Work: Mazeppa

Why is Tchaikovsky’s very fine opera still a rarity outside Russia? David Pountney directs a new production at the Surrey festival. 

Conductor Alexander Vedernikov with the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest and a fine cast of soloists captivate the Concertgebouw’s audience with a too-little known opera by Tchaikovsky.

At the end of the season, and before closing for the summer break, the Komische Oper Berlin reprise some of their most successful recent productions for one night only in the Komische Oper Festival, including the popular “cartoon” Magic Flute. Included in this busy week was a performance of Tchaikovsky’s Mazeppa, a rarely performed epic opera of battle-torn love and murder.