Under the Canopy of Muses [antikvár]

Opera is a wonderful art, which combines music, literature, painting, choreography and dramatic mastery of an actor. We say "opera is dying, if these ingredients are disintegrating, if a musical performance is merely vocal exercises. That's why big and many-sided culture is necessary in opera. An opera artist, in particular the Soviet one, should remember that our art in all its genres addresses the people, that's why our creative ups and downs also have social meaning. That's why I and many of my collegues on the opera stage very often appear in concerts with the repertoire, rare in its lyrical musical merits, profoundly national by its spirit and content — performing Russian romances. Each of us has our own sympathy in this musical genre. I'm, for example, especially fond of romances by M. Glinka, Dargomyzhsky, Rachmaninov and the Soviet composer Shaporin. I consider it to be not merely my singing but also my civic duty to introduce romances by Shaporin to listeners. Our work on the opera stage demands from us, as in any other responsible activity, constant improving of our mastery, the ability to value sensibly our success.