Continuing From Part One…
Let’s fast-forward now to Dmitri’s much-anticipated debut appearance as Don Carlo in the Met’s production of Verdi’s Ernani just this past weekend. We’re not at all surprised at the critical raves he’s gotten thus far. For starters, ClassicalReview.com made note of his commanding stage presence: “Other baritones simply walk through a door; Hvorostovsky, instead, conveyed all of his character’s predatory hauteur with the tilt of his head and the snake-like glimmer of his eyes before he had sung a single note.”
The New York Post spoke of perhaps his supreme Ernani moment: “His third-act aria with quiet cello accompaniment began exquisitely, a master class in Verdi singing.”
The New York Times reported that “… baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky chose this evening to introduce a new role for him, Don Carlo … he sang it splendidly. The tessitura of the part, which sits on the high side for Verdi baritone roles, well suited Mr. Hvorostovsky, who shaped floating phrases with mellifluous, honeyed sound.”
Finally, as Martin Bernheimer wrote in the Financial Times, “Dmitri Hvorostovsky illuminated the majestic agonies of Carlo with rolling legato phrases, endless breath and poignant dynamic nuance. Confounding some predictions, he has become a Verdi baritone with few peers. Although ‘golden age’ is a dangerously hyperbolic term, it actually may apply in these remarkable cases.”
In closing – if you weren’t there, don’t despair: you can hear Dmitri have his wondrous way with that high-point third-act Ernani aria in either of two extraordinary Delos recordings. Dmitri’s Verdi Arias (DE 3292) offers that very number, among many other attractive selections. Then there’s Delos’ brand-new DVD, Hvorostovsky in Moscow (DV 7006, soon to be released), with guest artist Sondra Radvanovsky joining Dmitri for a pair of stunning duet scenes from Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra and Il Trovatore.
The DVD duplicates much of the content of another outstanding CD, Verdi Opera Scenes (DE 3403); both derive from the same 2008 Moscow concert performance that was recorded and broadcast throughout Russia by Russian television. Conductor Constantine Orbelian and his select Philharmonia of Russia offer sterling support. In particular, the DVD’s double-whammy of sparkling surround-sound and vivid video captures the intense, crackling chemistry between Dmitri and Sondra, to dynamite “you-are-there” effect … it’s guaranteed to shiver your timbers and leave you limp with ecstatic artistic overload. Just GET it … you’ll thank me (and Delos)!
— Lindsay Koob
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z82690eUUfw]
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