It was July 26, 2012. Un Ballo in Maschera was on the program, Verdi’s grand tragedy of love and betrayal. But for those who were there, it wasn’t Verdi’s story that haunted them afterward — it was theirs: Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Sondra Radvanovsky, standing side by side, singing as if their souls had waited centuries for this moment.
From the very first phrase, “Eri tu che macchiavi quell’anima…”, the electricity between them was undeniable — not romantic, but human, spiritual, raw. Hvorostovsky’s silver voice carried its usual command, but there was something else that night — a flicker of melancholy, a softness that felt almost prophetic.
Radvanovsky met him note for note, her soprano soaring like flame against his velvet steel. When they sang together in the duet’s first part, it was not merely sound — it was argument, reconciliation, confession, and absolution all tangled into one impossible thread of harmony.
Midway through the aria, Dmitri turned slightly toward her. Those who sat close enough later said his eyes were wet. She didn’t break character — but her hand trembled as it brushed the hem of his sleeve.
The orchestra, under Fabio Luisi, seemed to breathe with them. The cellos sighed. The trumpets dared not overpower. For a few minutes, it was no longer opera — it was the anatomy of heartbreak, unfolding in real time before 3,800
