Khibla Gerzmava and Elīna Garancha

On November 24, the Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatory will host a joint concert by two renowned opera singers—Khibla Gerzmava (soprano) and Elīna Garanča (mezzo-soprano). The celebrated divas, who have conquered the heights of the international opera world, will perform together for the first time. This unique concert will feature the Russian State Academic Symphony Orchestra named after E.F. Svetlanov, conducted by Fabio Mastrangelo. The event will take place as part of the 19th International Classical Music Festival Khibla Gerzmava Invites….

Elīna Garanča is a name known throughout the world. She has achieved international acclaim thanks to her distinctive voice, refined vocal style, striking appearance, and exceptional dramatic talent. A graduate of the Latvian Academy of Music in Riga, Garanča made her stage debut at the Meiningen Theatre and, in 2005, became an exclusive artist of Deutsche Grammophon. In May 2013, the Vienna State Opera, where Garanča performed eighteen roles in more than 140 productions, honored her with the title of Kammersängerin, awarded to exceptionally distinguished performers.

Among Garanča’s triumphs were productions of I Capuleti e i Montecchi at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Anna Bolena at the Metropolitan Opera, and Carmen with Roberto Alagna as Don José in Richard Eyre’s production, which was broadcast in cinemas worldwide. Garanča offers not only an extraordinarily beautiful and instantly recognizable voice, impeccable technique, and an unquestionable sense of style, but also a profound emotional understanding of every role. She performs on the world’s leading opera stages, where her appearances are among the most anticipated events of the season.

Khibla Gerzmava is a People’s Artist of Russia and the Republic of Abkhazia and has been a leading soloist of the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Academic Musical Theatre since 1995. Today, she is regarded as one of Russia’s most sought-after singers on the international opera stage and one of the finest interpreters of the bel canto repertoire. Her name on a poster is a guarantee of a sold-out performance anywhere in the world.

Even in her youth, Khibla made a promise to herself that she would perform only at first-class theaters and only in leading roles—and she has never deviated from that decision. She has received standing ovations at London’s Royal Opera House, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Vienna State Opera, and Milan’s La Scala. Admired by audiences around the world, she excels in some of opera’s most demanding roles and has received numerous prestigious honors, including the only Grand Prix ever awarded in the history of the International Tchaikovsky Competition (1994). Khibla Gerzmava tours internationally with concert programs in France, Austria, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Greece, Spain, the United States, Japan, Sweden, Switzerland, Israel, and throughout Russia.

Gerzmava’s artistic achievements have been recognized with numerous awards. She received the Moscow Opera Festival Theatre Award in the “Best Singer” category (2000) and the Golden Orpheus Theatre Award for “Singer of the Year” (2001). She has also received the Russian opera award Casta Diva and twice won the national Golden Mask Theatre Award for leading roles in exceptionally demanding operas: Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor and Cherubini’s Médée. In 2021, Gerzmava received an award from the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation for achievements in Culture and Art, and in 2020 she was awarded the State Prize for outstanding achievements in the arts.

In 2001, the singer founded the Khibla Gerzmava Invites… festival in her native Abkhazia. Since 2014, the festival has expanded internationally, taking place at the Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatory and the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Musical Theatre, as well as at Vienna’s Golden Hall of the Musikverein, the legendary Carnegie Hall, and in the Swiss resort town of St. Moritz. In 2019, the 17th edition of the festival was held at Dynamo Stadium in Sukhum.

The concert will be conducted by one of Russia’s and the world’s most renowned musicians, Fabio Mastrangelo. A Knight of the Order of the Star of Italy and laureate of the Mario Gusella International Conducting Competition, Maestro Mastrangelo has served as Principal Conductor of the Moscow Symphony Orchestra “Russian Philharmonic” since 2018, having begun his collaboration with the ensemble more than a decade ago.

Fabio Mastrangelo was born in Bari, Italy, and began studying piano at the age of five under the guidance of his father. He later graduated from the Niccolò Piccinni Conservatory in Bari, the Geneva Conservatory, where he studied with Maria Tipo, and the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he earned a performance diploma as a pianist. He also attended masterclasses with Aldo Ciccolini, Seymour Lipkin, and Paul Badura-Skoda, and won first prize in piano competitions in Osimo (1980) and Rome (1986).

The Russian State Academic Symphony Orchestra named after E.F. Svetlanov is one of the country’s oldest symphony orchestras, celebrating its 85th anniversary in 2021. Over the years, the orchestra has been led by such outstanding musicians as Alexander Gauk, Nathan Rakhlin, Konstantin Ivanov, Yevgeny Svetlanov, Vasily Sinaisky, Mark Gorenstein, and Vladimir Jurowski. Since 2021, its Artistic Director has been Vasily Petrenko, a world-renowned conductor who collaborates with leading opera houses and symphony orchestras around the globe.

Some of the most distinguished conductors of their time have appeared on the orchestra’s podium, while its list of celebrated soloists and ensembles with whom it has collaborated is equally impressive. The orchestra’s extensive discography includes hundreds of vinyl records and CDs released by leading Russian and international record labels.