Hvorostovsky Withdraws From Staged Opera Because of Tumor

Hvorostovsky Withdraws From Staged Opera Because of Tumor
Dmitri Hvorostovsky performs during the final dress rehearsal for the opera "Eugene Onegin" in New York, in this file photo. (AP Photo/Shiho Fukada)
The Associated Press
12/8/2016
Updated:
12/8/2016

NEW YORK—Dmitri Hvorostovsky has withdrawn from a staged opera performance because of treatment for a brain tumor.

The 54-year-old Russian baritone was diagnosed with the tumor in June 2015. He was given emotional receptions when he appeared that fall as the Count di Luna in Verdi’s “Il Trovatore” at New York’s Metropolitan Opera and the title character in Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin” at London’s Royal Opera.

He sang four performances last month as Giorgio Germont in Verdi’s “La Traviata” at the Vienna State Opera and was due to star in a revival of “Onegin” at the Met next April.

“I have been experiencing balance issues associated with my illness, making it extremely difficult for me to perform in staged productions,” Hvorostovsky said in a statement Thursday.

While he is withdrawing from staged performances, he said he “will continue to give concerts and recitals as well as make recordings. Singing is my life, and I want to continue bringing joy to people worldwide.”

Hvorostovsky also said that “with this pause in my operatic career and more rest in between each engagement, I hope to have more time to focus on my health and treatment.”

He will be replaced in “Onegin” by Mariusz Kwiecien and Peter Mattei.

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