Aleksandr Onisimovich Ablesimov was a typical representative of those eighteenth-century Russian writers who, although members of the gentry, were of meager means and who occupied posts in state service. His works greatly influenced the development of Russian literature by bringing everyday peasant life into its purview and by making peasants full-fledged heroes of literary works. In an age when all traces of Russianness were disappearing beneath powdered wigs, cuffs, and farthingales, Ablesimov, with his extremely popular comic opera Mel'nik, koldun, obmanshchik i svat ([1779]; translated as "The Miller Who Was Wizard, Cheat, and Matchmaker," 1987), charted a fruitful path for Russian dramaturgy by depicting simple people engaged in everyday activities. In this work Ablesimov refused to imitate Western European comedies with traditional comic characters and subjects, creating instead an original musical and dramatic work that would remain popular for about a hundred years and serve as the forefather of Russian...