metropolitan opera: Last News

Anita Rachvelishvili was contracted to perform various shows at the legendary Manhattan opera, including “Aida,” “La Gioconda,” “Carmen” and “Don Carlo” from 2022 to 2025 — a deal worth upwards of $400,000.But instead of using her “sonorous voice” to belt out the famed works, the opera cancelled her remaining performances in January 2023, accusing Rachvelishvili, 40, of “deterioration of vocal quality,” she said in court papers.Rachvelishvili, who gave birth to her daughter in November 2021, admitted she was “temporarily limited in her very highest vocal range” after becoming a mom but said there was never an impact on her work.“She was nonetheless at all times ready, willing and able to perform the roles for which she was contracted,” she said in court papers, noting she has since “recovered her full vocal range.”She claims the Met and the union discriminated against her because she was pregnant.“I loved performing on the Met stage and looked forward to returning after the birth of my first child. I was shocked that I was not given a chance to recover and all of my contracts for the next two years were immediately canceled without pay,” she said in a statement.“After supporting the Met throughout the pandemic, I am disappointed, to say the least, at this harmful treatment.”Rachvelishvili, who hails from the former Soviet republic of Georgia and now lives in Tbilisi, was once heralded as the “greatest dramatic mezzo-soprano” by her Metropolitan Opera boss, Peter Gelb.