When all Chakras Open

She is the artist Tosca. The noblewoman Maddalena di Coigny. A concert singer. And now Princess Iolanta, in search of truth and love. We are talking about the soprano Sonya Yoncheva, who is presenting many facets of her incomparable skills in the current Staatsoper season.

If someone who has never heard a note by Tchaikovsky asks you what Tchaikovsky actually sounds like. What do you answer? How would you describe this music?

You know, Tchaikovsky had an incredible way of composing that goes straight to the heart. Without any run-up or preparation. Without an "appetizer". The very first note touches you to the core. Incidentally, in this he is very similar to another master of opera, Giacomo Puccini. I admire that very much, because for me that's what opera is all about: you sit in the auditorium, just listen, look at the stage - and you're transformed. In another world... We all know that music can be incredibly spontaneous. Just think of The Nutcracker, which premiered with Iolanta in one evening: Probably the most famous ballet in the world, and anyone who falls in love with The Nutcracker will never get away from it. And it is the same with Iolanta: the story touches, the music enchants. A wonderful work.

Who is Iolanta from your point of view? Who is this woman who is lied to by everyone about her blindness and who is only told the truth by her later lover, Count Vaudémont?

I've done Iolanta productions before and they were also very much about the father being ashamed of his daughter. That's exactly what I experienced as a child under communism in Bulgaria.

Anyone who was not considered perfect, such as people with a disability, was simply pushed aside.

Looking at the opera from this social perspective can be very illuminating. But if we talk about Iolanta as a person, I would say that it can sometimes be an advantage for her not to see. Why? Because she can't see some of the terrible and awful things in the world - and it doesn't matter whether we're in the 21st century, the 18th century or any other. She lives shielded from it. Perhaps the world in which Iolanta exists is more beautiful from this perspective?

At the beginning of the opera, she does not know that she is blind - because no one tells her the truth. Nevertheless, she is unhappy. She feels that something is being kept from her, she feels longing.

Yes, she is sad. Because she senses that the people around her are being forced by the king not to be honest. When I first studied the role years ago, I understood that you develop your other senses much more when one is missing. So because of her blindness, she is more sensitive on other levels. And the sensitivity she develops is extraordinary. So she realizes that the other women around her are not being honest, that they want to keep her happy, but in reality perhaps don't really like being around her. That they don't want to be part of her world. And then she meets this man, Count Vaudémont, who brings this construct of lies crashing down. Her eyes are opened and she can see - even before the actual operation that gives her sight. Because she sees - love. And that is what she has been missing so far, what she has been missing. Because her father is emotionally distant from her, he is ashamed, the others are dishonest. And they don't talk about her mother at all. But now this man and love - and many things become clear to her.

Are blindness and the ability to recognize images? Is it a parable? Are we in a fairy tale that points to something?

For me, Iolanta is not a fairy tale. What we talk about can be quite real. Because sometimes we are blind without actually being blind. We can be confused and confused because we don't really understand what life is, what love is, and what really matters. And what matters can be many things. Some people find it in their love for their children, their husband or wife, or even in their love of art, of very different things. It is impressive when you discover and understand this true love. And experience how it opens everything in you, all your chakras. I think that's also what this story is about.

What does Iolanta love about Vaudémont? What does she feel when they meet?

His honesty. He gets straight to the point and doesn't lie to her. He gives her the right password by telling her what she didn't know: that she is blind. By talking to her about the light she can't see. He opens a door that leads to the answer to the question that is bothering her: What am I missing? Why am I not completely happy? Through him she knows: Wow, sure, that's it! She gets to know colors - and I don't mean red - green - blue, but the colors of life that we all need.

Do you see the end of the opera as a happy ending? The gain in knowledge that Iolanta has?

How can we know that? We only know our point of view. We know what the world outside, which Iolanta did not know, is like. So the question arises from our point of view: maybe she was better off when she didn't know some things? The illusion has given her a safe place. But does she see it that way? After all, it's good to know the truth! It's not about the blindness itself, it doesn't change Vaudémont's love. He loves her for who she is.

That's an important point, by the way, especially in this day and age. What if I'm not like others on Instagram? Will people still love me?

"For me, Iolanta is not a fairy tale.
What we talk about can be quite real. Because sometimes we are blind without actually being blind."