MOSCOW, October 11. /TASS/. A popular Russian tabloid, Komsomolskaya Pravda, will officially apologize to internationally acclaimed Russian baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky for reporting about his alleged death, managing editor of the paper’s website Olesya Nosova told TASS.
"No doubt, we will apologize to Dmitri Hvorostovsky, his wife and the entire family," Nosova said. According to her, "the situation is unacceptable, and will be thoroughly considered by the editorial office, we will find out how this could have happened."
Early on Wednesday, some Russian media outlets disseminated reports of the singer’s alleged death, without sourcing this information to anyone.
Hvorostovky’s London agent Mark Hildrew told TASS that media reports about the alleged death of Hvorostovsky are "totally untrue."
"He is alive and at home," Hildrew said, adding: "We will look at a legal case for sure."
Hvorostovsky turns 55 on October 16.
In the summer of 2015, Hvorostovsky was diagnosed with a brain tumor. In late September 2016, the singer had to cancel his performance on the Vienna State Opera stage in Giuseppe Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra. In December, the Bolshoi Theatre officially canceled Hvorostovsky’s debut in Verdi’s Don Carlos. In late June, it was reported that the singer would not take part in the new 2017-2018 season of the Vienna State Opera for health reasons.
In late April, the famous baritone successfully performed on the Toronto stage and also gave a surprise to the Metropolitan Opera guests due to the theater’s 50th anniversary. On May 27, Hvorostovsky performed at the City Day celebration in St. Petersburg and on June 2, in his hometown of Krasnoyarsk.
Hvorostovsky, who has earned several awards, including the People’s Artist of Russia (in 1995), has been living in London over the past years.