Dashing baritone popular at the Edinburgh Festival

Born: October 16, 1962;

Died: November 22, 2017

THE charismatic baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky, who has died aged 55, was a star of opera and one of the first major singers to emerge from Russia in the modern era.

He enjoyed an international career and his performances were acclaimed particularly at The Royal Opera House and The Metropolitan in New York. His mane of flowing locks – prematurely white but mightily distinguished – and his handsome appearance ensured he made an instant impression when he came on stage.

However, his silvery toned voice combined a hint of romantic elegance with sinister undertones that ideally suited him for such roles as Eugene Onegin, Don Giovanni and Count Almaviva. But many will also recall his singing of Russian songs, particularly those with lyrics by Pushkin: “Hvorostovsky captures the Russian soul” one critic wrote.

Mr Hvorostovsky visited the Edinburgh Festival on several occasions. In 1992 he made his Scottish debut in a song recital in the Usher Hall finishing with an encore of demanding unaccompanied Russian folksongs. One critic wrote perceptively, “the singing of this young interpreter had an uncommon power.” In 1998 he was in the cast of the Royal Opera’s exciting production of Verdi’s I Masnadieri at the Festival Theatre singing the evil role of Francesco giving his mad scene a “terrifying impression of a bent and deranged mind.” He returned for the 2008 Festival when he sang a solo recital in a packed Usher Hall of Russian songs.

Sir Antonio Pappano, musical director of the Royal Opera, addressed the audience from the stage of Covent Garden the night of Mr Hvorostovsky’s death. “Dima graced our stage with genuine flair and generosity,” he said. “The sheer beauty of his voice and the joy with which he approached performing was unique.

“On a personal note, I accompanied him on the piano in a group of songs by Rachmaninoff. The experience remains for me unforgettable. Listening to him singing in his native language, the depth of understanding and his vocal prowess were overwhelming.”

Dmitri Aleksandrovich Hvorostovsky was born in Siberia where his father was a chemical engineer. He studied piano and singing but showed a keen interest in pop music and was a follower of the band Queen. He experienced some ropey years as a teenage rebel but by his twenties he was studying classical music and singing with local Siberian opera companies.

In the 1980s the Soviet Union began to lessen its restrictions and artists were allowed to enter foreign competitions. In 1989 Mr Hvorostovsky came to Cardiff for the prestigious Singer of the World Competition. That year was known as the Battle of the Baritones with both Mr Hvorostovsky and Bryan Terfel competing.

Terfel was expected to win (especially by his compatriots) but Mr Hvorostovsky took the title after giving a stunning recital – sympathetically conducted by Scottish Opera’s Richard Armstrong. On hearing of his death Terfel generously commented, “To the king of the 1989 Cardiff Singer of the World. He certainly inspired us all to pull our socks up. A confident, crazy, talented, caring man.”

Mr Hvorostovsky’s career immediately took off and he became a regular with orchestras and opera houses worldwide. He made his debut with The Royal Opera in I puritani in 1992 and then memorably sang the title role in Eugene Onegin, Germont Père in La Traviata, the new production of Il trovatore and the new production of Tchaikovsky’s Queen of Spades under Bernard Haitink.

Covent Garden became a much favoured theatre for him. He made the city his home living in Chiswick and was often seen commuting up to the west end on the tube.

He enjoyed an extensive recording career making four recordings of Eugene Onegin – notably in 1992 under Valery Gergiev with Renee Fleming and La traviata with the same artists in 2004.

But his pop-idol good looks (a magazine named him one of the world’s 50 most beautiful people in 1991) brought him fame outside the narrow world of classical music. Life was not always easy and the pressures of his work added to the intensity of his life style. Mr Hvorostovsky spoke openly about his struggles in the 1990s with alcohol but he became teetotal on New Year’s Day 2001 and married that same day.

I had the pleasure of interviewing him twice. On the first occasion, his vibrant personality shone through and he spoke warmly of the freedom he now had to travel and broaden his career, “This extraordinary world - I learn and see new things. I love it.” A few years later Mr Hvorostovsky was an international star but he was relaxed and gave a genial interview – keen to talk of his enthusiasm for Russian folk music – often breaking into song around the table. “Now you,” he said. Wisely I refrained.

Mr Hvorostovsky, who was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2015, was very much a singer’s singer. He had impeccable technique, extraordinary breath control and one of the most elegant and expressive voices in opera. For all the glamour and ‘the rock star of opera’ image he remained a committed and superb artist.

In 1989 he married Svetlana a ballerina. That marriage was dissolved and he married the Swiss-born soprano Florence Illi. She survives him, as do their two children and twins from his first marriage.

ALASDAIR STEVEN