Anita Rachvelishvili

Anita Rachvelishvili (, ra-tch—veli-shvili; born 1984 in Tbilisi) is a Georgian operatic mezzo-soprano. She is especially known for singing Verdi; conductor Riccardo Muti said in 2018: "She is without doubt the best Verdi mezzo-soprano today on the planet. Without. Doubt." She is also well known for singing Bizet's Carmen. Opera News magazine has stated that "Rachvelishvili is a unique dramatic presence. Her dark, smoldering eyes and cascading black curls are striking, but what is unusual is the juxtaposition of fiery surface and an inward-focused quality, seeming to draw power from some secret space." Her mother did folk dance and ballet, her father was a composer and bass guitarist, and both did some singing. She then enjoyed singing popular music on the order of Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. This production of Carmen in 2009 with tenor Jonas Kaufmann as Don José was televised worldwide and brought Anita Rachvelishvili to international attention. Of this break she has said, "it was unbelievable and a fabulous challenge for me, something which changed a lot in my life." her Carmen came into significant demand. She has expressed the desire to promulgate Georgian music: "Yes, we have lots of beautiful operas in Georgian. I hope to sing Georgian opera in Europe or America someday!" and in 2018 at the Metropolitan Opera. A New York Times review of the last of these was highly praiseful, calling her performance "stupendous", especially highlighting her singing across titular star Anna Netrebko: "[both] sang ferociously as they hurled accusatory phrases at each other. Yet each found moments in the music to suggest the womanly longing that consumes them."

Recorded works She has appeared in DVDs of Orfeo ed Euridice and Prince Igor She also sang on an album by Italian progressive rock band Profusion.

Albums Year Title Label 2018 AnitaSony Classical2021"Elegie"Sony Classical