Three months after announcing he had a brain tumor, and still in the midst of treatment, the cherished Russian baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky returned to the Metropolitan Opera on Friday evening as the Count di Luna in Verdi’s “Il Trovatore.”
An ovation greeted his first entrance, loud and long enough that he broke character to smile and pat his heart in appreciation. Three hours later, the curtain calls ended with the orchestra pelting Mr. Hvorostovsky with white roses, as his co-star, the Russian soprano Anna Netrebko, appeared visibly moved. Ms. Netrebko and several colleagues donned T-shirts in support of Mr. Hvorostovsky earlier this summer at a concert in Moscow.
Since his Met debut on Oct. 26, 1995, in Tchaikovsky’s “Queen of Spades,” Mr. Hvorostovsky has sung more than 170 performances with the company, concentrating on Russian and Verdi operas but also in Mozart, Gounod and Donizetti. He was the Count di Luna when the current “Il Trovatore” production had its premiere in 2009. And when he appeared this spring in Verdi’s “Don Carlo,” our critic Anthony Tommasini wrote that he “brought velvety legato phrasing, virile sound and his distinctive smoky timbre to Rodrigo.”
Mr. Hvorostovsky was originally scheduled for 10 performances of “Il Trovatore” this season, but he announced earlier this month that he would sing the first three — including Tuesday evening and next Saturday’s matinee, to be broadcast in movie theaters worldwide live in HD — then return to London to continue medical treatment.
Vitaliy Bilyy sings di Luna on Oct. 7, 10 and 17. Mr. Hvorostovsky remains on the cast list for the continuation of the run in February.