Mzia Nioradze

Freelancer: Metropolitan Opera New York, Opéra national de Paris, San Francisco Opera, Mariinsky Theatre, Glyndebourne Festival, Oslo Opera, Latvian National Opera, Opera de Lausanne

Georgian mezzo-soprano Mzia Nioradze studied at the Vano Sarajishvili Tbilisi State Conservatoire and continued her training at the Accademia d’Arte Lirica di Osimo in Italy. She began her professional career as a soloist with the Z. Paliashvili Opera and Ballet Theater in Tbilisi, performing lead roles in Don Carlos, Il Trovatore, Rigoletto, Daisi, and Abesalom and Eteri.

In the 2024–2025 season, Ms. Nioradze returns to the Metropolitan Opera as the Countess in The Queen of Spades. Recent appearances include The Queen of Spades, Il Trovatore, and Aida at the Mariinsky Theatre (2019), and her debut as the Countess in The Queen of Spades at Vilnius City Opera. In 2018, she returned to the Mariinsky Theatre for Aida. During the 2015–2016 season, she performed Azucena in Il Trovatore and Marta in Iolanta at the Metropolitan Opera.

In 2014, Ms. Nioradze was a guest artist at the Latvian National Opera and Vilnius Opera, performing Azucena and Ulrica in Un ballo in maschera. She also sang Azucena in Malta and Romania, Mistress Quickly in Falstaff at the Glyndebourne Festival, and Marina Mnishek in Boris Godunov. The 2013–2014 season included Il Trovatore at the Metropolitan Opera and in Tel Aviv. In 2011–2012, she returned to the Met as Ulrica and performed Azucena in Avignon and Amneris in Aidawith Oslo Opera.

In 2010, she recorded Azucena at Teatro Regio di Parma and reprised the role in Paris. During the 2008–2009 season, she returned to the Met for Un ballo in maschera, and performed in Lausanne, Miami, Massy, Lyon, St. Petersburg, Washington, DC, and New York (Carnegie Hall). The 2006–2007 season included engagements in France, Santiago, and Rio de Janeiro. In 2005, she performed Federica in Luisa Miller at Dallas Opera and appeared in Bologna, Modena, and on Dutch national television.

Earlier highlights include Azucena in Marseille, Ježibaba in Rusalka in Lyon, and Carmen at San Francisco Opera (2003). She made her Metropolitan Opera debut in 2002 in War and Peace and Rigoletto, after her U.S. debut at Houston Grand Opera in Prince Igor (2001). In 2000, she appeared at the Opéra national de Paris in War and Peace. Her international debut took place in 1996 at the Mariinsky Theatre as Carmen, followed by a tour to Israel with the company.

Ms. Nioradze was awarded the Honorable Mention by the Mayor of New York City in December 2023 for her artistic contributions and community engagement. That same month, she performed at the Holocaust Remembrance Evening at Brooklyn College and received a Certificate of Appreciation from the Israeli community. She is a laureate of the 1999 Elena Obraztsova International Competition for Young Singers in St. Petersburg and has appeared in recordings of Verdi’s Il Trovatore and Requiem.