Dmitri Hvorostovsky is also a renown recitalist, and in this interview appeared today on the online version of “Kommersant Weekend” he speaks about it…

Dmitri in Recital in his native Krasnoyarsk

He often told that the recital is one of his favourites ways of performing because he tries create a special connection with each one of the people in the public … he certainly can!  I never had the chance of attending one of his recitals but in any case if  by appearing on an opera stage he can grab the hall’s attention (In the recent La Traviata from the Met it was possible to hear that people were holding their breath starting from “Madamigella Valery” to “addio”) I do not find it hard to believe that alone he can

Dmitri during one of his most recent recitals in Phoenix (AZ) © Howard Paley

http://www.kommersant.ru/doc/1919284 ( link to the article in russian)

Here an english google translate snapshot of the russian article... ( PS: Igor Steep is Igor Krutoy...)

Hope you enjoyed reading the interview … to prove his great ability to capture attention here a video of his Phoenix recital …

“Cortigiani, vil razza dannata” form Verdi’s Rigoletto…

PS: In the video he has my favourite concert outfit!

Filed under: videos Tagged: Arizona, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, January 2012, Phoenix Opera, Recital

Since 2013 will be the year of the celebrations for Verdi and Wagner’s bicentenary of birth the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome thought appropriate to celebrate the two composers…

For Verdi they decided to perform “Un Ballo in Maschera” in concert form, with a cast conducted by the Accademia’s orchestra principal conductor Sir Antonio Pappano and with a great cast of Verdian singers, included Dmitri…

I think it is an appointment not to be lost

Hello followers!!! I need your help to have Dmitri voted up in this site:

http://www.gradisco.com/lirica-best-opera-singer-awards/

Just click on the little box near his name than click vote… and finished!

Come on folks We want him to win don’t we?

Finally I am able to sit down and gather thoughts on La Traviata!

It was a really striking performance which gave me to think…

First of all because of the production by Willy Decker is so straightforward that it is almost cruel but gives a timeless set to the doomed love of Violetta and Alfredo. It was utterly moving to see the little Natalie Dessay crunching on the clock to “stop time”… We could claim ( as I did myself when I watched only exctracts) that it is an ugly production, a violent production… In my opinion it goes to the real chore of the characters, it makes them human!

The most difficult part for me to appreciate was the party in Flora’s House in Act 3 … The party goers moke Violetta and Alfredo, a member of the chorus puts a red dress on… It was awful to think that in reality society could have made this to them! It is difficult to accept that human beings are cruel towards eachother…maybe that is why I heard and read many negative comments on this production…but in fact it was the most attended of the Live in HD series this year! ( Well, maybe because it hasn’t been broadcasted L’Elisir d’Amore with Diana Damrau,Juan Diego Flòrez,Marius Kwieczen and Alessandro Corbelli!) And one of the most participated too I believe (http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505245_162-57414551/met-live-in-hd-landmark-10-million-tickets-sold/ ) … while for the other broadcasts people went away straight after the end this time I saw MUCH more people, first, and second they applauded at the end, in the cinema ( well, only at Dmitri I must confess!!!)

The singing… I almost do not want to tell anything about the singing…The acting by all of the three protagonists was so moving that singing wasn’t almost noticeable! I really could empathize with them! Especially with Dmitri of course, it was for me a surprise when I found myself crying on “No, non udrai rimproveri” , but also with the protagonist,Natalie Dessay! We all know that the poor dear has undergone surgery and that her voice is not as fresh as it was, we  all could notice that her voice broke in several points, well the truth is that this didn’t ruin at all a moving performance!!! “Addio del Passato” was… heartbreaking!

Polenzani has the look of a cute teddy bear, this didn’t help thinking of him as  Violetta’s lover… he looked and acted like her best friend, but he was so cute, even if the crying on the floor after his father’s slap was a teenager’s reaction! Alfredo is 18 cca, and int he 19th century 18 years old meant an adult! His voice has  beautiful timbre, near and there some pushing, and he pronounces the vowel “e” in a horrible way, but he somehow fit Willy Decker’s production! oh and BTW… Matthew, did you want to meet your “father” with your trouser’s zip down ( )

Dmitri… well he was simply stunning! He sang with strength and as always he portrayed the character with emotional power! His performance would have been perfect it it wasn’t for a little trembling of the voice on the first “Dio m’esaudì” in “Di Provenza”, but as I told, the acting of all the three singers involved you so much that it was bearely noticeable!

bye followers! And come back to read if you liked this article…

Hello my followers!!!

Hope you will have a great evening with Traviata at the cinema ! The cast is promising, hoping that Natalie Dessay will be better tonight…

Remember that if you can’t go to the cinema you can still listen to it through BBC3 Live Internet Broadcasting (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEmDuKhfhe0&feature=youtu.be) and from the Met’s site (http://www.metoperafamily.org/stream.aspx)

Hello followers

Just a quick reminder that tomorrow there will be the live in HD Broadcast of “La Traviata”

Here a little taster…

The following is only audio… but He was magnificent in his two perfromances!!! ( I heard through the radio) And the second performance ( April,10 ) was even better than the one with Hey Kyung Hong!!!

