WAO’s: Iolanta

Tchaikovsky’s last opera tells the tale of a beautiful woman who falls in love. At least, that’s all it should be about.

Instead, we witness the story of a woman who is held captive, not by her blindness, but by the ignorance and assumptions of those around her.

In a world premiere production, WAO has worked with the blind and vision impaired community of Perth to update the libretto and develop a production that tells the story from Iolanta’s side.

True to the sumptuous beauty of Tchaikovsky’s music, this season will have more than soaring voices and sweeping melodies. The production will take the audience on a journey to discover the lived experience of people with vision impairment, to see the world through their eyes.

VisAbility spoke with Grace King, the totally blind performer who will star as Iolanta, along with Iolanta Director, Katt Osborne and Disability Consultant Zel Iscel whom have truly made this production a reality.

“This opera production is made for me! If we’re going to have a blind character, then it needs to be performed by someone with no vision.”

Grace King, VisAbility client and performer

Read the interview: HERE

WAO Bookings: HERE

Register to attend the free Artists in Conversation evening with the adapters of Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta, Katt Osborne (Director, Creative Development, Libretto) and Zel Iscel (Creative Development, Libretto), as they discuss access and disability in this world premiere production. HERE