Hvorostovsky personal biography. Hvorostovsky's ex-wife, who tormented him with endless infidelities, died of blood poisoning

People's Artist of Russia, opera singer Dmitry Hvorostovsky, who suffered from cancer for a long time, died in London. The death of the singer was reported by Dmitry Malikov and Joseph Kobzon.

A terrible diagnosis - a brain tumor - was made to Dmitry Hvorostovsky, who lived in London for many years, in June 2015. When the illness became known, the artist canceled his performances for two months and underwent several courses of chemotherapy at one of the cancer centers in London.

Dmitry Hvorostovsky's return to the stage after a course of treatment took place on August 25, 2015 in New York on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera. However, in December 2016, the singer's health deteriorated and he again canceled all opera performances.

Date and place of funeral

A capsule with part of the ashes of People's Artist of Russia Dmitry Hvorostovsky will be buried in Krasnoyarsk, the Ministry of Culture of the region told RIA Novosti.

Hvorostovsky was born in Krasnoyarsk and is an honorary citizen of the region. He died on Wednesday morning in London after a long illness. At the end of June 2015, he announced that he was suffering from a brain tumor.

The department said that after farewell to Hvorostovsky, a cremation procedure will take place in Moscow. One capsule with ashes will be buried at the Novodevichy cemetery, and the other in Krasnoyarsk. The date of the funeral in the artist’s hometown is still unknown.

Earlier it became known that farewell to the artist would take place in the Great Hall of the Conservatory on Monday, November 27.

First marriage

The owner of such a voice was famous for being a passionate and gentle man. His first love arose on the stage of the Krasnoyarsk Opera and Ballet Theater. The first lover was the ballerina Svetlana Ivanova. But this connection was not approved by others. Svetlana was already married before, but the reason for the breakup was her uncontrollable passion for men. But Dmitry was fascinated by the dark-eyed beauty and did not listen to anyone’s advice.

Dmitry's mentor Ekaterina Iofel made every effort to destroy this union. She tried to influence Hvorostovsky by refusing to communicate with him. But nothing helped. The relationship with the ballerina lasted two years, after which Dmitry moved her and her little daughter to his small room in a communal apartment. A year later, Svetlana and Dmitry got married.

The blow did not take long to arrive. One day Dmitry decided to surprise his wife and returned early from a tour. He bought a huge bouquet of flowers, came home and saw Svetlana in his marital bed with his close friend. The friends got into a big fight. Those around them believed that the relationship of the unsuccessful couple would end there. But Dmitry forgave his wife. In the early 90s, he was invited to work in the UK, and he moved his family to London.

Dmitry dreamed that Svetlana would be his support and support in everything. He wanted to appoint her as his director. But Svetlana did not want to take any part in her husband’s fate. She only wanted to devote all her time to herself and enjoy the social life of London. At first Dmitry took it calmly. He believed that there was nothing wrong with his wife going out into the world. In 1996, Dmitry Hvorostovsky’s personal life went uphill, his wife gave birth to two children. The singer was very happy with his wife and children. He gave birth to twins: a boy Danya and a girl Sasha. Dmitry was sure that he did the right thing by not listening to gossip about his wife.

But everything turned out to be the opposite. Svetlana did not settle down and did not calm down after the birth of her children. She became nervous and scandalous. In the house, major quarrels began to frequently arise between the spouses. As a result, the singer developed an ulcer due to nervousness. To relieve the pain, he began to drink.

Hvorostovsky also became addicted to alcohol because he was very worried about the current family situation. He would later talk about that time that he actually drank so much that he could even lose his job.

Divorce

But so far his concert activity has not stopped. Hvorostovsky went to Geneva for one of his performances. There he had to perform the part of Don Giovanni with the charming 29-year-old Florence Illy. She discovered that the famous Russian baritone was also a real handsome man and went on the attack. They had a real kiss on stage. That's where she started. The sensuality of the singer of Italian-Swiss origin did not hide from Dmitry. "IM married!" - he immediately declared. "So what?" - Flo answered completely sincerely.

This woman seems to have returned her real self to Dmitry Alexandrovich.

He again understood what tenderness and romance are, what love and care are, what quiet happiness and enjoyment of each other is - without quarrels and scandals.

