I remember having heard another lyrical work that same winter, but it was by a composer of the second rank – Alexander Serov – and on that occasion I was impressed only by the dramatic action. My father had the leading part, a role in which he was particularly admired by the Petersburg public. He was a very well-known artist in his day. He had a beautiful voice and an amazing technique, acquired in studying by the Italian method at the St. Petersburg Conservatoire, in addition to great dramatic talent – a rare attribute among opera singers at that time.