Anita Rachvelishvili, the mezzo-soprano from Georgia, possesses and wields one of the greatest operatic voices for some decades. Larger than life, for her first CD she had to stand behind the orchestra so as not to drown out everything else. Yet Rachvelishvili knows how to downsize that voice, too, tracing out even the most delicate notes. She is self-confessedly old-school, upholding that ancient proverb: “There’s no school, but old school.” She is most likely the most important Carmen since Grace Bumbry and Agnes Baltsa. And the best Amneris since Fedora Barbieri. If the operatic mezzo is a thing again, it’s because of her!