I wrote to Professor Richard Taruskin, source of the information on the Firebird cult (from his two volume work on Stravinsky, Stravinsky and the Russian Traditions) and sent him my recent postings to the list regarding Sirin. I received this reply:

Dear Ms. Kunin,
Thank you for these very interesting communications and, of course, for the kind words.
But you perhaps do not know that Sirin actually appears, together with Alkonost, in Rimsky-Korsakov's next-to-last opera, The Tale of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevronia.  It is a beautiful scene. 
All good wishes, R Taruskin


Very interestingly, the Wikipedia article on the musicologist states that "Taruskin's book on Igor Stravinsky shows that the composer drew on much more Russian folk material than has previously been recognized, and analyzes the historical trends that caused Stravinsky not to be forthcoming about some of these borrowings". 

Sounds intriguing. I have the books and will pass on anything I find that might throw some light on our own mysterious Firebird. I will also try to hear or see a recording of Rimsky's Kitezh.

C Kunin



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