Returning to London, the singer raised the question of divorce. Svetlana couldn’t believe it: her Dimochka, who forgave everything, put up with her for so long, gave her two beautiful kids, suddenly started talking about divorce?! She was offended and disappointed and never expected that this could happen. But being the wife of a genius is difficult - you need to correspond to him on the one hand and develop with him on the other. Sveta, it seems, did not cope with this task.

In a fit of rage, the woman sued him for everything he had at that time: real estate, cars, as well as huge alimony for children and her own maintenance (more than 8 million a year, if counted in rubles). But Hvorostovsky was no longer with her, and Florence was able to survive all this.

Second marriage - a new meaning in life

With the appearance of Florence in Hvorostovsky's life, life took on a new meaning. He stopped drinking and his popularity grew. He became an even more famous opera singer. Florence became a talisman for him. She followed her husband everywhere and constantly supported him in everything.

In 2003, the couple had a son, he was named Maxim, and four years later a daughter was born. Personal life, wife and children became the most important for Dmitry Hvorostovsky.

Florence completely immersed herself in Russian life. In the first year of their life together with Dmitry, she learned Russian at a conversational level. They went on all the tours around the world only together. Sometimes they performed in concerts together.

As soon as the singer’s personal life improved, old relationships resurfaced. His wife Svetlana appeared and demanded that her alimony amount be doubled. The court approved her demands. Until the end of her days, she never worked anywhere, but lived only off these alimony payments.

After Svetlana learned about Dmitry’s diagnosis, she called him for the first time in 15 years. This was their last conversation. Svetlana died before Hvorostovsky. The cause of her death was complications from meningitis. After Svetlana's death, Dmitry learned that she was a very religious person. She often helped churches in London. She was greatly respected by her parishioners for this.

Dmitry did not abandon Svetlana’s children after her death. He continued to help them. His daughter from his first marriage became an artist, and his son became interested in music.

In 2015, misfortune came to the family. Dmitry became seriously ill. He was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Regular chemotherapy brought relief for a short time. The singer was forced to suspend his tours, and many concerts had to be abandoned. His performances were supposed to take place this summer, but his health did not allow his plans to be realized.

Children

A happy father with children (from left to right): Maria (the daughter of the singer’s first wife, whom he adopted), 21-year-old Danila and 21-year-old Alexandra (children from his first marriage with ballerina Svetlana Ivanova), 10-year-old Nina, in the second row - 15-year-old Maxim.

All four of the singer’s own children live in London, they maintain friendly relations with each other. Since the divorce from his first wife was scandalous and painful, Hvorostovsky rarely sees the twins from his first marriage. They still live in the British capital with Svetlana and occasionally attend the singer’s rehearsals.

In the interview, the singer avoids the topic of communicating with children from his first marriage, calling it very painful. But the singer’s wife Florence and the singer’s children support him with all their might. They not only attend concerts and rehearsals, but also often accompany Dmitry on tour. The singer is proud that Maxim and Nina already speak three languages!

He tries to raise his children with love and does not even raise his voice at them. As the singer admitted in an interview, he now strives to get home as quickly as possible so that the whole family can be together. Next to children, an expressive and irritable man with a complex character becomes gentle and sentimental. And once Dmitry even cried when he heard his daughter Ninochka sing. The singer calls his children very talented and artistic. Who knows, maybe they will follow in the footsteps of their famous father!

In the world of opera, the baritone is considered the most common timbre of the male voice, the more difficult it is for an artist to stand out from his colleagues. Dmitry Hvorostovsky succeeded. He became the first opera singer to combine traits that seemed incompatible at first glance, presenting himself to the public as a philosopher, romantic and sex symbol. He was idolized, he broke hearts on stage, and his departure at the peak of world recognition was all the more tragic.

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, and, whose records his father collected.

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.

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.

Soon the relationship began to crack. Svetlana refused to learn English and help her husband develop his career, because initially he planned to make her his director. The singer began to abuse alcohol little by little and developed a stomach ulcer.

In 1999, Hvorostovsky met singer Florence Illy, an Italian by nationality, during a rehearsal. The girl instantly fell in love with the talented singer, who was distinguished by his stature (Dmitry’s height is 193 cm) and masculinity. The singer began to make attempts to get closer to him, but Dmitry was still married at that time and could not reciprocate the girl’s feelings. As the artist’s wife later recalled, the first spark flashed between them during a kiss on stage - both sang in the opera “Don Giovanni”.

