Post by queenofthehours on Nov 23, 2017 18:06:03 GMT
Last night I heard the saddest news, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Siberian baritone, had died. www.classicfm.com/artists/dmitri-hvorostovsky/dmitri-hvorostovsky-dies/
His big jump to fame came after winning the Cardiff singer of the World competition in 1989 beating Bryn Terfel although they always remained friends. Dmitri was probably the closest thing opera had to a rock star but I hate analogies like this. He was like nothing else, just himself. And in the often difficult-to-understand classical music scene Dmitri was one of the rare artists who stood out and could often cross over into the mainstream world.
I first heard him sing in 2004. In those days my favourite things in the world were classical music and Russia so when I heard his voice on Radio 3 one winter's evening I was in love immediately and remained so even when Jeff Lynne came along. After I heard the devastating news I was in such shock that I was still sat open-mouthed ten minutes later. I knew he was ill, he'd been suffering a brain tumour for over two years and had last year given up on opera because of his health yet he was still performing onstage until very recently. Dmitri was only 55 years old and my heart goes out to his wife and young children. It's so devastating to lose yet another musical legend, especially after Tom Petty and I still can't believe it.
Here are a few performances to remember Dmitri by -
Everyone knows this one
Who doesn't love the Tetris song? Is there enough balalaikas here?
'Moscow Nights' from the Last Night of the BBC Proms conducted by the marvellous Sir Mark Elder. This is the most "mainstream" of the three clips here and my favourite 
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, but we're OK. 
Apparently it's quite hard to see them with the naked eye, you need to be looking through a camera or other type of lens?