Love is blind, as the saying goes. However, in Tchaikovsky’s opera »Iolanta«, the conditions are reversed. Princess Iolanta is already blind and is healed through love. It is a difficult path because the king’s daughter is not aware of her fate and, therefore, of what she is missing. However, to be cured, Iolanta must first experience the desire to see. A knight errant is able to awaken these feelings in her... The fairy tale libretto of Tchaikovsky’s last opera makes it one of his most beautiful. This one-act work will now be performed at the Elbphilharmonie – played and sung by true Tchaikovsky experts from the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, one of the world’s leading opera houses, where »Iolanta« celebrated its premiere 125 years ago. Charismatic principal conductor Valery Gergiev leads the evening. read less