A Young Singer Takes the Opera World by Storm
A Young Singer Takes the Opera World by Storm
Anita Rachvelishvili is “without doubt the best Verdi mezzo-soprano today on the planet,” according to the conductor Riccardo Muti.
Late in the third act of “Adriana Lecouvreur,” Francesco Cilea’s irresistible potboiler of an opera, the vicious Princesse de Bouillon and Adriana, an actress, square off at a party, rivals for the love of the dashing Maurizio.
In the tumult, Maurizio makes a move toward Adriana, but the princess stops him. “Restate,” she commands, ordering him to stay by her.
On a recent morning deep within the Metropolitan Opera, where a new production of “Adriana” starring Anna Netrebko and Piotr Beczala opens on New Year’s Eve, the Georgian mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili made the three syllables of “restate” a paradox: a gorgeous snarl.
Diving into her chest voice, but not milking it or pushing too hard, her tone stayed round, warm and not all that loud, an iron fist in a cashmere glove. Listening, you felt like Maurizio, pinned to your seat by her sound and authority.
The passage is over in a second, but Ms. Rachvelishvili (pronounced rahtch-vel-ish-VEEL-ee), 34, has rocketed to stardom over the past few years with performances built from brief moments just like it: combinations of arresting vocalism and thoughtful subtlety. Her sensual, even elemental presence makes her particularly ideal for the daunting mezzo roles that anchor some of Verdi’s most important operas.
“Rachvelishvili was for me a revelation,” the eminent conductor Riccardo Muti, with whom she will sing “Aida” in Chicago in June, said in an interview. “She is without doubt the best Verdi mezzo-soprano today on the planet. Without. Doubt.”