With Flosha, as the singer affectionately called his wife, his heart thawed: he remembered what love and tenderness were, and the romance of the candy-bouquet period began. When meeting Dmitry’s relatives, the girl made an indelible impression on them: the artist’s grandmother called her an angel. The personal life of the famous baritone flowed in a different direction.

He filed for divorce from Svetlana in 2001. Later, she sued her ex-husband for almost all of his property: a house in London, a car and an amount to support herself and her children in the amount of £170 thousand. In 2015, the woman died suddenly from meningitis suffered on her legs.

In the same 2001, Hvorostovsky and Illy began to live together. In 2003, the couple had a son, Maxim, and in 2007, a daughter, Nina. Florence accompanied Dmitry on tour, and sometimes they performed together at concerts.

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 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.

For the first time in 4 years, a representative of 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. 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.

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

Music 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 him 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 a long-time friend, 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 with.

In 2015, the singer delighted fans with a performance on the New Wave stage in a duet with. 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”).

Disease

On June 25, 2015, 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 his health condition - 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 2015, 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 2017, Hvorostovsky performed at the City Day of St. Petersburg, and then gave a concert in his native Krasnoyarsk.

Death

On November 22, 2017, 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. Information via "Instagram" the artist was confirmed by his family. 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.

Friends and relatives of the artist, prominent representatives of show business and politics, Igor Krutoy, 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 2019, on his birthday, a monument was inaugurated, representing a full-length bronze figure of the performer. The monument was created by sculptor Vladimir Usov.

Discography

• 1990 - Tchaikovsky and Verdi Arias
• 1991 - Russian Romances
• 1994 - Dark Eyes
• 1996 - Credo
• 1998 - Kalinka
• 2001 - From Russia With Love
• 2003 - “Songs of the War Years”
• 2005 - I Met You, My Love
• 2005 - Moscow Nights
• 2006 - Portrait
• 2007 - Heroes and Villains
• 2009 - “Deja Vu”
• 2010 - Pushkin Romances

Many already know that on November 22, 2017, the famous opera star Dmitry Hvorostovsky died. He had been suffering from a brain tumor for several years and, alas, doctors could not defeat this disease.

In this article we would like to talk about Dmitry’s biography. Tell you about his wife and children, and also show you some photos of his family.

Dmitry's first love arose on the stage of the Krasnoyarsk Opera and Ballet Theater. He fell in love with the ballerina Svetlana Ivanova. She was previously married, but the reason for the breakup was her uncontrollable passion for men. Dmitry was dissuaded by many from such an alliance, but he was too fascinated to listen to anyone’s advice.

He dated Svetlana for 2 years. Then he moved her and her little daughter to his room in a communal apartment. A year later the couple got married.


One day, Dmitry decided to surprise his wife and returned home early, where he found her and a close friend in bed. The friends got into a fight, but Dmitry forgave his wife and after a while they left for London.

In London, Dmitry wanted his wife to be his director and spend more time with him. But she was mainly interested in social life. Dmitry resigned himself. After a while, they had twins. Boy Danya and girl Sasha.

But life with Svetlana did not work out for him. And as a result, the singer began to drink. Later, he even noted that he drank so much that he could even lose his job.

Divorce and new love

While performing in Geneva, Dmitry Hvorostovsky met Florence Illy. The woman immediately fell in love with Dmitry and did not care that he was married. Their love began with a kiss on stage and, it seems, it was this that awakened the real Hvorostovsky.

When Dmitry returned home, he began talking about divorce. Svetlana did not expect such a turn. At the trial, she sued Dmitry for all his property, as well as fairly good alimony.


Dmitry Hvorostovsky and Florence Illy survived this. The singer stopped drinking and became more and more popular. Their life began to go uphill. And then the ex-wife appeared again and demanded 2 times more alimony. The court approved her request. Until the end of her life, Svetlana never worked, but lived entirely on alimony from her ex-husband.

In 2003, Florence gave birth to Dmitry's son. And 4 years later - a daughter.

In 2015, Dmitry was given a terrible diagnosis - a brain tumor. We had to cancel many concerts and give up touring altogether.


After Svetlana learned about Dmitry’s diagnosis, she called him for the first time in 15 years. This was their last conversation. Svetlana died before Hvorostovsky. The cause of her death was complications from meningitis. After Svetlana's death, Dmitry learned that she was a very religious person. She often helped churches in London. She was greatly respected by her parishioners for this.

