War, Peace, Love & Sorrow Dmitri Hvorostovsky

• 1 Voyna i mir (War and Peace), Op. 91: Scene 1: Svetlaje vesenneje nebo 11:47
• 2 Mazeppa, Act II: O, Marija, Marija! 05:27
• 3 Iolanta, Op. 69, Scene 6: Aria: Kto mozhet sravnit'sia s Matil'doi moe 02:36
• 4 Act I: Odnazhdy v Versale au jeu de la Reine 05:42
• 5 Act III: Yesli b milye devitsy 02:17
• 6 The Demon, Scene 6: — 26:03
• Total Runtime 53:52

Info for War, Peace, Love & Sorrow

The incomparable Siberian baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky — best known internationally for his Verdi roles — makes a powerful return to operatic masterpieces of his homeland. Leading this gripping album of Russian arias and scenes is Hvorostovsky’s frequent collaborator, Constantine Orbelian.

We are treated to the vibrant opening scene from Prokofiev’s War and Peace, as well as popular arias from Tchaikovsky’s Mazeppa, Iolanta and Queen of Spades. We also get a seldom-heard rarity: virtually the entire final dramatic scene from Anton Rubinstein’s The Demon.

Featured in the album’s first and last selections is the new soprano sensation Asmik Grigorian, with whom Dmitri has shared the operatic stage in these roles in recent seasons. Further collaborators include other well-known Russian artists who appear here more briefly, as well as the vaunted State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia and the Helikon Opera Chorus.

Dmitri Hvorostovsky, baritone
Asmik Grigorian, soprano
Irina Shishkova, mezzo soprano
Mikhail Guzhov, bass
Igor Morozov, baritone
Vadim Volkov, countertenor
Russian Federation Academic Symphony Orchestra
Helikon Opera Chorus
Constantine Orbelian, conductor

Dmitri Hvorostovsky
was born and studied in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia. In 1989, he won the prestigious Cardiff Singer of the World Competition. From the start, audiences were bowled over by his cultivated voice, innate sense of musical line and natural legato. After his Western operatic debut at the Nice Opera in Tchaikovsky’s Pique Dame, his career exploded to take in regular engagements at the world’s major opera houses and appearances at renowned international festivals, including the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, New York’s Metropolitan Opera, the Paris Opera, the Bavarian State Opera, the Salzburg Festival, the Teatro alla Scala Milan, the Vienna State Opera, and the Chicago Lyric Opera.

A celebrated recitalist in demand in every corner of the globe — from the Far East to the Middle East, from Australia to South America — Hvorostovsky has appeared at such venues as Wigmore Hall, London; Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh; Carnegie Hall, New York; the Teatro alla Scala, Milan; the Tchaikovsky Conservatoire, Moscow; the Liceu, Barcelona; the Suntory Hall, Tokyo; and the Musikverein, Vienna. The singer regularly performs in concert with top orchestras like the New York Philharmonic and the Rotterdam Philharmonic, and conductors, including James Levine, Bernard Haitink, Claudio Abbado, Lorin Maazel, Zubin Mehta, Yuri Termikanov and Valery Gergiev.

Dmitri retains a strong musical and personal contact with Russia. He became the first opera singer to give a solo concert with orchestra and chorus on Red Square in Moscow; this concert was televised in over 25 countries. Dmitri has gone on to sing a number of prestigious concerts in Moscow as a part of his own special series, ‘Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Friends.’ He has invited such celebrated artists as Renée Fleming, Sumi Jo and Sondra Radvonosky. In 2005 he gave an historic tour throughout the cities of Russia at the invitation of President Putin, singing to crowds of hundreds of thousands of people to commemorate the soldiers of the Second World War. Dmitri now tours the cities of Russia and Eastern Europe on an annual basis.

Constantine Orbelian, Conductor
The brilliant pianist and conductor Constantine Orbelian is the first American ever to become music director of an ensemble in Russia. His appointment in 1991 as Music Director of the celebrated Moscow Chamber Orchestra was a breakthrough event, and came in the midst of Orbelian's successful career as a concert pianist. In September, 2000, Orbelian was named Permanent Guest Conductor of the Moscow Philharmonic, putting him in a unique leadership position with not only Moscow's outstanding chamber orchestra but also its most illustrious symphony orchestra. In January, 2004 President Putin awarded Orbelian the coveted title 'Honored Artist of Russia,' a title never before bestowed on a non-Russian citizen.

This album contains no booklet.