Performers
Slovak Philharmonic
Slovak Philharmonic Choir
Daniel Raiskin – conductor
Jan Rozehnal – choirmaster
cast:
Peter Mikuláš – bass / René, King of Provence
Evelina Dobračeva – soprano / Jolanta, his daughter
Andrei Zhilikhovsky – baritone / Robert, Duke of Burgundy
Dmytro Popov – tenor / Vaudémont, earl
Sergej Tolstov – baritone / Ibn-Hakia, Moorish physician
Tomáš Šelc – baritone / Bertrand, castellan
Terézia Kružliaková – mezzosoprano / Marta, his wife, Iolanta’s nursemaid
Zoya Petrova – soprano / Brigitta, Iolanta’s friend
Michaela Šebestová – mezzosoprano / Laura, Iolanta’s friend
Jaroslav Březina – tenor / Alméric, armor-bearer to King René
Program
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky – Iolanta, Concert Performance
Admission 35, 30, 25 € Tickets
Iolanta, opera in one act, is the last dramatic work by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto of the story about the blind princess Iolanta who is healed by love was written by the composer’s brother Modest. The original topic could be found in Hans Christian Andersen’s work. Taking place in the mid-15th century in the south of France, in Provence, the story winds around historical figures: the princess Iolanta of Lorraine (1428–1483), the daughter of the king René I of Anjou and Isabella of Lorraine. The romantic element of the drama is represented by the blindness of the princess, which is not historically confirmed. The opera was premiered on 6th December, 1892 in St. Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theatre, together with the Nutcracker ballet, according to the composer’s desire. A year later Iolanta was performed in Hamburg and in 1900 in Vienna; both performances were conducted by Gustav Mahler. Recently, interest in the work has risen significantly among the opera houses: for example in 2015 Iolanta was staged together with Bartók’s opera Bluebeard’s Castle in New York’s Met. Last year the Slovak Philharmonic Choir participated in a top-class production of the work at the festival in Baden-Baden with the Berlin Philharmonic and acquired the notable Oper! Awards prize there as the best European choir of the year. By the concert performance of the opera Iolanta at the BMF we restore the interrupted tradition of opera performances from several years ago, whose protagonist was Edita Gruberová.
