Georgian Soprano: Goodwill Ambassador in Italy
Her story is a breathtaking saga of a wonderful Georgian lady who extensively traveled Europe to enhance her qualification and who finally landed in Pesaro, Italy, the great Rossini’s birthplace, where she encountered the famous nonagenarian Maestro Mario Melani to eventually determine the talented operatic singer’s fate and career. Maestro accepted Nino Lezhava as his own daughter, his pupil and the future heiress to the position of the Maestra of his Academy of Song. This may sound like another Cinderella story of a lucky girl, but nothing would have happened without Nino’s angelic voice, her outstanding professionalism, creative power, scenic charisma, and her unique ability to present her attractive personality to public both on stage and in life, easily winning the hearts and minds of those who come in touch with her accidentally or for a purpose.
This is the way Nino became the Superintendent and Artistic Director of the Renata Tebaldi & Mario Del Monaco International Academy of Song in the beautiful city of Pesaro on the Adriatic coast, where she continues working even now. The interesting part of the saga is that she did not stop there. She has managed to personify a successful young Georgian woman whose deeds burgeoned on foreign soil. Together with her elder sister Leeka Lezhava, a lawyer and economist who has been entrusted as a managing partner in the Academy’s daily business, she laid the foundation of future cultural and economic relations between the cities of Batumi and Pesaro. The plan of the cooperative sisters soon came to fruition. With the active and very helpful participation of Pesaro’s Vice-Mayor Daniele Vimini, the Days of the Georgian Culture in Pesaro a couple of years ago was a great success, and now the Italian delegation is in Georgia for the Days of Italian Culture in Batumi, an event evaluated as just as successful.
The delegation, headed by Ilaro Barbanti, the President of the Council of Cultural Advisers of Pesaro, was received by Lasha Komakhidze, the Mayor of Batumi. The two sides expressed readiness for developing future cooperation by turning Batumi and Pesaro into sister cities. Present at the meeting were the representatives of the business circles of Pesaro. To make all this happen, Nino Lezhava needed the assistance and benevolence of the Georgian Embassy in Rome, and Ambassador Kakha Sikarulidze did all his possible best to have the project be brought to a happy end, but as the Lezhava sisters put it, this is not the end. Just the opposite: this is only the beginning of social, cultural and economic ties between Pesaro and Batumi, thus making the already existent thriving relations between Italy and Georgia boom even more.
As part of the Italian Culture Days in Batumi, Nino gave a master class in the Batumi Conservatoire. The students who received valuable pieces of advice from the recognized Georgian Maestra of the famous Italian vocal school were absolutely delighted and asked her to come back. Nino’s performance took place in the concert hall of the Conservatoire. Her enchanting singing was accompanied by the masterful Victoria Chaplinskaia in a full house which applauded with sincere enthusiasm. Co-participants in the concert were the former and current students of the Pesaro Academy. The concert was dedicated to the 150th anniversary of Rossini’s death and to the significant event of Pesaro’s recognition by the United Nations Organization as a City of Music. A wonderful fashion show was also organized by the Italian guests. The continuation of the Days of Culture is envisaged in April 2018 on a larger scale and with a greater number of participants from both countries. The proud parents of Nino and Leeka are living in Tbilisi, visiting their children with an affordable frequency. I covered the event in Batumi and was emotionally moved to see the excited expression on the face and the tears of happiness in the eyes of Guliko, the girls’ mother. I can very well understand her emotion and feel her tears. Children grow and then fly from their parents’ nest to conquer the world. This is what our young are doing right now in many different countries. The arena is theirs . . . and thank God for it!
Nugzar B. Ruhadze