Kashperov, Vladimir (Nikitich)

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Kashperov, Vladimir (Nikitich)

Kashperov, Vladimir (Nikitich) , Russian composer; b. Tchufarovo, Simbirsk region, Sept. 6, 1826; d. Romantsevo, near Mozhaisk, July 8, 1894. He studied with Voigt and Henselt in St. Petersburg and with Dehn in Berlin (1856), then went to Italy to study singing (1858), where he remained until 1864. He wrote several operas in the Italian style that were produced in Italy, including Maria Tudor (Milan, 1859), Rienzi (Florence, 1863), and Consuelo (Venice, 1865). In 1865 he returned to Russia and taught voice at the Moscow Cons. (1866–72), and in 1872 he opened his own school of singing. In Moscow he produced 2 operas with Russian librettos: The Storm, after Ostrovsky (1867), and Taras Bulba, after Gogol (1893). Even in his Russian works, Kashperov remained faithful to the Italian style of composition, taking Donizetti as a model.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire