We’re heading to the Vienna State Opera for Tchaikovsky’s “Iolanta” on this week’s Sunday Opera (12/7 3:00 p.m.) for a story awakening love and sight gained that takes place in the 15th century in the mountains of southern France.
Princess Iolanta (Sonya Yoncheva) has been blind since birth, and she has been kept ignorant of her blindness by her father, King Rene (Ivo Stanchev), in isolation in a beautiful garden where only her servants Bertrand (Simonas Strazdas) and Marta (Monika Bohenic) tend to her needs.
She has been betrothed to Duke Robert (Boris Pinkhasovich), who doesn't want the marriage as he has fallen in love with another. When his friend, the knight Vaudémont (Dmytro Popov), accidentally enters her garden, he falls in love with her and helps her realize her blindness which her father has forbidden.
King Rene has brought the Moorish physician, Ibn-Hakia (Arkady Chrernov), who says that he can cure Iolanta, but she must know of about her blindness and want to change if the cure is to work. Now That Vaudemont has made her aware of her blindness, Rene hopes to go through with the treatment.However, Iolanta is hesitant, and it isn’t until Rene threatens to kill Vaudemont for trespassing into the garden that she agrees.
Iolanta leaves with Ibn-Haikia, and when they return, she can see and is amazed by this new and magical world where Vaudemont waits to marry her.
The cast also includes Daniel Jenz as Almeric, Rene’s armor-bearer. The Vienna State Orchestra and Chorus is conducted by Tugan Sokhiev.
The afternoon will be filled with more music of Tchaikovsky as host Michael Kownacky brings you the “incidental music” for “The Snow Maiden,” a performance piece based on poetry by Aleksandr Ostrovsky’s “Spring Legend.”This work relies on a full orchestra, operatic singers, and a ballet company to be staged. It tells the tale of Snegurochka, the daughter of Beautiful Spring and Father Frost who longs to be among humans although she cannot feel any emotions. Her parents allow her to go a nearby village where she wants to experience love. Eventually, she asks her mother to give her “humanity,” and when Snegurochka does, she falls in love and marries.
This sets of a series of events which end the fifteen-year-long winter they’ve been experiencing, and with the first rays of the sun, Snegurochka melts, and her love, Mizgir drowns himself in the river because of her loss.
This performance features soloists Irina Mishura-Lekhtman and Vladimir Grishinko who are joined by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra conducted by Neeme Jarvi.
We’ll hear from the Detroit Symphony and Neeme Jarvi for the second piece of the afternoon, an orchestral version of his very popular collection of twelve pieces under the heading of “The Seasons. ”Originally written for piano, this lush arrangement for symphony orchestra by Aleksandr Gauk from 1942.
We’ll close our afternoon together with a short piece from “Onegin. ”No, not the opera, although it’s the same story, but the ballet written for the Stuttgart Ballet by Kurt-Heinz Stolze who turned to Tchaikovsky’s catalogue or works to compose this score. We’ll have time for a short piece, the opening of the second act entitled Grand Valse. For this, Stolze orchestrated to pieces for piano: Nantha-Valse No. 4 and Valse sentimentale No. 6.The performance here is by the Staatsorchester Stuttgart with James Tuggle conducting.
