Dmitri Aleksandrovich Hvorostovsky ( , born October 16, 1962), is a world-class baritone opera singer from Russia. Gifted with a powerful, yet incredibly rich and beautiful voice, Hvorostovsky is reckoned by many to be one of the greatest baritones of the last century.

Hvorostovsky was born in Krasnoyarsk in Siberia. He studied at the Krasnoyarsk School of Arts under Yekatherina Yofel and made his debut at Krasnoyarsk Opera House, in the role of Monterone in Rigoletto. He went on to win First Prize at both the Russian Glinka Competition in 1987 and the Toulouse Singing Competition in 1988. Hvorostovsky came to international prominence in 1989 when he won the Cardiff BBC Singer of the World competition, beating local favorite Bryn Terfel in the final round. His dynamic performance included Handel's Ombra mai fu and an earth-shattering rendition of Per me giunto...O Carlo ascolta from Verdi's Don Carlo. His international concert recitals began immediately(London debut, 1989; New York 1990).

His operatic debut in the West was at the Nice Opera in The Queen of Spades (1989). In Italy he debuted at La Fenice as Eugene Onegin, a success that sealed his reputation, and made his American operatic debut with the Lyric Opera of Chicago (1993) in La Traviata.

He has since sung at virtually every major opera house, including the Metropolitan Opera (debut 1995), the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, the Berlin State Opera, La Scala and the Vienna State Opera. He is especially renowned for his portrayal of the title character in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin; the New York Times described him as "born to play the role." [136]

A tall, handsome man with a striking head of prematurely silver hair, Hvorostovsky has achieved international acclaim as an opera performer as well as a concert artist. He was cast in People magazine's 50 most beautiful people, a rare occurence for a classical musician. His high, medium-weight voice has the typical liquid timbre of Russian baritones and he is a subtle, musical artist of outstanding technical accomplishment. His breath control is unparralled and his musical, intellingent interpretation, combined with a unique voice is admired across the globe.

Hvorostovsky has made several recordings with Phillips records and has several performances recorded on DVD.

External links

Hvorostovsky.com, a fan site

Dmitri Hvorostovsky

Upcoming performances