TCHAIKOVSKY (2007) (**1/2)
Part documentary, part drama, this earnest BBC production tries very hard to legitimize the genius of 19th century composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky, while painting a portrait of his personal life and how it influenced his music. Split into two-parts for TV — "The Creation of Genius" and "Fortune and Tragedy" — the reenactments of Tchaikovsky's life work better when they are freed of interruption from documentary host and composer Charles Hazlewood. Like its subject, the special seems to be looking for a voice.
Halzewood narrates the story of Tchaikovsky's life as he travels to Russia to show us the influence the artist had on Russian culture, music, ballet and opera. We get moments from Tchaikovsky's childhood when he is sent away to school and never recovers from the death of his mother when he was 14. Both Pyotr (Ed Stoppard, THE PIANIST) and his younger brother Modest (William Mannering, MASTER AND COMMANDER) were gay and frequented the homosexual underground in Russian and in the U.K. Tchaikovsky has an on-and-off affair with fellow music student Aleksey Apukhtin (Gyuri Sarossy, TV's EASTENDERS) for years. As his fame grew, he became more worried about his homosexuality creating a scandal and set out to marry. After receiving a letter from admirer Antonina Milyukova (Alice Glover), he meets with the woman and subsequently marries her. Around the same time, he also meets Nadezdha von Meck (Lucy Briers, TV's WIVES AND DAUGHTERS), a wealthy woman who would become his longtime benefactor and friend, even though she refused to meet him in person, always corresponding through letters. We follow Tchaikovsky's turbulent marriage, his years as composer for hire and his death from cholera.