Anita Rachvelishvili, mezzo soprano, was born in Georgia. She starred in the title role of the new production of Carmen (Bizet) which opened the 2009/10 season of the Teatro alla Scala in Milan conducted by Daniel Barenboim, a performance that was telecast throughout Europe. She made her North American debut for the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto, also as Carmen and subsequently made her German stage debut in the same role at the Staatsoper Berlin. She also performed Carmen at the Arena di Verona, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Metropolitan Opera, the Bavarian Staatsoper in Munich and in Seattle. Other roles in her repertoire include Dalila in Samson et Dalila (Saint Saens), Isabella in L’Italiana in Algeri (Rossini), Orfeo in Orfeo ed Euridice (Gluck), Adalgisa in Norma (Bellini), Marina in Boris Godunov (Mussorgsky), Charlotte in Werther (Massenet) and other roles. After studying and performing in her native land she was accepted as a member of the Young Artists Program of the Teatro alla Scala in Milan. This is her Israeli Opera debut.