Georgian mezzosoprano Khatuna Mikaberidze most recent projects include her debut at Bolschoi Theatre as Ortrud in Lohengrin as well as the same role at the Felsenreitschule Salzburg, among others. In the past season she has debuted at Staatstheater Kassel as Santuzza.
She had been engaged at the Hannover Staatsoper as a soloist since 2006, has received extraordinary critical acclaim for her creation of the roles of Venus in Tannhäuser and of Eboli in Don Carlo. Other leading roles at the Hannover Staatsoper include Carmen, Diana (La Calisto), Fricka, (Das Rheingold, Die Walküre), and Waltraute (Götterdämmerung). She made as well her debuts as both Jeanne in Penderecki’s The Devil of Loudun and as Frugola in Il Tabarro.
Ms. Mikaberidze has also shown herself to be a brilliant interpreter of modern music, as seen in her performances of the Hannover Staatsoper’s award-winning production of Luigi Nono´s Intoleranza 1960 (2011 Faust Award for Best New Opera Production), and in concert with the Hannover Staatstheater Orchestra in Luciano Berio´s Folk Songs.
An artist in great demand, Ms. Mikaberidze’s most recent guest engagements lead her to the Norwegian Opera in Oslo as Eboli (Don Carlo), Theater Bremen as Amneris (Aida), the Hamburg Staatsoper as Maddalena (Rigoletto), and Theater Basel as Jezibaba (Rusalka). A repeat guest at the Vienna Volksoper, she won high praise for her 20 Viennese debut as the Mother in Luigi Dallapiccola’s Il Prigioniero, a role she repeated at the Frankfurt Opera in 2005.
From 2003 to 2006 Khatuna Mikaberidze was engaged by the Landestheater Linz. Her appearances in Linz encompassed many of the great mezzo roles, such as Carmen, Jezibaba, the Grand Duchess of Gerolstein, and Count Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus).
Ms. Mikaberidze made her German debut in 2001 as Acuzena (Il Trovatore) at the Dortmund Opera, and began her engagement as a soloist at the Meiningen Theater that season, where she sang Dorabella (Cosi fan tutte), Jezibaba (Rusalka), and Brangäne (Tristan und Isolde).
Ms. Mikaberidze began her professional career as a soloist with the Batumi Opera and with the Tiflis Opera in Georgia, where she was engaged immediately after completing her studies at the Tiflis Conservatory.
Amneris – Aida Staatsoper Hannover 2018
…musste sich von Khatuna Mikaberidze als Amneris geschlagen geben. Die Georgierin sang in der Form ihres Lebens und ließ an die größten Vertreter ihres Faches zurückdenken . Die wunderbar timbrierte Mezzosopranstimme reichte mühelos und bombensicher bis in die Höhe. Mit schier unerschöpflichen Kraftreserven sang sie alle Anderen auf der Bühne schlicht an die Wand.
Opernglas, Mai 2018
Brangäne – Tristan und Isolde Staatstheater Hannover 2018
…kommt man nicht umhin, Khatuna Mikaberidzes Brangäne als die sängerische Sensation des Abends bezeichnen zu müssen. Bereits der Dialog mit Isolde im ersten Aufzug zeigte deutlich, dass ihr wunderbar warm timbrierter Mezzosopran auch über hochdramatische Qualitäten verfügt. Der Wachtgesang im zweiten Aufzug war ein weiterer Höhepunkt. Mikaberidze formte hier schier endlose Bögen, so sicher war ihre Technik. Dass sie später selbst einmal eine interessante Isolde werden kann, scheint nach diesem Abend durchaus möglich. (S.Mauß)
Opernglas, November 2018
