Catterino Cavos

Catterino Albertovich Cavos (; ; October 21, 1777 – May 10 1840) was an Italian composer, organist and conductor who settled in Russia. He played an important role in the history of Russian opera and was the father of Alberto Cavos. Cavos is celebrated in Russian musical history as the man who composed the opera Ivan Susanin in 1815, 20 years before Mikhail Glinka’s opera of the same name. The plot, based on an episode from Russian history, tells the story of the Russian peasant and patriotic hero Ivan Susanin who sacrifices his life for the Tsar by leading astray a group of marauding Poles who were hunting him. Early years and family Cavos was born in Venice, Italy, on October 21, 1777. His father, Alberto Filippo Cavos (also known as Cavosi), was the Primo Ballerino Assoluto (lead male ballet dancer) and director of the La Fenice theatre in Venice. At the age of twelve, Cavos composed a cantata to celebrate Leopold II’s arrival in Venice. At fourteen he was offered the post of organist to St Mark’s Basilica, but refused the position, allowing the post to be given to an older, impoverished musician. Russian years In his early twenties, Cavos accepted a position as conductor of the