Hibla Gerzmava has established herself as one of the most sought after sopranos of her generation, having met critical acclaim at such theaters as the Royal Opera House – Covent Garden, Opéra National de Paris, Vienna State Opera, Rome Opera, Metropolitan Opera, Bavarian State Opera in Munich, Carnegie Hall in New York, and Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. She has also appeared at the Ludwigsburg Festival in Germany and the BBC Proms. Hailed by the New York Times as “the warm-voiced soprano with affecting poise and strong-willed intensity,” Gerzmava will return to the Metropolitan Opera this season as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni.

Gerzmava’s engagements for the ²⁰¹⁵⁄₁₆ season included Liù in Turandot and Desdemona in Otello at the Metropolitan Opera, as well as her solo debut at Carnegie Hall. In the ²⁰¹⁴⁄₁₅ season, she sang Donna Anna at the Vienna State Opera and Frankfurt Opera, as well as Janacek’s Glagolitic Mass at the 68th Edinburgh International Festival. In February of 2014, Gerzmava took part in the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Sochi, performing the final song Olympic Waltz with the Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra, under Valery Gergiev. In July of the same year, she sang Verdi’s Requiem at London’s Royal Festival Hall under the baton of Antonio Pappano. Gerzmava’s engagements for the ²⁰¹²⁄₁₃ season included Amelia in Simon Boccanegra at the Royal Opera House – Covent Garden, Liù at the Metropolitan Opera, and Vitellia in La clemenza di Tito at the Vienna State Opera.

In 2012, Gerzmava returned to the Royal Opera House as Donna Anna and sang Mimì in La bohème for her debuts at the Rome Opera and Bavarian State Opera. In 2011, she made her triumphant debut on the stage of the Palais Garnier at the Opéra National de Paris as Vitellia in Willy Decker’s production of La clemenza di Tito. That same year, Gerzmava sang at the BBC Proms Opening Night, returned to the Metropolitan Opera as Mimì in Franco Zeffirelli’s production of La bohème, and took part in the Mariinsky Theatre’s tour of Japan, singing the role of Liù at the NHK Hall in Tokyo. In 2010, her performance as the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor brought her the highest Russian theatrical award, the Golden Mask, as well as the Casta Diva Critics Award and Moscow Government Award for achievement and contribution to the world of arts and culture. That same year, Gerzmava made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Stella and Antonia in Les contes d’Hoffmann. She made her Royal Opera House debut as Tatiana in Eugene Onegin in March of 2008, appearing there again in 2009 as Mimì.

A graduate of the Moscow Conservatory’s Vocal Department, Hibla Gerzmava’s professional breakthrough came in 1994 when she was awarded the Grand Prix at the Tchaikovsky International Competition, becoming the first and only vocalist in the competition’s history to achieve such a feat. Since 1995, Gerzmava has been a soloist of the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Musical Theatre in Moscow, where she has sung such roles as Donna Anna, Lucia, Mimì, Adina in L’elisir d’amore, Violetta in La traviata, Antonia/Olympia/Giulietta in Les contes d’Hoffmann, and the title role in Medea.

Equally at home on the concert stage, Gerzmava has sung the soprano solos in Mozart’s Requiem, Great Mass in C Minor, Coronation Mass, Vesperae solennes de confessore, Haydn’s Creation, Verdi’s Requiem, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. Additionally, she has appeared in recitals throughout Sweden, France, the Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Spain, Greece, Japan, and the USA.