Lado Ataneli -"One of the healthiest, roundest, most mellifluous voices on the planet" (L.A. Times, October 2002) -is one of the world's most sought-after interpreters of Verdi, Puccini and verismo roles.

The Georgian baritone studied at the State Conservatory in his home city, Tiflis. In 1989 he debuted as Renato in Un Ballo in maschera at the Tiflis National Theater. In 1991 he won First Prize and the Grand Prix at the International Francisco-Vinas Competition in Barcelona. His string of successes continued with first place awards in such competitions as the "I Cestelli" vocal competition and the 15th Belvedere Competition in Vienna.

Lado Ataneli's international career began in 1996. Since then, he has regularly appeared in such roles as Scarpia, Sharpless, Tonio, Alfio, Gerard, Jago, Giorgio Germont, Jack Rance, Don Carlo Vargas, Renato, Simone Boccanegra, Amonasro, Rigoletto, Barnaba, Rodrigo and Conte di Luna at the Vienna State Opera, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Hamburg State Opera and the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. He is equally at home on stages in Zurich, Paris, London, Madrid, Barcelona, Los Angeles, Tokyo, New York etc. as well.

Together with maestro Riccardo Muti, Lado Ataneli developed the role of Verdi's Macbeth; in 1997 this proved to be the baritone's superb, highly celebrated debut at the Scala in Milan. First appearances at the Grand Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, the Gran Teatre Lissabon as Renato and his debut as Nabucco with James Conlon at the Opera National Paris, Bastille followed in the 1999/2000 season. Since then, Lado Ataneli has been asked to sing Nabucco time and time again, appearing successfully as the King of Babylon in subsequent years at the Vienna State Opera, in Hamburg, the Festival in Orange, in Cinncinati, Los Angeles, Bilbao, and in 2003 under the musical direction of James Levine at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. In 2003, Lado Ataneli sang together with Placido Domingo at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in Franco Zefirellis production of I Pagliacci. In the same year he sang the role of Barnaba in the complete edition of La Gioconda, again with Placido Domingo, and under the musical direction of Marcello Viotti. He has appeared in Italy as Giorgio Germont in Venice, the Grand Pretre De Dagon in Genoa and Scarpia in Trieste.

In 2005 he performed the title role in Simone Boccanegra at the Civic Opera San Diego and Monforte in I Vespri Siciliani at the Washington National Opera, celebrating the theatre’s 50th anniversary and Placido Domingo’s 10th anniversary as Director. After his enormous success he returned to Washington as Macbeth. He sang Don Carlo in Ernani at the Berlin Philharmonie, Rodrigo at the L.A. Opera and Tonio in I Pagliacci at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. During the 2007/08 season he appeared as Macbeth at the Metropolitan, conducted by James Levine. In 2008 he sang his first Barnaba in La Gioconda at the Teatro Real in Madrid and at the Deutsche Oper Berlin and made his debut as Athanael in Massenets Thais at the Teatro Regio in Torino. Among his highlights of the last season were Puccini’s Il tabarro with the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall in London, Macbeth at the Edinburgh Festival, his San Francisco Opera debut as Scarpia and the opening night of the new Dallas Opera House as Jago in Verdi’s Otello. His recent successes included highly acclaimed performances of La Traviata in Berlin, his first Viennese Iago followed by I pagliacci, again at the Vienna State Opera and Aida in Munich. In June 2010 he made his celebrated debut as Tomsky in Pique Dame at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona. In September 2010 he opened with great success the new season at the Metropolitan Opera as Rigoletto. At the Gala-concert Domingo and his Georgian friends in November 2011 in Batumi (Georgia) he once again worked with Domingo.

His diary is also filled with numerous gala concerts that are broadcast in television and radio. In 2007 he sang a solo gala concert at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. In 2002, the "Academy of Sciences of the Caucasian People" made Lado Ataneli a member of honor. In his home country Georgia he was honored with several awards for his artistic engagement throughout the world. In 2009 he founded the Tanadgoma Foundation to support young artists. Organized by the Foundation a first voice competition for the Lado Ataneli scholarship took place in Tiflis in March 2010.

In 2005, Lado Ataneli recorded his first solo CD “Opera Arias” with the Slovakisches Rundfunkorchester under the musical direction of Ivan Anguélov followed by a second operatic recital with the Württemberg Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Lodovico Zocche, released on the Naxos label in December 2009.

In the summer of 2011 the Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili awarded Lado Ataneli for his great success at the major opera houses around the world and for his charity work in his home country Georgia with the Shota-Rustaveli State Prize - the highest honorary award of Georgia in the fields of literature, art and architecture. Also this summer, he was honored by the Writers' Union of Georgia for his successful career and his charity work in Georgia with the title "Knight of Charity".

In 2012 he gave the concert Canzone Napoletana with the "Tbilisi State Opera Symphony Orchestra", conducted by Gianluca Marciano in Tbilisi. Canzone Napoletana was also produced as a CD.

In 2013 Lado Ataneli has been given the freedom of the town Dedopliszkaro in Georgia.

Also in 2013 he was honored by the Georgian president for his outstanding international artistic achievement and his charity work with The presidential Order of excellence.

In 2015 he gave a big gala-concert in Tbilisi: Lado Ataneli - 25 Years at the International Operastage.