Dmitry did not abandon Svetlana’s children after her death. He continued to help them. His daughter from his first marriage became an artist, and his son became interested in music.

Children

Dmitry is left with five children (four of his children, as well as Svetlana’s daughter, whom he adopted). Maria (the daughter of the singer’s first wife, whom he adopted), 21-year-old Danila and 21-year-old Alexandra (children from his first marriage to ballerina Svetlana Ivanova), 10-year-old Nina and 15-year-old Maxim. The children live in London and are friends with each other.

Music in the soul since childhood

Dmitry Hvorostovsky is a world-famous opera singer with a magnificent dramatic baritone.

His parents had no direct connection to music, but his father always dreamed of being a musician, even though he was a chemical engineer by profession. He himself had a wonderful voice with a beautiful timbre.

He played the piano beautifully, and in general there was always a musical atmosphere in the family. In addition, my father had a magnificent collection of recordings of world opera performers. Together with their mother, they loved to perform duets of romances for family friends.

Dmitry tried his hand at singing at the age of four. Soon he was sent to a music school to learn to play the piano. He proved himself to be a capable musician and performer.

When the time came to enter a higher education institution, teachers strongly recommended that he apply to the Krasnoyarsk School of Arts.

This is where future professional musicians receive their education. Dmitry made a rather strange choice, deciding to enter the pedagogical school in the music department. The choice was also incomprehensible because the university was geographically located far from home.

During his studies, Dmitry became interested in hard rock and began performing as a soloist in one of the youth groups. But this period did not last long.

He soon realized that classical music would become the main thing in his life. It was then that he entered the university to which he was sent at the very beginning. He became a student in the vocal department.

Touring life of Dmitry Hvorostovsky

Teacher Ekaterina Iofel made a huge contribution to his development as an opera singer. He carried her advice throughout his life.

Soon he began to actively tour, performing famous opera roles.

When he was in his third year, he was invited to become a soloist at the Opera and Ballet Theater in Krasnoyarsk. And in his fourth year, he began to prepare to participate in competitions.

He graduated with honors from the Institute of Arts and in 1988 won the Grand Prix at an international competition held in the French city of Toulouse.

And a year later, international recognition awaited him. This time can be considered the start of his career as an opera singer.

At a competition in Cardiff in Wales, he received the title of "Best Singer in the World." It must be said that this competition did not involve any other places other than 1st.

In 1990, Dmitry was awarded the title of “Honored Artist of Russia.” Soon he began to receive offers from the world's best opera houses.

In 1994, Dmitry decided to settle in England and took British citizenship. Since then he has lived in London. However, he is not often at home, as he tours a lot.

In all subsequent years, his career developed rapidly. He worked on himself, without the help of teachers, being able to analyze his own mistakes and achieving filigree performance.

Opera vocalists rarely work without teachers, so Hvorostovsky is a unique phenomenon in this regard.

His repertoire was constantly expanding. At the same time, he quite often refused certain lucrative contracts and offers if he felt that they did not correspond to his inner world. A philosophical understanding of the operatic role has always been important to him.

Dmitry does not forget about Russia and often comes here to give performances.

Tenor's personal life

Dmitry is currently married for the second time. His first wife was a corps de ballet dancer, with whom he worked together in the theater. Her name was Svetlana Ivanova, and she already had a daughter from her first marriage.

The young people got married in 1989, and together they went to live in London.

In 1996, they had twins - Danila and Alexandra. They are now adults. Sasha became an artist, and Danila became a musician, he plays in a rock band.

Unfortunately, Dmitry's first marriage broke up in 1999 because of his wife's names.

One day, returning from a tour, Dmitry found an unambiguous scene at home, got into a fight with an opponent and even almost ended up under criminal charges.

The couple filed for divorce in 2001. Svetlana Hvorostovskaya died suddenly in London on December 31, 2015.

In 1999, Dmitry met a pianist and singer Florence Illy. She became his second wife.

Florence managed to become a faithful companion, learned to speak Russian, and was able to establish friendly relations with her ex-wife and her husband’s children.

She gave birth to Dmitry two children. In 2003, a son, Maxim, was born, and in 2007, a daughter, Nina.

Recently Dmitry faced a serious test. He was diagnosed with a brain tumor. He was forced to cancel all concerts for the summer of 2015.

