Mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili, hailed by Muti as “the greatest mezzo-soprano of today,” as Santuzza; baritone Luca Salsi as Alfio; mezzo-soprano Ronnita Miller as Lucia, Alfio’s mother; mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke as Lola, Alfio’s wife, and Alessandra Visconti as a villager.
Read MoreMoving, heart-wrenching and intense. Anita Rachvelishvili was all that and more Thursday evening in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s concert realization of Pietro Mascagni’s one-act opera, “Cavalleria Rusticana (Rustic Chivalry).”
Read MoreMaestro Riccardo Muti expressed his admiration for the Georgian mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili, who will sing the very demanding role of Santuzza in "Cavalleria Rusticana" with CSY under the baton of Riccardo Muti.
Read MoreBeloved by opera audiences around the world, Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana is an impassioned story of tormented love wrapped in music of fervent vibrancy. Riccardo Muti, whose command of 19th-century Italian opera is “virtually without peer” (Bachtrack), leads concert performances of the complete one-act opera with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus and an international cast.
Read MoreThe second part of the evening was also on a very high level: Anita Rachvelishvili unveils the drama of a betrayed and disgraced woman, who had lost everything just because she had been in love with a man. The way she controls her voice is very impressive: powerful like a storm which destroys everything on its way, but also capable of light and caressing notes, as in "Inneggiamo il Signor non é morto."
Read MoreThe evening was stolen lock, stock and barrel by Anita Rachvelishvili who delivered a rock-star performance as the villainous Amneris. Standing imperiously, with her dark mascara and long black tresses, the tall Georgian mezzo-soprano looked like she meant business before she sang a note.
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