The great Russian baritone died yesterday at a hospice near London. He announced he had a brain tumor in 2105. Hvorostovsky made a surprise appearance at the Met Gala last May celebrating 50 years at its Lincoln Center House. The NY Times has a fine obituary here. A video of his last appearance at the Met is below. He was the finest Verdi baritone of his era. I’ll do a full post devoted to his singing later.