Russian Opera The seeds of a distinctively national art music in Russia are usually dated from the first half of the 19th century. The performance of the opera A Life for the Tsar (1836), by Mikhail GLINKA, is usually cited as the turning point for Russian music (Russia's national anthem is taken from this opera). In this historical opera, as well as in his subsequent opera Ruslan and Ludmila (1842), the orchestral fantasy Kamarinskaya (1848), and numerous songs, Glinka successfully fused the typical melodies, harmonies, and rhythms of Russian folk music with the forms and techniques of Italian opera -- creating an eclectic but unmistakably national idiom.
READ THE REST OF the ARTICLE by Laurel E. Fay here:
http://russia-in-us.com/Music/Opera/
