Dmitri Hvorostovsky's Upcoming Recitals & HD Broadcast

Dmitri Hvorostovsky in Un Ballo in Maschera

The "Siberian Hunky" Dmitri Hvorostovsky is taking a break from the stage until November while he wraps up his recital tour. He has tour special concerts coming up this month.  On July 8, he'll join the great bass Paata Burchuladze and soprano Tatiana Pavlovskaya for a concert in Abakan, Russia. The program will include operatic fare by Rubenstein and Bizet, including Escamillo's signature aria "Votre toast" from Carmen. As part of his performance in the Khakassian capital, Dmitri will also sing songs by celebrated composer Aleksandra Pakhmutova, including her "Ti Moya Melodiya" and the touching "Kak Molodi Mi Bili."  (Translation of text at end of this post)

Dmitri Hvorostovsky sings Pakhmutova's "Kak molody my byli": 

On July 20th, he'll open the 21st International Český Krumlov Music Festival with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra. The concert will take place in the beautiful Brewery Garden of the historic Czech town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Hvorostovsky will sing arias from Verdi's Rigoletto and Il Trovatore in addition to Wagner's "Abenstern" from Tannhäuser and Bellini's "Or dove fuggo io mai!" from I Puritani, among others. The gala comes to a close with Neapolitan songs.

Dmitri Hvorostovsky sings Falvo's Neapolitan song "Dicitencello vuie":

If you're like most of us and you won't be in Russia this month, you can catch him on the December 8th Live in HD broadcast of Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera from the Metropolitan Oper.

Kak Molodi Mi Bili

Look back,
unfamiliar passerby,
Your glance is incorruptibly familiar.
Maybe that is me, only younger?
We not always remember ourselves.
Nothing on this earth passes without a trace,
And the youth that went away is nevertheless immortal.

How young we were!
How young we were!
How sincerely we loved
How believed we in ourselves!

Others met us back then without laughs (put-downs)
All the flowers on the roads of this earth.
Our friends for their mistakes we forgave
Only changes (cheating) we could not forgive.
The first time we already have won
And only one thing from that we understand.
So others on this earth would not lose you,
Try to not lose yourself!

How young we were!
How young we were!
How sincerely we loved
How believed we in ourselves!

In the heavens, the sky lightings have gone (sunrise and sunset)
And in the heart, the thunder is calming.
To not forget our loved faces
To not forget our native eyes...

Dmitri Hvorostovsky Live Worldwide this Saturday

Dmitri Hvorostovsky continues to establish himself as one of the leading Verdi baritones of our age. It's a little odd to see someone who is aging as beautifully as Carey Grant or George Clooney begin playing fathers onstage, but that's exactly what he'll be doing in the Live in HD broadcast of Verdi's La traviata from the Met on Saturday, April 14th. His elegantly phrased Giorgio Germont will be transmitted to cinemas worldwide with a U.S. encore transmission on May 2 and Canadian encores on May 26 and June 24. The event will also feature exclusive backstage footage and interviews with cast members.

Live performances of La traviata run through May 2nd. He then begins his recital tour in Minsk on May 14.

Hvorostovsky sings "Di Provenza il mar, il suol" from La traviata:

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Reader Submission: Dmitry Zuev

Dmitry Zuev

We don't get many emails from Russia, so we perked up when we saw an email suggesting we check out the guy singing the title role in Tchaikovsky's "Eugene Onegin" at the Stanislavski and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Academic Music Theatre in Moscow.

Zuev was born in Russia and studied at the famous Moscow State Conservatory. His repertoire includes Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro (Mozart), Gryaznoi in The Tsar's Bride (Rimsky-Korsakov), Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia (Rossini), Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor (Donizetti), Marcello in La boheme (Puccini), the title role in Yevgeny Onegin (Tchaikovsky) and others. He has performed in Israel, Spain, Great Britain, Italy, Estonia and Azerbaijan.

The next performance of Eugene Onegin is on Thursday, April 5th.

We'll keep an eye on this singer as his career progresses. Unfortunately, we couldn't find any video, but here is another famous Russian, Dmitry Hvorostovsky, singing Eugene Onegin.

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Konstantin Shushakov Garners 2nd Prize at Operalia; Gabriel Preisser Advances

Konstantin Shushakov

The baritone winning streak that we've been covering in international singing competitions suffered a minor setback at this year's Operalia competition. Russian baritone Konstantin Shushakov came in second place after being nudged out by American tenor René Barbera and South African soprano Pretty Yende.

"I was one of the two baritones who were allowed into the finals," Shushakov told Voice of Russia. "I was surprised to see how many tenors reached the finals. That was a real battle of tenors, you know. But all competitions after all are aimed to help singers get access to the world`s best opera stages. Very often those who received second or third prizes become even more successful than top-prize winners."

Barihunk Erwin Schrott is a past winner of the competition.

The annual competition, which was founded in 1993 by tenor Placido Domingo, was held last Sunday. The competition is held in a different city each year. During Sunday's ceremony, Domingo received the Russian Order of Friendship for his work in cultural exchange.

Here are some selections of Shushakov from other performances.





Meanwhile, across the globe at the Utah Festival Opera, Gabriel Preisser was redeeming baritones as he won the final round of the Lirico Concorso Competition and will now advance to the interantional finale in Italy. The Barihunks Team wishes him well.

Gabriel Preisser

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