IOLANTA
March 2022
Aratani Theater
Aratani Theatre
244 San Pedro St
Los Angeles, CA 90012
March 20 and 27 at 3pm
March 26 at 7:30pm
100 minutes, No Intermission
This production was generously sponsored by:
Lead Sponsor: Jennifer Diener
Co-Sponsor: Alice Coloumb
Director: Josh Shaw
Conductor: Isaac Selya
Assistant Director: Carson Gilmore
Costumes: Maggie Green
Iolanta: Cristina Jones
Vaudemont: Benjamin Werley
King Rene: Andrew Potter
Robert: Simon Barrad
Ibn-Hakia: Andrew Allan Hiers
Martha: Megan Potter
Brigitta: Brooke Iva Lohman
Laura: Danielle Marcelle Bond
Bertran: Joel Balzun
Almerik: William Grundler
POP returned to the 800-seat Aratani Theatre in Little Tokyo for a very special production of Tchaikovsky’s fairytale opera, Iolanta. Cristina Jones, AKA “The Blind Soprano”, starred in the opera’s title role about a princess who is unaware that she is blind. The cast also included POP favorites Andrew and Megan Potter as King René and Martha and Andrew Allan Hiers as Ibn-Hakia. POP partnered with low-sight organizations for this production to encourage awareness and to amplify their efforts. Special arrangements were also made for low-sighted audience members, including braille programs. Iolanta was POP’s first opera presented in Russian and featured a 32-piece orchestra conducted by Isaac Selya.