The story of Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s marriage, one of the key points in his biography. His decision to change his life by getting married to put an end to rumours caused a serious mental crisis. When he subsequently made up his mind to separate from his wife, it devastated the young woman and ultimately drove her crazy.
The tumultuous relationship between the most famous Russian composer of all time and his wife is the subject of award-winning director Kirill Serebrennikov’s latest film, after the Palme d’Or nominated Petrov’s Flu from 2021. Starring Odin Lund Biron (Petropolis) as Pyotr Tchaikovsky and Alyina Mikhailova (winner of The Golden Unicorn for 2019’s Love Them All) as Antonina Miliukova, TCHAIKOVSKY’S WIFE is a sweeping, and provocative drama hailed by The Film Stage as “a fevered, hypnotising, meticulously detailed period piece”.
With extraordinary lead performances from Biron and Miliukova, TCHAIKOVSKY’S WIFE is a magisterial, erotically-charged and occasionally beautifully surreal portrait of a legendary tormented artist, and a poignant and powerful examination of a disintegrating relationship. 19th century Russia is vividly evoked with stunning cinematography by Vladislav Opelyants, winner of the CTS Artist Technician Prize at the 2022 Cannes Film festival for his work on Petrov’s Flu. Not since Milos Forman’s Amadeus has the life of a great composer been so powerfully and memorably rendered.
Kirill Serebrennikov is a Russian stage and film director. Since 2012, he has been the artistic director of the Gogol Center in Moscow. He has been described as one of Russia’s leading theatre directors. His third feature, Petrov’s Flu, premiered in Cannes in 2021, where it was nominated for a Palme d’Or, following religious drama The Student, which played in Un Certain Regard in 2016 and won the François Chalais Award, and Palme d’Or nominee Russian rock scene drama Leto, in 2018. Serebrennikov’s other credits include the Venice Golden Lion nominee Izmena in 2012; the Tribeca Film Festival Jury Prize nominee Playing the Victim in 2006; and drama mystery Yurev den in 2008, which picked up numerous awards including the Don Quixote Award at the Locarno International Film Festival and the Grand Prix at the Warsaw International Film Festival.
