Mariinsky II (New Theatre)

Iolanthe

Libretto by Modest Tchaikovsky after the play Kong Renes datter by Henrik Hertz

Co-production of the Festspielhaus Baden Baden  

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky´s Iolanta and Sergei Vasilievich Rakhmaninov´s Aleko are, arguably, two of the most widely-loved Russian chamber operas. There performance together in one evening is first and foremost a tribute to these two great composers as well as an observance of the composer´s own wishes.

Iolanta was Tchaikovsky´s last opera, one of the most vivid and unusual works he wrote. The bibretto was created by the composer´s brother Modest Ilyich Tchaikovsky after the drama King René´s Daughter by Danish playwright Henrik Hertz. At the composer´s own admission, he was seeking a subject “not of this world”, of purely lyrical quality and specifically for a chamber opera. He found all of this in Iolanta, which reflects Tchaikovsky´s moral and philosophical searches from the closing years of his life. The opera was first performed at the Mariinsky Theatre on 6 December 1892.

Aleko, also composed in 1892, was Rakhmaninov´s graduation work for the Moscow Conservatoire. The complex conditions for writing the opera (the pre-prepared libretto was by Vladimir Ivanovich Nemirovich-Danchenko after Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin´s poem The Gupsy; nothing could be altered and there was a time limit – just one month could be spent on the score) did not prevent the young composer from becoming truly engaged in the subject. As Rakhmaninov later recalled, his opera drew Tchaikovsky´s attention and Tchaikovsky´s influence in Russia´s music circles was so great that at his advice the young composer´s opera was accepted for production by the Bolshoi Theatre. The premiere took place on 27 April 1893. After the stunning success of the opera, Tchaikovsky asked Rakhmaninov if he would agree to a combined production of Iolanta and Aleko at the Bolshoi Theatre in autumn the same year. Tchaikovsky´s unexpected death prevented this plan from coming to fruition…

Vladimir Goryachikh

Premiere:  18 December, 1892 at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia.