SQUEE! Hvorostovsky Steals the Show

Last night's encore simulcast was of Verdi's fifth opera and early hit Ernani.  Tenor Marcello Giordanni sang the title role of the outlaw nobleman, alongside soprano Angela Meade as his mismatched lover, Elvira.  Bass-baritone Ferruccio Furlanetto was Elvira's incestuous Hapsburg uncle Silva and baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky was the ambitious king Don Carlo (more on him in just  a little bit).  And while many stories have a love-triangle, this one has a love-square. 

A brief summary of the plot: The story takes place in Hapsburg Spain.  The young nobleman, Don Juan of Aragon has lost his wealth and title during a civil war.  He leads a band of outlaws while under the assumed name of Ernani.  He is in love with the noblewoman Elvira, whose creepy uncle, Silva, wants to marry her himself in order to get her money.  On top of that, the king Don Carlo wants to marry Elvira as well (plus he's waiting to see if he get's elected to be the next Holy Roman Emperor).  So what we have here is a complicated love-square.  Unfortunately for Ernani, he is also driven by an insane desire to avenge to his father, which leads him to make an evil vow to Silva: When his hunting horn is sounded, Ernani shall take his own life.  This leads to his downfall. 

What stole the show for me was Dmitri Hvorostovsky in the role of the king.  In the first act, Don Carlo comes to Silva's castle to woo Elvira.  He made his first entrance on the stage clad in a raving black and gold tunic with black leggings and tall boots, with a large hat and fur coat over the tunic to disguise himself a little bit.  And it was even cooler when Silva entered and shouted at whom he thought was just another man who had come to take away his intended.  But then the king reveals his identity, and Silva is dumbfounded.  Carlo noted that Silva regains his reason in his presence, which makes him utterly suspicious of Silva's motives. 
         I know I'll corrected on this at some point, but I will the Hvorostovsky could not have gotten any more stunning than in this performance.  I mean, I have seen pictures of him wearing regal costumes when performing roles such as the title character in Simon Boccanegra, but this was the first time that I technically saw him live.  He was right there in front of me onscreen.  Just watching him perform that amazing role of Don Carlo was incredible. 
         During the intermission interview, his two small children paid a visit.  I have never seen anything more adorable than this tall, handsome and amazing baritone clad in full red and gold attire, telling his kids, in Russian, to say hi.  Seriously, can anyone match that in terms of cuteness? 

I had never seen Dmitri Hvorostovsky perform live before last night, and I just can't enough on the subject.  Hvorostovsky is without a doubt the most handsome and talented baritone to ever come out of Europe.  He has another performance at the Met next month as Papa Germont in Verdi's classic La Traviata, alongside soprano Natalie Dessay as the the heroine Violetta, and tenor Mathew Polenzani and Alfredo Germont.  I've got to to see that one.  I hope Hvorostovsky is as amazing in this one as he was in Ernani (which is probably going to be the case). 

Full synopsis of Ernani can be found here:http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/history/stories/synopsis.aspx?id=438&source=operainfo