



Produced by Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
produced from images available at The Internet Archive)






              [Illustration: FEODOR IVANOVICH SHALIAPIN]




                                  THE
                             RUSSIAN OPERA

                                  BY

                                 ROSA
                               NEWMARCH

                       [Illustration: colophon]

                             WITH SIXTEEN
                             ILLUSTRATIONS

                        HERBERT JENKINS LIMITED
                        ARUNDEL PLACE HAYMARKET
                          LONDON S.W. MCMXIV

                THE ANCHOR PRESS, LTD., TIPTREE, ESSEX.


                                  TO

                      FEODOR IVANOVICH SHALIAPIN

                      IN MEMORY OF OUR OLD FRIEND

                     VLADIMIR VASSILIEVICH STASSOV




PREFACE


Between January 19th, 1900, and April 4th, 1905, I read before the
Musical Association of London five papers dealing with the Development
of National Opera in Russia, covering a period from the first
performance of Glinka's _A Life for the Tsar_ in 1836, to the production
of Rimsky-Korsakov's opera _The Tsar's Bride_, in 1899. These lectures
were illustrated by the following artists: the late Mrs. Henry J. Wood,
Miss Grainger Kerr, Mr. Seth Hughes, Mr. Robert Maitland; Sir (Mr.)
Henry J. Wood and Mr. Richard Epstein at the piano. While using these
lectures as the scaffolding of my present book, I have added a
considerable amount of new material, amassed during ten years
unremitting research into my subject. The additions concern chiefly the
earlier phases of Russian music, and the operas that have appeared since
1900. The volume also contains some account of the foundation of the
nationalist school of composers under the leadership of Balakirev. It
has been my privilege to meet and converse with most of the members of
this circle. I give also a few details about the literary champion of
"the Invincible Band," Vladimir Stassov, under whose guidance I first
studied the history of Russian music. With all modesty I believe I may
claim to have been a pioneer worker in this field. When in 1895 I
published my translation (