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First performance arranged at the prestigious Bolshoi, where it shared a double bill with Tchaikovsky's Iolanta (at his insistence). The composition was highly esteemed by the examiners' board which included Taneyev and Arensky. Rachmaninov got the highest mark, and was awarded the gold medal. In 1897, Aleko premiered in St Petersburg, the title role taken by the famous bass Feodor Chaliapin, who would go on to record the cavati na, endearing it to generations of record collectors. Russian bass Evgeni Nesterenko joined Moscow's famed Bolshoi Opera in 1971 and has taken on all of the major Russian bass roles and recorded widely.