Iolanta and the Nutcracker by Andrey Kaydanovskiy, music by Tchaikovsky
Olesya Goloneva (Iolanta), Stefan Cerny (King of Provence), Andrei Bondarenko (Duke of Burgundy)...– Wiener Staatsoper Ballet Academy
Cast
Modest Tchaikovsky — Libretto
Lotte de Beer — Stage director
Andrey Kaydanovskiy — Choreographer
Katrin Lea Tag — Scenography
Jorine Van Beek — Costumes designer
Alex Brok — Lighting designer
Olesya Goloneva — Iolanta
Mila Schmidt — Iolanta (dancer)
Program notes
In this creative, opera-ballet remix of two of Tchaikovsky’s most famous works, the young Iolanta's story unfolds amid the fantastical colors and entrancing dreamworld of the ever-festive Nutcracker — a twist on the pairing conceived by Tchaikovsky for the ballet’s premiere in 1892!
In 1883, Tchaikovsky discovered the character of Iolanta in the Henrik Hertz novel The Daughter of King René, which tells the story of a blind girl locked away in her father’s castle. King René ensures that she is kept hidden from society — until the arrival of Count Vaudemont, who changes Iolanta's life and opens her eyes to the world. In this 2022 reimagining from the Wiener Staatsoper, choreographer Andrey Kaydanovskiy combines the one-act opera with the famous ballet, placing Iolanta at the heart of both her original tale and the action of The Nutcracker — first as a prisoner in her own body, and then adrfit in the world of her own imagination as she tries to bring the light out from the shadows.
