- Tchaikovsky began to write this work from the final.
- The French King René of Anjou, who served as the prototype of King René, existed in reality. He was a significant figure in France at that time. It is interesting, that his mother and daughter wore the name of Yolande, although both had good eyesight. Who of them became the prototype of the blind girl Iolanta remains unknown.
- Simultaneously with the staging of the opera "Iolanta", Korolenko's novel "The Blind Musician" appeared in the Russian publications. Despite the different historical coloring, the similarity of the plots is vived in the theme of spiritual beauty superiority over external attractiveness. It is interesting that in both works the blind girl and the blind young man choose a flower of the wrong color.
- The presence of two flowers, red and white, in the plot was considered by many historians not accidental. At the time when H. Hertz wrote his drama, the confrontation between the parties of Red and White Roses was born, which later developed into a bloody war. Many French duchies took part in it in one way or another.
- For some time it was forbidden to include kings and queens in the plot at the domestic stage, so King René was replaced by Count Rene.
- In the Soviet Union, the productions of the opera lost its Christian-religious coloring, since such an interpretation of the work was categorically forbidden. The miracle of the main heroine healing, which referred to the divine conduct, as well as love, and the successful resolution of the disputed situation with the wedding, were decided to be attributed to the skill of the doctor and the prudence of René. This completely changed the concept and essence of the drama.
Cast of the soloists on April 28 in the performance "Iolanta" by P. Tchaikovsky
The Symphony Orchestra of the Astrakhan Opera and Ballet Theatre under Valery Voronin.
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