Sad news: Dmitri Hvorostovsky has a brain tumour

An understated message on Dmitri Hvorostovsky's website announced that he has a brain tumour, but seemed more concerned with the trouble it may cause for ticket holders of the events he has had to cancel:

“It is with great regret that Dmitri must cancel all performances from now until the end of August. He has recently been suffering from serious health issues, and a brain tumor has just been diagnosed. Although his voice and vocal condition are normal, his sense of balance has been severely affected. Dmitri will begin treatment this week and remains very optimistic for the future.”

This means that his scheduled return to the stage will be at the Met on 25 September when he will sing in Il trovatore with Anna Netrebko, Yonghoon Lee and Dolora Zajick. We wish the 52 year-old baritone a speedy recovery.

Gramilano( Editor )

Graham Spicer is a writer, director and photographer in Milan, blogging (under the name ‘Gramilano') about dance, opera, music and photography for people “who are a bit like me and like some of the things I like”. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy.

His scribblings have appeared in various publications from Woman's Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the ‘Danza in Italia' column for Dancing Times magazine.