From: Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia. LA Opera: title role of Rigoletto (2010, debut); Tonio in Pagliacci (2015).
Lauded by the New York Times for his "expressive, resonant baritone", "insightful phrasing" and "confident, imposing presence", George Gagnidze ranks among the leading singers of his genre.
In 2009, the dramatic baritone made his sensational debut at the Metropolitan Opera as Rigoletto and has since then returned in more than 100 performances, singing roles such as Macbeth, Amonasro (Aida), Scarpia (Tosca), Michele (Il Tabarro), Tonio (Pagliacci), Alfio (Cavalleria Rusticana) and Shaklovity (Khovanshchina).
Regularly invited by the most prestigious international opera companies, engagements of this 2021/22 season include Scarpia in Tosca at the Metropolitan Opera and at the Teatro San Carlo of Naples, Amonasro in Aida at LA Opera, Germont in La Traviata at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Michele in Il Tabarro at the BBC Proms, the title roles of Macbeth at the Palau de les Arts Valencia and of Nabucco at the Staatsoper Hamburg, the Teatro Real of Madrid and the Tbilisi Opera House for a gala performance on the occasion of the inauguration of a Star with his name engraved in front of the theatre.
Already announced for the 2022/23 season are his debut with the Dallas Opera in the title role of Rigoletto, a part he has also performed at the Staatsoper Hamburg; Amonasro in Aida at the Metropolitan Opera, Scarpia in Tosca at the Gran Teatre del Liceu of Barcelona and his role debut as the High Priest of Dagon in Samson et Dalila at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin.
Among his recent performances are the title part of Rigoletto and Michele in Il Tabarro at the Metropolitan Opera, the title role of Macbeth at the Ópera de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the title part of Nabucco and Barnaba in La Gioconda at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Iago in Otello for his debut at the Washington National Opera, Germont in La Traviata at the Gran Teatre del Liceu, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and the Teatro San Carlo of Naples.
Other past highlights include Rigoletto, La Traviata (Germont), Tosca and Aida at the Teatro alla Scala, Nabucco (title role) and Tosca at the Vienna State Opera, Otello (Iago), La Traviata, Tosca, Francesca da Rimini and Aida at Opéra National of Paris, Simon Boccanegra (title role), Tosca and Aida at the Teatro Real Madrid, Andrea Chénier (Carlo Gérard) and Aida at the San Francisco Opera, Rigoletto at the Festival of Aix-en-Provence, Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci at Gran Teatro del Liceu of Barcelona, Rigoletto and Pagliacci at LA Opera, Rigoletto, Andrea Chénier and Tosca at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Luisa Miller (Miller) at the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia in Valencia, Nabucco and La Traviata at the Arena of Verona, Khovanshchina at the BBC Proms in London and Otello (Iago) at the Greek National Opera of Athens, Deutsche Oper Berlin and the Staatsoper Hamburg, where he has also sung in Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci.
Born in Tbilisi and trained at the State Conservatory of his home town, George Gagnidze debuted as Renato in Un Ballo in Maschera in 1996 at the Paliashvili State Opera. He entered the “Concorso Voci Verdiane” in 2005 as an award-winner of the “Leyla Gencer Voice Competition” and the “Elena Obraztsova Competition”. The jury, chaired by José Carreras and Katia Ricciarelli, awarded him first prize for his outstanding vocal interpretation. After launching his international career from Germany, he was soon engaged by many of the world's important opera houses.
In the course of his career, George Gagnidze, who now masters the genre of dramatic heroic baritone, has worked with many renowned conductors and directors, including Daniel Barenboim, Semyon Bychkov, James Conlon, Plácido Domingo, Gustavo Dudamel, Mikko Franck, James Levine, Jesús López Cobos, Fabio Luisi, Nicola Luisotti, Lorin Maazel, Zubin Mehta, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Gianandrea Noseda, Daniel Oren, Kirill Petrenko and Yuri Temirkanov; Luc Bondy, Henning Brockhaus, Liliana Cavani, Robert Carsen, Giancarlo Del Monaco, Michael Mayer, David McVicar, Peter Stein, Robert Sturua and Francesca Zambello.
In September 2021, the star baritone presented his first solo album on the Orfeo label featuring arias by Leoncavallo, Giordano, Verdi, Wagner and Mozart, which was immediately nominated for the prestigious 2022 International Classical Music Awards in the Vocal Music category. His DVD/Blu-Ray recordings include Tosca from the Metropolitan Opera, Aida from La Scala and Nabucco from the Arena of Verona.
Learn more at GeorgeGagnidze.com.
