Johan Botha was heard at the Vienna Staatsoper a total of 222 times before his untimely death. His powerful, truly great voice shone like a beacon across the world of opera. Though he was mostly known as a singer of the German opera repertoire, he also had amazing success with Italian operas which are documented on this double album. Alongside partners like Krassimira Stoyanova, Violeta Urmana and Dmitri Hvorostovsky he knew how to enthrall the Vienna Opera Community. The present release features arias from Italian standards such as Don Carlo, Aida, Otello, Tosca, Turandot, and others.
Dmitri Hvorostovsky's fourth release on Ondine features a program of rarely recorded sonnets by Dmitri Shostakovich and Franz Liszt. Hvorostovsky is accompanied by his longtime duo partner, the Estonian pianist Ivari Ilja. Shostakovich's sonnets, considered one of the achievements of contemporary Russian vocal music, were composed as his health worsened and are filled with ruminations on mortality. Liszt's sonnets are based on love poems by the Italian Renaissance writer Petrarch. Both Hvorostovsky and Ilja brin great empathy to these compositions, matching the contemplative nature of both with quietly powerful and confident performances.
REVIEW:
Hvorostovsky offers searching readings of Shostakovich's rugged, jagged songs which are full of resignation and bittersweet regret, of loss and separation. There are few things finer than Hvorostovsky in full flight and Liszt’s Petrarch Sonnets allow him the chance to open up the Italianate warmth in his baritone, with impassioned accounts, especially of Sonnet 47.
A nostalgia-inspiring survey drawn from the extensive body of popular Russian WWII era songs, this album is the sequel to two all-time favorite Delos titles: Where Are You, My Brothers and Moscow Nights. Opera baritone superstar, Dmitri Hvorostovsky delivers these musical mainstays of Russian culture with relaxed classical technique and the kind of refined, yet soulful and deeply affecting emotional impact that make his concerts of these pieces wildly popular across Russia and around the world.
Russian Folk Culture Is One the Richest I Know. In Recent Years, Some of It Lighter Aspects Have Been Commandeered By the Entertainment And Tourist Industries: With This Recording I Wanted to Go Backwards And Present Songs I Have So Often Heard - But Never Sung Myself - in a Direct And Unvarnished, Yet Classical Way. The Songs I Selected [for CD 1] I Feel Are Truly Russian - Many Are Melancholy, Most Are Bittersweet, with the Kind of Mocking Irony Which Counterbalances Sentimentality. Two I Decided to Sing Alone, in Honor of Chaliapin, But in My Own Way. For the Rest of This Program I Was Privileged to Work with the Magnificent Ossipov Russian Folk Orchestra, Who Live And Breathe This Music. They Made Me Feel a Welcome Guest in Repertoire Far from My Operatic Home, But Very Close to My Heart. Dmitri Hvorostovsky This Double CD Set Returns Two Popular CDs to the Catalogue - Hvorostovsky Performing Songs with Orchestra (CD 1) And with Choir (CD 2). Winner of the Cardiff Singer of the World, He Has Gone on to Give Great Performances in Operas By Verdi And Is Unequalled in the Russian Baritone Opera Repertoire Today. This Repertoire Is Dear to His Heart And in It He Invests Every Ounce of Artistry That Marks His Performances on the Operatic Stage And the Concert Platform. Artists: Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Ossipov Russian Folk Orchestra / Nikolai Kalinin (CD 1), St. Petersburg Chamber Choir / Nikolai Korniev (CD 2)
While greatly revered in Russia, the profound and beautiful music of neo-romantic composer Georgy Sviridov (1915-1998) is hardly known beyond his homeland's borders. His predominantly vocal output reflects his strong affinity for many of the finest Russian poets, who inspired him to compose highly idiomatic music to match the emotional intensity and expressive passion of their verses. Thus did Sergei Yesenin's vivid and moving poetry spark the creation of the stunning twelve-song cycle Russia Cast Adrift. Legendary baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky developed especially strong personal and artistic bonds with Sviridov in the composer's final years, compelling Sviridov to composer specifically for him. Dmitri infuses Sviridov's songs with the same emotional intensity, musical insight and sheer vocal glory that have distinguished his many earlier Delos releases. Joining Dmitri in this world premiere recording of the orchestral version are his long-time collaborators Constantine Orbelian, conducting the St. Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra, and the Russian folk music ensemble Style of Five.
