“The Maid of Orleans”, the opera which Russian composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky created in 1878-79, based on German poet Friedrich Schiller's drama in the translation of Russian poet Vasily Zhukovsky, was chosen by Julia Strizhak, the dynamic director of the St. Petersburg's State "Music Hall" theater, to develop a deeply rooted collaboration with Saalfeld-based “Thueringer Symphoniker” symphony orchestra.
The Russian theater contributed to the project its opera choir, all soloists and about 30 members of its "Northern Sinfonia" orchestra.
“The atmosphere in the Meininger Hof Saalfeld, where the two performances take place, is that of tangible and heartfelt friendship. Both nights are sold out for this Schiller/Tchaikovsky double bill,” the "Music Hall" artistic director, conductor Fabio Mastrangelo, told Sputnik.
Mastrangelo is a longtime friend of Oliver Weder, who has been leading the “Thueringer Symphoniker” orchestra for well over a decade.
The protocol, which paved the path for implementing the joint project, was signed during the 7th International St. Petersburg Cultural Forum in November 2018.
Saalfeld lies near the town of Rudolstadt where Schiller lived and where his residence can be still visited.
In this town, Schiller enjoyed his first encounter with another great German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and became acquainted with his future wife Charlotte von Lengefeld.
