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Catterino Albertovich Cavos, also Katerino Al'bertovič Kavos (Russian: Катерино Альбертович Кавос, born: October 30 1775, Venice, Italy – died: May 10 [OS April 28], 1840 St. Petersburg, Russia) was a Russianized Venetian immigrant, composer and conductor of the Imperial Theatres, who played an important role in the history of opera in Russia.

Cavos is celebrated in Russian musical history as the man who composed an opera Ivan Susanin (1815), 20 years before Glinka.

Biography
He was a son of the director of the theatre "Fenice" in Venice. At the age of 12 Cavos composed a cantata to the arrival to Venice of Leopold II. At the age of 14 he obtained the place of the organist at St Mark Church.

In 1797 together with the Italian operatic company "Astariti" he came to St Petersburg. The company was soon disbanded, but Cavos entered the service of the Imperial Theatres, at first as composer for French opera troupe with the responsibility to write music to the operas-vaudevilles.

Since 1803 Cavos was appointed as the Kapellmeister of Italian and Russian opera and, furthermore, was obtained the place of the teacher of singing at the Saint Catherine School. In 1811 he occupied the same place in the Smolny Monastery.

He was involved in a massive peratic project: the opera tetralogy Rusalke (The Mermaid, also known as Dneprovskaya Rusalka or Lesta, dneprovskaya rusalka (1803-1807, first given in St Petersburg) based on the German romantic-comic piece Das Donauweibchen(The Marmaid of Danube'') by Ferdinand Kauer (1751-1831) with the new Russian text by Nikolai Krasnopolsky and Prince Alexander Shakhovskoy (1777-1846). Cavos together with Stepan Davydov (1777-1825) provided the additional music to the opera.

Cavos acquainted the Russian public with the opera's by Luigi Cherubini, Étienne Méhul, Carl Maria von Weber, and others. He conducted the first performance of Glinka's "Ivan Susanin" in 1836, twenty years after the first performance of his own opera on the same libretto (though with a different ending). Cavos generously admitted that Glinka's work was musically superior.

Cavos spent in Russia more than 40 years and died in St Petersburg.

His two sons, grandson and other members of the Cavos family, well known musicians and architects, made a notable contribution into the Russian culture of the 19th century.

Legacy
Cavos wrote meny operas, ballets, and orchestral pieces. His opera's Ilya the Hero (1806), Ivan Susanin (1815), The Firebird (1823) earned a public succes in their time. The Cossack as Poet, a one-act vaudeville (1812), remained in the repertory till 1852. Some of his ballets were performed abroad.

Operas

 * Soliman second, ou Les trois Sultanes one-act vaudeville after Charles Simon Favart, June 7 [OS Mai 26] 1798 St. Petersburg. (Also with Russian libretto: Suliman vtoroi, ili Tri sultanshi – Сулиман второй или три султанши, 1813)
 * Les Trois bossus (Three Brothers Crouchbacks)
 * L'Alchimiste
 * L'Intrigue dans les ruines
 * Le Mariage d'Aubigny
 * Lesta, dneprovskaya rusalka (May 17 [OS May 5], 1804, St Petersburg, Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre) by Ferdinand Kauer with the additional music by Cavos and Stepan Davydov.
 * Knyaz nevidimka, ili Licharda volshebnik (Князь-невидимка – The Invisible Prince, libretto by Lifanov, in 4 acts May 17 1805 St Petersburg)
 * Lyobovnaya pochta (Любовная почта – The Mail of Love, libretto by Alexander Shakhovskoy1806)
 * Ilya Bogatyr (Илья-Богатырь – Ilya the Hero, libretto by Ivan Krylov, January 12, 1807 St Petersburg)
 * Tri brata gorbuna (Три брата-горбуна – Three Brothers Crouchbacks, 1808) [revision of  Les trois bossus]
 * Kazak-stikhotvorets (Казак-стихотворец – The Cossack as Poet, May 27 1812, St Petersburg)
 * Ivan Susanin (Иван Сусанин, libretto by Alexander Shakhovskoy, October 30 [OS October 19], 1815 St Petersburg)
 * Dobrynya Nikitich (Добрыня Никитич, 1818) [together with F. Antonolini]
 * Zhar-ptitsa (Царь-Птица – The Firebird, 1823)

Ballets

 * Zefir i Flora (1808)
 * Opolchenie ili lyubov' k Otechestvu (1812)
 * Raul Kreki (1819)
 * Kavkazsky plennik ili ten' nevesty (1823)

CDs

 * The Golden Age of Russian Guitar, Vol.2CD: Ovchinnikov, Oleg Timofeyev, D. Kushenov-Dmitrievsky, Andrei Osipovich Sychra, Catterino Cavos

Templates
Opera

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