Catterino Cavos

In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Albertovich and the family name is Cavos.
Portrait, 1820

Catterino Albertovich Cavos (Italian: Catarino Camillo Cavos; Russian: Катерино Альбертович Кавос, romanized: Katerino Albertovich Kavos; October 30, 1775 – May 10 [O.S. April 28] 1840) was an Italian composer, organist and conductor who settled in Russia. He played an important role in the history of Russian opera and was the father of Alberto Cavos.[1]

Cavos is celebrated in Russian musical history as the man who composed the opera Ivan Susanin in 1815, 20 years before Mikhail Glinka's opera of the same name.[2] The plot, based on an episode from Russian history, tells the story of the Russian peasant and patriotic hero Ivan Susanin who sacrifices his life for the Tsar by leading astray a group of marauding Poles who were hunting him.[3]

  1. ^ Ardoin, John. (2001). "Valery Gergiev and the Kirov: A Story of Survival", pp. 10-11 Portland, OR: Amadeus Press.
  2. ^ Taruskin, Richard (1996). "Stravinsky and the Russian Traditions: A Biography of the Works Through Mavra, Volume 1" p. 426 Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ Robert Leach and Victor Borovsky (1999) "Russian Opera by John Warrack" A History of the Russian Theatre. pp.201-2 Cambridge: Cambridge University Press