Dmitri Hvorostovsky: Live recordings 1994-2016
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Gioachino Rossini, Giuseppe Verdi, Vincenzo Bellini, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Genre:
Opera
Label: Orfeo
Magazine Review Date: 11/2018
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 78
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: C966 181B
Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
(I) Puritani, Movement: ~ |
Vincenzo Bellini, Composer
Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Baritone Vienna State Opera Orchestra Vincenzo Bellini, Composer |
(Il) Barbiere di Siviglia, '(The) Barber of Seville', Movement: ~ |
Gioachino Rossini, Composer
Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Baritone Gioachino Rossini, Composer Vienna State Opera Orchestra |
(The) Queen of Spades, 'Pique Dame', Movement: ~ |
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Composer
Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Baritone Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Composer Vienna State Opera Orchestra |
Don Carlo, Movement: Carlo ch'è sol il nostro amor |
Giuseppe Verdi, Composer
Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Baritone Giuseppe Verdi, Composer Vienna State Opera Orchestra |
Rigoletto, Movement: Figlia!...Mio padre! |
Giuseppe Verdi, Composer
Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Baritone Giuseppe Verdi, Composer Vienna State Opera Orchestra |
Eugene Onegin, Movement: You wrote to me (Kogda bi zhizn domashnim krugom) |
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Composer
Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Baritone Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Composer Vienna State Opera Orchestra |
Simon Boccanegra, Movement: Plebe! Patrizi! |
Giuseppe Verdi, Composer
Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Baritone Giuseppe Verdi, Composer Vienna State Opera Orchestra |
(La) traviata, Movement: ~ |
Giuseppe Verdi, Composer
Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Baritone Giuseppe Verdi, Composer Vienna State Opera Orchestra |
(Un) ballo in maschera, '(A) masked ball', Movement: ~ |
Giuseppe Verdi, Composer
Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Baritone Giuseppe Verdi, Composer Vienna State Opera Orchestra |
Author: Mark Pullinger
It’s an interesting collection. The excerpts aren’t always the obvious ones: there’s no death of Posa (the great scena from Don Carlo which arguably won Hvorostovsky the Cardiff Singer of the World crown in 1989), but instead his little ballata with Eboli and Elisabetta; no ‘Cortigiani!’ from Rigoletto, but the Act 1 monologue followed by the long duet between the jester and his daughter, Gilda.
Some of the singing isn’t terrific (his Figaro is a bit hectoring – Rossini wasn’t natural territory), but Prince Yeletsky in The Queen of Spades (1999) was the perfect role for him: aristocratic, luscious, long legato lines, beautifully poised and noble. Hvorostovsky at his finest. His signature role, the haughty Onegin, is well represented, although he is placed far from the footlights in the introduction to the scene where he rejects Tatyana, a hazard of live recording.
His 2010 Rigoletto is heartfelt, although conductor Michael Güttler pushes the tempo insensitively faster than you sense either Hvorostovsky or Patrizia Ciofi is entirely comfortable with. There is an understandable deterioration in the voice by the time we get to 2016. His Germont sounds hollow and is up againt Marina Rebeka’s frosty Violetta, who is far too imperious in the long duet from Traviata. Nevertheless, there’s a rugged majesty to his Boccanegra in the Council Chamber scene, supported by Barbara Frittoli’s fruity Amelia and Ferruccio Furlanetto’s dogged Fiesco, theatrically conducted by Marco Armiliato. The disc closes with an impassioned ‘Eri tu’ from Un ballo in maschera, Renato being his final Staatsoper role debut.
Oliver Láng’s booklet note suffers from a few erroneous claims: Hvorostovsky didn’t sing Yeletsky there 73 times, but sang 73 performances in total at the Haus am Ring, according to the Staatsoper’s online archive; and his most-performed role was Germont père rather than Posa. However, there are interesting press quotes and reminiscences, charting Vienna’s love affair with this remarkable baritone.
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