Tchaikovsky (1840-1893):

The play deals with Tchaikovsky’s inner life, his creative force, the important relationships in his life, his successes and failures.

Tchiakovsky struggled with depression and to reconcile his homosexuality, which he considered normal and natural for himself, with his profound need to avoid hurting his family and losing face as a result of a scandal by being publicly exposed and prosecuted. (Homosexuality was against the law.)

Did Tchaikovsky die of cholera or of self-induced poison? Was he forced to choose suicide or exile to escape a scandal and prosecution as a homosexual?

Excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s music and ballets are selectively used in the play.

Alexander Poznansky, a Russian, and one of the most important Tchaikovsky biographers and scholars in the world (he is currently teaching at Yale University in the USA) read the play and wrote:

"Please excuse me for some delay in writing you back, but I needed time to read your play  carefully. In fact, I enjoyed reading it very much and, overall, I think it excellent. You have succeeded in making it dramatically powerful and yet subtle . . . Your dialogues are strong and flow naturally. I found the play¹s lyrical moments genuinely moving and your vision of the XIXth century Russia, as regards both culture and psychology, for the most part, authentic. You have also handled Tchaikovsky¹s complex character, with its mixture of generosity and self-doubt increasingly well. He stands out in the play as a fully fleshed individual, and so do most of the other personages . . . and I am quite impressed by your knowledge and very sensitive use of his music . . . your play is considerably more accurate regarding things Russian than most fiction, drama, or poetry written in the West about Russia that I am aware of . .  . I greatly look forward to seeing your "Tchaikovsky" published and then staged! I wish you every best luck and please keep me informed about the developments."