Орлеанская дева

Heroic opera in three acts

Libretto by Tchaikovsky, based on the works of Friedrich Schiller and Vasily Zhukovsky

Production by Iosif Keller, set design by Vladimir Lyudmilin

The opera was written in 1879. This version was first performed in Perm in 1969. It was revived in 2003. Running time: 2 hours 45 minutes including 2 intervals

Schiller’s famous tragedy, which was a great success in Europe in the nineteenth century, was censored for a long time in Imperial Russia, despite Zhukovsky’s fine translation. This did not deter Tchaikovsky: he dreamed of writing a ‘grand opera’, and saw excellent material in Schiller’s text. The Maid of Orleans overcame all the censors’ obstacles and was staged at the Mariinsky Theatre in 1881, the same year as Eugene Onegin. 

The plot is based on the historical chronicles of the Hundred Years’ War. The young peasant girl Joan of Arc, inspired by the voices of angels, dresses as a warrior and leads the French troops into battle. After the coronation of the weak-willed King Charles VII, Joan is captured by the English. Under pressure from the English authorities, the French inquisitors declare her to be a witch, and send her to be burned at the stake.