The "opera-ballet," which is not--what at the present moment it is frequently being called--a new form of operatic art, but merely the revival of an old one,[54] is engaging the attention of the followers of Rimsky-Korsakov. At the same time it should be observed that the application of this term to _A Night in May_ and _The Golden Cock_ is not sanctioned by what the composer himself has inscribed upon the title pages.
At the present time the musical world is eagerly expecting the production of Igor Stravinsky's first opera _The Nightingale_. This composer, by his ballets _The Bird of Fire_, _Petrouchka_, and _The Sacrifice to Spring_, has worked us up through a steady _crescendo_ of interest to a climax of curiosity as to what he will produce next. So far, we know him only as the composer of highly original and often brilliant instrumental works. It is difficult to prophesy what his treatment of the vocal element in music may prove to be. The work is in three acts, based upon Hans Andersen's story of the Emperor of China and the Nightingale. The opera was begun several years ago, and we are therefore prepared to find in it some inequality of style; but the greater part of it, so we are told, bears the stamp of Stravinsky's "advanced" manner, and the fundamental independence and novelty of the score of _The Sacrifice to Spring_ leads us to expect in _The Nightingale_ a work of no ordinary power.
Russia, from the earliest institution of her opera houses, has always been well served as regards foreign artists. All the great European stars have been attracted there by the princely terms offered for their services. Russian opera, however, had to be contented for a long period with second-rate singers. Gradually the natural talent of the race was cultivated, and native singers appeared upon the scene who were equal in every respect to those imported from abroad. The country has always been rich in bass and baritone voices. One of the most remarkable singers of the last century, O. A. Petrov (1807-1878), was a bass-baritone of a beautiful quality, with a compass extending from B to G sharp. He made his début at the Imperial Opera, St. Petersburg, in 1830, as Zoroaster in "The Magic Flute." Stassov often spoke to me of this great artist, the operatic favourite of his young days. There were few operatic stars, at least at that period, who did not--so Stassov declared--make themselves ridiculous at times. Petrov was the exception. He was a great actor; his facial play was varied and expressive, without the least exaggeration; he was picturesque, forcible, graceful, and, above all, absolutely free from conventional pose. His interpretation of the parts of Ivan Sousanin in _A Life for the Tsar_, the Miller in _The Roussalka_, of Leporello in _The Stone Guest_, and, even in his last days, of Varlaam in _Boris Godounov_, were inimitable for their depth of feeling, historic truth, intellectual grasp, and sincerity. Artistically speaking, Petrov begat Shaliapin.