A capsule with part of late baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky’s ashes was buried in the foundations of what will be a future monument for the iconic singer in Krasnoyarsk. 

The ceremony, performed on Friday, August 24, 2018, was part of the baritone’s own will. He asked that his ashes be divided into two parts, with the first part to be buried in Moscow and the other part in his home city of Krasnoyarsk. 

“I am thankful to the family and relatives of Dmitri Alexandrovich, the decision to place the monument here, in an unpretentious park by the walls of the school that opened the doors to the world for him,” Krasnoyarsk region Acting Governor Alexander Uss said at the ceremony according to TASS. 

Hvorostovsky passed away in late 2017 after losing a battle with cancer. His passing caused shockwaves throughout the opera community as he had been one of its major and most esteemed stars over the past two decades. He was posthumously nominated for a Grammy Award.