War, Peace, Love & Sorrow

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This album was recorded in October of 2015, after bass-baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky was diagnosed with brain cancer and had undergone treatment. As has been noted in reviews of live performances, the issue does not appear to have affected his voice, and he seems to be on the mend, to the relief of all. The program here, as indeed many of his live concerts have been since this event, is relatively short (53-plus minutes), and it's strong enough to make you wish for more. Hvorostovsky has specialized in Verdi roles lately, but here the repertoire is all Russian, and the singer was perhaps returning to material in which he had been trained. There are six tracks, and it's the final one, an entire 26-minute scene from Rubinstein's The Demon, with supporting singers, that really commands attention. The rest of the world has forgotten Anton Rubinstein, but not Russians, and this tale of a fallen angel in love has long been one of Hvorostovsky's specialties. The sweep and depth of this performance are remarkable. In front of that you get a scene from Prokofiev's War and Peace and four shorter Tchaikovsky excerpts, all absorbing, but the main attraction is the Rubinstein. Hvorostovsky gets strong support from the cumbersomely named State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia "Evgeny Svetlanov," under Constantine Orbelian, and the American label Delos, working in a Moscow film studio, delivers clear sound.

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