Dmitri Hvorostovsky To Begin Immediate Treatment On Brain Tumor

UPDATE 06/30/2015: "Celebrated Russian baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky, who was recently diagnosed with a brain tumor, will undergo medical treatment at one of London's cancer hospitals, a source close to the singer's family told Interfax on June 25. 'Dmitri will have a course of treatment at London's cancer hospital Royal Marsden,' the source said. It was announced on Thursday that internationally acclaimed baritone Hvorostovsky had been diagnosed with brain tumor." [Source]

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Watch a video of the 27-year old Dmitri Hvorostovsky at the beginning of his career singing 

"Eri tu" from Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera, after the jump.

Security Concerns Force Renée Fleming To Cancel Lebanon Concert

(Photo: Andrew Eccles/Decca Classics)

"American soprano Renee Fleming, who was scheduled to open the Baalbeck International Festival at the end of June, has canceled a festival official said Friday, citing the deteriorating security conditions. The news surfaced as the organizers of Lebanon's most famous summer music festival mull over plans to relocate the event from the ancient Roman-era temple complex because of spillover violence from Syria's civil war. The change of venue from Baalbek, where the annual music festival is usually held under the towering columns of the Temple of Jupiter, is the latest fallout from Syria's civil war. This month a barrage of 18 rockets and mortar rounds fired from Syria hit Baalbek, about 15 kilometers from the Syrian border. Over the decades, Baalbek has been known for its Roman-era ruins and the international festival under the towering columns that attracted stars like jazz singers Ella Fitzgerald and Nina Simone." [Source]

Anna Netrebko Cancels Carnegie Hall Recital For Second Time

Anna Netrebko with Daniel Barenboim in 2009
for a recital in Salzburg (Photo: Wolfgang Lienbacher)

"The soprano Anna Netrebko has once again canceled her New York recital debut, which was scheduled for Carnegie Hall next Wednesday. This time she cited a doctor’s order to rest her voice for 10 days after a long and taxing run singing at the Metropolitan Opera. Ms. Netrebko gave seven performances in the title role of Donizetti’s Anna Bolena, the last on Tuesday – eight days ahead of her recital. She was to have sung a program of songs by Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov, accompanied by the pianist Elena Bashkirova...Even with the gap before Wednesday’s recital Ms. Netrebko would have needed time to rehearse, said Sean Michael Gross, a publicist. He said the recital had been booked long before Ms. Netrebko learned the role and actually experienced how tiring the run would be.'This role is unique in how taxing it is,' Mr. Gross said. He said that he had no information on why Ms. Netrebko consulted the doctor who ordered vocal rest, and that she would not comment. 'She’s asked not to be disturbed,' Mr. Gross said." [Source]

Brian Mulligan Makes Last Minute Replacement in San Diego

(Photo: Sam Hodgson)

"At 9:30 a.m. Monday, one of the main singers for Faust, Joshua Hopkins, told general director Ian Campbell he was getting sick. They immediately decided Hopkins should withdraw from the first performance of Faust, and maybe more, depending on his health. Three hours later, Campbell booked another baritone to sing the Valentin role, Brian Mulligan. By the time I was sitting in Campbell's office on Tuesday at 2:45 p.m., Mulligan had arrived and was at his costume fitting. Once Campbell made the decision that Hopkins should sit out, he and his assistant made a list of about 10 candidates, bolstered by suggestions from some of the other singers of people they'd worked with before. They made a list of requirements, crossing off any of the

Brian Mulligan as Valentin and John Relyea
as Méphistophélès in San Francisco
(Photo by Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera)

candidates who didn't match: Male, baritone, established, available within 24 hours, versed in the role of Valentin (not just a song or two) and comfortable with swordplay. Oh, and he had to be American or currently in the United States, to avoid a visa processing delay. That left a pool of exactly two people. In the first conversation with Mulligan's agent, Campbell learned that Mulligan sang the same role with the San Francisco Opera and will sing it at the Metropolitan Opera next winter." [Source]