He conducted the first performance of the 1812 Overture (1882) and the first performances at the Bolshoi Theatre of his operas Mazeppa (1884), The Enchantress (1890), The Queen of Spades (1891) and Iolanta (1893).
The genus is named after the enchantress Circe from Greek mythology, who is supposed to have used enchanter's nightshade in her magic.
Although The Enchantress received lukewarm reviews at its November 1887 premiere, Tchaikovsky liked Shpazhinsky's style and he approached him for another libretto, this time based on Alexander Pushkin's historical novel The Captain's Daughter, which the writer started on in the spring of 1888.
The Land of Stories: The Enchantress Returns is the sequel to The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer.