The Zimin Opera was founded by the Russian entrepreneur Sergei Zimin in Moscow, Russia in 1903.
The company staged the premieres of such operas as Rimsky-Korsakov's Golden Cockerel, Gretchaninoff's Beatris Sister and Ippolitov-Ivanov's Izmena. It also staged the Russian premiers of Puccini's La fanciulla del West, Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Mascagni's Iris and Leoncavallo's Zazà.
Many well-known Russian and Italian opera singers performed with the company, including Georges Baklanoff, Lina Cavalieri, Feodor Chaliapin, Leonid Sobinov, and Titta Ruffo.
Stage sets and costumes was designed by such Russian artists as Ivan Bilibin, Viktor Vasnetsov and Nicholas Roerich
During its fourteen year history, Zimin Opera staged more than 120 operas.
The company closed in 1917 after the Russian Revolution.