lexander Sergeyevich Dargomizhsky (1813-1869).
Son of a princess with literary pretensions, Aleksandr Dargomizhsky began his working life as a civil servant to whom music was little more than a hobby. However, after a fateful meeting with Mikhail Glinka, Dargomizhsky began work on his first opera, Esmeralda (based on Hugo’s Notre-Dame de Paris). From there, the composer went to work as a vocal coach (he taught only women, and reportedly accepted no monetary compensation for his labors) before completing the two operas upon which his reputation rests: the deliciously melodic Rusalka and the groundbreaking Stone Guest.