Lado Ataneli - Baritone

Lado Ataneli -"One of the healthiest, roundest, most mellifluous voices on the planet" (L.A. Times, October 2002) -is one of the world's most sought-after interpreters of Verdi, Puccini and verismo roles.

The Georgian baritone studied at the State Conservatory in his home city, Tiflis. In 1989 he debuted as Renato in Un Ballo in maschera at the Tiflis National Theater. In 1991 he won First Prize and the Grand Prix at the International Francisco-Vinas Competition in Barcelona. His string of successes continued with first place awards in such competitions as the "I Cestelli" vocal competition and the 15th Belvedere Competition in Vienna.

Lado Ataneli's international career began in 1996. Since then, he has regularly appeared in such roles as Scarpia, Sharpless, Tonio, Alfio, Gerard, Jago, Giorgio Germont, Jack Rance, Don Carlo Vargas, Renato, Simone Boccanegra, Amonasro, Rigoletto, Barnaba, Rodrigo and Conte di Luna at the Vienna State Opera, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Hamburg State Opera and the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. He is equally at home on stages in Zurich, Paris, London, Madrid, Barcelona, Los Angeles, Tokyo, New York etc. as well.

Together with maestro Riccardo Muti, Lado Ataneli developed the role of Verdi's Macbeth; in 1997 this proved to be the baritone's superb, highly celebrated debut at the Scala in Milan. First appearances at the Grand Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, the Gran Teatre Lissabon as Renato and his debut as Nabucco with James Conlon at the Opera National Paris, Bastille followed in the 1999/2000 season. Since then, Lado Ataneli has been asked to sing Nabucco time and time again, appearing successfully as the King of Babylon in subsequent years at the Vienna State Opera, in Hamburg, the Festival in Orange, in Cinncinati, Los Angeles, Bilbao, and in 2003 under the musical direction of James Levine at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. In 2003, Lado Ataneli sang together with Placido Domingo at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in Franco Zefirellis production of I Pagliacci. In the same year he sang the role of Barnaba in the complete edition of La Gioconda, again with Placido Domingo, and under the musical direction of Marcello Viotti. He has appeared in Italy as Giorgio Germont in Venice, the Grand Pretre De Dagon in Genoa and Scarpia in Trieste.

Lado Atanelis recently appeared in I Pagliacci and as Macbeth (under James Levine) at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, in Don Carlos at the L.A. Opera as well as in Macbeth and I Vespri Siciliani at the Washington Opera. In 2009 he gives his debut as Barnaba at Teatro Real/Madrid and at the Deutsche Oper Berlin.

His diary is also filled with numerous gala concerts that are broadcast in television and radio. In 2007 he sang a solo gala concert at the Deutschen Oper Berliin. In 2002, the "Academy of Sciences of the Caucasian People" made Lado Ataneli a member of honor. In his home country Georgia he was honored with several awards for his artistic engagement throughout the world.

In 2005, Lado Ataneli recorded his first solo CD “Opera Arias” with the Slovakischen Rundfunkorchester under the musical direction of Ivan Anguélov.