Askold's Grave
Music by Alexey Verstovsky · libretto by Mikhail Zagoskin · premiered 1835 · at Bolshoi Theatre
Askold's Grave (also: Askold's Tomb, Russian: Аскольдова могила – Askol’dova mogila) is an opera in four acts by Alexey Verstovsky with a libretto by Mikhail Zagoskin. It was the most successful of Verstovsky's six operas, and its popularity even overshadowed Glinka’s two operas. It is a romantic opera with spoken dialogue, influenced by Weber's Der Freischütz, the latter having become popular in Russia after its first Russian performance in 1824. The role of Torop was created specifically for Alexander Bantyshev.
Text from the Wikipedia article "Askold", licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
About the Composer
Alexey Nikolayevich Verstovsky (Russian: Алексéй Никола́евич Верстóвский) (March 1 [O.S. February 18] 1799 – November 17 [O.S. November 5] 1862) was a Russian composer, musical bureaucrat and rival of Mikhail Glinka.
Text from the Wikipedia article "Alexey Verstovsky", licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.