Hvorostovsky's family then made a strange decision that his fans did not like

Childhood and youth

Dmitry Hvorostovsky was born on October 16, 1962 in Krasnoyarsk. His parents, by the standards of the Soviet Union, had very prestigious professions: his father Alexander Stepanovich was a chemical engineer, and his mother Lyudmila Petrovna worked as a gynecologist in a hospital.

However, Alexander Stepanovich’s main hobby was music. The father of the young singer had a deep baritone, which Dmitry inherited, and played the piano beautifully. In the evenings, the Hvorostovsky family gathered in the living room, where Alexander Stepanovich sang with his wife, accompanying himself on the piano.

Dmitry Hvorostovsky began singing at the age of 4, performing ancient romances and folk songs. His idols were Ettore Bastianini, Tito Gobbi, Fyodor Chaliapin and Maria Callas, whose records his father collected.

Published by Evelina Avanesova Tuesday, October 16, 2018

Dmitry Hvorostovsky and his first wife Svetlana in his youth

When Dmitry went to secondary school, his parents decided to send their son to study piano at the same time. Studying was difficult for him; he could not boast of good grades. In the 10th grade, the future singer was given such an unflattering description that after graduation, Dmitry preferred not to remember his school years.

After receiving a certificate of secondary education, Hvorostovsky entered the Krasnoyarsk Pedagogical School named after A. M. Gorky in the music department. In his youth, Dmitry became interested in the fashionable style of music at that time - rock. He became the lead singer and keyboard player of the Rainbow group, which played in various styles in restaurants and clubs in Krasnoyarsk. The free lifestyle attracted him. At one time the guy even wanted to quit his studies, but changed his mind and successfully graduated from college, receiving a specialty as a music teacher.

In 1982, Hvorostovsky entered the Krasnoyarsk Institute of Arts in the vocal department. He got into the class of teacher Ekaterina Iofel thanks to the intercession of friends, since there were simply no empty seats in Iofel’s group. Thanks to his perseverance, the guy managed to become one of the teacher’s best students. During his studies, Dmitry never missed a class. In 1988, the singer graduated from the Music Institute with honors.

How Dmitry Hvorostovsky lived and died

Dmitry Hvorostovsky was born in Krasnoyarsk on October 17, 1962 in a house where there was rarely silence. The collection of his father, a chemical engineer who could not imagine his existence without music, included the rarest records of Enrico Caruso and Maria Callas, Titto Gobbi and, of course, recordings of the Russian genius Fyodor Chaliapin, which in those years cost a fortune.

As soon as he was born, Dmitry Hvorostovsky found himself immersed in a charming atmosphere. One of the people closest to him played excellent music on the piano and sang - the one who shaped the personality of a musician in him. We are talking about the father, Alexander Stepanovich, who instilled in his son a love of beauty and, above all, music and singing.

Parents of D. Hvorostovsky. Early 60s...

And little Dima began to sing. He did this, shocking his parents, when he was barely 4 years old. The father was at first taken aback, and then carefully invited the baby to the family heirloom - the piano, showing him the simplest chords...

Photo: uznayvse.ru

Dmitry looked at this black and white palette of keys, endless as life, for a long time, and then... carefully and accurately repeated the chord.

Photo: the-most-beautiful.ru

Photo: lichnosti.net

The doors to the music school were open! And his teachers, captivated by the kid’s talent, saw in him more likely the future Mozart than the young Soviet Chaliapin.

Photo: lichnosti.net

As often happens with truly gifted people, success in music school was strikingly different from success in general education school. The great baritone recalled his school years with reluctance.

But then the last bell rang and the young man was faced with the question of choosing a profession!

He was destined to enter the Krasnoyarsk School of Arts - the regional Mecca, from whose walls many wonderful musicians and singers emerged, but - despite everything! – Dmitry... took the documents to the pedagogical school, where he mastered the specialty of a music teacher.

Those were the 70s, when the Beatles had already died out, and there was a craze for hard rock, which young Hvorostovsky also became imbued with, organizing performances as part of one of the “underground” rock groups.

Photo: lichnosti.net

However, the “difficult period of hard rock” did not last very long in his life. Realizing that classical music would be his vocation, Hvorostovsky entered the vocal department, where that fateful meeting took place with teacher Ekaterina Konstantinovna Ioffel, a legend of Soviet and Russian opera, who gave a “start in life” to more than a hundred opera singers. One of them was her most famous and talented student, Dima Hvorostovsky.

Like Dmitry Alexandrovich, Ekaterina Konstantinovna passed away in 2020, being almost 40 years older than her student.

