Name: Jolanthe und der Nussknacker
Start: 2022-10-09T00:00:00.000Z
End: 2022-12-18T00:00:00.000Z
Location: Volksoper

Organization

Conductor

Omer Meir Wellber

Stage director

Lotte de Beer

Choreographer

Andrey Kaydanovskiy

Set designer

Katrin Lea Tag

Costume designer

Jorine van Beek

Lighting designer

Alex Brok

Singer

Soprano

Olesya Golovneva

Iolanta

Bass

Stefan Cerny

Rene

Tenor

Georgy Vasiliev

Count Vaudemont

Baritone

Andrei Bondarenko

Robert

Szymon Komasa

Ibn-Hakia

David Kerber

Almeric

Yasushi Hirano

Bertrand

Contralto

Stephanie Maitland

Marta

Anita Götz

Brigitta

Mezzo-soprano

Annelie Sophie Müller

Laura

Mila Schmidt

Dancer

Felipe Vieira

The Nutcracker-Prince

Christopher Krasnansky

Dramaturge

Peter te Nuyl

Anne do Paço

Tokyo Nikikai Opera Foundation

Ballet

Vienna State Opera Ballet

Studierende der Ballettakademie Wiener Staatsoper

Orchestra

Orchester der Volksoper Wien

German

Jolanthe und der Nussknacker

Vienna

Austria

Volksoper Wien

Volksoper

Although Tchaikovsky's opera "Yolanthe" and his ballet "The Nutcracker" were created as a double evening for the premiere at the Mariinsky Theater in Saint Petersburg in 1892, they are rarely performed together today. And the two works did not always go hand in hand when it came to reception either: while the “Nutcracker” quickly enjoyed lasting success and it has become an integral part of classical ballet literature, “Jolanthe” initially had little appeal with the public and is now a little listed opera rarity. In her first own production at her house, the new director of the Volksoper, Lotte de Beer, and the new music director, Omer Meir Wellber, dare an exciting experiment: the two stage works are interwoven into a story about growing up and learning to see the world for what it is. Music theater for the whole family, between dance and song, with imaginative costumes, a seven-headed mouse king in the snow and a utopian ending. Jolanthe (Olesya Golovneva) is a sheltered, blind princess who is unaware of her blindness. Her father King René (Stefan Cerny) wants to withhold the truth from her for fear of causing her pain by knowing it, even if it means that she cannot be cured. An unexpected visitor, the future lover Jolanthes, finally explains to the princess what it means to be able to see. But not only in "Jolanthe" does a rupture through the ordered structures of childhood lead into a new world, but also in "Nutcracker", which symbolizes the sugar-sweet childish fantasy world of Jolanthe: A girl recognizes the nutcracker as a prince, with whom she embarks on a dream journey to a fairytale land of plenty. The Nutcracker music and the dancers of the Vienna State Ballet, choreographed by Andrey Kaydanovskiy, represent the imaginative world of Jolanthe's inner eye. "There comes a time in life when you have to decide whether you want to remain a blind princess or wants to see the world in all its imperfection,” says director Lotte de Beer.

Videos