Court papers have been filed in New York by the Georgian mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili, claiming that the Metropolitan Opera cancelled her contract while she was pregnant.
She says the contract, which included Aida, La Gioconda, Carmen and Don Carlo from 2022 to 2025, was worth in excess of $400,000.
The Met annulled the deal in January 2023, claiming ‘deterioration of vocal quality.’ According to the plaintiff, the Met initially offered to pay out her contract, then withdrew the offer. She says Peter Gelb and Riccardo Muti had formerly proclaimed her the world’s ‘greatest dramatic mezzo-soprano’.
Rachvelshvili, 40, said: ‘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… After supporting the Met throughout the pandemic, I am disappointed, to say the least, at this harmful treatment.’
She has recently sung Rusalka in Prague and will star this summer as Carmen in Verona.
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