Tchaikowsky premiere wins international opera award

The International Opera Awards 2014 were held in London on the 7th of April and the aim of the awards is to raise the profile of opera as an art form and to recognise and reward artistic excellence and achievement.

There was already a buzz surrounding the world premiere of André Tchaikowsky’s The Merchant of Venice (libretto by John O’Brien) at the Bregenzer Festspiele in Austria in July last year. The opera received unanimous acclaim for its production, singing and, moreover, for the work itself. Tchaikowsky, who died in 1982, never got to see the work staged and it was the artistic vision of David Pountney and his team at the Bregenzer Festspiele that thrust this unknown work into the spotlight. 

The Merchant of Venice was shortlisted by the committee in the category of World Premiere Awards and against a very interesting competition line up, the work came up trumps, proving that everyone’s faith in putting this work on the stage actually meant something. This award has proved the worth of the opera and brought the (almost) unknown name of André Tchaikowsky to the attention of theatre-going (and opera administration) public. 

The opera will be performed at the Teatr Wielki in Warsaw in October this year and future productions are in the pipeline. The DVD/Blu Ray of the premiere in Bregenz is due for release by EuroArts in July.

Were he with us today, what would André Tchaikowsky think…?

READ THE LIST OF AWARD WINNERS FOR 2014