On September 22, 2017, George Gagnidze will return to the Hamburg State Opera as Alfio in Cavalleria Rusticana and Tonio in Pagliacci, the first of a series of five performances running through October 12, 2017. The Verismo double bill, presented in a Giancarlo Del Monaco production, will be conducted by Maestro Josep Caballé-Domenech and will co-star Elena Zhidkova as Santuzza, Teodor Ilincai as Turiddu, Alfred Kim as Canio and Hayoung Lee as Nedda.

“Singing Alfio in Cavalleria rusticana and Tonio in Pagliacci in one night is particularly challenging”, states George Gagnidze. “It is important to carefully dose one’s energy, since one is singing two roles in just one night. On the other hand, it is exciting to be able to embody two different characters one right after the other, especially when the roles are so interesting like Alfio and Tonio. I’m happy to return to the Staatsoper Hamburg, where I’ve also sung Iago in Otello and the title role of Simon Boccanegra. It is a beautiful theatre with great acoustics and I love working here. Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci are two operas I’ve performed all over the world. My most important assignment for these operas so far has been the new production at the Metropolitan Opera in 2015 that was broadcast in many cinemas worldwide.”

Other opera companies where the Georgian baritone has presented these roles include the Vienna State Opera, the Gran Teatro del Liceu Barcelona and the Los Angeles Opera. In the 2017/2018 season, in addition to the Hamburg production, the Georgian baritone will sing Tonio at the Metropolitan Opera, and both of them at the Teatro dell’Opera Rome.

Additional engagements of George Gagnidze’s current season include Amonasro in Aida at the Teatro Real Madrid and at the Teatro alla Scala Milan, and his debut as Barnaba in La Gioconda at the Deutsche Oper Berlin.

Information about Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci at the Hamburg State Opera:

Cavalleria rusticana:

Elena Zhidkova (Santuzza), Teodor Ilincai (Turiddu), George Gagnidze (Alfio), Dorottya Láng, Renate Spingler (Mamma Lucia).

Pagliacci:

Alfred Kim (Canio), Hayoung Lee (Nedda), George Gagnidze (Tonio), Oleksiy Palchykov (Beppe), Alexey Bogdanchikov (Silvio), Peter Veit (primo contadino), Mariusz Koler (secondo contadino).

Josep Caballé-Domenech (conductor): Giancarlo Del Monaco (stage director).

Performances: September 22, 26; October 4, 7, 12, 2017

http://www.staatsoper-hamburg.de/en/playing_schedule/play_cast.php?AuffNr=145809#pagenav