For a time, Dmitri Hvorostovsky's teacher thought he was a tenor, and why not? His brilliant, high baritone voice has a real ring to it and he has the good looks to go with the heroic roles. However it is a true, lyric baritone voice after all and this too is a sound often in short supply.

His mother and father are not musicians (he, an engineer, she, a physician) but they encouraged their son's broad artistic interests which included sculpture, drawing, music and soccer. He trained as a choral conductor at the local college and then was encouraged to study singing. Krasnoyarsk was also the scene of his opera debut in 1985 and so this is truly a story of 'home town boy makes good.'

He came to international attention first in Toulouse in 1988 and then the Cardiff Singer of the World in 1989. His career then literally took off. The Nice Opera and the Florence May Festival followed soon after Cardiff and Covent Garden, La Scala, Berlin, Chicago and New York were not far behind.

He has of course excelled at the Russian repertoire, especially as Tchiakovsky's Eugene Onegin and Prince Yeletsky in Pique Dame. He is not however only a Russian baritone. His work includes Verdi, Bellini, Donizetti in opera and his extensive recital repertoire ranges from Ravel to Purcell as well as the great Russian literature.

He has recorded extensively for Philips Classics both in opera and recital.