Bass-Barihunk Ildar Abdrazakov in Semiramide broadcasts

Ildar Abdrazakov and Ryan Speedo Green in Semiramide

Bass-Barihunk Ildar Abdrazakov will be performing King Assur in  Rossini’s Semiramide, which is presented being presented at the Met for the first time in 25 years. He'll be joined in the all-star car by Angela Meade in the title role, Elizabeth DeShong as Arsace, Javier Camarena as Idreno and Ryan Speedo Green as the High Priest Oroe.

The opera opens on  February 19th under the baton of Maurizio Benini and will be transmitted to 2,000 movie theaters in 73 countries as part of the Met’s Live in HD series on March 10th. The broadcast will be hosted by barihunk Christopher Maltman.

If you can't make it to The Met or to your local movie, you can catch the audio broadcast on February 19th and March 6th on Metropolitan Opera Radio on SIRIUS XM Channel 75 or on the Met website's live stream.

Samuel Ramey sings Assur's scene and aria from Semiramide:

Ildar Abdrazakov was most recently seen on stage at the Met in the title role in Le Nozze di Figaro, reprising his performance from the production premiere in 2014. The Russian bass’s other credits with the Met include Escamillo in Carmen, Henry VIII in Donizetti’s Anna Bolena, the title character in Borodin’s Prince Igor, and Dosifei in Mussorgsky’s Khovanshchina.

Additional live performances of Semiramide are on February 24, 28; March 3, 6, 10 (mat), 14, 17. Visit the Met website for additional information and tickets.

Dmitri Hvorostovsky's Upcoming Recitals & HD Broadcast

Dmitri Hvorostovsky in Un Ballo in Maschera

The "Siberian Hunky" Dmitri Hvorostovsky is taking a break from the stage until November while he wraps up his recital tour. He has tour special concerts coming up this month.  On July 8, he'll join the great bass Paata Burchuladze and soprano Tatiana Pavlovskaya for a concert in Abakan, Russia. The program will include operatic fare by Rubenstein and Bizet, including Escamillo's signature aria "Votre toast" from Carmen. As part of his performance in the Khakassian capital, Dmitri will also sing songs by celebrated composer Aleksandra Pakhmutova, including her "Ti Moya Melodiya" and the touching "Kak Molodi Mi Bili."  (Translation of text at end of this post)

Dmitri Hvorostovsky sings Pakhmutova's "Kak molody my byli": 

On July 20th, he'll open the 21st International Český Krumlov Music Festival with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra. The concert will take place in the beautiful Brewery Garden of the historic Czech town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Hvorostovsky will sing arias from Verdi's Rigoletto and Il Trovatore in addition to Wagner's "Abenstern" from Tannhäuser and Bellini's "Or dove fuggo io mai!" from I Puritani, among others. The gala comes to a close with Neapolitan songs.

Dmitri Hvorostovsky sings Falvo's Neapolitan song "Dicitencello vuie":

If you're like most of us and you won't be in Russia this month, you can catch him on the December 8th Live in HD broadcast of Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera from the Metropolitan Oper.

Kak Molodi Mi Bili

Look back,
unfamiliar passerby,
Your glance is incorruptibly familiar.
Maybe that is me, only younger?
We not always remember ourselves.
Nothing on this earth passes without a trace,
And the youth that went away is nevertheless immortal.

How young we were!
How young we were!
How sincerely we loved
How believed we in ourselves!

Others met us back then without laughs (put-downs)
All the flowers on the roads of this earth.
Our friends for their mistakes we forgave
Only changes (cheating) we could not forgive.
The first time we already have won
And only one thing from that we understand.
So others on this earth would not lose you,
Try to not lose yourself!

How young we were!
How young we were!
How sincerely we loved
How believed we in ourselves!

In the heavens, the sky lightings have gone (sunrise and sunset)
And in the heart, the thunder is calming.
To not forget our loved faces
To not forget our native eyes...

Dmitri Hvorostovsky Live Worldwide this Saturday

Dmitri Hvorostovsky continues to establish himself as one of the leading Verdi baritones of our age. It's a little odd to see someone who is aging as beautifully as Carey Grant or George Clooney begin playing fathers onstage, but that's exactly what he'll be doing in the Live in HD broadcast of Verdi's La traviata from the Met on Saturday, April 14th. His elegantly phrased Giorgio Germont will be transmitted to cinemas worldwide with a U.S. encore transmission on May 2 and Canadian encores on May 26 and June 24. The event will also feature exclusive backstage footage and interviews with cast members.

Live performances of La traviata run through May 2nd. He then begins his recital tour in Minsk on May 14.

Hvorostovsky sings "Di Provenza il mar, il suol" from La traviata:

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Barihunk Paulo Szot Live in Theaters Worldwide Tomorrow

Paulo Szot as Don Giovanni at the Dallas Opera

The Metropolitan Opera’s new production of Massenet’s Manon will be transmitted live to movie theaters around the world on Saturday, April 7 as part of The Met: Live in HD series. Barihunk Paulo Szot sings Manon’s cousin Lescaut in the performance.

Anna Netrebko will make her Met role debut as the tragic heroine Manon in the production directed by Laurent Pelly. Met Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi will conduct the opera for the first time at the Met, and tenor Piotr Beczala makes his role debut as the ardent Chevalier des Grieux. The Met: Live in HD presentation of Manon will be hosted by soprano Natalie Dessay.

Visit the Met's website for more information on The Met: Live in HD series, now seen in more than 1,700 movie theaters in 54 countries around the world..

Szot starred as Kovalyov in the 2010 Met premiere of Shostakovich’s The Nose and returned last season as a sexy Escamillo in Bizet’s Carmen. He won a 2008 Tony Award for his portrayal of Emile de Becque in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific.

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Dmitri Hvorostovsky Coming to a Theatre Near You

Dmitri Hvorostovsky excels in Ernani

On February 2nd, Dmitri Hvorostovsky made his role debut as Don Carlo in Giuseppe Verdi's "Ernani" at the Metropolitan Opera. You can watch the "Siberian Hunky" baritone’s Ernani performances in a Live in HD cinema broadcast on February 25. There will be encore performances in the U.S. on March 14 and in Canada on March 31. Click here to purchase tickets for the Live in HD broadcast nearest to you.

Also, make sure to read this wonderful article from Opera News, which talks about his increasing focus on Verdi and his approach to his career. 

Trovatore at the Met (© Beth Bergman) & Posa in Don Carlo (© Johan Elbers 2012)

Verdi continues to be the focus of Hvorostovsky, as he heads to Vienna for a run as the title character in Simon Boccanegra from March 5-13. Marina Poplavskaya will perform Amelia and Ferruccio Furlanetto, who is de Silva in Ernani, will star as Fiesco. Limited tickets are available and can be purchased HERE. 

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