September New Release - Hvorostovsky Heroes & Villains
Dmitri Hvorostovsky in new aria album,
The great baritone sings arias from Russian, French, Italian and German operas, and dedicates album to the memory of Delos founder Amelia Haygood
DE 3365 • September release from Delos
“Heroes and Villains” is Dmitri Hvorostovsky’s most splendid aria album to date. Now at the peak of his powers, Hvorostovsky draws on his gorgeous baritone to interpret a range of arias from the rarely heard to audience favorites. His collaborator in this versatile program is American conductor Constantine Orbelian with the Philharmonia of Russia. Dmitri has dedicated the album to Delos founder and longtime leader Amelia Haygood, who died in March, 2007 after a 12-year battle with cancer.
Hvorostovsky himself feels that he has reached a milestone, both vocally and interpretively. This album gives his vast audience the chance to share such a moment in the career of a great artist. The Russian repertoire on this 73-minute CD includes Boris Godunov’s guilt-ridden monologue, as well as Boyar Shaklovity’s similarly tragic ruminations from Mussorgsky’s Kovanshchina. Lesser-known arias beloved of Russian baritones are two from Anton Rubinstein’s The Demon, a favorite in Russia, and a novelty from Rubinstein’s Nero. The great baritone showpiece from Borodin’s Prince Igor has seldom sounded so eloquent and persuasive.
Dmitri Hvorostovsky has been called “the greatest Verdi baritone of our time.” Carlos’ “Urna fatale del mio destino” from La Forza del destino is a wonderful showpiece for the great singer. Other Italian arias by Puccini (Scarpia’s “Te Deum” from Tosca), Giordano (Andrea Chenier), and Leoncavallo (Pagliacci) reinforce the strength of Hvorostovsky’s interpretive skills.
The French repertoire, handsomely represented here in arias from Gounod’s Faust, Massenet’s Hérodiade, Thomas’ Hamlet and Bizet’s Carmen, should delight any Francophile opera lover. Dmitri’s German offering, Hymn to the Evening Star from Wagner’s Tannhäuser, suggests an opening into other Wagnerian baritone roles.
“Heroes and Villains” is Dmitri’s eighth recording for Delos. The growing Delos catalog of Hvorostovsky artistry includes Verdi Arias, DE 3292; Neapolitan Songs (Passione di Napoli, DE 3290); traditional Russian songs (Moscow Nights, DE 3339 and Where Are You, My Brothers, DE 3315); Russian romances (I Met You, My Love, DE 3293); the Sviridov song cycle “Petersburg,” DE 3311; and Tchaikovsky: Queen of Spades, Great Scenes, DE 3289.
In October and November of 2007 Hvorostovsky, Orbelian and the Moscow Chamber Orchestra will be touring “To Russia with Love,” a concert program of Russian romances and traditional songs: PARIS: Oct. 6 (Salle Pleyel); LONDON: Oct. 9 (Barbican); MEXICO: Guadalajara, Oct 30; Monterrey, Nov 2; U.S.: Berkeley, Nov 4; Dallas, Nov 6; Los Angeles (Pasadena), Nov. 11; New York, (Lincoln Center), Nov 14; Miami, Nov. 16; Washington, DC, Nov 20; Chicago, Dec 2; Boston, Dec 4. CANADA: Montreal, Nov 24; Quebec, Nov 26; Toronto, Nov 29.
In October 2007, to coincide with the tour, Delos will release a live concert DVD of “To Russia with Love” filmed in St. Petersburg in September, 2006.
“Hvorostovsky continues to astonish, and his voice remains one of the most beautiful of the world.” — The Guardian
Contents of “Heroes and Villains”:
Borodin: Prince Igor • Igor’s aria “Ni sna, ni otdikha”
Mussorgsky: Boris Godunov • Boris’s aria “Dastik ya vyshei vlasti”
Mussorgsky: Khovanschina • Shaklovity’s aria “Spit streletskoe gnezdo”
Rubinstein: The Demon • Demon’s aria “Na Vozdushnom akiane”
with Florence Illi-Hvorostovsky, soprano
Rubinstein: The Demon • Demon’s aria “Ne plach ditya”
Rubinstein: Nero • Vindex’s aria “Epitalama”
Wagner: Tannhäuser • Wolfram’s aria “Oh du mein holder Abendstern”
Giordano: Andrea Chenier • Gérard’s aria “Nemico della patria”
Verdi: La Forza del Destino • Carlo’s aria “Urna Fatale”
with Dmitry Kuznetsov, baritone
Leoncavallo: Pagliacci • Tonio • Prologue “Si può?”
Puccini: Tosca • Scarpia’s aria “Te Deum”
Gounod: Faust • Valentin’s aria “Avant de quitter ces lieux”
Massenet: Hérodiade • Herod’s aria “Vision fugitive”
Bizet: Carmen • Escamillo • Toreador Song “Votre toast”
with Marnie Breckenridge, soprano • Viktoria Smirnova, soprano • Anastasia Chikaeva, mezzo-soprano
Thomas: Hamlet • The Drinking Song “Ô vin, dissipe la tristesse”
with Andrey Azovsky, tenor • Dmitry Kuznetsov, baritone
Dmitri Hvorostovsky, baritone • Constantine Orbelian, conductor • Philharmonia of Russia
Spiritual Revival Choir of Russia (Lev Kontorovich, Music Director)
Recorded in Svetlanov Hall of the Moscow International Performing Arts Center
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