The Enchantress by Tchaikovsky, P. I., ne 21 zář 2014, Od (2014/2014), Režie Christof Loy, Dirigent Mikhail Tatarnikov, Theater an der Wien, Vienna, Austria

In 1885 Peter I. Tchaikovsky was made aware of the new drama by the then successful author Schpaschinski by his brother Modest; there is a love scene in it, which is well suited for setting to music. Tchaikovsk was then more interested in the two main female characters than in the love scene. He asked the author to transform the piece into a libretto. Schpaschinski's text turned out to be too long, so that the struggle and a performable version dragged on for two years. On November 1, 1887, Charodeyka was premiered in the Imperial Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg. Nastasja, called Kuma, runs an inn on the river. Politically and socially outlawed people find refuge in the tolerant atmosphere that it has created there. Kuma is wooed a lot, but does not favor anyone. When Prince Juri passes by once, she falls in love with him, but does not dare to approach him. The ruling Prince Kurtjatew, the prince's father, is a thorn in the side of the bar as a meeting place for critical spirits. He wants to have it closed, but Kuma's charm also fascinates him, and instead of closing the bar, he suddenly spends a lot of time there himself. The intriguer Mamyrow tells the princess about it and arouses her jealousy. When Juri hears of his father's behavior, he wants to kill the woman who has bewitched his father so that he neglects his wife and government. The prince declares his love for Kuma, but she rejects him. When Juri comes to her to kill her, she is able to convince him of her innocence, and he, too, falls in love with her. Shortly before the two of them want to flee together, the princess poisons Kuma and dies in Juri's arms. The princess throws the corpse into the river. In search of Kuma, the prince kills his son out of jealousy and goes mad.