Darkness and light contrast

The opera "Iolanta" is the last opera by Tchaikovsky and it is one of his brightest life-affirming works. In 1884, the composer read the translation of the one-act verse drama  “ King René’s  Daughter" (1845) by the Danish writer Henrik Hertz (1798-1870) and was enchanted with the originality and poetry of the plot.

The touching story of blind Iolanta, healed by love, contains a great humanistic idea. The eternal darkness, in which King René’s daughter lives serenely and calmly, unaware of her misfortune, becomes a symbol of spiritual blindness, which is a source of deep grief for her close people. Only love and compassion ignite in the heart of Iolanta a passionate desire to see the world, give rise to a willingness for self-sacrifice and the courage to go through sufferings which are the only way to restore her sight.

Chief stage director of the performance is Konstantin Balakin, artist-set designer and costume designer  is Elena Vershinina, chorus master is  Honored Artist of the Russian Federation Galina Duncheva, artistic director-conductor is Valery Voronin.