What is a song that stops you in your tracks? Why does that happen? I’m not sure, but I’ve had that experience several times over the years. In 1966, I walked into a bar in Kitzbühel, Austria, and heard a Hungarian sing, "The Green, Green Grass of Home," a country song made famous by Tom Jones and Porter Wagoner. I was transfixed.
Years before I got into my 1957 Buick in Miami Beach and heard “I can’t Stop loving you” by Ray Charles. I couldn’t move and remained in my car in the Florida heat until Ray finished. To this day, both of those songs are favorites that I listen to frequently.
About a year ago, it happened again. I was watching the 1989 finals of the Cardiff Singer of the World when I heard Dmitri Hvorostovsky sing, "Ombra Mai Tu" from the opera "Serse." I’m not an opera fan and don’t know much about it, but this song captivated me. Since then, I have listened to it many times by various artists, but Dmitri’s version is the best.
Hvorostovsky gained immense fame in his homeland of Russia and performed worldwide. He was handsome, charismatic, and possessed an edge that drew in his audiences. His prematurely white hair contributed to a striking appearance that made him instantly recognizable. His voice was vibrant and powerful.
I recently watched him on YouTube singing "O Sole Mio," and one would think he came from Naples, not Siberia. Pavarotti himself couldn’t have sung it better.
Tragically, Dmitri Hvorostovsky passed away from a brain tumor in London in 2017 at the age of fifty-five.