Alexander Alexandrovich Alyabiev was one of the most significant composers in Russia before Glinka. His talent became apparent early on, and he was extremely versatile, writing music for vaudevilles and operas and becoming a specialist in folk music of various kinds – he acquired this knowledge during a time of political exile, only being allowed to return to live in Moscow under the supervision of the police. Like Mikhail Glinka, Alyabiev was a student of the Irish composer John Field, who lived and worked in Russia for many years, and his operatic compositions in many ways laid the foundations for the future flourishing of the genre in Russia initiated by Glinka.

– Ivan Moody