Photo: uznayvse.ru

In his native Krasnoyarsk, on the stage of the Opera and Ballet Theater, Dmitry Hvorostovsky’s professional start took place. To those who heard this heartfelt - causing awe, shock, trembling! - baritone, it was quite obvious that the owner of this magnificent voice would not stay in the outback.

Both Moscow and Leningrad will not be enough for him. After all, Dmitry Hvorostovsky (which, of course, he could not have guessed in those years) would become a figure of world significance. In the meantime, the artistic management of the Krasnoyarsk Opera will provide the young specialist with an opportunity that is rarely given to any aspiring opera singer.

His baritone will be heard in almost all significant productions of 1985-1990. In Krasnoyarsk he will perform the main opera roles in The Queen of Spades and Faust, Eugene Onegin and La Traviata, Pagliacci, and Iolanta.

Just two years after the start of his professional career, he will become not just a winner, but a triumphant of the M. Glinka All-Union Vocal Competition.

Its leaders knew and could not help but foresee that reaching the level of the all-Union competition would mark the beginning of a completely different phase in the career of the gifted young singer. But even they could not imagine that just a year later, captivated by Hvorostovsky’s voice, spectators at the best venues in Europe would applaud.

With the part of Yeletsky, he will perform brilliantly on the stage of the opera house in Nice, and the luminaries of the international competition in Toulouse will be so impressed by the performance of the Soviet singer that without any hesitation they will give him the Grand Prix.

What is the phenomenon of Dmitry Hvorostovsky? He captivated not only with his unique voice, but also with his special manner of performance, where the deepest penetration was combined with genuine masculinity and beauty. A beautifully built young man with a piercing ashy shock of hair, dressed in a perfectly fitting tuxedo, was doomed to worldwide recognition and success.

There were no closed scenes for Dmitry Hvorostovsky. Having lived his life outside of time and space, being, thanks to a talent sent from above, outside the framework of any political conflicts, he sang on the stage of Milan's La Scala. He was idolized by pragmatic Americans after a resoundingly successful performance at the Metropolitan Opera; he conquered Covent Garden, the legendary royal theater in London.

And, of course, he was always loved, always appreciated in his homeland, in Russia, where he was eagerly awaited in his native Krasnoyarsk and in other cities. Tickets for Hvorostovsky sold out in the first days of sales! In Moscow, not only the doors of the Kremlin Palace were open to him.

Remember! After all, it was Dmitry Hvorostovsky who was the first to give a concert on Red Square on the eve of his grand all-Russian tour. Can you give an example of a performance by at least one Russian artist that would be broadcast in 25 (twenty-five!) countries at once?

I don't remember something. Was Hvorostovsky happy in his family life? Only he himself could answer this question, but if you cross this line and invade the sphere where the intimate, personal begins, then his life could be compared to a dramatic ups and downs, where, as you know, there is happiness, but, at times, you have to take a sip of grief.

Back in 1989, he became the husband of the ballerina of the Krasnoyarsk Theater Svetlana Ivanova, whose child Dmitry accepted and loved as his own.

“Don’t do this... Believe me, men never leave good women,” Ekaterina Konstantinovna Ioffel, his teacher, tried to reach him.

But he already loved, and he loved as if he was singing, soulfully and heartily. But, unfortunately, not everyone could appreciate it. Svetlana couldn’t... they broke up, they broke up on bad terms, after 15 years of living together, having overcome - it would seem! – all points of return to separation.

Photo: uznayvse.ru

Dmitry Alexandrovich was very upset by the betrayal, as well as the forced separation from the twins dear to his heart - Sashenka and Daniil.

He left, giving his now ex-wife what she demanded before breaking up, and found himself in the abyss of the deepest depression, in a kind of black tunnel from which there seemed to be no way out...

Thus ended this beautiful, slightly strange marriage. And now it seems that he sincerely loved, and Svetlana simply allowed herself to be loved by a man whom millions of people admired all over the world.

Dmitry will survive Svetlana by only a year and a half. She will pass away in 2016. Cause of death? Acute meningitis... sepsis. Is it a coincidence?

Years will pass, and Florence will appear - a woman who will help bring back to Hvorostovsky’s life the colors that were only at first glance irretrievably lost. And again, children's laughter will delight Dmitry, returning from a lifelong tour.

Maxim, who was born in 2003, will rejoice at the return of his father, as well as Ninochka, who appeared to the star couple four years later.

Photo: uznayvse.ru

Confusion and melancholy will seize the legendary singer again at the beginning of 2015, when he feels painful weakness and realizes that attacks of dizziness are not at all a consequence of fatigue caused by continuous exhausting tours.

The dazzling light of the spotlights, these rays of glory that shone upon him all his life, will suddenly go out overnight - right at one of his performances! - as a result of temporary loss of vision... He will not shut up, his voice will not waver, Hvorostovsky will cope with internal panic and... will continue to sing in the darkness.

Having given a crushing battle to his illness, fighting with all possible means, including yoga, with the pain that was caused by deadly chemotherapy, Dmitry Hvorostovsky lived for another two and a half years. Only in the most extreme situations did he refuse to perform. The “most extreme” were those periods when it was necessary to undergo another course of chemistry...

He will once again return to his native Krasnoyarsk, to where it all began, shortly before his death. He will return to, overcoming weakness and pain, go on stage and bow deeply to the spectators of those places where the amazing began - but whatever! - a fantastic aria that lasts a lifetime.

Many of those leaving the auditorium will cry. People will see not only their favorite artist, the greatest opera singer of our time, but also the results of his desperate struggle, in which, unfortunately, the disease began to win.

This fall, Dmitry Hvorostovsky had the opportunity to read his own obituary. Our colleague from a respected federal publication hastened to report his death without checking the information...

Until the very end, we believed that a miracle would happen, that people’s love, which can also work miracles, would not allow him to leave the way Alexander Abdulov, Mikhail Zadornov and many other wonderful Russian artists died, carried away by the monstrous oncology pandemic.

But it didn't happen. And today the online publication “Russian Planet” deeply mourns along with those who now still refuse to believe that Dmitry Alexandrovich is no longer with us.

We don't believe it.

Personal life

Dmitry met his first wife, ballerina Svetlana Ivanova, at the Krasnoyarsk Opera and Ballet Theater. The young singer was crazy about the dancer, who at that time was divorced and raising a child on her own. This fact did not bother Dmitry at all; 2 years after the start of their romance, he moved her to his room in a communal apartment, and in 1989 they got married.

The couple moved to London, where in 1996 they had twins - daughter Alexandra and son Danila. Later, the boy adopted his father's youthful love of rock. Today he has his own musical group. Sasha became an artist.

Florence Illi-Hvorostovskaya

She was married to Dmitry since 2001 and lived with him in a happy marriage for 16 years. Their children together help her cope with the loss of her husband. It was on them that she concentrated all her attention, raising them.

During his lifetime, the singer was diagnosed with an incurable disease. But the wife did not leave her husband for a second, but supported him until the very end. She spent all her free time with him, enjoying every moment together. As he himself said, Florence changed his life for the better, filling it with bright colors. She helped him find inner balance and find true happiness.

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Career

In 1985, Dmitry was invited to the Krasnoyarsk Opera and Ballet Theater. At first, the young soloist was entrusted with the performance of minor parts. Soon, thanks to his unique voice and incredible talent, Hvorostovsky became the main voice of the operas of Tchaikovsky, Verdi, Gounod and Leoncavallo. A year later, the young opera star became a laureate first of the All-Russian Vocal Competition, and a few months later of the All-Union Competition.

After graduating from the institute, Dmitry decided to focus on Western listeners and build his career in Europe. He actively participated in international competitions, which played a certain role in the development of his creative biography.

In 1988, he visited France, making his debut on the stage of the opera house in Nice, and won an international competition held in the city of Toulouse. In 1989, the opera singer went to a popular international singing competition, which was held by the British television company BBC in the capital of Wales, Cardiff.

Dmitry Hvorostovsky and Igor Krutoy
Published by Prosto Natali Thursday, October 17, 2020

Dmitry Hvorostovsky and Igor Krutoy
For the first time in 4 years, a representative of the Russian opera participated in this festival. Hvorostovsky performed his favorite parts from the operas of Tchaikovsky and Verdi, which won the hearts of the audience. One of the jury members even compared the opera singer to the legendary performer Luciano Pavarotti. Such high marks provided Hvorostovsky with an undeniable victory and recognition throughout the world.

In 1990, the singer made his debut on the stage of the New York Nice Opera Theater in the production of “The Queen of Spades” by composer Tchaikovsky. Thanks to this concert, he was noticed by the record company Philips Classics, with which he signed a contract to record albums.

In total, the company has published more than 20 records, including both the singer’s solo programs and collections of arias from operas. The album “Black Eyes,” consisting of folk songs and romances, has long been one of the soloist’s most popular creations in the United States and Europe.

In 1994, Hvorostovsky moved to London, where he bought a five-story house, and a few years later received British citizenship.