The doctors' forecasts were optimistic, and after the first stage of treatment, Dmitry returned to the stage. All his fans hope that he will be able to finally overcome his illness and become completely healthy again.

UPD: On the afternoon of November 22, 2017, the Hvorostovsky family published a statement on the social network Facebook in which they said that “ After a two and a half year battle with brain cancer, he died peacefully this morning, November 22nd, surrounded by his family near his home in London.».

Read how opera musicians achieved their fame in

Many already know that the famous opera singer Dmitry Hvorostovsky passed away at the age of 56. His wife and four children are mourning the untimely death of their loved one. All fans of the great artist are in deep sorrow, because such singers are rarely born.

A brain tumor caused the early death of the famous baritone, but in the photo he always looked fit and cheerful, he had an attractive appearance. The singer fought as best he could until the end. His personal life will be discussed in the article.

The personal life of Dmitry Hvorostovsky has always interested his fans; they searched the Internet for information about his wife and photos of his children.

The singer never experienced a shortage of attention from women, since he had an outstanding appearance and a rare voice. The gray hair that appeared early did not spoil Dmitry’s beauty at all; he never tried to paint it over; on the contrary, he was proud of it. He himself said that this is a manifestation of genetic inheritance.

Dmitry Hvorostovsky met his first wife Svetlana Ivanova, a corps de ballet dancer, back in 1986. The young people began dating, and in 1991 they legalized their relationship. They settled permanently in London. The singer adopted a girl from Svetlana’s first marriage.

But the newlyweds’ personal life did not work out, despite the fact that in 1996 they had two children at once, twins (a girl and a boy). The couple often quarreled, and one day Dmitry found his wife with her lover.

When Dmitry met the Italian singer Florence Illy, he was still actually married, but it was just a formal name. A romance broke out between Dmitry and Florence, but he did not want to ruin the family.

In 2001, Dmitry Hvorostovsky divorced his first wife, who requested a huge amount of alimony, and married Florence.

His personal life with his new wife was a success; the marriage produced two children. The photo shows that the son looks like his father, and the daughter looks like her mother. In 2015, Hvorostovsky’s first wife died tragically. Two children from his first marriage followed in their father’s footsteps and became musicians.

Childhood of Dmitry Hvorostovsky

People's Artist Dmitry Aleksandrovich Hvorostovsky was born in Krasnoyarsk in 1962 into an intelligent family. His parents had no professional relationship with art, but had a personal passion for music.

Dad worked as an engineer, loved to sing, had good vocal abilities, and collected a large collection of music recordings by famous singers. Most likely, his love of music and opera singing was passed on to his children.

Alexander Stepanovich’s wife worked as a gynecologist, but also loved music; in her spare time, the whole family attended concerts and theaters.

From the very beginning of his life, Dima was immersed in the world of wonderful sounds; he fell in love with music early on. The boy started singing at the age of two!

His beloved grandmother helped him in this. This woman also had a beautiful voice, she taught her grandson to sing correctly.

They often sang famous fragments from operas and simply folk songs in duets. This activity served as a good lesson for the future singer.

Of course, Dima was sent to study at a music school, where he showed great success. After graduating from it, as well as after receiving incomplete secondary education, Dmitry did not hesitate for long in choosing his future profession. He immediately entered the pedagogical school in the music department.

Artist career

After graduating from secondary school, Dmitry entered the Institute of Arts, which is located in Krasnoyarsk. There he studied vocals with teacher Ekaterina Iofel. She taught the future singer openness, spontaneity, and correctly expressing his emotions. If at first Dmitry thought only about the technically correct performance of the work, so as not to forget the words, then she taught him to think about the expressive side.

Starting from his second year, Hvorostovsky began performing on the stage of the opera house as a trainee. And later he was taken into plays as a young actor. Of course, everyone immediately noticed his rare velvety baritone, extraordinary timbre and large range of voice. The aspiring artist began to be trusted with serious roles in operas.

After classes with Iofel, Hvorostovsky no longer needed other mentors, since she taught him the most important thing - independent control over himself, over his feelings, his voice. By the end of his studies at the university, Hvorostovsky was already an independent and outstanding opera personality. He worked at the Krasnoyarsk Opera House until 1990.

What is Dmitry Hvorostovsky famous for?

