Alexander Dargomyzhsky

About

19th-century Russian composer Aleksandr Sergeyevich Dargomyzhsky is well known for his pioneering work in his last opera, The Stone Guest which was later finished by César Cui and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov after his death in 1869. As a talented but amateur musician from Saint Petersburg, Aleksandr met his greatest influence, Mikhail Glinka at the tender age of 20 and devoted himself to composition. Amongst his popular works are the operas Esmeralda (based on Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre Dame), composed in 1839 (performed 1847), and Rusalka which was performed in 1856.