During his final year at the Conservatory, Rachmaninoff performed his first independent concert, where he premiered his "Trio élégiaque" in February 1892, followed by a performance of the first movement of his Piano Concerto a month later. His request to take his final theory and composition exams a year early was also granted, for which he wrote "Aleko", a one-act opera based on the narrative poem "The Gypsies" by Alexander Pushkin, in seventeen days. It premiered in May 1892 at the Bolshoi Theatre which Tchaikovsky attended and praised Rachmaninoff for his work. Rachmaninoff believed it was "sure to fail", but the production was so successful the theatre agreed to produce it starring singer Feodor Chaliapin who would become a lifelong friend. "Aleko" earned Rachmaninoff the highest mark at the Conservatory and a Great Gold Medal, a distinction only previously awarded to Taneyev and Arseny Koreshchenko. Zverev, a member of the exam committee, gave the composer his gold watch, thus ending years of estrangement. On 29 May 1892, the Conservatory issued Rachmaninoff with a diploma which allowed him to officially style himself as a "Free Artist".