Rihab Chaieb
Mezzo-soprano
The current and upcoming seasons will be marked by significant milestones for Tunisian-Canadian mezzo Rihab Chaieb including the role of Maddalena Rigoletto at Metropolitan Opera, Dorabella Cosi fan Tutti Opera Los Angeles, Lola Cavalleria Rusticana Bayerische Staatsoper, as well as Sheherazada at Bregenzer Festspiele, Beethoven Symphony n.9 with Philhapelphia Orchestra, Vancouver Orchestra, LA Philharmonic and Orchestre Metropolitain Montreal, as well as Missa Solemnis with Washington National Symphony Orchestra, Carmen with Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra and Mozart’s Requiem with Orchestre Symphonique de Quebec.
Recent engagements include debut at Opernhaus Zürich as Charlotte Werther, the title role in Carmen at Glyndebourne Festival and with Los Angeles Philharmonic under G.Dudamel, Claire Melancholia with the Royal Swedish Opera, Dorabella Così fan tutte at Seiji Ozawa Music Academy, debut at the Bayerische Staatsoper wowing the audience as Fenena Nabucco under Daniele Rustioni, and her LA Opera debut as Cherubino in James Gray’s Le nozze di Figaro under James Conlon. She reprised her exceptional portrayal of Carmen at the Canadian Opera Company and Calgary Opera and returned to the Grand Théâtre de Genève starring in the world-premiere of Jost’s Voyage vers l’espoir as La mère Meryem.
On the concert platform Chaieb appeared with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra in Handel’s Messiah, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra under Otto Tausk for Berlioz’s Les nuits d’été, and debuted the role of Ruggiero in Handel’s Alcina with the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra.
Past seasons were marked by Chaieb’s debut at the Washington National Opera as Dorabella Così fan tutte, and at Palm Beach Opera in the title role of Carmen. She debuted the role of Penelope Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria on tour and for a recording with Ensemble I Gemelli, returned to Opéra National de Montpellier as Maddalena Rigoletto, and to The Metropolitan Opera as Nefertiti in Phelim McDermott’s production of Philip Glass’ Akhnaten, under Karen Kamensek, debuts at Houston Grand Opera in the world premiere of Tarik O’Regan’s The Phoenix, as Rosina Il barbiere di Siviglia at Cincinnati Opera and as Offenbach’s Fantasio at Opéra de Montpellier, Dorabella at Teatro Santiago de Chile, Kasturbai in Philip Glass’ Satyagraha at Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, and Carmen in Lydia Steier’s production at the Oper Köln.
Performances elsewhere include Charlotte Werther at Opera Vlaanderen under Giedrė Šlekytė, Lola in Robert Carsen’s Cavalleria Rusticana under Lorenzo Viotti with the Dutch National Opera.
On the concert stage, Rihab Chaieb has performed with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal program of Rossini under Kent Nagano and Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen conducted by Johannes Debus. Handel’s Messiah and under Gustavo Gimeno with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. She performed Manuel de Falla’s Three-Cornered Hat with both Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra under Carlos Miguel Prieto.
Chaieb debuted Das Lied von der Erde at the Toronto Summer Music and reprised it at the Rockport Music Festival. She recorded both Bach’s Mass in B minor and Beethoven’s Symphony No.9 with Orchestre Métropolitain under Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the latter released on Deutsche Grammophon’s DG Stage. She reprised Beethoven’s Symphony No.9 with Nézet-Séguin and The Philadelphia Orchestra at Carnegie Hall.
As a former member of the The Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Program, Chaieb appeared in numerous productions there, including Zulma L’italiana in Algeri, Laura Luisa Miller, Lola Cavalleria Rusticana, and Sandmännchen Hänsel und Gretel. Chaieb returned to the Met as a guest with Zerlina Don Giovanni under Cornelius Meister.