IOLANTA: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, 1892. Although blind from birth, Iolanta is unaware of her affliction, kept in ignorance by her father, King René in hopes that he may find a cure before she realises her predicament. A knight and his companion stumble across the isolated garden that has been her sanctuary, and she is granted sight and love simultaneously.
KASHCHEY THE IMMORTAL: Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov, 1902. A late, one-act work which is a kind of pendant-piece to his ‘spring tale’, the Snowmaiden. This ‘autumn tale’ is an allegory of oppression and liberation, in which the evil Kashchey has magically concealed his death within his daughter’s tears, whose hard heart should keep it safe forever. He has reckoned without the power of love.
THE SNOWMAIDEN (SNYEGUROCHKA): Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, 1882. A panoramic yet intimate folk-parable of the cycle of the seasons and the mutability of love. Original commission from University College Opera. This version of his masterpiece observes Rimsky’s own proposed cuts but is otherwise complete.
EUGENE ONEGIN: Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, 1879. A self-involved anti-hero believes he has fallen in love only once he realises that the formerly ignored object of his affection is finally unobtainable. Original commission from Dorset Opera Festival.
BORIS GODUNOV: Modest Mussorgsky, 1869. The perceived need to retain power eventually corrupts the Tsar and threatens the stability of his nation. Original commission from Dorset Opera Festival. This is the original 1868 version in four parts that omits entirely the later ‘Polish’ act, among other elements of the better known 1872 version.
Made with love by Artist Digital