Don’t miss it!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You can listen to the Met’s Free Live Stream:

http://www.metoperafamily.org/stream.aspx

Or otherwise, if you have a Sirius XM Radio account you can listen through it!

Some reviews of the Season première of la Traviata are yet out…

Operavore:

http://www.wqxr.org/#!/blogs/operavore/2012/apr/07/mets-traviata-revival-lady-vanishes/

“He [ Alfredo/polenzani] throws himself into a rage that is only somewhat quelled by one over-the-top slap from baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky as his father, Germont.

The result is one of the most beautifully acted moments at the Met this season, with Polenzani knocked to the ground and scrambling to get away from his father, while Hvorostovsky reels from his own outburst. These are two men who are as equally bound by social mores as the women in their lives, grappling with that stagnancy and making their own sacrifices. Hvorostovsky supplies his own rage in Act III at this setback, cloaked under a layer of cool disdain that supplies a persuasive “Di Provenza.” While Hvorostovsky lacks fatherly warmth, he makes up for that with a gravitas that can’t help but stop you cold.”

Huffington Post:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/08/la-traviata-hei-kyung-hong_n_1410848.html

“The most powerful performance came from baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky as Alfredo’s father, Giorgio Germont. From the moment he entered in Act 2, he took possession of the stage with his sneering contempt for the immoral lifestyle into which he believes Violetta has lured his son. While he worked on her emotions to make her give up her lover, Hvorostovsky showed his character gradually softening as he gained sympathy and even respect for his opponent.

His trademark burnished sound and ability to spin long phrases without taking a breath have rarely been heard to better effect. He deservedly won a huge ovation for “Di provenza il mar,” the familiar aria in which he begs his son to return home.”

The New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/09/arts/music/hei-kyung-hong-stars-in-willy-deckers-traviata-at-the-met.html?_r=2

One of the most compelling moments came during his hotheaded tussle with Giorgio Germont, his father, a role performed with aristocratic flair by Dmitri Hvorostovsky .

“Mr. Hvorostovsky wielded his smooth, velvety baritone to gorgeous effect in “Di Provenza il mar,” spinning out long lines with emotive conviction; the aria earned the most enthusiastic applause of the night.”

New York Post:

http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/theater/verdi_fallen_woman_stands_up_BVlX64aT3mOXUK5HQE5qgP

“It [ The X Factor] ’s a requisite for this diva role, as was demonstrated when superstar baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky entered in the second act and Hong seemed to fade into the background.

As Germont, the reproachful father of Violetta’s lover, he poured out lush mahogany tone in his two arias. In between, he furiously slapped his son, played by tenor Matthew Polenzani, in a scene of violence staged so realistically the audience gasped.”

and the last one: The Classical Review:

http://theclassicalreview.com/2012/04/covering-for-dessay-hong-scales-the-heights-in-mets-traviata-revival/

“As father Germont, Dmitri Hvorostovsky was smug, hectoring, and platitudinous—that is, more or less ideal in the role. Early on, he tended to put too much pressure on his tone, as he is wont to do in Verdi but he spun prodigiously long lines, his baritone glorious from its velvety black depths to the insolent ease of its upper extension. His Di Provenzaelicited uproarious, nearly startled acclaim from the audience, its every phrase both satiny and cannily chiseled. And while there is no reason to hear both verses of Germont’s cabaletta when the second is not embellished, it was a welcome chance to revel for a few more moments in the intoxicating beauty of Hvorostovsky’s voice. Dramatically he made Germont’s big moments tell, standing cold and unmoved when Violetta asked him for an embrace but clasping Alfredo in a stranglehold before Flora’s revelers erupted.”

Reviews seem enthusiastic oh, I listened to the season premiere on Sirius Xm and it was great indeed, but I will review only the Live in HD since HKH replaced an ill natalie Dessay who is returnign this evening!!!

Whishing this fabulous artist much luck I leave you with some pics from the production

Hope you will enjoy tonight’s performance, as Dmitri was brilliant 4 days ago!

Here is a playlist with the Salzburg Traviata by Willy Decker starring Netrebko and Villàzon… Let me know if you liked this production!!!

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC52893051B2A8E31&feature=plcp

Dmitri pictured himslef during in his Dressing Room in Father Germont's costume

Wish good luck to our favourite baritone who will sing to Hey Kyung Hong and not to Natalie Dessay who cancelled this performance after having cancelled the Dress Reharsal.

The production will be Willy Decker’s, and Alfredo will be Matthew Polenzani!

Only available to listen on Sirius XM Radio!

Natalie Dessay supposed to be Violetta to Dmitri’s Germont Father in the upcoming La Traviata at the met canceled her dress reharsal today!

http://super-conductor.blogspot.it/2012/04/natalie-dessay-cancels-la-traviata.html ( read about the canceling here)

Also the famous La Cieca posted about it

http://parterre.com/2012/04/03/red-dress-diaries/#more-24867 ( read laCieca’s blog here)

Twitter is a great source )) We can have a look at the dress reharsal’s curtain calls!!!

Here two pics…

Let’s wait for more news… That’s all for now!

bye