Much of my free time during the period of preliminary study with Akimenko and Kalafati was spent at rehearsals and performances of operas. My father had obtained a pass for me that allowed me to attend almost all rehearsals at the Mariynsky, and by the time I was sixteen I would spend as many as five or six nights a week at the opera. Rimsky was often to be seen there, though I did not yet speak to him. I did come to know many of the principal singers and orchestra players, and of the latter I became especially friendly with the two first violinists, Victor Valter and Volf-Israel.