Tchaikovsky
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Anna (Alina) Khvostova (1846–1904)

Anna Khvostova

Russian soprano and singing teacher (b. 1846; d. 1904), born Alina Aleksandrovna Khvostova (Алина Александровна Хвостова, Alina Aleksandrovna Hvostova, Alina Alexandrovna Khvostova), but used the first name Anna in her professional career; also known after her marriage as Anna Aleksandrovna Poliakova-Khvostova (Анна Александровна Полякова-Хвостова, Anna Aleksandrovna Poljakova-Hvostova, Anna Alexandrovna Polyakova-Khvostova).

Alina graduated in 1866 from the singing classes of Henriette Nissen-Saloman (1819–1879) at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, and went on to give concerts in Saint Petersburg, Riga and Warsaw. Her repertoire included many of Tchaikovsky's romances, of which she was one of the earliest exponents. Her sister Anastasiia Khvostova (1842–1911) was a close friend of the composer from his days at the Imperial School of Jurisprudence in Saint Petersburg.

From 1874 to 1883 Khvostova was a singing instructor at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, and during the 1890s she taught at the Moscow School of Music and Drama.

Tchaikovsky's works dedicated to Anna Khvostova:

• None But the Lonely Heart—No. 6 of the Six Romances, Op. 6 (1869).