Tchaikovsky-Child Of Glass

Opera Holland Park • 13th August - 15th August 2026

Periodically, a biographical film or stage play comes along that not only completely redefines the way the audience will experience the output of its subject’s chosen artistry, be that painting, music or literature, but it will also serve as an important reminder for a contemporary audience that queer identities are far from being a modern phenomenon, instead they can be seen as an enduring part of human history whose centuries old experiences often still mirror much of what it still means to be gay today. The historical sanitisation of such figures over many years may have ensured the enduring popularity of their artistic output by making their ‘alternative’ lifestyles more palatable to a performatively outraged mainstream audience, but to know something of the hardship, denial, struggle, self-loathing, (often a result of the heteronormative society that surrounds them), alongside the more stolen moments of euphoric happiness and flashes of creative genius, brings with it an even greater appreciation of the legacy they have left behind, and allows today’s audience a previously unparalleled understanding and connection to their work.

Tama Matheson’s play Tchaikovsky: Child Of Glass is one such production that reveals the titular subject’s life in both a fascinating, entertaining and blissfully unsanitized way. Tchaikovsky himself has been the subject of several biopics before, most notably 1969’s Tchaikovsky which, whilst nominated at the Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film, failed to address the composer’s sexuality completely, and whilst the same could not be said for Ken Russell’s The Music Lovers, the directors wild, surreal and sexually explicit imagery left critics and audiences highly divided. Matheson’s play on the other hand is a much more considered affair, with the playwright not only doubling up as director but also taking on the titular role, immediately ingratiating himself to the audience as he breaks the fourth wall, where he remains for the most part in order to guide us through the timeline of his incredible life.

Whilst referred to as a play, Tchaikovsky: Child Of Glass more accurately pulls from a wider amalgam of theatrical traditions in order to tell it’s story, it being part monologue, part musical recital, part ballet… and part play. Whilst this might sound like a somewhat ungainly smorgasbord of styles, for the most part this approach serves the emotional heart of the story very well indeed, the dance, (choreography by Stephen Wicks and performed by Royal Ballet Soloist Teo Dubreuil) and music (unsurprisingly written by Tchaikovsky himself and played immaculately by Musical Director Jayson Gillham), often conveying an undercurrent of suppressed feelings better than words alone could ever have hoped to achieve. Matheson is clearly aware of this unconventional approach to his production given that, after an opening that see’s the cast take to the stage for a Masquerade Ball, he utters his first words to the audience, “It’s not what you expected is it?”, his playful and highly conversational candour with the audience also soon becoming part of what is stylistically to follow.

With remaining cast members Suzy Kohane and Oliver Holland taking on the various roles of those that pass through the composer’s life, including his troubled marriage to an obsessive Antonina Miliukova, Tchaikovsky’s story is riddled with as many personal highs and lows as it is with professional ones, reviews for his music being at times scathing, whilst the composer is simultaneously being praised as ‘The only hope for Russia’s musical future’. Despite the societal norms of the time, he is not without the ability to find love, there being several notable encounters, the most intense of which was with a young student at the Moscow Conservatory, Eduard Zak who, ‘ashamed of his nature’ was eventually to take his own life.

Whilst it’s true, Tchaikovsky: Child Of Glass packs a lot of information into its 1hr 50min runtime, it remains as entertaining as it is fascinating, the queer inspiration behind some of the composers more popular works being a revelation given it is something I had, for the most part, previously been shamefully unaware of. The staging, almost cinematic with the help of Opera Holland Park's open-air canopy stage and grand backdrop, utilises the space well and, despite it being the hottest day in a year dominated by endless heatwaves, the changing light of the setting sun seemed in itself to become a metaphor for the passing of time on our journey through Tchaikovsky’s life, leading us ultimately to his tragic death aged just 53.

I’m admit to being nervous when I see many of a productions most important roles being multi-tasked by one person, but there seemed to be no issue with Tama Matheson’s ability to juggle writer, director, lead actor and, oh yes… co-producer. In fact, I found myself specifically impressed by such a solid script that, alongside it’s ability to be informative, was equally witty, charming, tragic and moving, qualities Matheson was also able to bring to his performance. I was equally impressed by Teo Dubreuil’s own performance as he transitioned from being any number of Tchaikovsky’s love interests to becoming a more metaphysical representation of the composers ongoing struggle with his sexuality. Whilst it’s true that the inclusion of so many theatrical styles did at times bring something of an inconsistent tempo to the overall flow of this production, it remained both impressively unique and incredibly moving.

★ ★ ★ ★

Tchaikovsky - Child Of Glass is on at the Opera Holland Park 13th August - 15th August 2026. Tickets available here

review: Simon J. Webb

photographs: John Yip