Libretto: Pjotr Iljitsch Tschaikowsky after Alexander Puschkin's poem „Poltava“ using a text book by V. P. Burenin
Place: and time Ukraine, early  18th century
Characters:
MAZEPA (Baritone) – KOCUBEJ (Bass) – LJUBOV KOCUBEJ (Mezzosoprano) – MARIJA (Soprano) – ANDREJ (Tenor) – ORLIK (Bass) – ISKRA (Tenor)e – CRUNK COSSACK (Tenor)
Choir: SSAATTBB (Cossacks, guests, Kocubej's valet, soldiers, monks and hangman)
Orchestra: 3(Picc).2.cor ang.2.2. – 4.2.2Corn.3.1. – timp.perc(5) – hp– str
Stagec music: Banda out of scene (Akt II) and on stage (Akt III)

When Tchaikovsky chose to base his opera “Mazeppa” on Pushkin‘s poem “Poltava” in 1881, one can be sure that this decision was tinged with personal emotion, as Tchaikovsky's forefathers, Ukrainian cossacks, had died in the battle of Poltava in 1709. It is all too understandable that even after the work‘s premiere at Moscow‘s Bolshoy Theater in 1884, the composer continued to be moved by the fate of the cruel Ukrainian military leader Mazeppa and his tragic love for the much younger Marija. Nevertheless, one cannot conscionably speak of a problem concerning versions, as there is a performable “ultimate authorized version.” “Mazeppa” will not be an insider‘s secret for specialists for much longer.

Trailer of "Komische Oper Berlin" on YouTube