Vano Sarajishvili

Vano Sarajishvili recognized as “Georgian Nightingale” was born in 1879 in Signaghi. At the age of 8, he entered the school for the nobility, where he used to sing in the pupils’ chorus. In 1903, the young singer left for St. Petersburg - it was there that his debut took place at Verdi's opera "Traviata". At the same time, under the leadership of Castellano, Sarajishvili mastered the art of Belcanto in Italy and performed in various cities of the country. From 1908 he arrived in Tbilisi and became a prominent figure in the Tbilisi opera scene, who periodically participated in operas by European and Russian composers, as well as romances of Georgian composers. In 1923 Vano Sarajishvili took part in the performance of the newly created fragments of Paliashvili's opera "Absalom and Eter", after which he periodically appeared in Paliashvili's operas. He performed the romances of Georgian and Russian composers with equal mastery, as well as Georgian folk and Neapolitan songs. Sarajishvili is considered to be one of the founders of Georgian professional vocal piece and in 1947 the Tbilisi State Conservatoire was named after him.