19 May 2013, Sunday

On Thursday, May 23, the 12th Music Festival Hibla Gerzmava invites... will be launched at the Pitsunda Cathedral. This year Hibla will make a truly royal gift to all of her fans in Abkhazia by bringing the Russian National Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Vladimir Spivakov as well as one of the most renowned and charismatic contemporary basses Ildar Abdrazakov. Hibla and Ildar had first met in 2010 at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, where they both made their debuts in Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann. This time in Pitsunda they will sing arias and duets from operas by Mozart, Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, Verdi and Gounod. The evening will be hosted by the famous Russian musicologist Svyatoslav Belza.

The 2013 edition of the Festival runs within the framework of Russia-Abkhazia cultural seasons intiated by the Ministry of Culture of Russia and with the continued support from the Government and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Abkhazia. For many years, and this year is not exception, the Festival was made possible thanks to continued support from its longtime sponsors: Andrei Dudko and the New Generation Charity Foundation, Enver Kuzmin and Restavratsia N Ltd. Since last year, all Hibla’s activities, including her Festival, are supported by the Vozrozhdenie Bank and personally Dmitry Orlov.

15 May 2013, Wednesday

The Prima Donna subscription series of the Moscow State Conservatory presents Hibla Gerzmava’s recital with her longtime accompanist Yekaterina Ganelina. On Friday, May 17, the Chamber Hall of the Moscow Conservatory will see a performance that features arias by Handel, Vivaldi, Mozart, Bellini, Donizetti and Verdi.

20 April 2013, Saturday

Today, Hibla Gerzmava sings St Matthew’s Passion composed by Hilarion Alfeyev, the Metropolitan of the Russian Orthodox Church, at the Peter and Paul Cathedral of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Moscow. Hibla had previously been involved in the recording of Hilarion’s Stabat Mater and sang a part in his Christmas Oratorio a few years ago, so here is a new turn in their musical collaboration. Tonight’s concert will be conducted by Oleg Romanenko.