In 2015, when his vocal maturity was allowing him to take on the big theatrical roles such as Falstaff, Scarpia, Gianni Schicchi, Rigoletto, Gremin and old Germond, our Russian baritone, stricken by an inoperable brain tumour, was forced to cancel all his big stage dates. His last public appearance was on the great gala night of May 7th 2017, thrown for the fiftieth anniversary of the Metropolitan Opera in New York's Lincoln Centre. He delighted the audience with his Cortigiani, vil razza, Rigoletto's famous soliloquy. In the belief that the best medicine was to carry on singing, Dmitri Hvorostovsky worked at his art every day, dreaming of being able to return to the stage. Sadly this dream was taken away from him on 22 November 2017.
Blessed from birth with a beautiful voice and good looks, Dmitri Hvorostovsky learned early on how to put these gifts to work, becoming one of the great baritones of recent years. From his international debuts in 1989 his tall figure became a fixture on the great operatic stages of the world. Conceived as a memorial album to mark a year since the early death that shook all lovers of great voices, this new work is a compilation of ten different albums that showcase the full extent of Dmitri Hvorostovsky's talent, from the Russian folk songs that he loved from his youth all the way to his great operatic roles. It's an opportunity to carefully listen again and really take measure of the gaping hole that he has left in the world of lyrical art. © François Hudry/Qobuz