Famous opera singers Anna Netrebko and Dmitry Hvorostovsky
Published by Tatyana Boyadzhieva Thursday, February 17, 2011

Dmitry Hvorostovsky and Anna Netrebko
Hvorostovsky continued performing in the best opera houses in the world. Every year the singer toured around the world with solo programs, and also participated in numerous festivals and concerts. Dmitry signed a new contract with another American recording studio, Delos, which still publishes his albums to this day.

The opera singer also did not forget about his homeland. In 2004, Dmitry Hvorostovsky performed accompanied by a symphony orchestra on the main square of Russia, his concert was shown on national television channels.

A year later, Hvorostovsky gave a concert in honor of the 60th anniversary of the Great Victory at the State Kremlin Palace. The program included military songs “Victory Day”, “At a Nameless Height”, “Cranes” and others.

Songs by Alexandra Pakhmutova, such as “Tenderness” and “How Young We Were,” gained great popularity performed by Hvorostovsky.

Lara Fabian and Dmitry Hvorostovsky According to the calendar on the site, follow the main characteristics: Lara Fabian –...
Published by the Calendar on the site and the city Monday, April 2, 2020

Dmitry Hvorostovsky and Lara Fabian
The music of Georgy Sviridov occupied a special place in the artist’s work. It was the vocal poem of the great composer “Disciplinary Rus'” that Hvorostovsky recorded before his death. With this work, only in the first edition, the collaboration of two geniuses once began. The disc was later posthumously nominated for a Grammy Award in the category “Best Solo Album in Classical Music.”

In 2013, the artist had the opportunity to perform on Red Square. Together with Anna Netrebko in front of the Kremlin, he performed the song “Moscow Nights” and the finale from the opera “Eugene Onegin”. A year later, the artist gave a charity concert “Hvorostovsky and Friends for Children.” The program included such hits of classical vocal music as Prince Igor’s aria and “Adagio” by Tomaso Albinoni.

At the invitation of longtime friend Igor Krutoy, Dmitry Hvorostovsky repeatedly participated in the New Wave competition. In 2011, he became a guest at the closing ceremony of the festival, where he performed together with Lara Fabian.

In 2020, the singer delighted fans with a performance on the New Wave stage in a duet with Aida Garifullina. In collaboration with a producer and composer, Dmitry Alexandrovich recorded an album called “Deja Vu” and also released a video for the song Toi et Moi (“You and Me”).

A little about the family

Which family produces brilliant children? Scientists all over the world are studying this issue. Many studies have been conducted, thousands of reports have been written, but no clear answer has been received. However, now all scientists, with high probability, declare a large percentage of the transfer of one or another talent to a child by inheritance. This is followed by the conditions in which the child grows and develops, and only then by one’s own hard work and diligence.

Quite recently, the world lost a brilliant opera singer, the idol of millions of classical music fans - Dmitry Hvorostovsky. A wonderful man, a loving husband, a kind father and, the saddest thing, a beloved son has passed away. He recently turned 55 years old.

Dmitry Hvorostovsky was born in the city of Krasnoyarsk. Date of birth: October 16, 1962. His mother, Lyudmila Petrovna, worked as an obstetrician-gynecologist, his father, Alexander Stepanovich, was a chemical engineer. Nothing is known for sure about nationality. Dmitry himself considered himself Russian. Although the parents’ profession did not in any way cover the world of art, the family literally idolized music. The head of the family was very good at playing the piano, sang superbly, and collected recordings of opera singers. He passed on his passion to his son. The father seriously decided to take up Dmitry’s musical education. Music was constantly playing in the house, and guests often gathered. Since childhood, Dmitry and his parents attended premieres of the Krasnoyarsk Opera House, went to exhibitions and met interesting people. Dmitry is the only child of his parents, so he was fully surrounded by attention and care. Studying at school was not easy for him. Nevertheless,

Dmitry grew up as an inquisitive, interested boy. At the music school, teachers saw in their student, first of all, a talented pianist, and not a vocalist. After a very difficult reference given to Dmitry at the end of school, he was only able to enter a pedagogical school.

Having received the profession of a music teacher, he entered the Krasnoyarsk Institute of Arts. Here luck smiled on the young talent. He took a course from the famous opera vocal teacher Ekaterina Iofel. According to the singer, it was her instructions and lessons that helped him throughout his creative career. From 1985 to 1990 he worked in the troupe of the Krasnoyarsk Opera and Ballet Theater as a soloist. Almost immediately he became an “opera star” of the local theater and took the main roles in “The Queen of Spades”, “La Traviata”, “Faust”, “Eugene Onegin” and others.

