TCHAIKOVSKY : IOLANTA

Radio New Zealand Concert network
Sunday 15th of March 2015 at 6.03 pm
Sunday 28th of September 2014 at 6.03 - 8 pm
Sunday 30th of September 2012

TCHAIKOVSKY: Iolanta, a lyric opera in one act, based on Henrik Hertz's play King Rene's Daughter with libretto by Modest Tchaikovsky, the composer's brother
Iolanta.......................... Anna Netrebko
Count Vaudémont....... Piotr Beczala
Robert.......................... Aleksei Markov
King René.................... Ilya Bannik
Ibn-Hakia..................... Elchin Azizov
Metropolitan Opera Chorus & Orch/Valery Gergiev

INTRODUCTION
SYNOPSIS
EXCERPT (Anna Netrebko, Villazon)
LIBRETTO (transcribed Russian) 
LIBRETTO (ditto with Spanish translation) 

The story of a blind princess who does not know that she is a sightless noblewoman; eventually she finds her true love, and gains her eyesight (sorry, I did not mean to be a spoiler by revealing the end of the tale).
   Iolanta was the composer's last opera, and it was deliberately made short so that it it could fit on the same night as the Nutcracker ballet, in 1892; remember, he died in 1893 at the age of 54. It was cholera that killed him, a few days after the performance of his 6th symphony (Pathétique).
   In the original Danish play, the name was Iolanthe, and W. S. Gilbert borrowed that for his peer and peri (pronounced peeri, and meaning fairy)  operetta, though there was no connection between the stories.

Sunday 28th of September 2014
TCHAIKOVSKY: Iolanta, an opera in one act
Iolanta……………….Tatiana Ryaguzova
René…………………Yury Monchak
Count Vaudémont……Dmitry Karpov
Robert………………..Boris Pinkhasovich
Ibn-Hakkia…………..Alexander Kuznetsov
Alméric………………Roman Arndt
Bertrand……………...Evgeny Solodovnikov
Marta…………………Ekaterina Egorova
Brigitta……………….Svetlana Monchak
Laura…………………Ekaterina Sevryukova
Mikhailovsky Chorus & Orch/Valentin Bogdanov (Russian Radio)

Sunday 30th of September 2012
René…………………..Dmitry Beloselsky
Robert………………...Dalibor Jenis
Count Vaudémont…….Saimir Pirgu
Ibn-Hakia……………..Elchin Azizov
Alméric……………….Ladislav Elgr
Bertrand………………Vladimir Baykov
Iolanta………………...Olga Mykytenko
Marta………………….Svetlana Shilova
Brigitta………………..Rinnat Moriah
Laura………………….Victoria Yarovaya
Mathilda………………Barbora Kohoutková