Aleksey Nikolayevich Verstovsky was a Russian composer and theatrical manager. During the years 1848-60 he was the administrator of the office of the Direction of the Imperial Theaters of Moscow.
He composed numerous vocal compositions, among which most distinct are the vocal ballads “Chyornaya Shal’” (“The Black Shawl”), “Bedny pevets” (“The Poor Singer”) “Nochnoy smotr” (“The Night Inspection”) and “Tri pesni barda” (“Three Songs of the Bard”). Verstovsky also wrote a large numbers of musical works for the stage (6 operas, vaudevilles, melodramas and other works). A significant role in the development of Russian music was played by his operas “Pan Twardowski” (1828), “The Stormbreaker” (“Gromoboy”) (1854) and others. In Verstovsky’s most famous work, the opera “Askold’s Grave” (1835), the national element is successfully connected with romanticized fabulous features.