1989 brought the young singer victory in the prestigious international competition in Cardiff. This victory opened the doors to the best opera houses in the world.

1994 brings the singer many awards and international prizes. In the same year, he and his family moved permanently to London.

The first time Dmitry tied the knot was back in Krasnoyarsk in 1986. His chosen one was his theater colleague, ballerina Svetlana Ivanova. She already had her own child. After 10 years, she gave the singer two charming twins. Thus, three children grew up in the family. But constant quarrels and disagreements between the spouses led to the fact that the marriage eventually broke up. This happened in 2001. The main reason was the constant betrayal of his wife. By the way, Dmitry Hvorostovsky had to pay a considerable amount of compensation.

Soon Dmitry married for the second time. His chosen one was Florence Illy. In 2003, the couple had a child, Maxim, and after some time, the wife gave Dmitry a daughter, Nina. Finally, the famous singer found happiness. His new family brightened his life with new colors. However, the happiness did not last long.

Disease

On June 25, 2020, it became known from the official website of the opera singer that Hvorostovsky was suspending his concert activities until the end of August due to health reasons - a serious illness.

Doctors gave Hvorostovsky a terrible diagnosis - a brain tumor. It is not known for certain when exactly the artist found out about his illness, but a week before publication he was forced to cancel his performance at the Vienna Theater. The performer's voice was not damaged, but Hvorostovsky had problems with balance.

Despite the existing problems, the singer subsequently found the strength to give several concerts. After the first course of treatment in 2020, he appeared on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera in Giuseppe Verdi’s opera “Il Trovatore” along with his partner Anna Netrebko. His performance “Hvorostovsky and Friends” took place in Russia in the fall. In 2020, Hvorostovsky performed at the City Day of St. Petersburg, and then gave a concert in his native Krasnoyarsk.

Tragic fate

In 2020, Dmitry was informed about a brain tumor discovered in him. He suddenly began to suffer from headaches and short-term loss of coordination, decreased hearing and vision. He told those around him that the tumor was benign, although he himself initially knew that it was not so. Dmitry bravely fought for life and took any available therapy. During remission, Dmitry Hvorostovsky, without losing his fortitude, gave big concerts, believing that the stage and the love of his listeners would help him cope with his illness. Together with Anna Netrebko and Lara, Fabian took part in the “New Wave”. He conducted a tour of Germany with a repertoire of works by classics of opera music. The last concert in Russia took place on June 2, 2020. In Austria he appeared on stage again on June 22.

Dmitry Hvorostovsky, after 2 years of struggle with a serious illness, died in London on November 22, 2020. The last days of his life were spent with the people closest to him. The parents flew to their son a few days before his death. They were able to communicate with him as much as his condition allowed. Every day while the singer was in the clinic, friends and family visited him. He was not left alone.

Death

On November 22, 2020, Dmitry Hvorostovsky died. After a long battle with the disease, the famous artist died in Switzerland at the age of 56. Poet Liliya Vinogradova reported that Hvorostovsky passed away at 3:36 am London time. The information was confirmed by the artist’s family via Instagram. The celebrity account continues to live today. Posts and photos dedicated to concerts in memory of the performer appear on the page.

It turned out that the singer left a will, where he indicated that he wanted to be cremated. The ashes, according to Hvorostovsky's will, were divided into two parts for the funeral. One is buried at the Novodevichy cemetery in Moscow - his parents now live in the capital, and the other is in Krasnoyarsk.

Published by Helikon-Opera/»Helikon-Opera» Monday, November 27, 2020

Funeral of Dmitry Hvorostovsky

Friends and relatives of the artist, prominent representatives of show business and politics, Igor Krutoy, Joseph Kobzon, Dmitry Dibrov, Joseph Prigozhin, Vyacheslav Fetisov, Pavel Astakhov, gathered for the funeral in the capital of Russia. The ceremony took place in complete silence: no one uttered a word. Hvorostovsky's ashes were in a closed coffin.

At the vocalist’s first grave in 2020, on his birthday, a monument was inaugurated, representing a full-length bronze figure of the performer. The monument was created by sculptor Vladimir Usov.

The artist’s new love is Flosha

In 1999, Dmitry and Florence met. This happened in Switzerland at a rehearsal of the play “Don Juan”. Dmitry played the main role, and Florence played the secondary role. After the divorce, Hvorostovsky was depressed. It was hard for him to work, the singer almost left the stage. And it was Flosha, as he affectionately called his future wife, who brought him back to life. Soon the artist was able to return to active musical activity.