|
The Russian bartirone, Dmitri [Dmitrij, Dmitry] Aleksandrovich Hvorostovsky (Russian: Дмитрий Александрович Хворостовский), studied at the Krasnoyarsk School of Arts under Yekatherina Yofel and made his debut at Krasnoyarsk Opera House, in the role of Marullo in Rigoletto. He went on to win First Prize at both the Russian Glinka Competition in 1987 and the Toulouse Singing Competition in 1988. He came to international prominence in 1989 when he won the prestigious BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition, beating local favorite Bryn Terfel in the final round. His performance included George Frideric Handel's "Ombra mai fu" and "Per me giunto...O Carlo ascolta" from Verdi's Don Carlo.
From the start, audiences were bowled over by Dmitri Hvorostovsky’s cultivated voice, innate sense of musical line and natural legato. His international concert recitals began immediately (London debut, 1989; New York 1990). His operatic debut in the West was at the Nice Opera in The Queen of Spades (1989). In Italy he debuted at La Fenice as Eugene Onegin, a success that sealed his reputation, and made his American operatic debut with the Lyric Opera of Chicago (1993) in La Traviata. He since sang at virtually every major opera house, including the Metropolitan Opera in New York (debut 1995), Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, Berlin State Opera, Teatro La Scala in Milan and Wiener Staatsoper. His career included regular engagements at the other world’s major opera houses and appearances at renowned international festivals, including the Paris Opera, the Bavarian State Opera, the Salzburg Festival, etc.
A celebrated recitalist in demand in every corner of the globe - from the Far East to the Middle East, from Australia to South America - Dmitry Hvorostovsky appeared at such venues as Wigmore Hall, London; Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh; Carnegie Hall, New York; Teatro alla Scala, Milan; Tchaikovsky Conservatoire, Moscow; Liceu, Barcelona; Suntory Hall, Tokyo; and Musikverein, Vienna. The singer regularly performed in concert with top orchestras like the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, and conductors, including James Levine, Bernard Haitink, Claudio Abbado, Lorin Maazel, Zubin Mehta, Yuri Termikanov and Valery Gergiev.
Dmitry Hvorostovsky retained a strong musical and personal contact with Russia. He became the first opera singer to give a solo concert with orchestra and chorus on Red Square in Moscow; this concert was televised in over 25 countries. He went on to sing a number of prestigious concerts in Moscow as a part of his own special series, ‘Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Friends’. He invited such celebrated artists as Renée Fleming, Sumi Jo and Sondra Radvonosky. In 2005 he gave an historic tour throughout the cities of Russia at the invitation of President Putin, singing to crowds of hundreds of thousands of people to commemorate the soldiers of the Second World War. He toured the cities of Russia and Eastern Europe on an annual basis. In 2002, he performed at the Russian Children's Welfare Society's major fund raiser, the "Petroushka Ball". He was an Honorary Director of the charity. He later established a new collaboration with the Russian popular composer Igor Krutoi, with very successful concerts in Moscow, St Petersburg and Kiev.
A tall man with a striking head of prematurely silver hair, Dmitry Hvorostovsky achieved international acclaim as an opera performer as well as a concert artist. He was cast in People magazine's 50 most beautiful people, a rare occurrence for a classical musician. His high, medium-weight voice had the typical liquid timbre of Russian baritones. He was especially renowned for his portrayal of the title character in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin; The New York Times described him as "born to play the role." In later years his stage repertoire had almost entirely consisted of Verdi operas such as Un ballo in maschera, La Traviata and Simon Boccanegra; he also appeared in Rigoletto and Il Trovatore in a David McVicar production at The Met with Sondra Radvanovsky.
Dmitri Hvorostovsky’s extensive discography spans recitals and complete operas. He also starred in Don Giovanni Unmasked, an award-winning film (by Rhombus Media) based on W.A. Mozart's opera, tackling the dual roles of Don Giovanni and Leporello. Recent releases included a DVD starring Dmitri alongside Renée Fleming in a film set in St Petersburg and two new solo CD’s; Tchaikovsky Songs and Songs on texts by Pushkin. |
