The Power of Hvorostovsky

Russian operatic Baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky may not be a household name to many,

but I can't help thinking that he might have been better know had his life not been sadly

cut short at only the age of 55 in 2017.

Here he is in the climax of Giuseppe Verdi's three act opera Rigoletto written in 1851.

And it's these big finishes that gets my blood pumping and my heart racing, especially

those rolling drums at the end that always remind me of those night time Summer

thunderstorms that terrified me as a child. Imagine having a front row seat for this

performance with the orchestra pit right in front of you.

And I particularly like how at the end, during the death of Gilda played by Laura Claycomb,

there's a sudden eerie silence before the storm. And that's when the power of Hvorostovsky

is let loose in a moment of grand finality.

Video kindly uploaded to Youtube HERE.