Dmitri Hvorostovsky has withdrawn from his upcoming opera engagements, including this spring’s Met performances as the title character in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, due to illness. (So says the Met’s press department.) Mariusz Kwiecien and Peter Mattei will step into the role of Onegin at the Met for this spring’s performances, with Kwiecien singing on March 30, April 3 and 7 and Mattei singing on April 12, 15, 18, and 22 matinee. 

Eugene Onegin will be conducted by Robin Ticciati and will also star Anna Netrebko as Tatiana, Elena Maximova as Olga, Alexey Dolgov as Lenski, and Stefan Kocán as Gremin. The April 22 matinee performance will be transmitted worldwide as part of the Met’s Live in HD series.

In June 2015, Hvorostovsky was diagnosed with a brain tumor and began treatment. The Met forwarded this statement:

To all my friends, fans and colleagues:

It is with great sadness that I must withdraw from opera performances for the foreseeable future.

I have been experiencing balance issues associated with my illness, making it extremely difficult for me to perform in staged productions.

I 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.

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.

Thank you for all your love, messages and well wishes. Your support is felt and means the world to me.

With love,
DMITRI HVOROSTOVSKY

Photo: Pavel Vaan & Leonid Semenyuk