I was in a second-hand store a couple weeks ago and found an early 20th century Russian opera on vinyl called "Katerina" by a composer named "MM Arkas."
The synopsis on the back of the LP (your standard 60s-style LP that also had a bio of the composer) revealed that he served in the army for most of his adult life, and wrote this, his only opera, over a span of 20 years while doing his service.
I already had a bunch of LPs picked out, so this became part of my "B list" of things to check out when I got home. I searched online for quite a while, including every opera database I could find, and there is no mention of either the composer or the opera.
Therefore I needed to rush back and pick up the record, since it was obviously so rare to the point that nobody has heard of it. But when I got back it was gone ! Some opera aficionado picked up just about every opera record in the stash.
So ........... has anyone ever heard of this opera? Is it any good ?? What have I missed out on? Any insight would be much appreciated.
The synopsis on the back of the LP (your standard 60s-style LP that also had a bio of the composer) revealed that he served in the army for most of his adult life, and wrote this, his only opera, over a span of 20 years while doing his service.
I already had a bunch of LPs picked out, so this became part of my "B list" of things to check out when I got home. I searched online for quite a while, including every opera database I could find, and there is no mention of either the composer or the opera.
Therefore I needed to rush back and pick up the record, since it was obviously so rare to the point that nobody has heard of it. But when I got back it was gone ! Some opera aficionado picked up just about every opera record in the stash.
So ........... has anyone ever heard of this opera? Is it any good ?? What have I missed out on? Any insight would be much appreciated.