In 1989, the young singer announced himself as a talented person throughout the world. At the age of 26 he won the International Opera Competition in Cardiff. After such a resounding victory, Dmitry went abroad and began performing in such famous theaters abroad as:

• Bavarian Opera;
• Theater Royal in London;
• La Scala Theater in Milan;
• Berlin Opera;
• Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires;
• Vienna Opera;
• Metropolitan Opera in New York, etc.

Since 1994, Dmitry Hvorostovsky lived in London, but the young singer also did not forget Russia. He often came to Moscow and St. Petersburg and performed on various stages. Together with the Mariinsky Theater Orchestra, he recorded works by Mussorgsky and Rimsky-Korsakov.

The popular singer performed not only classical works. In 2009, Hvorostovsky performed at the Kremlin Palace, where he performed songs by Igor Krutoy based on poems by L. Vinogradova.

It was a presentation of a new joint album between Hvorostovsky and Krutoy. In 1990, Hvorostovsky became an Honored Artist of Russia, and five years later a People's Artist. He is the winner of many awards, was awarded the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 4th degree, and the Order of Alexander Nevsky. One of the asteroids is named after the singer.

Discography of Dmitry Hvorostovsky

1990 - Tchaikovsky and Verdi Arias

1991 - Pietro Mascagni. "Rural Honor"

1991 - Russian Romances

1993 - Pyotr Tchaikovsky. "Eugene Onegin"

1993 - Traviata 1994 - Songs and Dances of Death

1994 - Rossini, Songs of Love and Desire

1994 - Dark Eyes 1995 - Tchaikovsky, My Restless Soul

1996 - Dmitri 1996 - Russia Cast Adrift

1996 - Credo 1996 - G. V. Sviridov - “Rus' Set Away”

1997 - Giuseppe Verdi. "Don Carlos". Conductor - Bernard Haitink

1997 - Russia's War 1998 - Kalinka 1998 - Arie Antiche

1998 - Arias & Duets, Borodina 1999 - Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. "The Tsar's Bride". Conductor - Valery Gergiev

1999 - Pyotr Tchaikovsky. "Iolanta"

2000 - Don Giovanni: Leporello's Revenge

2001 - Verdi, La traviata 2001 - From Russia With Love

2001 - Passione di Napoli

2002 - Russian Sacred Choral Music

2003 - Pyotr Tchaikovsky. "Queen of Spades"

2003 - “Songs of the War Years”

2004 - Georgy Sviridov. "Petersburg"

2004 - Dmitry Hvorostovsky in Moscow

2005 - Songs and Dances of Death Symphonic dances

2005 - Light of birches Favorite Soviet songs

2005 - Pyotr Tchaikovsky. "Queen of Spades", best fragments

2005 - I Met You, My Love

2005 - Verdi Arias

2005 - Moscow Nights

2006 - Portrait 2007 - Heroes and Villains

2007 - “Eugene Onegin”, conductor Valery Gergiev (Onegin)

2009 - Deja Vu

2010 - Tchaikovsky Romances

2010 - Pushkin Romances

Illness and death of a famous singer

In the summer of 2015, a statement about the singer’s cancer appeared in the press for the first time. For this reason, his concerts in England and other countries were cancelled. Dmitry was found to have a brain tumor, for this reason he went to an oncology clinic in London for examination and treatment.

However, the singer was not at all going to give up and lose heart. Already in September, he again appeared on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera, where he sang with Anna Netrebko. Then Dmitry went to Russia, where he gave several concerts. In his interview, the singer stated that he does not believe in God and the afterlife.

In 2016, Hvorostovsky underwent chemotherapy; because of this, his performances were cancelled, including on the stage of the Vienna Opera. After treatment, the singer performed on stage in Germany. However, doctors banned a trip to Moscow and performances at the Bolshoi Theater.

At the end of 2016, a message appeared that Dmitry was in the hospital due to acute pneumonia. But the singer did not give up; in May 2017, he performed in St. Petersburg. Then, despite a shoulder injury, Hvorostovsky performed in Krasnoyarsk. At one of the concerts he was awarded the title of Honorary Citizen of his hometown.

Composer Dmitry Malikov was the first to report the death of the opera baritone; their mutual friend, poetess L. Vinogradova, told him about it.

Already in October of this year, false information about the singer’s death appeared, so not everyone immediately believed that Hvorostovsky was gone. However, singer Joseph Kobzon also confirmed the fact of death. Later a message appeared on television.