Dido and Aeneas / Iolanta

«Dido and Aeneas» — an opera in three acts by the English baroque composer Henry Purcell, with a libretto by Nahum Tate based on Virgil's poem (Book Four of the «Aeneid») telling the story of the legendary Trojan hero. The first known performance of the opera took place at Josias Priest's girls' school in London no later than the summer of 1688. It is Purcell's only complete opera without spoken dialogue.

«Iolanta» — the last opera by P. I. Tchaikovsky. In 1884 the composer read F. Miller's translation of the one-act verse drama "King René's Daughter" by the Danish writer H. Hertz. In 1888 the drama, in an adaptation by V. R. Zotov, was staged at Moscow's Maly Theatre. On the basis of this adaptation the composer's brother, M. I. Tchaikovsky, created the libretto. Tchaikovsky began composing «Iolanta» in 1891, starting on 10 July with the final duet. By 4 September all the music was written, and in December the orchestration was finished. The first performance (together with the ballet «The Nutcracker») took place on 6 (18) December 1892 at Saint Petersburg's Mariinsky Theatre.

Several years ago Irina Sadovnikova conceived a dream: to stage P. I. Tchaikovsky's one-act opera "Iolanta". But since this opera has practically only one female role, to satisfy the whole company she needed to find a work rich in female roles to pair it with. H. Purcell's opera "Dido and Aeneas", originally written for a production at an English girls' school, was ideally suited to that purpose. The idea seemed nearly perfect: two "contrasting" operas with something to sing for every member of our growing (in the sense of ambition) company.

However, when three years ago Irina voiced her dream, a real storm rose in our theatrical teacup: ultimatums, blackmail, bribery (which, incidentally, did not affect the finances of the Sadovnikov family in the slightest). Struck by this reaction, Irina temporarily retreated to positions prepared in advance (by her faithful comrade-in-arms in the theatrical struggle), and "The Enchanted Island" and "The Italian Girl" were staged instead. A year ago, however, she decided she could bear it no longer, announced her unbending will to the company, and a crisis set in at the theatre: several leading actors declared that this material did not interest them and that they would not take part in the project. But the majority, in the end, backed the director and decided: the project would go ahead!

In view of the considerable difficulty of the musical material, additional recruitment to the troupe was announced. As a result, talented performers joined the company: Leora Gilgur, Nadya Sokolova, Vita Busheva, and Sasha Zeiliger. After the new members arrived, the old warriors returned to the theatre as well. So, as in a fairy tale with a happy ending, everything came together!

After the performances ended, Leora entered the vocal department of the San Francisco Conservatory, and Sasha returned to leading his own musical ensemble. Nadya (a professional singer) and Vita (head of a music school), we hope, will stay with our company.