Missing diva: I’ve been very sick for two years
OperaA health bulletin from the sought-after Georgian soprano Anita Rachvelshvili:
My dearest friends! It’s been a long time since my last post or any information that came directly from me!
I was very sick! I’ve had very very difficult last couple of years!
My health was getting worse and I tried to stay strong and keep going, for my family, for our Little angel, for Opera and for love that I have for what I do.
I tried hard but as you know we can not force our health. I kept going till I could but with little success and lots of suffering!
I had to stop at the beginning of June and take care of myself! I am so sorry! It was a very difficult decision!
I feel better and I am being treated by the best team of doctors and I will be back very soon!
I will tell you my story as soon as possible and we will talk a lot about all the issues that a woman can have doing what we do!
Meanwhile I want to say thank you to my amazing Husband, who is always there for me. To my friends and family who were there for me, to all the theaters, casting directors and intendants who supported me in a very difficult period and the most important, a huge thank you to my amazing manager Alan Green, he was there for me for every second and for every difficulty that I’ve encountered.
I am so grateful for having amazing people in my life and I feel lucky and blessed!
Wish you all health and happiness and looking forward to seeing you soon on stage
Madame Rachvelshvili is a mezzosoprano.
Yes, and, as Muti told the NYT, the “best Verdi mezzo” around — even if in the good old days she would have been listed as a contralto.
True as this may be, this is the best response you can muster for a fellow human’s difficult admission of an ongoing health problem?
I wish Ms. Rachvelshvili a fast and thorough recovery. Your seat is waiting for you!
Begging for sympathy. Can you imagine Callas or Sutherland writing this drivel? Grow up, hon. Embarrassing!
don’t bother Norman L. with details
These past few years have proved to be extremely stressful times for many creative artists. I’m sure we all wish Anita well in her recovery. Take as long as you need! Rest! Relax! Don’t worry about the future! You’ll be back stronger than ever!
She’s due on stage in Munich 11 days from now.
Ruthie, soccer (your football!) Is just a metaphor for the amazingly confusing and frustratingly complex totality of the contemporary British “state of affairs” that is the heart of all of Graham’s plays. What you don’t know about soccer (er…football) really is not all that important…it’s about the game of LIFE. About our obsession with winning and losing…in sports, business, politics (national and international). About making the supreme effort in everything yet realizing in advance that even that will probably not be enough. The true soul of “Dear England” (and all of Graham’s other works) is the “downfall of the British Empire” and how do Englanders cope with this monumental tragedy, individually and collectively!
What ARE you talking about?
I feel sad for her career path in the past years, clearly giving birth made her whole singing unsustainable, but the fact that she mentions Alan Green is stupid! Why thank him? Because he probably insisted for her to go to so many big venues where she could not sing, so she has made a bad impression on both the intendants and the audiences alike. A wise agent, and a wise singer, would never accept to go on a stage like this. Alan Green might have pushed Kaufmann as well, as it happened to him for the past year… However, the decision stands with the artist in the end, not the agent.
Curious case if directors will continue to invite both her and Kaufmann, both with immense limits in their singing abilities. Too many heavy roles, all too soon. One cannot sing everything!
“clearly giving birth made her whole singing unsustainable”
Please explain.
Trying to explain here: Pregnancy and birth are known to affect a woman’s voice, I believe it affects women in all kind of different ways and it also depends if the singer is singing (and pushing her vocal chords to the limit) during or immediately after pregnancy… and Rachvelshvili was certainly ill advised (by Alan Green??) and pushed her voice to the limits when she needed to rest.
Pregnancy can produce swollen vocal cords (which means no singing is allowed), change of vocal range, fragile blood vessels and reduced lung capacity, all of which are directly connected to singing… this is because of the many hormonal changes and also having in mind that the voice comes out of above the stomach (diaphragm), not from the throat… She is young after all, but her vocal capacity has sunken/became unsustainable. I honestly don’t believe that her voice can ever recover, certainly her top is gone.
I think she needed to post a message to tell how everyone around her was so stupid not to tell her what to do (simply not sing), and I still cannot believe that one singer can travel to the USA and all around Europe, knowing that she cannot deliver anything, sing one performance of each run and then cancel the rest. I am sorry to say, but it’s stupid.
After Kaufmann’s message a few days ago, she thought she had to explain her cancellations too. Of course, totally different reasons (Kaufmann thought he can sing everything, and he can’t, but it’s too late now)… it all leaves a bitter taste. It is sad in the end
She sang Amneris at the Met in December 2022, not sure why it was needed under the circumstances.
I have enjoyed some fine performances by her in the past and hope that she returns to good health soon. I send her my best wishes for recovery.
Prayers and love for a really great singer. The best Carmen I ever saw and was looking forward to seeing her Azucena in San Francisco this September.
Isn’t it funny how a post about Anita R becomes the usual tirade about Jonas Kaufmann. What is wrong with you people. Quit your desperate whining about Kaufmann. Get a life!
I am surprised at the lack of compassion and understanding for someone who is suffering physically and emotionally. Norman Lebrecht, thank you for your tasteful introduction.
I am surprised that someone who is sick for 2 years is going on to sing for 2 years at major Houses