My happy place is Berlin and one locale in particular: »Das Stue«, a hotel on the edge of Tiergarten park. I live in Frankfurt am Main but many crucial moments in my life have involved Berlin in some way. 12 years ago, for instance, the Deutsche Oper gave me my first gig: as Ping in TURANDOT.

I proposed to my wife in the restaurant of the Deutsche Oper Berlin. It was actually my second proposal. The first time was when we’d known each other a mere three hours. She took me for a crazy. I tried again a few months later: »This is your last chance. I’m not asking again!« Luckily she said yes. The waitresses got wind of it and brought us champagne on the house. Afterwards we went for dinner in the Hotel Stue. They do Michelin-class European cuisine. Portions modest but exquisite.

As a Georgian, I love good food. I come from the region that was called Colchis in ancient times. It lies between the Caucasus and the eastern shores of the Black Sea. The legend of the Argonauts is set there, the tale of Jason, Medea and the Golden Fleece. That part of Georgia has the best food. It’s not as meat-dominated as it is in the mountains. It’s big on spices and the dishes are complex and aromatic. My own speciality is an aubergine dish made with nut paste and pomegranate seeds. I like to feed it to guests.

My love of good food and good music is my link to Rossini. He was a gifted composer, a gourmet and a passionate cook. Dishes like »Tournedos Rossini«, a filet featuring goose liver and truffles. Rossini’s operas are right up my street, especially the buffo roles. I’m really in my element there. In my early days at the Accademia della Scala in Milan I developed a taste for that sub-genre. The trick in buffo is not to go for gags but to play the role absolutely straight. Like Louis de Funès did. He never played a ridiculous character but rather someone who stumbles accidentally into an absurd situation. That’s what makes people laugh.

Misha Kiria in the restaurant of Das Stue on the edge of the Tiergarten. The baritone and his fiancée celebrated their engagement here © Nancy Jesse

 

L'ITALIANA IN ALGERI’s Taddeo is another great buffo role. I’m singing him right now at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. He’s trying to help Isabella free her lover, Lindoro, from the clutches of the Algerian autocrat Mustafà. Taddeo has a crush on Isabella but can’t bring himself to reveal his feelings. The role contains a whole string of emotions to express on stage: sorrow, jealousy, disappointment.

Taddeo also has a number of long stretches to deliver at pace, which I really enjoy. I’ve taken that role twice, first in a period staging at the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma and also in a modern version at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, where Isabella was played as a drag queen.

Here director Rolando Villazón is setting the opera in the Mexican wrestling scene. Can’t wait to see what he’s got in store. As long as professionals are applying themselves to their craft, I’m easy on whether the production is a classical rendition or set in the present day. For me the important thing is that I have some artistic scope as a singer, so I can really indulge my vocal palette.

Georgians grow up surrounded by folk music. There’s a lot of singing in family homes. Instrumental music is not used in churches, instead we have multi-voice choral singing. I opted to become an opera singer in the early ’90s. It was a tough time. Georgia was in political and military upheaval. The electricity supply was often down to a few hours a day. If the tv worked at all, I used to record concerts by the »Three Tenors«. Pavarotti, Domingo and Carreras were just starting their concert tours. They were my inspiration.

I’ve reached a point in my career where I can say that everything I ever dreamed of happening has actually come to pass. Never for a minute has my time spent on stage actually felt like work. For me, singing is pure hedonism. Like good food.