Yevstigney Fomin

Yevstigney Ipat’yevich Fomin () (born St. Petersburg 16 August 1761 – died St. Petersburg c 27 April 1800) was a Russian opera composer of the 18th century. Biography Fomin was born in St. Petersburg into the family of a cannoneer, an artillery soldier of the Tobolsk infantry regiment. His father died when he was 6, and he passed into the care of his stepfather, I. Fedotov, a soldier. Fedotov took him to the Academy of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg on 21 April 1767, where Fomin studied architecture. As a full student there, he began learning the harpsichord in 1776 with Matteo Buini. From 1777 he studied theory and composition with Hermann Raupach, and from 1779 with Blasius Sartori. In 1782 he went to Bologna to study with Padre Martini and Stanislao Mattei; three years later he was accepted into the Accademia filarmonica. Returning to St. Petersburg in 1785, he taught at the theatrical school and composed operas. From 1797 he was répétiteur for the imperial theater under Paul I. He composed about 30 operas including Yamshchiki na podstave The Coachmen at the Relay Station (1787); Vecherinki Soirées (1788); Orfey i Evridika (1792), Amerikantsy The Americans (a comic opera) (1800), a