Opera Holland Park will present the UK premiere of “Tchaikovsky: Child of Glass,” a music-drama about the life of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

The production, which runs from August 13–15, 2026, reunites playwright-actor Tama Matheson and pianist-musical director Jayson Gillham, whose previous collaboration “Beethoven: I Shall Hear in Heaven” met with critical success at the same venue last year. “Child of Glass” explores Tchaikovsky’s search for self-expression against the backdrop of his condemned homosexuality, with new arrangements of the composer’s works performed for solo piano by Gillham. The production has been shortlisted for an RPS Storytelling Award.

“Over the past decade, I’ve been evolving the artistic line of enquiry of what happens at the fusion of drama and music when you mix the biography of great historical figures with the music of their era, and audiences around the world – from Australia to the U.S. and now the U.K. – have been delighting in the discovery. Tchaikovsky’s story may just be the most powerful yet, and I can’t wait for audiences to relive his haunting life with us in Child of Glass,” said Matheson, per an official press release.

New to this iteration of the music-drama form is a dance component choreographed by former Royal Ballet dancer Stephen Wicks and performed by Royal Ballet’s Téo Dubreuil. The cast also features Suzy Kohane and Oliver Holland alongside Matheson.

Performances take place at 7:30 p.m. at Opera Holland Park in London.