Do we need to know more about the life of Tchaikovsky? The interpenetration of his life and work was not something he concealed in his lifetime, and since then any number of documents and docu-dramas have appeared to re-emphasise the fact. As the title of this show aptly points out, he was a ‘Child of Glass’, with a sensitivity to people and milieu that left him continuously vulnerable. But Tama Matheson’s compelling presentation of music and words at Opera Holland Park, only playing for three nights sadly, made a very good case for itself, and for dramatic worth of this sort of genre.
A great deal of care and dramatic cunning has gone into framing this show, interleaving the composer’s own words (mainly) with piano commentary played by Jayson Gillham. The coverage was essentially chronological, but unequal in emphasis, offering particular detours into several of his relationships that have not received the attention they might in the literature. The first half took us from early childhood memories of swans, through his long period of study at the School of Jurisprudence, and up to his disastrous marriage; and the second through his greatest successes and up to his unexpected death aged only 53. Where it scored particularly was in revealing the intimate connections between Tchaikovsky’s relationships with men and the key developments in his musical life (eg his breakthrough Romeo & Juliet overture-fantasia) and his understandable oscillation between boldness and timidity in the face of likely social repercussions. The sheer level of continuous tension in his life was made manifest, and helped to make greater sense of why the music often seems to be so overwrought.
Better that though than the ‘captious exigencies of a bland respectability.’ The bold defiance the composer showed in shrugging off setbacks, rising above betrayal by friends, and asserting his own musical identity came through powerfully. Who knew, for example, that he took the Russian church to court in order to secure the right of composers to set the Orthodox liturgy independently? Nor was it a hagiographic portrait – his mistreatment of his wife, nothwithstanding her own unbalanced state of mind, was rightly recorded, and the oddity of his connection with patron Nadezhda von Meck came through clearly too. I do think it was a mistake to, however, to build the denouement around the story of the composer’s enforced suicide at the hands of an honour court, a view, for all of its dramatic appeal, that carries little conviction today with scholars.
So much for the structure of the telling. How convincing was the dramatic showing? When there has to be so much exposition it is never easy to match that with a visual correlate that intensifies and embodies the text. Here the second half was tighter than the first, with the action meshing tightly with the story, and the other supporting performers thoroughly integrated and adding value. Having a dancer helped elaborate the importance of this composer’s contribution to the evolution of ballet as an art form as well as offering some fine moments of same-sex intimacy. On one of the hottest nights of the year, it was a credit to everyone freighted with Victorian finery that they generated so much detailed and energetic characterisation. Matheson, above all, was indefatigable and very moving.
This evening would be nowhere without the music, and here Jayson Gillham delivered a genuine tour de force. Whether in the delicacy of miniature salon pieces or extended sequences from Swan Lake and Piano Concerto No 1Â his playing was idiomatic. Virtuosic or plangent, as needed he provided a continuous underscore that grounded the whole production and then gave eloquent enhancement – overscore, if you like – to its most powerful dramatic moments.
Matheson has established an impressive record in composer-portraits that can hold the stage, rather than just a radio audience. Hopefully, this show will receive further outings and we look forward eagerly to his next venture.
Writer and Director: Tama Matheson
Pianist: Jayson Gillham
Other performers: Teo Debreuil, Oliver Holland, Suzy Kohane
Until 16 August 2026
2 hrs 30 mins with interval
Photo Credit: Rachel Medina