She didn’t leave on a high note.
The Metropolitan Opera booted the best mezzo soprano “on the planet” once she struggled to hit her high notes, the singer claims in a Manhattan Federal Court lawsuit.
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. In 2018, conductor Riccardo Muti declared her “the best Verdi mezzo-soprano today on the planet,” according to The New York Times.
Adding insult to injury, the Metropolitan Opera initially agreed to buy out Rachvelishvili’s contract, only to renege later and refuse to pay the $400,000, she alleged.
So she turned to her union — but they failed to go to bat for her, she said in court papers.
The American Guild of Musical Artists allegedly declined to file a grievance on Rachvelishvili’s behalf, she claimed in her legal filing.
Now Rachvelishvili, who returned to performing in November in Naples, Italy, is seeking unspecified damages against the opera and the guild.
“The cancellations at the Met negatively affected other bookings throughout the world,” said Rachvelishvili’s attorney, Leonard Egert. “Opera singers are booked out years in advance. This created a negative cascade event for her. It had a devastating effect but she’s coming back — slowly but surely.”
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Opera declined to comment on the litigation.
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