Hvorostovsky-Orbelian Hero Cities Tour, Part IV
Upon receiving this new installment of Constantine Orbelian’s journal describing Dmitri Hvorostovsky’s “Hero Cities” tour, we took out our trusty atlas and an old-fashioned ruler and made a few guesses at the total number of miles this ambitious project will finally cover.
Our estimate comes to well over 5,000 miles in about two weeks. The longest hop seems to be the one between Volgograd and Krasnoyarsk (Dmitri’s hometown) — around 2,000 miles. The next longest is about 1,000 miles between Yekaterinburg and St. Petersburg.
As this narrative continues, we are now in Siberia. Both Krasnoyarsk and the next stop Novosibirsk are very large, thriving industrial cities and areas with formidable cultural and scientific establishments. During World War II both cities supplied thousand of soldiers and manufactured much of the weaponry which helped defeat the Nazi invaders.
Constantine Orbelian makes clear that even less than ideal Siberian weather can’t put a damper on Hvorostovsky’s enthusiastic reception. The story continues to be heartwarming.
We arrived at the Krasnoyarsk airport and were met with some “gorgeous” Siberian weather; it was raining! Nevertheless, we knew that we had come to Dmitri’s home town; loads of people at the airport and TV cameras from all sides.
We all went to our hotel and had lunch, and then got ready for the press conference. This is always tough to do in one’s own city. First and foremost, people were more interested in their friendships with Dmitri, and why he hasn’t been “home” in four years, rather than in what he has been doing during all of that time that he hasn’t been home. Since all of the journalists have known him since he sang his first notes in public, this was definitely one of those very personal moments when they were more interested in Hvorostovsky the person than in his world achievements!
When one of the journalists asked if he had done this kind of tour before, I stepped in and told everyone that there isn’t another artist in the world who has done anything like this particular tour at any time or any place. The only thing that I could think of that could match the magnitude of this would be the USO tours of WW II, where famous American artists would perform for the troops.
When we told them about the 100,000 in Volgograd and 25,000 in Smolensk, and the rest of the trip, and how the public was meeting us and thanking us, they finally realized that this favorite son from Siberia is not merely performing concerts with War Songs, but that his performances have stirred the entire nation; and that the public — old and young — leave these events with a newly restored feeling of pride and honor.
As soon as we left the stage of the Small Hall of the Philharmonic, where the press conference took place, Dmitri’s parents were corralled by the various TV crews and journalists, in two corners of the stage, pounding them with questions about their son; all hoping to get something “exclusive” for their respective newspapers or TV stations.
Dmitri’s parents looked as if they had won the lottery. I can only imagine how they felt and how much all of this meant to them.
The Philharmonic Hall in Krasnoyarsk is a 2,000-seat auditorium built in the 1970s in the typical overabundant Soviet fashion. No acoustic to worry about in this kind of hall; it is non- existent…
The concert started with an opening statement by a very beautiful and well- known musicologist in town who has known Dmitri for years. After introducing the orchestra, choir and all of the rest of the people on the stage, she paused and said: “And now I would like to welcome — OUR Dmitri!!!” Needless to say, all 2,000 people leapt to their feet and gave Dmitri an ovation!
Once again Dmitri was mobbed with people bringing flowers, and we were worried that even on a huge stage like this, there wouldn’t be enough room for all of the flowers. Although it was raining, the local TV station had set up a large plasma screen outside in the square in front of the Concert Hall. There were 20,000 people standing there under their umbrellas, watching this concert and applauding their hero.
After the concert there was a very touching moment when Dmitri’s first voice teacher came up to him and gave him a big motherly hug of approval. Her face was filled with pride and she was overjoyed at Dmitri’s success. Ekaterina Joffel worked with Dmitri for a number of years when he was at the Institute of Culture in Krasnoyarsk.
We were then taken to a wonderful dinner at the dacha of Governor Khloponnin, a young, dynamic, charismatic, articulate individual, together with the head of the legislature of the Krasnoyarsk Krai (an area larger than two Europes combined) and Dmitri’s parents.
A homecoming not to be forgotten…
We all arrived with police escort at the airport at noon the next day, converging at the VIP lounge. The Director of the Philharmonic Society and the Minister of Culture of the Krasnoyarsk Krai came to bid us farewell. They made Dmitri promise to come back very soon. Dmitri’s parents were there to bid us farewell too, and they came on board the aircraft to say goodbye and thank you to all of the orchestra, choir and crew; they had decided to stay in their home town. They hugged and kissed their son, and the tears were flowing — from all of us!
Off to Novosibersk.
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