro alla Scala, where he will sing Amonasro in Aida in Franco Zeffirelli's legendary 1963 staging conducted by Daniel Oren. Krassimira Stoyanova will sing the title role, Violeta Urmana Amneris, Fabio Sartori Radames, Vitalij Kowaljow Ramfis and Carlo Colombara Il re. Performances on May 08, 12, 15, 18, 23 and 31 as well as on June 03, 2018.

Amonasro in "Aida" at the Teatro Real Madrid

In March 2018 George Gagnidze will return to the Teatro Real to perform the role of Amonasro in Aida in a staging by Hugo de Ana conducted by Maestro Nicola Luisotti. He will sing eight performances on March 07, 10, 13, 17, 19, 21, 22 and 24. The cast will also feature Liudmyla Monastyrska / Anna Pirozzi (Aida), Violeta Urmana / Ekaterina Semenchuk (Amneris), Gregory Kunde / Alfred Kim (Radames), Roberto Tagliavini / Rafal Siwek (Ramfis) and Soloman Howard (Il re). Click here for more information and to buy tickets.

George Gagnidze to star at the 63rd Viennese Opera Ball

George Gagnidze is one of the opera stars performing at the 63rd Viennese Opera Ball at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York City on February 2, 2018. Other singers include KS René Pape, Ildar Abdrazakov, Angela Meade and Luca Pisaroni. Maestro Marco Armiliato conducts. 

Cavalleria Rusticana / Pagliacci in New York

In January and February 2018 George Gagnidze will be back at the Metropolitan Opera New York, where he will star in the double bill Cavalleria Rusticana / Pagliacci, singing the roles of Alfio and Tonio in David McVicar's production that he premiered in 2015. The rest of the cast will include Aleksandra Kurzak, Roberto Alagna, Ekaterina Semenchuk / Eva-Maria Westbroek and Alessio Arduini. Nicola Luisotti will conduct.

Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci in Hamburg

On September 22 & 26 and on October 4, 7 & 12, 2017 George Gagnidze will be back at the Staatsoper Hamburg to sing Alfio / Tonio in the double bill Cavalleria rusticana / Pagliacci at the Staatsoper Hamburg. 

Cover interview with Das Opernglas

George Gagnidze is the cover star of the September 2017 issue of Das Opernglas!

Telecast of Nabucco from Verona on ARTE

On August 26, 2017 at 9:45PM Central European Time ARTE will telecast Verdi's Nabucco live from the Arena di Verona with George Gagnidze in the title role. Don't miss it!

UK debut in Khovanshchina at the BBC Proms

On August 6, 2017 George Gagnidze will make his UK debut, singing Shaklovity in Mussorgsky's Khovanshchina at the BBC Proms. The one-off performance at the Royal Albert Hall will feature the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Tiffin Boys’ Choir, the BBC Singers and the Slovak Philharmonic Choir conducted by Semyon Bychkov. 

New production of Nabucco in Verona

George Gagnidze will open the 2017 season of the Arena di Verona in the title role of Arnaud Bernard's new production of Verdi's Nabucco conducted by Maestro Daniel Oren. The rest of the cast includes Walter Fraccaro, Stanislav Trofimov, Tatiana Melnychenko and Carmen Topciu. The premiere is on June 23 with repeat performances on June 29 and July 7.

Cover interview with Opera Now

George Gagnidze is the cover star of Opera Now's June issue! In the interview with the British magazine he talks about his upcoming summer festival appearances - a new production of Nabucco at the Arena di Verona and his UK debut at the BBC Proms - , the roles that have defined his career and much more.

One-off performance of "Tosca" at the Deutsche Oper Berlin

On May 28, 2017, George Gagnidze, who has just ended a highly acclaimed run of four performances as Carlo Gérard in Andrea Chénier at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, will appear in the same theater for one performance as Scarpia in Tosca conducted by Ivan Repusic. Alongside him, Maria José Siri will sing the title role and Alexandrs Antonenko that of Mario Cavaradossi.

George Gagnidze to take part in the benefit gala for the Deutsche AIDS-Stiftung in Bonn

On May 20, 2017 George Gagnidze will be one of the stars appearing in the benefit gala concert of the Deutsche Aids-Stiftung in Bonn. There will be a live audio stream at 7pm on the following link: https://aids-stiftung.de/infos-%C3%BCber-die-stiftung/veranstaltungen/operngala-bonn/gala-2017