Musorgsky worked tirelessly on the plot of the opera Salammbô from 1863 to 1866. The opera was essentially composed independently from The Five and Mily Balakirev, who during those years was Musorgsky’s musical mentor. According to Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, the composer occasionally allowed extracts from Salammbô to be performed within the circle and these extracts “at times drew the most tremendous approval for the beauty of their themes and ideas, while at others they drew the most incredible censure for their lack of order and muddle.”