Although Rubinstein had been unable to attend the premiere, he was par-

ticularly pleased to hear that Hlsen, administrator of the Berlin theaters, had
been present, for this might ultimately lead to a performance in the Prussian
capital.72 That same year Flicien Davids opera Lallah Rookh on the same sub-
ject as Feramors was being accepted by opera houses all over Germany, but be-
cause of his teaching responsibilities, Rubinstein had been unable to promote
his own opera. He complained about his situation: I no longer belong to myself,
nor to my art, but I am forced in the broadest sense to give myself over to teach-
ing. My present post is neither honorable nor interesting in many respects, and
I do not think that I shall be able to bear it for a long time. Sooner or later I shall
give up this entire story and return to my muse, that charming coquettish bride,
and I shall live only for her, even if I have to sacrice my post.73 Rubinstein was
annoyed by the setbacks over the staging of Feramors and asked Rodenberg to
supply another libretto; only this time he wanted it to be not a lyrical subject,
but a highly dramatic one. He was still hoping that the libretto for the Song of
Songs would be ready soon.
In May Rubinstein was at last able to go abroad. He headed rst for K-
ningsberg, where he conducted Das Verlorene Paradies on 29 May, and then for
Dresden via Baden-Baden, where he could not resist the gaming tables. Hav-
ing missed the premiere of Feramors, he nally heard the opera in Dresden on
22 July. His verdict to Rodenberg was: In the music there are shortcomings, in
the textlongeursbut this work will not bring shame on us, and we can boldly
put it out into the world, and the world will be unjust if it turns it down.74 He
was pleasantly surprised by the staging, which he thought brilliant, and the
sets exceeded his expectations. All this inspired in him the desire to compose
yet another opera: Only no more oriental settingsone work of this type is
enough for the moment; now something European with a general and intriguing
interest!75 For the time being, however, no new libretto, nor even the almost
forgotten Song of Songs, materialized. In reality, there was little time to think
about composing an opera, and Rubinsteins only achievement that summer
was to revise the Ocean Symphony, adding to it the two discarded movements
from the Symphony in B
. The score, in this enlarged form, was published by
Senff in 1871.
When Rubinstein returned to St. Petersburg, he brought with him the draft
of a new charter for the RMS and the Conservatory, and lost no time in sub-
mitting them for approval. The main purpose of the new charter for the Con-
servatory was to strengthen the authority of the director and reduce external
interference, but many months would pass before he received a response. Mean-
while, the RMS season began as usual in October, and on 7 and 21 November,
and 5 and 19 December (o.s.), he conducted concerts in the Hall of the Nobility.
Among the works heard were Brahmss Serenade for orchestra, choruses by Han-
del and Schubert, a romance by Gurilyov, and works by Beethoven, Schumann,
Gounod, David, Litolff, Liszt, Chopin, and Glinka. Rubinstein also played on
evenings devoted to chamber music at the Bernardaki Hall: the repertory was
exclusively classical from Haydn to Schumann.

104 Anton Rubinstein