Timeline of Italian and French Opera in Russia

One of the results of Peter the Great's "window on the West" was the importation of Italian opera troups from Europe to the imperial court at St. Petersburg. This began under the reign of Tsaritsa Anna (1730-1740) and continued to expand for several decades. Here's the timeline:

1731- Calando by Giovanni Ristori is the 1st opera performed in Russia

1735- Francesco Araja comes to St. Petersburg with an opera seria company.

1736- First opera seria in Russia: La forza del 'amore e dell 'odio (Araja).

1741- Opera by Johann Adolf Hasse, La Clemenza di Tito (text by Metastasio) for Tsaritsa Elizabeth's coronation. Includes a prologue by Domenico dall 'Oglio: La Russia aflitta e riconsolata.

1755- First opera with Russian text: Tsefal i Prokris by Araja and Sumarkov. Huge success.

1762- Catherine (II) the Great becomes Tsaritsa. Establishes extravagant court music culture, modeled after Versailles. Also French opera comique is imported. Although the Italian opera seria is still maintained at court, the tsaritsa's preference for French opera draws emerging native Russian composers to use it as their model.

1765- Baldassare Galuppi becomes principle court composer and director of opera.

1768-Tommaso Traetta becomes principle court composer and director of opera.

1776- Giovanni Paisiello becomes principle court composer and director of opera.

1776- With French opera evolving, which is often based on folk tunes, collections of Russian folk songs begin to emerge.

1781- Skupoi (The Miser) by Vasily Alekseyevich Pashkevich is possibly the first opera composed by a native Russian. Modeled after the French opera comique.

1782- Paisiello's Il barbiere di Siviglia becomes a big hit in Russia and spreads to Europe where Mozart decides to sequel it with Le Nozze di Figaro in 1784.

1784- Giuseppi Sarti becomes principle court composer and director of opera.

1790- Nikolay L'vov and Jan Prach publish their collection of folk songs with western harmonizations.

1796- Composer Catterino Cavos comes to St. Petersburg from Venice.

1804- Fancois-Adrian Boieldieu is brought to head the Court's French opera troupe.

1815- Ivan Susanin by Cavos is premiered.

Throughout this timeline, nothing distinctly Russian developed. It was all Italian opera written by imported Italian composers at first, with French comic opera arriving later, and the early native Russian composers emulating these styles.