Dmitri Hvorostovsky's hometown to rename airport in his honor

Dmitri Hvorostosky and the Krasnoyarsk airport

Dmitri Hvorostosky's hometown of Krasnoyarsk in Eastern Siberia has announced that they will honor the Russian singer by renaming the local airport after him.

After being diagnosed with a brain tumor in June 2015, Hvorostovsky died on November 22, 2017 in London. Hvorostosky sang a  farewell concert in Krasnoyarsk in June 2017.

In his will, Hvorostovsky asked that half of his ashes be buried in Moscow’s Novodevichy Cemetery and the other half in Krasnoyarsk.

There were few baritones as compelling on stage as Dmitri Hvorostovsky and only a few in history who matched his box office draw. He will forever be remembered for his seamless legato and movie star good looks.

He was born on October 16, 1962 and shot to fame in 1989 when he won the Cardiff Singer of the World competition in a legendary showdown with Bryn Terfel. The late, great soprano Elizabeth Soderström, who was one of the judges in 1989, famously marked a series of exclamation marks on her scorecard as she listened to Hvorostovsky sing.

His extensive discography includes 30 recitals, numerous complete operas on CD and DVD, and the award-winning film "Don Giovanni Unmasked" where he performed the dual roles of Don Giovanni and Leporello. On November 10, 2017, he released his first recording of Verdi's Rigoletto, on which he sings the title role.