Publisher's Synopsis
Upon its publication in 1981, Richard Taruskin's "Opera and Drama in Russia as Preached and Practiced in the 1860s" was hailed as the quintessential English-language study of Russian opera. The 1860s could now be seen as a decade which served as a crucial bridge in the development of opera in Russia, between the heritage of Mikhail Glinka and the following generation of masterful composers, represented by, among others, Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov and Musorgsky.;This study analyzes the operatic contributions of Aleksandr Dargomyzshky, Aleksandr Serov and Cesar Cui, the latter two of whom were prolific music critics in addition to being composers. By linking their works to the development of intellectual history and aestheticism during that period, as well as pointing to the distinct contrasts between what they practised as composers and what they preached as critics of music, Taruskin ensures that the decade of the 1860s will be known as a significant era in the development of Russian opera.
