Irakli Kakhidze

Georgian tenor Irakli Kakhidze returned to the ensemble of Nationaltheater Mannheim in the 2025/26 season. Italian opera is central to his work, and his 2026 engagements with the company include Canio in Pagliacci, Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, Gabriele Adorno in Simon Boccanegra and Ismaele in Nabucco. His relationship with Mannheim began with guest appearances as Cavaradossi in Tosca in 2016/17, followed by an ensemble appointment in 2017/18. His repertoire at the house has encompassed Pollione in Norma, Radamès in Aida, Turiddu in Cavalleria rusticana, Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, Don Alvaro in La forza del destino and Don Carlo.

Alongside his ensemble work, Mr. Kakhidze’s guest engagements in 2026 include Radamès at Latvian National Opera, Don José in Carmen at Oper Leipzig, Manrico in Il trovatore at Deutsche Oper am Rhein and Canio in Parma and Riga. His association with Deutsche Oper am Rhein also includes Cavaradossi and Turiddu, the latter in 2023/24. Recent appearances elsewhere include Pinkerton in Las Palmas and Cavaradossi in Leipzig in 2025, Pollione with Korea National Opera, Manrico in Hong Kong and Wiesbaden, Don Carlo in Tenerife and Alfredo in La traviata at Finnish National Opera.

His international engagements have also taken him to Theater Dortmund, Theater Kiel, Opéra National de Lorraine and Taiwan. At Bergen National Opera he sang Rodolfo in La bohème, Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore and Alfredo, while Don José brought him to the Daegu International Opera Festival.

Concert work has accompanied his stage career, from Verdi’s Requiem in Bielefeld to opera galas at Deutsche Oper am Rhein and Latvian National Opera, and an appearance with Thüringen Philharmonie at Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie in 2025. During his time with CNIPAL in Marseille and Avignon from 2011 to 2013, he took part in recitals and the staged production Dans le salon de Monsieur Puccini. Further French appearances included Gémenos and recitals in Marseille, Avignon and Bordeaux. In 2014, he sang at the European Commission’s Good Morning Europe concert in Brussels and in a charity concert in Tbilisi alongside Tamar Iveri and Giorgi Gagnidze.

Mr. Kakhidze studied with Marina Jakhutashvili at Batumi Conservatory, graduating in 2005. His stage career began at the Opera Studio of Batumi’s State Music Centre, with Alfredo, Edgardo, Turiddu and the Young Gypsy in Rachmaninoff’s Aleko, as well as Malkhaz in Daisi and Koté in Keto and Koté. He received mentorship from Lado Atanéli and attended masterclasses with Leo Nucci and Ruggero Raimondi. A laureate of the Lado Atanéli Competition and a Paris Opera Awards finalist, he received a Georgian Theatre Society award for Turiddu. His distinctions also include the Georgian Order of Honour and honorary citizenship of Batumi.